Greetings to all:
3 weeks ago I had to go to the ER because of severe sudden onset vertigo and vomiting. After 3 days of testing, no diagnosis was given; however, last week I was told by a renown ear clinic that I had a virus which essentially killed all the function in one ear. Diagnosis: vestibular neuritis. I'm still pretty dizzy but getting vestibular rehabilitation/physical therapy to train the other ear to compensate. I've made pretty good progress and even felt comfortable driving today. OK so here's the weird part: if I get some gluten via cross contamination, I seem to feel dizzier. Does that make sense to anyone? I'm extremely gluten sensitive and can't even eat in restaurants without getting some gluten symptoms. Tonight I made a blackberry crumble with gluten free oats in the topping for my daughter. Yes, I react to GF oats but not strongly in the past so I had a little taste test and now I'm dizzier. Does anyone have some thoughts on this? I do think I've read here where gluten makes some people dizzy but I've never had that happen before this. Thanks so much!!! Darby
Dizzier with gluten??
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Hi Darby,
Gluten can cause just about any possible symptom in a sensitive person, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if it didn't cause your dizziness. I recall one member here, Jean, who found that her hearing actually improved after she went gluten-free. She was surprised because she wasn't expecting it. She was also extremely sensitive to gluten, like you. She told us a story about becoming "glutened" after licking the skin of her partner who had used a soap containing gluten. Geesh! Is nothing sacred??? Not where gluten is concerned, I guess. LOL!
Love,
Polly
Gluten can cause just about any possible symptom in a sensitive person, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if it didn't cause your dizziness. I recall one member here, Jean, who found that her hearing actually improved after she went gluten-free. She was surprised because she wasn't expecting it. She was also extremely sensitive to gluten, like you. She told us a story about becoming "glutened" after licking the skin of her partner who had used a soap containing gluten. Geesh! Is nothing sacred??? Not where gluten is concerned, I guess. LOL!
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Gluten can cross the blood/brain barrier, to cause many types of neurological symptoms, so there is a good chance that avenin, (the prolamin protein in oats, that is the equivalent of gluten in wheat), can also cross the blood/brain barrier.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19845007
As mentioned in that article, over the years, I have developed significant sensory loss, reduced ankle reflexes, and balance and gait disturbances, presumably because of gluten. The good news is that last August, I started taking a prescription combination of megadoses of vitamins B-12, B-9, and B-6, (a product known as Metanx, which was developed for diabetics who develop peripheral neuropathy), and all of those symptoms are now much improved. My symptoms were so bad that a neurologist misdiagnosed me with Parkinson's disease, but since my symptoms have significantly diminished with the use of those vitamins, it's obvious that I do not have Parkinson's, after all. Gluten-sensitivity was/is the cause of all my neurological issues.
Tex
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19845007
As mentioned in that article, over the years, I have developed significant sensory loss, reduced ankle reflexes, and balance and gait disturbances, presumably because of gluten. The good news is that last August, I started taking a prescription combination of megadoses of vitamins B-12, B-9, and B-6, (a product known as Metanx, which was developed for diabetics who develop peripheral neuropathy), and all of those symptoms are now much improved. My symptoms were so bad that a neurologist misdiagnosed me with Parkinson's disease, but since my symptoms have significantly diminished with the use of those vitamins, it's obvious that I do not have Parkinson's, after all. Gluten-sensitivity was/is the cause of all my neurological issues.
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.
Gluten seems to be a huge enemy in many factors. Which may turn out to be a concern with this situation as well.
However, I came down with a virus approx. 16 years ago that caused such vertigo that I was bed ridden for over 2 weeks and was not able to hold down anything!!!!!!I lost 38 pounds that month. That virus has now caused long term hearing lose. I was told 6 months later that I had Menier's (SP?) I still suffer occasional vertigo but have a permanant hearing loss in my right ear. Gluten may very well be a demon in your particular situation but virus's can also be very harmful. My doctors failed to put me on an antibiotic with which I've learned would have lessoned my long term suffering. Be thorough and investigate as much as you can NOW to be sure you are following up accurately. I hope it all turns out best. Please keep us informed.
