New to board and do you have celiac too? | Arthritis Information

 

Hello,  I am newish to doing these message boards, at 42 what can I say.  I have had RA for 17 years, sjogrens for 13, Hashimotos 8, reynauds for awhile but more active for 3, and one year ago diagnosised with celiac.  I truly believe if I was dx with celiac first I probably would still have autoimmune disease, but maybe not a collection.  My mom died from scleroderma, and I had a maternal great grandfater who died of lupus, so yes and I am the genetic connection. LOL  I am curious to find others out there with celiac (an autoimmune reaction to gluten - wheat,rye,barley and oats) Cause of all the damage from the celiac I am also now lactose and fructose (of all things) intolerant.  I am an active working mom, so eating is a bit of a challenge.  But I must say since going gluten free my health, my RA especially is doing great.  It's sorta amazing. I have been through lots of western and eastern medicine.  I now inject enbrel, arava and volteren xr (other suff for other issues too).  For the first time in many years I am biking and walking with a almost an unnoticable limp. :)  I am also a believer in eastern practise as well. I have even stung myself with bees I was so deseperate at one point. And, like many of you, I have had 17 years of desperate moments!! Anyway, I am going on a bit.  Just wanted to say hello and see if anyone else has food intolerances.  I am convinced (for the moment anyway LOL) that all people who struggle with autoimmune issues should go at least wheat free diet. Who knows??

Thanks, Suzi

 

 

Hi Suzi

I am another genetic link too.  I have RA and so does my mom and one of her sisters; a half sister to them has lupus. 

I was tested for Celiac Disease - it was negative.  Sugar seems to be my enemy.  

Glad you are feeling better with your specialized diet.  What are you eating anyway?? 

Welcome to the board.

 

 

Welcome to the board! 

I am a genetic link also.  RA is hereditary on my maternal side of the family. 

Genetic link here and my sis has this dreaded disease as well.....I wante dto comment on the bee sting thing. I never use dto get stung by bees or wasps..it was strange they sort of just didn;t come around me and if they did I could wisp them away. However, since living in Michigan I get stung by at least 1 wasp and 1 bee each summer. Amazingly it does make you feel better RA wise. But OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hey there, i definitely have an auto immune reaction to wheat products. There is definitely an allergy connection with me. 

Hi Suzi,

I don't have celiac disease but my husband does.  I have the RA.  I'm not sure which one of us has it worse!!  I can sympathize with having to be gluten free...it is not the easiest thing to follow.  I don't eat bread or pasta anymore since my husband was diagnosed a year ago and I feel much better.  Gluten is just bad and unfortunately it is in so many foods.

I'm glad you are feeling well!

Jen

I have a question for everyone who knows what their food enemy is; how did you figure out which foods and how long did you stop eating them for before you noticed a difference?

I've been suspicious of food and so far my method has been to cut something out of my diet (say red meat) for about a month and then eat a whole bunch of it and see how I feel. But if I feel bad how do I know it's that food and not other extenuating factors?
Thanks for any input.
Hi there again, thanks for the responses. Ok so my vote is I'd rather have celiac over RA.  However multiple intolerances is more of a tie. LOL  Interms of knowing about food intolerances I didn't. I have had stomach problems for many years. My docs kept saying it was my meds, "here's another stomach rx call me later." Finally, my anemia became uncontrollable (again they just said it was autoimmune), but I just looked gray and undernourished, oh and lost my voice due to polups (it all connects I swear).  Finally I went to see a GI who thought I had medication collitis, thus the polups from acid reflux, and stomach and general gut mayham, so she did lots of tests the final being an endoscopy - and there it was about 25 years worth of celiac damage.  However, I have known in my heart for years that I was lactose intolerant and probably wheat, but did not have the motivation to check it out. Like you all I am sure, it just wasn't on the priority list.  However the real challange is fructose, it is in everything.  Gluten and lactose are easier to spot.  Like someone else said it's trial and error, though it can take awhile to digest the food and thus have a reaction.  They say stop eating what you think is bothering you for 6 weeks, reintroduce it and wait up to 3 days.  If no reaction, it's probably not what is causing you the trouble. I also believe (to some extent) that one should trust their instinct with this stuff - pay attention to what you put in your mouth and how you feel.  Oh my I've rambled on - Guess it's nice to talk amoungst my fellow autoimmune deficient folks. :) I do not know if I have celiac, but i am gluten intolerent. all the tests showed nothing sooo i went on an illimination diet and gluten it is. Im also dont have any IGA though so my blood tests for celiac had to be negative. I had stomache issues for a couple years and was loosing weight...this was years after the JRA was dx
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