Joint pain with Celiac?

[Kimy]

Do you normally have joint pain when you have celiac?  My hips and knee joints are hurting so bad, that I can't go up and down the stairs at work.   I am having the blood test done tomorrow.

Thanks,
Kim

[the sensible celiac]

Short answer; sometimes, yes.

As you probably already know, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder.

Autoimmune disorders are those in which the body mistakenly attacks its own tissues.  People who have one autoimmune disorder are at increased risk of developing other autoimmune disorders, perhaps because there is some underlying problem typically involved in autoimmune disorders.

Arthritis is another autoimmune disorder, and there are reports occasionally that some people affected by arthritis see dramatic improvement when they adopt a gluten free diet.

In my own case I certainly did have joint pain before I went GF over ten years ago.   In particular I would get terrible pain in my ankles if I stepped off a curb too quickly or jumped a short distance that would never hurt most people.   Any jarring of the bones in my legs would cause me to ache for hours or days.  I think my bones and joints were becoming soft as a result of malnutrition.

Over time my joint pain diminished and now I seldom experience joint pain, and if I do it is because of some minor injury caused by my remarkable clumsiness and lack of co-ordination.  I can run in place while exercising with no soreness at all now.  And my Wii Fit will be the first to tell you that I'm not undernourished these days, I must have gained 30 pounds since I went GF.

You may find that the GF diet relieves your joint pain, many people do.  I hope so

Steve

[Sharon]

Joint pain was my primary symptom, undiagnosed for 3+ years.  I thought I was heading toward life in a wheelchair and/or serious, extensive back surgery.  Once diagnosed with the celiac and starting the gluten free diet, which I did very strictly from the outset thanks to the help of a friend, I was able to walk relatively pain free within about 5 - 6 days and returned the wheelchair.  I have the joint pain symptoms now if I screw up on the diet, but they are pretty mild.

Sharon

[NikaStar]

I don't know if my joint pain is related to gluten, but it appears that it may be connected.

About 8 months ago, I started having bad joint pain. Six months ago, my doctor diagnosed it as bursitis, and told me to take Aleve and maybe try physical therapy. Neither helped, and the pain was getting worse and worse, until I was sometimes unable to walk.

My gut was also acting up, and the constant discomfort and inconvenience of that on top of the joint pain was driving me nuts.

Five weeks ago, I decided to research any connections between joint pain and stomach distress, and came up with gluten intolerance. I thought it couldn't hurt to try eliminating gluten from my diet, just to test what happened. After a week of eating gluten free, I had *no* joint pain whatsoever. I started walking and working out again, wearing high heels on occasion, and still -- no pain. (Stomach got better too.) Over Thanksgiving, I ended up eating some gluten-containing food, and the pain came back. It was more mild, but it still made sleeping and walking difficult. After returning to the gluten-free diet after the holiday, I am once again pain free.

It is so liberating not to be in so much pain. I'm going to continue eating gluten free for a while to see if I can stay pain-free. If after some time it seems that there really is a connection, perhaps I'll get tested (once I can afford it).

Since I'm not diagnosed, I don't know whether the joint pain really is connected to diet. But I haven't changed anything else in my life in the past month, and I've seen really dramatic results!

[the sensible celiac]

It is so liberating not to be in so much pain. I'm going to continue eating gluten free for a while to see if I can stay pain-free. If after some time it seems that there really is a connection, perhaps I'll get tested (once I can afford it).

By the way you say "once I can afford it" I gather you are an American, me too    I've been telling people "I can't afford medical care, I'm an American", but that's enough politics...

You should know that most of the tests for celiac disease are likely to give a false negative if you do have the condition but are not eating gluten.  The blood tests look for antigens that are only present as a reaction to eating gluten, and the biopsy tests look for damage to the vilii that begins healing when you go GF.

There are DNA tests that may determine if you have the genetic pattern that makes it possible to develop celiac disease but AFAIK they do not determine if you actually have developed the condition.

[NikaStar]

Yes, haha, I am an American. [/politics]

If I did decide to get tested, I know I'd have to reintroduce gluten (and from what I hear, even then there can be a chance that there would be a false negative depending on how gluten is reintroduced). I'm going to have to see how things go and if testing seems like it would be helpful.

I'm looking forward to learning more from people on the forum who have official diagnoses and those who are in a position like mine, with just suspicions.

[fcrobin]

Hello,

I'm new here and self diagnosed.  For me it all came about by accident after a doctor made a suggestion to my sister that she may have an issue with gluten.  She had severe symptoms plus a problem with immunity. Since it is so hereditary, I began to question my own problems.  Long story short, I eliminated gluten and ta-dah!  I feel so much better.  Anyway, one of the most prevalent symptoms I had was hip and knee pain but now, 3 months later, the pain is completely gone. My sister had hip, knee and shoulder pain, now gone. Our father had rheumatoid arthritis, he passed away at age 57, and I wonder now if it could have been related to Celiac.