However, I came down with a virus approx. 16 years ago that caused such vertigo that I was bed ridden for over 2 weeks and was not able to hold down anything!!!!!!I lost 38 pounds that month. That virus has now caused long term hearing lose. I was told 6 months later that I had Menier's (SP?) I still suffer occasional vertigo but have a permanant hearing loss in my right ear. Gluten may very well be a demon in your particular situation but virus's can also be very harmful. My doctors failed to put me on an antibiotic with which I've learned would have lessoned my long term suffering. Be thorough and investigate as much as you can NOW to be sure you are following up accurately. I hope it all turns out best. Please keep us informed.
-Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain-
Kim
Kim
Hi Darby
Here is my (rather long!) history of vertigo...
1997: one day I woke up with high fever, nausea and delirium. I though it was food poisoning. So I just rested and took a lot of fluids and simple food. After about two weeks (with no medication) I was back to normal, but with one problem: I had a bit of vertigo (not the fear of heights, but a sense of falling and lack of balance). So I saw a doctor and the blood test showed I had had Typhoid.
The balance problem would not go away. I also had an increase in night sweats (which I had had intermittently for over 20 years) plus a new problem of dry mouth, occasional ringing in the ears and feelings of tiredness and unease. Also, after a fall on my behind in a game football I developed an internal abscess near my rectum, which was treated with antibiotics 3 times over about two months before being conquered. Initially the antibiotics were oral and where not enough to knock it out. But the last treatment was a strong antibiotic cocktail administered intravenously over about three sessions. It worked and this avoided a hit or miss surgical procedure. (No fistula had developed).
Although the abbess got sorted the other problems (balance etc.) did not easily resolve. After many test for diabetes, cancer markers, MRI scans etc. nothing wrong could be found. However, I gradually recovered and by 2000 was feeling that I had finally conquered what I imagined was the residue from my Typhoid……
However, in the summer 2000 I remember playing golf and saying to myself that finally I was fully back to health. That very day I had D, but thought nothing of it – thought I must have just eaten something bad. The next day I flew to meet friends on holiday. On the flight I had a 60 second full-on vertigo attack (very. very scary). I went on to my destination, but for the next week I had balance issues, night sweats and extreme thirst. A week later I was in hospital with another vertigo attack, including nausea, and anti-histamine drips. I was there for a week. I was eventually diagnoses was Labyrinthitis. It took about 3 years to get my balance back to something approaching normal.
8 years later the chronic D started and I got Dx MC. After going GF the residual balance issues (that had not again developed into a full vertigo attack) have seemed to be further improved.
So, is there a connection between the typhoid, the inner ear virus, the abscess on my behind, the MC and the Gluten and other food intolerance? I wish I knew, but I suspect there is.
I hope something in my history sheds light on things.
I feel for you, a full-on vertigo attack is terrifying. All best, Ant
Here is my (rather long!) history of vertigo...
1997: one day I woke up with high fever, nausea and delirium. I though it was food poisoning. So I just rested and took a lot of fluids and simple food. After about two weeks (with no medication) I was back to normal, but with one problem: I had a bit of vertigo (not the fear of heights, but a sense of falling and lack of balance). So I saw a doctor and the blood test showed I had had Typhoid.
The balance problem would not go away. I also had an increase in night sweats (which I had had intermittently for over 20 years) plus a new problem of dry mouth, occasional ringing in the ears and feelings of tiredness and unease. Also, after a fall on my behind in a game football I developed an internal abscess near my rectum, which was treated with antibiotics 3 times over about two months before being conquered. Initially the antibiotics were oral and where not enough to knock it out. But the last treatment was a strong antibiotic cocktail administered intravenously over about three sessions. It worked and this avoided a hit or miss surgical procedure. (No fistula had developed).
Although the abbess got sorted the other problems (balance etc.) did not easily resolve. After many test for diabetes, cancer markers, MRI scans etc. nothing wrong could be found. However, I gradually recovered and by 2000 was feeling that I had finally conquered what I imagined was the residue from my Typhoid……
However, in the summer 2000 I remember playing golf and saying to myself that finally I was fully back to health. That very day I had D, but thought nothing of it – thought I must have just eaten something bad. The next day I flew to meet friends on holiday. On the flight I had a 60 second full-on vertigo attack (very. very scary). I went on to my destination, but for the next week I had balance issues, night sweats and extreme thirst. A week later I was in hospital with another vertigo attack, including nausea, and anti-histamine drips. I was there for a week. I was eventually diagnoses was Labyrinthitis. It took about 3 years to get my balance back to something approaching normal.
