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Pins & Needles Pain In Feet, Spasms In Legs


AVR1962

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AVR1962 Collaborator

Does anyone here have any of these symptoms? Did you connect them to nerve damage from gluten? Have you had any improvement?

I have been gluten-free for 1 1/2 years and these are the last of my symptoms and have had just about every test that could be ran (with the exception of MS) to try and eliminate anything else.

I was suffering real bad sciatic pain last winter which exercise could not relieve, had an MRI of the back done which showed 2 bulging discs in the back....had an epidural steroid treatment, acupuncture, 6 weeks of physical therapy. I have contniued with massage and heat therapy, I stretch and exercise but nothing has taken away the pins and needles pain I get between in my toes in both feet. In the process of the testing it was discovered that I ahve 25% nerve damage to my feet.....I do have pre-diabetes but doc says this could not have caused it as my glucose levels have not gone high enough to do damage. Doc also says what I am experiencing cannot be from my back. Docs tested me for alcohol consumption, that also came up empty....I maybe have 2 drinks a week.

For the pins & needles pain I take 500 mg of L-Carnitine daily which keeps it controlled. For the numbness in my legs I take a B complex which make sit only a touch better, tests have shown I am not deficient. For the spasms in my legs I take a daily multi miberal which includes magnesium, potassium, zinc and calcium....it does make it better but has not resolved the issue.

Just wondering if anyone can relate??


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YoloGx Rookie

Does anyone here have any of these symptoms? Did you connect them to nerve damage from gluten? Have you had any improvement?

I have been gluten-free for 1 1/2 years and these are the last of my symptoms and have had just about every test that could be ran (with the exception of MS) to try and eliminate anything else.

I was suffering real bad sciatic pain last winter which exercise could not relieve, had an MRI of the back done which showed 2 bulging discs in the back....had an epidural steroid treatment, acupuncture, 6 weeks of physical therapy. I have contniued with massage and heat therapy, I stretch and exercise but nothing has taken away the pins and needles pain I get between in my toes in both feet. In the process of the testing it was discovered that I ahve 25% nerve damage to my feet.....I do have pre-diabetes but doc says this could not have caused it as my glucose levels have not gone high enough to do damage. Doc also says what I am experiencing cannot be from my back. Docs tested me for alcohol consumption, that also came up empty....I maybe have 2 drinks a week.

For the pins & needles pain I take 500 mg of L-Carnitine daily which keeps it controlled. For the numbness in my legs I take a B complex which make sit only a touch better, tests have shown I am not deficient. For the spasms in my legs I take a daily multi miberal which includes magnesium, potassium, zinc and calcium....it does make it better but has not resolved the issue.

Just wondering if anyone can relate??

As you likely remember I can relate. I had trauma to my L-5 vertebrae and sacrum as a child and have to exercise to make up for the lack of bone on the back of the L-5 vertebrae (the "wings") which were severed off when I was young as well as exercise to keep my sacrum strong and act against chronic sciatica otherwise. So exercise really does help--walking, stretching, yoga.

However I also have myoclonus and nerve damage in part exacerbated by salicylate, oxalate, tannin and amine sensitivity as well as years and years of having trace amounts of gluten which seemed to damage the myelin sheath surrounding the nerves. Slowly I am getting better over time. Yes I take the B vitamins and minerals and as you know the nattokinase that unfortunately does not seem to work for you (though some other fibronylitic enzyme might help against the possible scar tissue).

I take barberry regularly--very small doses which really helps against liver damage and acts as an antidote to salicylate sensitivity--and recall you take nettle tea which acts similarly. Wish I could but its high in tannins...

The epsom salt baths continue to help.

Sometimes it just is not cut and dried simple. Its everything altogether. And yes we are all a little different.

