Gluten free diet

Please see attached link from a previous post in another topic. I’m also wondering if anyone has tried a Gluten free diet to help with health problems other than celiac disease. I have heard a few good things about it from a nurse I talked too but haven’t found much about it. I have Type 1 diabetes and a few autoimmune issues. I am trying to go Gluten-free to help reduce pain in my joints. Two days after starting I had a significant reduction of pain. I have only been doing this for about a week. So I definitely would like information from anyone who has tried it. Thanks.

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I am gluten an grain free. I went gluten free after type 1 diagnosis. Then was in hospital near dka with digestive issues and weight loss 3-4 years later. I started separating and sterilizing dishes and eliminated all grains. It helped but it is not perfect. Endo and I think I have celiac. But last test and endoscopy was neg maybe due to stopping gluten before it. Endoscopy showed chronic inflammation though.

I have had no reduction in pain/rashes and stuff like that as far as I can tell. I do feel grains/gluten and ebv played a role in me getting type 1.

I’ve been fighting a stupid inflammatory disease for a while that nobody has been able to diagnose yet. Everything for inflammation is off the charts, but every other diagnostic test comes back normal. I think we’re going to try treatng it as rheumatoid arthritis going forward, even though I’m negative for rheumatoid factors.

For the six years I’ve been fighting this, we’ve tried every diet/way of eating under the sun… Including gluten free. I’ve never noticed any benefit from any sort of restrictive diet. In fact, I seem to do much better with grains than when I was doing grain-free/paleo.

I definitely think modern people eat too much carb/gluten, in general. Unfortunately, that’s the stuff that’s shelf-stable and inexpensive. I think there are definitely benefits to be had in learning moderation and his to eat more balanced… But barring specific medical food intolerances, I really don’t buy into the restrictive fad diets. I don’t believe anything good comes with these extremes. 6

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I would eliminate one thing at a time to determine if you really have a food allergy.
Better yet you can get a blood test
Type 1 is auto immune so it’s not surprising that we have allergies.
I am allergic to iodine and therefore fish. Yes even freshwater fish.
I also developed an allergy to tree pollen which makes me miserable during March.

I know a woman with lupus and she is allergic to a ton of things and also vaccines don’t work on her.
There is a lot of similarities in autoimmune diseases.
Food allergies is just one.

That being said I tried gluten free for a month and it allowed me to lose a little weight but nothing more.
I had 2 frozen shoulders at that time.
Physical therapy was what helped.

Thanks for the information. I have been tested for Celiac and was negative. Had a few tests and endoscopy ruled it out. I have had digestive issues and really bad autoimmune inflammatory arthritis for years. For over 6 months was having bad pains in my shoulder & arm. I started trying the gluten free thing and after 2 days my pain is so much better. I’m not sure why but I’m going to see if my doctor will run inflammation tests again to see how this has affected me. But in general could tell a difference after a couple of days. I wasn’t taking any medicine or supplements when trying this too. I can’t remember what all the nurse had told me but just that going Gluten free helped her Thyroid issues and her daughters Alopecia (her hair grew back).

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My inflammatory arthritis didn’t really show anything like RA but my doctor did find the HLA-B27 gene and inflammation in blood tests. I have Seronegative Spondyloarthropathy and have arthritis in my back, hands, knees, and feet. It took a while to diagnose though.

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I’m wondering the same thing. I read something similar to that. That gluten could be causing Type 1 or other autoimmune. It sounds crazy to me. But since trying it I’m starting to believe it might be true for some. Its too late for me to try that. But I think it definitely is causing inflammation for me. I also have had a swollen Thyroid so maybe it could help with that. I’m not sure.

Yeah that’s true. I’ve been tested and don’t have any food allergies though. A few years back I also had frozen shoulder. I think that was part if the Inflammatory arthritis stuff too. So did you completely eliminate gluten? What I didn’t realize is that Gluten is in everything now a days. I had no idea it was on salad dressings, spices, sauces, meat, and so many other things besides bread.

I’ve had many friends in fibromyalgia groups who would say they feel much better minus gluten. Of course, they do not have a real celiac diagnosis and tend to either ‘cheat’ the diet or not quite know what a real Celiac diet entails. I have a mom with Celiac and I like to buy GF foods for myself and her, but I have never tested the thing out far enough to see if my arthritis etc feels better.

I live in Los Angeles. There are stores that specialize in gluten free.
You can get most things in sprouts or Whole Foods too.
You can learn what to look out for. Sauces esp soy sauce.
Anything prepackaged is suspect.
But prepackaged things that are specifically gluten free are usually good. Like gluten free pasta using rice flour or oat flour.
Make your own salad dressing.

I only did it for a month and was starting to get the hang of it. However I’m not sensitive to it so if I are some during that time I did t know it.

