Coeliac

[Mammagee]

I have had fibro for about ten years and have now had three blood tests confirm coeliac disease, I go in for endoscopy on Monday, has any other sufferers got coeliac, thank you.

[bertie121]

hi there. my dietician suggested I follow a gluten free diet as she had seen it help in some people with fibromyalgia and she also felt I had coeliac disease as among other things I had telltale rashes and frequent stomach pain etc.

I followed a gluten free diet as suggested and for a week I felt 'really good' for the first time I could remember. but after the first week the fibro symptoms were back. however I stopped getting all the stomach problems which was brilliant. the dietician was convinced of coeliac disease so I had to eat gluten again for a week prior to having a blood test but it came back negative. the dietician believed that if I was to go back to having gluten for a longer period I would certainly get a positive result. but I was not prepared to have all those additional symptoms again on top of fibromyalgia.

therefore I would just say that if anyone truly believes they could have coeliac disease and wants a diagnosis then get tested before stopping gluten in your diet. but if you just want to see if stopping gluten helps relieve any symptoms then just start a gluten free diet. obviously I'm no dr though so be guided by your gp or dietician.

many people say it must be so hard to eat a gluten free diet. I say no not really as when living with fibro you r always looking for answers as to what might help. ok it's only one symptom 'helped' but hey that's still one symptom not to have to cope with. (sorry for the essay)

[Mammagee in reply to bertie121]

oh please dont apologise, I had read too that gluten free helps fms, and they did say to me, dont go on any kind of gluten free diet, until all the test have been done, have had three different kinds of blood test come back positive and an extremely low iron deficiency!!!! if its not one thing its another.......

[LindseyMid]

Coeliac is one of the many things that should really be ruled before getting a Fibro diagnosis or an IBS diagnosis, but this isn't always done properly.

There is a community for people with Coeliac or Gluten Intolerance on HealthUnlocked so you might want to look that up as well.

[Mammagee]

thanks very much I have been checked twice for FMS, had it for the last ten years, the coeliac symptoms are quite new, I didn't even associate it with different foods, I will go and have a look at the community.

[lillylouise]

I was diagnosed coeliac 4 years ago. I started showing fibro signs last summer and was diagnosed last Christmas, until then I had never heard of it. Maybe its just a coincidence I have both?

[LindseyMid in reply to lillylouise]

Possibly not. Having an autoimmune condition increases your risk of developing Fibro.