Is there anyone
else with RA and Celiac disease? Celiac is also an autoimmune
disease, where the body cannot tolerate gluten found in wheat, rye, barley, and
for some, oats. Can't help but think there is some correlation as the body attacts itself in both diseases (RA = joints, Celiac = digestive tract). There is a higher incidence of RA in Celiacs than in the "regular" population according to the celiac associations. The only cure is to eliminate foods containning those ingredients from the diet -- easier said than done! Hey lcarter - This is the first I've ever heard that Celiac is autoimmune. I thought it was a gene thing. Any link to anything that can tell me more? Pip
To make matters worse, I am also dairy intolerant (was born with it). I can not have any faction of dairy products -- lactose or dairy protein. Even trace amounts of dairy makes me ill. So, I have to be careful not only with foods, but also with hidden dairy in meds.
I always worry when the dr.'s prescribes something new as it amazes me how little they know about what is in a medication mix. Needless to say, label reading has become my obsession and passion...and driving pharm.'s nuts.
I am not sure about RA and celiac disease but I know the stomach and other autoimmune problems seem to go together. My husband has ankylosing spondylitis and he has IBS .yes i have ra and celiacs was diagnosed with ra first and yes it is very hard to not eat any form as even a trace amount sets me off. with stomach aches and diarrea. for days. and when I am sick with flu or whatever it gets realyy bad
http://www.celiac.org/cd-cause.php
http://www.celiaccentral.org/What_is_Celiac_/13/
Today I read a pamphlet from Capers about gluten intolerance and there
are diffrerent levels, so for some people just cutting it out for a while can
solve the problem and other\r people have full blown Celiac disease. The
pamphlet said many cases of celiac disease are undiagnosed and
symptom free, but if left unchecked develope into "autoimmune" diseases
like RA and MS. It said celiac disease is genetic but it's considered an
auto-immune disease.
The more I read about gluten intolerance the more I'm thinking it might
be worth trying a gluten free diet for about 6 months to see if it helps my
RA.
Markets like Capers are expensive but they make having a gluten free diet
easier because they have many gluten free products and everything is
clearly marked. They have recently been bought by Whole Foods so I'll see
what happens (we call Whole Foods "Whole Paycheque" because it's SO
WAY EXPENSIVE.....but good, you know?).
I have tried to maintain a gluten free diet since I was diagnosed. The hardest thing for me was giving up beer and pizza!!!! I have not been able to tolerate milk for several years. I have cheated a little lately because I am feeling better and I can say for me it was not worth it. I felt bloated, some stiffness and upset tummy... tolerable but I feel better without it. There is a positive side effect and that is I have lost approximately 20 lbs. If anyone wants great gluten free ideas pm me. I have really made it work and don't feel cheated!Sparky41 you said you can't tolerate milk but , you gave up pizza for a gluten freee diet. i always drank alot of milk then say 7 or 8 years ago it just started coming back up about ten minutes after i drank it. For some reason i can still tolerate cheese. I don't know why that is. I don't know if i'm allergic to milk or lactose intollerance. Thought maybe it was all of the hormons they started adding. I would think these hormons would be in the cheese. Just rambeling i guess. i have noticed alot of people on this forum can't have dairy. But who knows why i still can still eat cheese just fine.My lactose intollerance is very recent. However, I'm pretty sure I've "had it" for years. I just never knew/realized that was the cause of my pain and icky poos. My aunt, my cousin, my grandmother, my mother, and now even my dad have all been told they are lactose intollerant. Not all at once of course. LOL But yea, I'm not sure why there's so many of us like that. The aunt, cousin, and grandma are all on my mom's side too. And so's the RA. Out of all of us, only my dad was someone who didn't typically eat a lot of dairy. The rest of us, well we're Wisconsinites by blood, so we loved out dairy!!!
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