I do avoid fish esp shellfish. Which is much harder than you think. Many restaurants use fish base in sauces and Soups. Even roasted string beans tend to have some at Chinese restaurants.

Salad dressing too. Anchovies are in a lot of them. Not just Cesar.

Why, I can’t imagine. But I assume most everything has fish and everything else has gluten

As far as the frozen shoulder goes. Many diabetics get that. But also I have duputrens contracture which is closely related to frozen shoulder and joint pain.

So I wonder why there isn’t a lot of information on this out there. I found this today. Most things I have seen is that Gluten free diet is a fad. So I am guessing a lot of people are skeptical. Well if this keeps helping it will be kind of crazy. I have 3 autoimmune diseases so I’m hoping if nothing else it helps limit symptoms or might prevent any additional problems.

I am trying to just do mainly Whole Foods. I’ve tried a few Gluten free products though like bread, crackers, and pasta. They weren’t bad. The pasta tasted like normal types. Yeah it seems unnecessary to have fish or gluten in so many things.

My doctors thought initially my shoulder issues were from my Type 1 but it seems to be more related to my Inflammatory Arthritis. So it’s probably both.

It is also recommended for hypothyroid along with other dietary restrictions. It will not control autoimmune hashimotos, you need meds as well for that but it can help with symptoms. If you had stopped eating gluten before your endoscopy and it healed it will not show up there either.

Keep in mind you can have very similar reactions to gluten and grains without having celiac as well. I have had reactions to corn and wheat/ gluten / grains for years but was never told to stop gluten and grains. In fact grains are pushed on you by a lot of hcw.

I remember my doctor telling me to try Metamucil for my irritable bowel syndrome years ago, (which is not a real diagnosis). It gave me severe diarrhea within a few minutes, I never used it again after that.

The theory with gluten and grains and autoimmunity is they weaken the gastro lining, leaky gut etc. which results in an attack on the offending particles and eventually the body.

Whether it happens as a result of leaky gut or not I don’t know but I do believe now all those years of IBS caused by reactions to gluten and grains did play a role for me. I also had reactivation‘s of EBV virus which obviously played a role as well and is known to cause type one and other ai diseases.

I also have fybromyalgia and overall I do think I have less days where I have the worse inflammation from that on this diet.

Calling the gluten free diet a fad has become a fad itself, lol, among many people. If a diet helps you then do it and ignore what others say about it. There are tons of options now for grain and gluten free, not as many as I would like to see but it’s a lot better.

Other foods I had a strong reaction to right before type one happened when I developed severe inflammations in my body were nightshades specifically tomatoes. I had always reacted to them as well including sb. I also react to citrus and I can’t take many B Vitamins in supplements as well since then.

Thanks for all the information. Yes I was eating Gluten before when I had tests done. I had a blood test and a biopsy with my endoscopy. I also had a bunch of allergy tests that were negative. I don’t have skin issues. Most of my trouble has been with the inflammatory arthritis. I have had positive hashimotos antibody tests and a swollen thyroid but am not on medication. Yes, I’m definitely going to try to continue. My swollen joints seem to be a lot better. I’m interested to see if it helps anything more than just inflammation.

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Good glad you had all that testing. You need to medicate hashimotos or your thyroid will be destroyed. Diet will not stop it. It has a huge affect on bg too. Mine is better since thyroid meds. I hope it continues to help your joints etc. And hashis can cause the joint pain too.

The Dr I see for that said my levels are still in normal range. They only treat for abnormal levels. The antibody test and swollen glands showed I was positive for Hashimotos. Yeah it’s hard to know what could be causing what. The last time I saw my arthritis doctor the areas I was having pain were real swollen and my inflammatory blood tests were high. My thyroid tested normal at that time too. So the doctor said it’s from arthritis stuff.

I completely disagree with gluten free diet unless you have celiac disease. Myself and many other doctors and scientists agree that the problem is not the gluten but, the glycoside (roundup) that is used in wheat and other grains. As for myself, I switched from gluten-free to organic wheat and have more energy.

John

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Many do not know how to properly treat hashis and hypothyroid. The normal ranges are not a strict guideline to follow. Most people need to be below the range for tsh to feel good. Many go by how you feel, not numbers.

I hope you feel better and get the arthritis symptoms figured out soon :grinning:

Thanks for the information. The nurse that I talked to about this had seen a doctor who gave her information regarding the Gluten free diet. Apparently it has helped her autoimmune thyroid and her daughters alopecia. I haven’t actually seen this doctor yet. So I’m not sure about the all the reasons behind going Gluten free. I have just been tired of dealing with the pain from my Inflammatory arthritis.
I actually do use Organic products when available. Currently I started using organic grains other than Gluten and it’s been helping a lot. Is there a specific reason behind not doing Gluten free?