Today I was browsing the internet and came across a link to a site called "10 signs you are gluten intolerant" (I will post a link to the article at the bottom of this message). I clicked on it to see if I had some of the symptoms. Of the ten, I had 6-7. But one very odd symptom that I had never heard anyone mention before was dizziness. For ten years I have suffered from an imbalance disturbance where my visual moves ever so slightly side to side. When it first became an issue I thought there was something very wrong with me, so I naturally was sent to a neurologist (this was about 8 years ago).
The doctor tested me for various things, but everything came back negative. My blood work was fine, too. The neurologist told me he didn't know what to tell me, and sent me on my way with Zoloft to take for severe depression related to the condition (I posted another message of how I thought Zoloft was probably the reason I ended up with loose stools, but now I'm not so sure, if this is any indication). After about two years of being on Zoloft, I managed to have issues with loose stools.
With that said, I'm very curious now if anyone else has ever mentioned imbalance problems before. Being undiagnosed, I don't know if I have microscopic colitis, or if I'm gluten intolerant, but things are starting to make a lot of sense if I do. Again, I was blood tested for celiac once before and was negative, but I take it gluten intolerance can still be an issue. Anything you guys can shed on this would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/ ... erant.html
Interesting Symptom
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solisspirit
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Joefnh
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I have read here a few times now members reporting dizziness as a side of effect of consuming gluten. I also believe Tex and others have had other neurological side effects such as neuropathy that was helped after removing gluten from their diets. It does seem that neurological effects are part of the effects of consuming gluten.
As far as Zoloft...bad news for GI problems, its actually implicated as a cause of MC. I know just earlier this past summer I was given Zoloft and foolishly didn't look it up for issues and I took it for about 3 months....not a good idea. From that both my Crohn's and colitis were totally flared up, great way to lose weight, but I wouldn't recommend it. I switched over to Wellbutrin and what a difference, it has had a significant effect on allowing my GI symptoms to settle down and frankly seems to be a much much better antidepressant at least for my neuro-chemistry.
In my view gluten intolerance is just another manifestation of celiac disease, I believe Tex has drawn some good conclusions about the 2 etiologies.
Thanks for the great questions
As far as Zoloft...bad news for GI problems, its actually implicated as a cause of MC. I know just earlier this past summer I was given Zoloft and foolishly didn't look it up for issues and I took it for about 3 months....not a good idea. From that both my Crohn's and colitis were totally flared up, great way to lose weight, but I wouldn't recommend it. I switched over to Wellbutrin and what a difference, it has had a significant effect on allowing my GI symptoms to settle down and frankly seems to be a much much better antidepressant at least for my neuro-chemistry.
In my view gluten intolerance is just another manifestation of celiac disease, I believe Tex has drawn some good conclusions about the 2 etiologies.
Thanks for the great questions
Joe
Dr. Hadjivassiliou has done a lot of work in this area. You can read some of his work at the link below.
Gluten sensitivity as a neurological illness
When Joe mentioned that I have drawn some conclusions about these diseases, I believe that he was referring to the fact that in my book, I explore the possibility that both celiac disease and microscopic colitis may not actually be diseases. Instead, they may simply be symptoms of another disease, namely gluten sensitivity. If you happen to have a copy, that discussion begins on page 110. If you don't have a copy, and you would like to read about that, I'll be happy to email you a copy of those pages. I would just copy it here, but it's 5 or 6 pages long, so it's a bit too long to be posting here. Suffice to say that if you look at all the relevant evidence, the similarities between the 2 diseases essentially make them 2 peas in a pod. Let me know if you want me to email you a copy.
And as Joe mentioned, yes, I have a significant amount of residual neorological damage that can only be attributed to gluten. My symptoms were severe enough that 4 years ago, a neurologist diagnosed me with Parkinson's disease, based on my peripheral neuropathy, balance issues, gait irregularities, etc. A year later I convinced a different neurologist to undiagnose me, because all my symptoms were much improved after taking a prescription vitamin mix of the active forms of vitamins B-12, B-9, and B-6 for a year.