8 years later the chronic D started and I got Dx MC. After going GF the residual balance issues (that had not again developed into a full vertigo attack) have seemed to be further improved.
So, is there a connection between the typhoid, the inner ear virus, the abscess on my behind, the MC and the Gluten and other food intolerance? I wish I knew, but I suspect there is.
I hope something in my history sheds light on things.
I feel for you, a full-on vertigo attack is terrifying. All best, Ant
Thanks to Polly, Tex, Kim and Ant for responding and sharing their experiences! Tex, I've seen you mention gluten crossing the blood/brain barrier before--do you mean gluten or the inflammatory agents like cytokines produced by the body's reaction to gluten? Thank you for sharing the very interesting article. Ant and Kim, thank you for sharing your vertigo experiences. My mother had Meniere's disease so I'm somewhat familiar with that and was afraid that's what I have. It's interesting how things happen to us that seem to be related yet medical science hasn't progressed far enough for us to fully understand the relationship.
This group might get a chuckle out of this: I told the paramedics that I had a suspected case of collagenous colitis. Later when I perused my hospital records, I found the condition called various things including "falagenous colitis" and then one person wrote it correctly but said "which is the same as IBS." The dietician told me that I could have Rice Krispies for breakfast. When I told her they weren't GF, she replied "well they're rice" and went out and wrote in my chart that I refused to eat anything except my own brand of food (I had rice cakes which a neighbor had brought me).
This group might get a chuckle out of this: I told the paramedics that I had a suspected case of collagenous colitis. Later when I perused my hospital records, I found the condition called various things including "falagenous colitis" and then one person wrote it correctly but said "which is the same as IBS." The dietician told me that I could have Rice Krispies for breakfast. When I told her they weren't GF, she replied "well they're rice" and went out and wrote in my chart that I refused to eat anything except my own brand of food (I had rice cakes which a neighbor had brought me).
Good question - I wish I knew the answer, but I'm not at all sure that anyone knows the answer to that question. While it seems counterintuitive, I suspect that peptides of the various gliadins, and certain glutenins that we react to, may actually cross the blood/brain barrier. That WAEG is based on the fact that gluten-related neurological issues often present long before, and/or in the total absence of gastrointestinal involvement. That suggests that the reactions may be taking place in the brain, itself, or at least somewhere in the CNS.Darby wrote:do you mean gluten or the inflammatory agents like cytokines produced by the body's reaction to gluten?
This area of research is sorely lacking, but the most comprehensive data available come from a British researcher, Dr. M Hadjivassiliou.
Gluten sensitivity is best defined as a state of heightened immunological responsiveness in genetically susceptible people.15 This definition does not imply bowel involvement. That gluten sensitivity is regarded as principally a disease of the small bowel is a historical misconception.28 Gluten sensitivity can be primarily and at times exclusively a neurological disease.29
The red emphasis is mine, of course. CSF refers to the cerebrospinal fluid, (I assume).Intestinal mucosal damage in coeliac disease is the result of both humoral and T cell mediated inflammation. Such inflammation is not, however, confined to the gut, as activated HLA restricted gliadin specific T cells25 and antigliadin antibodies are found systemically. Antigliadin antibodies are also found in the CSF.26
You have to register to read this article, (if you are not already a member of the BMJ), but registration is free:
http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/72/5/560.full
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18825674Whereas the development of anti-transglutaminase 2 IgA is linked with gastrointestinal disease, an anti-transglutaminase 6 IgG and IgA response is prevalent in gluten ataxia, independent of intestinal involvement.
Again, the red emphasis is mine.
Tex
P. S. Regarding the ignorance surrounding this disease in the medical community, one hates to laugh at them, when they are trying to maintain professional dignity, but many of their antics, are truly ludicrous. When it comes to MC, mainstream medical knowledge truly sucks, doesn't it.
Thanks for the chuckles.