Just today I was marveling at being pain free despite the sudden rainy cool fall weather. This is unusual compared to the past. I chalk it up to avoiding the high to medium amines etc. by eating only really fresh food with nothing preserved--and only eating white lima beans (and take calcium citrate beforehand to bind the oxalates) rather than eating colored beans of any sort to avoid the tannins--and of course continuing to eat relatively low salicylate foods.

Of course enzymes and probiotics help--but you knew that. I also have frozen plain cod liver oil which also helps (and avoids the amines).

I celebrate now being able to eat boiled kale (with the water thrown out afterwards to avoid any possible oxalates) however twice a week! And continue to detox using bentonite clay and psyllium husk drinks away from food almost every day combined with taking two doses of chlorella during the day (with food) for extra energy (and help detoxing).

Learning how to avoid CC from gluten and now how to deal with all these food chemicals I am sensitive to has been a slow learning process--but totally worth it given how much better I feel overall.

Slowly we learn our bodies. Good luck with figuring out yours. Likely you will if I know anything about you.

Bea

ravenwoodglass Mentor

Add a sublingual B12 tablet into your daily vitamin regime. That may help a great deal.

nvsmom Community Regular

I've had a fair bit of sciatic pain and back spasms over the last 15 years due to bulging discs (that doctors told me couldn't be helped... why do i ever believe them?). My L5 disc burst a couple of years ago and now I have paralysis in my right leg; I skipped numbness and tingling. LOL :rolleyes:

That occurred while I was still undiagnosed, and I've only been gluten-free for 3 months so I'm not sure if it was celiac related at all. I still have a sore back, but it expresses itself differently now; lately it tends to be a quick pain in my left leg (outside of the thigh to shin to big toe). It's been acting up over the last month, so at this point I'd say it is not linked to celiac... but who knows.

I used to get muscle spasms in my leg, especially in my slightly paralyzed muscles, which would be....oh, just a bunch of fun. :blink: I found the homeopathic remedy cuprum metallicum really helped with that but it's disappeared since going gluten-free so I'm not sure if it was related to celiac. I would guess yes.

My mother has restless legs, they just kick out when she's relaxing, and she takes Restless Legs for it. She gets it at a whole foods store. It's really helped her. She is in the process of going gluten-free as she appears to be NCGI.

Hope you find relief for your discomfort.

ncdave Apprentice

Hello again avr1962,

I see your on no grains, does that include corn? I had terable muscle pain to the point i could hardly stand up, an numbness in my toes. My multi vitimans that i had taken for 9 months contained corn. I tried adding some more vitimans that also contained corn an it knocked me for a loop. I removed corn an white potatoes from my diet an within a few days the muscle pain was gone. I can stand up 4-6 hours at a time an its only been a couple of weeks. I am now gluten,dairy,soy,corn free. hope you feel better soon, dave

AVR1962 Collaborator

Hello again avr1962,

I see your on no grains, does that include corn? I had terable muscle pain to the point i could hardly stand up, an numbness in my toes. My multi vitimans that i had taken for 9 months contained corn. I tried adding some more vitimans that also contained corn an it knocked me for a loop. I removed corn an white potatoes from my diet an within a few days the muscle pain was gone. I can stand up 4-6 hours at a time an its only been a couple of weeks. I am now gluten,dairy,soy,corn free. hope you feel better soon, dave

NCDave, as long s I do not eat any carbs I avoid inflammation which does include corn....keeping this up though every single day is not easy and I will have rice or potatoes or gluten-free pizza. The nettle tea that I drink keeps the inflammation away and I no longer have the ringing in my ears or the tight feeling in my toes and fingers if I have a little bit of grain, however I do still avoid it. Even off all grains the spasm in my legs have not stopped. I was on a muscle relaxer at night for a month, prescript for my back, and in that one month is the only time I have had relief from the spasms in my legs.