It's also possible for gluten sensitivity to present as neurological issues only, with no GI issues at all (as Dr. Hadjivassiliou has documented).
Tex
Gluten sensitivity as a neurological illness
When Joe mentioned that I have drawn some conclusions about these diseases, I believe that he was referring to the fact that in my book, I explore the possibility that both celiac disease and microscopic colitis may not actually be diseases. Instead, they may simply be symptoms of another disease, namely gluten sensitivity. If you happen to have a copy, that discussion begins on page 110. If you don't have a copy, and you would like to read about that, I'll be happy to email you a copy of those pages. I would just copy it here, but it's 5 or 6 pages long, so it's a bit too long to be posting here. Suffice to say that if you look at all the relevant evidence, the similarities between the 2 diseases essentially make them 2 peas in a pod. Let me know if you want me to email you a copy.
And as Joe mentioned, yes, I have a significant amount of residual neorological damage that can only be attributed to gluten. My symptoms were severe enough that 4 years ago, a neurologist diagnosed me with Parkinson's disease, based on my peripheral neuropathy, balance issues, gait irregularities, etc. A year later I convinced a different neurologist to undiagnose me, because all my symptoms were much improved after taking a prescription vitamin mix of the active forms of vitamins B-12, B-9, and B-6 for a year.
It's also possible for gluten sensitivity to present as neurological issues only, with no GI issues at all (as Dr. Hadjivassiliou has documented).
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Jean,
The product is known as Metanx. It was originally developed specifically to treat peripheral neuropathy, which is a common problem with diabetes. The neurologist was moving to another office, so he gave me all the samples of it that he had, and my PCP prescribed it after I used all the free samples.
My doc was/is taking it to boost/maintain his memory, cognizance, etc, so he recognized it as a good product. You can formulate the same mix by using several OTC products. The main point is to use the active forms of these vitamins. Most OTC products do not use the active forms, and they do not work well for some people. Here is a discussion that lists a way to duplicate Metanx with OTC products (in one of the later posts farther down the page):
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=18500
Here is a link to the product by Thorne Research mentioned by Lori on the second page of that thread. This product might be a practical alternative to Metanx, and I notice that it is priced at roughly a quarter of what Metanx costs me. It contains 50 % more B-12 and about a third more B-6, plus a couple of additional vitamins, but none of that should cause any problems.
http://www.thorne.com/products/cardiova ... ~sf789.jsp
Tex
The product is known as Metanx. It was originally developed specifically to treat peripheral neuropathy, which is a common problem with diabetes. The neurologist was moving to another office, so he gave me all the samples of it that he had, and my PCP prescribed it after I used all the free samples.
My doc was/is taking it to boost/maintain his memory, cognizance, etc, so he recognized it as a good product. You can formulate the same mix by using several OTC products. The main point is to use the active forms of these vitamins. Most OTC products do not use the active forms, and they do not work well for some people. Here is a discussion that lists a way to duplicate Metanx with OTC products (in one of the later posts farther down the page):
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=18500
Here is a link to the product by Thorne Research mentioned by Lori on the second page of that thread. This product might be a practical alternative to Metanx, and I notice that it is priced at roughly a quarter of what Metanx costs me. It contains 50 % more B-12 and about a third more B-6, plus a couple of additional vitamins, but none of that should cause any problems.
http://www.thorne.com/products/cardiova ... ~sf789.jsp
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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solisspirit
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I'll send you a PDF copy of the entire chapter (chapter 9), and a PDF copy of the bibliography (references) for that chapter. You can read them on your PC using Adobe Reader. I'll send them to the email address in your profile.
Of course, since this is a copy of only chapter 9, the page numbers will be incorrect. You will find that the discussion that I mentioned above starts on page 6 of the copy.
If they don't arrive, or you aren't able to open them, please let me know, and I'll try something else.
Tex
Of course, since this is a copy of only chapter 9, the page numbers will be incorrect. You will find that the discussion that I mentioned above starts on page 6 of the copy.
If they don't arrive, or you aren't able to open them, please let me know, and I'll try something else.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
