Back Pain

 

I used to suffer from a lot of back and other joint pains. At 55, I was diagnosed as a coeliac and went on a gluten-free diet. Most of the pains went. This is not uncommon according to some local specialists.

Scarlet Fever?

 

I was talking with friends today and I happened to mention that at the age of about seven or so, I had scarlet fever. The curiosity was that my doctor couldn’t find another case of the disease anywhere in London, one Egerton White, at the time and I certainly didn’t give it to anyone. I can remember not feeling that unwell and I was isolated in my bedroom for about six weeks. Over the years my mother became convinced that I hadn’t had the disease, but do you think it was some weird coeliac symptom making its presence felt.

Unfortunately, my medical records for that time are lost. I should say that at times, I do get very warm and at others my body refuses to warm up when I’m playing tennis, when it’s cold. I also find that I react fairly strongly to caffeine and restrict my intake.

Cholesterol

 

My cholesterol has been diagnosed as a bit high, but I don’t think I eat too much that is supposed to be high in cholesterol. I eat a lot of meat, fish and two veg, not much bread, fruit, not too much cake or biscuits etc.

Does any other coeliac suffer?

The Coeliac Scam

 

Someone pointed this blog entry out on the Internet.

There are two things in the original article that are wrong; most coeliacs don't get free prescriptions and nearly all of the GF stuff you can get on prescription is not worth eating.

I don't think I'd want to be his patient.

Bad Back Britain

 

Going to a physiotherapist directly may be a good idea, but I’d like to add a word of caution.

Until I was fifty-three I suffered from all sorts of joint and back pain. Nothing serious, but annoying. I was then diagnosed as a coeliac and all of those pains disappeared in a couple of weeks after going on a strict gluten-free diet. Seven years on I’m fit and well with no pain.

Statistics show that one in a hundred of those in the UK are coeliacs. So is that back pain caused by the injury or diet?

Coeliac Symptoms

 

I have a list of 31 symptoms that people have suffered from.

Abdominal Distension in Children - *
Amenorrhea – Absence of menstrual periods in a woman
Bone and Joint Pain, and Arthritis - *
Constipation - *
Dandruff - *
Depression – Generally mild, but not always - *
Dermatitis Herpetiformis – A serious skin disorder
Dry Skin - *
Failure to Thrive in Children - *
Feelings of Inadequacy - *
Gait Ataxia/Apraxia
Gallstones - *
Gum Disease - *
Gut Problems – Abdominal pain, bloat, diarrhoea and wind - *
Heartburn
Inability to Lose and Gain Weight - *
Infertility and Recurrent Miscarriage
Itchy Scalp - *
Lactose Intolerance - *
Lightheadness and Fainting - *
Low B12 and Folate Levels – Leading to anaemia - *
Migraine or Persistent Headaches - *
Mood Swings - *
Mouth Ulcers
Muscle Weakness
Osteoporosis
Sinus Problems - *
Sleep Disturbance
Small Stature - *
Thyroid Problems
Tinnitus

The ones with asterisks I used to suffer from to a certain extent. Mostly gone now.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

 

I moderate a list for coeliacs in the UK. We have had people on the list who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for many years and in later life they have been diagnosed as coeliacs. Guess what? The arthritis has gone or seriously diminished. I, myself, I used to suffer from joint pains, but since diagnosis in 2003 they have gone.

In this area, there is an arthritis specialist, who now checks all his patients for coeliac disease.

Gluten Sensitivity: a Many Headed Hydra

 

This article appeared in the BMJ.

It's a good article.

My worst symptom was chronic dandruff, but my hairdresser didn’t realise there was a link until it suddenly went when I went Gluten free. It disappeared in perhaps four or five weeks.

He now looks at all his clients differently.

Gluten Sensitivity: a Many Headed Hydra

 

This article appeared in the BMJ.

It's a good article.

My worst symptom was chronic dandruff, but my hairdresser didn’t realise there was a link until it suddenly went when I went Gluten free. It disappeared in perhaps four or five weeks.

He now looks at all his clients differently.

Nail Biting

 

This news story is about a cure for nail biting.

Funny, but I stopped biting mine after over 50 years, when I went on a gluten-free diet.

B12 Effects

 

I had my B12 injection yesterday and this morning I played real tennis for two hours. I played a lot better than normal and won both matches I played easily. Note that as real tennis is all on handicap, on average I should have lost one and won one.

Has anybody else noted improvements in health and fitness just after an injection or is it just coincidence?

Jean Van de Velde

 

He is reputed to have gastric problems and joint pains.

Coeliac?

Another Possible Cause of Coeliac Disease

 

Scientists at Queen Mary College in London, led by Professor van Heel, have discovered that if you have bad genes that control inflammation, then you are more likely to get coeliac disease.

Sounds interesting.

Coeliac Ignorance

 

We had a bad day yesterday in that my wife, Celia, went to hospital with a bad pain in her shoulder. It was so severe that she had to miss Court for the first time through illness in all her thirty or so years at the Bar.

Anyway they found her irregular heartbeat, which was described as a medical curiosity by a cardiac consultant in Liverpool, when she had our first childe nearly forty years ago. We spent the whole day in the hospital, whilst they did tests and in the end proved that she is fit and well. But they didn’t do anything for the shoulder.

The point is that the doctor, who saw Celia was on crutches and had serious arthritis. She asked if Celia was on a diet and she said because I was a coeliac, she was on a virtually gluten-free one. I then said have you tried that for your condition. She had no idea that it might help and when I told her that a consultant at Bury St. Edmunds recommended it to his patients, she was very surprised.

How much training do doctors have in the interrelationships between diseases?

Cramp

 

I had a bad attack of cramp over the weekend. I've always suffered and is this a symptom of coeliac disease?

On the other hand, my wife who never suffers from it, had cramp today in her feet. Her fitness instructor said it was the hot weather and she wasn't eating enough salt to replace what she looses through exercise.

Any ideas?

Aspergers, Autism and Diet

 

Discussion on the radio this morning is about a boy of 10, who suffers from Aspergers and has been given an ASBO for a whole string of problems.

I am a coeliac, which means I'm allergic to the gluten found in wheat, barley and rye.

It may seem strange, but there has been a lot of work done, which shows that a gluten-free diet can help disruptive children.

So don't overlook diet in the solving of the problems of disruptive children and adults.

Coeliac Disease and Back Pain

 

I'm having building work done at the moment and I was talking to their project manager and he was telling me about his wife's severe back pain, which was brought on by childbirth about twenty years ago. About a year ago, she got a new consultant, who suggested that she go on a gluten-free diet and see if things improved.

They have got a lot better.

Interesting that the orthopaedic consultant should recommend such as action.

Nailbiting

 

I bit my nails for over fifty years. Then I was diagnosed as a coeliac. I have now stopped, since I've been on a gluten free diet.

Boots and Medicines

 

I've been trying to get rid of a cough/cold for the last week or so.

Yesterday, I went into Boots in Newmarket and asked if they had a list of GF cough mixtures. They didn't. I also asked a pharmacist friend and she didn't know of a list.

So a nasty letter is going off to Boots today.

Breathlessness and the Sun

 

Before I went on holiday, I was getting increasingly breathless, if I did some exercise. After a week in the sun, that has all gone.

I don't think that's a coeliac thing, but I suppose it's linked to something like vitamin D.