Reading more I am suspicous that the pins & needles pain I am dealing with is more sciatic pain from my back. I live in Germany and see a military American doc for the most part but they have been little help. Every time I go to a German doc they actually work with me, help me and find the issue, address it and I do better. However, if I go back to the American doc they do not like the meds the German doc has given me, don't like their way of practice, complain about their proceedures but then do nothing to help me with my issues. I feel like I being passed thru the system quite honestly.

Thanks for all the replies!

frieze Community Regular

try sustain release magnesium, if you can find it. It is possible that your mixed supplement is not the right ratio for YOU. good luck


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AVR1962 Collaborator

UPDATE: met new doc today. She believes the pins and needles pain I have in my feet is from the bulging discs in my back. Also, in reviewing my records she told me she doesn't think I am diabetic. They ran more tests but she thinks that when I did the herbal liver cleanse 2 years ago it impaired the function of my pancreas and made me hyper-sensative to sugar. I still will not be able to change the way I eat right now but it is good news.

ravenwoodglass Mentor

UPDATE: met new doc today. She believes the pins and needles pain I have in my feet is from the bulging discs in my back. Also, in reviewing my records she told me she doesn't think I am diabetic. They ran more tests but she thinks that when I did the herbal liver cleanse 2 years ago it impaired the function of my pancreas and made me hyper-sensative to sugar. I still will not be able to change the way I eat right now but it is good news.

Thanks for the update. Hopefully she will be able to do something to help with the disks. Physical therapy helped me quite a bit.

Thanks also about posting about the herbal liver cleanse. There is a reason so many here warn about us doing cleanses. I hope you recover completely from it in time.

  • 2 weeks later...
AVR1962 Collaborator

UPDATE: Well, I think I FINALLY have an answer to my pins and needles pain that I have had for the past 2 years!!! It was my back as my last doc suggested. I have been doing yoga every day and am loving it! I have not taken my L--carnitine for the pain for over 2 weeks and have only an occasion lil twing now in one foot only!!!!

Also, I am connecting sugar to the spasms in my legs. I have been even more careful with the intake of sugar and I have had many restful nights. Had a small dish of ice cream a couple weeks ago and had a absolutely miserable night of spasms.

Thought I would share in case this might help anyone esle!

ncdave Apprentice

Yoga, that"s what a gi recommended for my ibs. I thought he had lost his mind ! I need something for lower back pain, i just may give this yoga a try. I"d do anything at this point to stop my back from hurting all day everyday. Did you take a class or figure out how to do yoga online?

tarnalberry Community Regular

I would also suggest working with a chiropractor. That, and yoga. :)

AVR1962 Collaborator

Yoga, that"s what a gi recommended for my ibs. I thought he had lost his mind ! I need something for lower back pain, i just may give this yoga a try. I"d do anything at this point to stop my back from hurting all day everyday. Did you take a class or figure out how to do yoga online?

I bought a 3 disc set of DVDs for BEGINNERS, lol! I knew my back was too stiff to even touch my toes and I sure did not want to make a fool out of myself in a class. I am actually very amazed the difference this has made for me and I highly suggest it for anyone dealing with back pain. My husband, retired Air Force, has been doing it with me along with my teen and we are all seeing benefits!

GFinDC Veteran

Hi AVR,

One of the things that helps me with back issues is stretching my back. I have a doorway in my house that I can grab hold of and hang from for a few seconds at a time. The weight of my body pulls the back out and things kind of snap into place. I have done this in the past when thinigs were out of place and kind of wiggled around while hanging there. Some times it took a couple weeks and then boom, something would move and go back where it was supposed to be and the pain would go away. This is a good thing to do every day, several times day. They make gizmos that you can strap yourself into and then rotate so that your head is down towards the ground for the same purpose. They are called inversion tables. If you do a chinup and hold it for a few seconds that is just as good IMHO. That also strengthens your arms and upper body some so that's a good thing too. The inversion tables don't do that. Try the chinup deal several times a day for a couple weeks and see if it helps is my advice. It sure helps me a lot! :)

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