has anyone else cured iritis by going gluten free??

[riodog]

[Hidden]

This I would like know as well, as I'm coeliac and my eldest son has iritis.

Janie

[riodog]

gluten free--went from years of severe iritis--to no iritis and no meds

[Lexy in reply to riodog]

Despite my post below, I just woke up today with a flare-up...and in my other eye! I've only ever had it in my left eye, and today it's in my right eye for the first time ever. Dreading the whole 'emergency appointment' at the eye clinic: means sitting in the waiting room for up to 4 hours before they sqeeze you in. Sigh. Guess being gf has not 'cured' it for me. By the way - what type of gluten free diet are you on? Is it the standard gluten free diet (ie still eating rice, corn, soy products, millet etc etc) or do you avoid all grains, all soy, corn etc etc?? I'm starting to think I may have to consider this. I know I don't tolerate millet (at least not Neal's Yard packages) and I'm doubtful about soy flour...even thinking pulses don't do me any favours.

[Penel in reply to Lexy]

Sorry to hear it's back again. I don't eat corn, soy, rarely eat rice, but do have some buckwheat and gram flour. Not sure if that has been a help, but I haven't had a flare up for a few years now.

Good luck with your eyes.

[Lexy in reply to Penel]

Thanks for your reply Penel. It was fortunately a 'mild' attack, the consultant could only see one of the cells in my iris (usually I have at least 5-7 cells!). I half wonder if it was 'milder' because I'm gf? Yes, I do try to avoid corn, and definitely soyproducts, it's harder with the pulses as I like to cook a lot of vegetarian meals and many of them use pulses...I have really cut back on rice (not that I used to have it a lot, but it would probably be once a week) and don't eat ricecakes or rice crispies at all. Also I cut out coffee completely, mainly drink herbal teas with the odd black/green tea bag. Onwards and upwards! Glad to hear your flareups have abated!

[Lexy]

Hi riodog. This is a question really close to my heart as I too am coeliac and have iritis. I don't really know yet if being gf is a 'cure'. I went gluten free over a year ago and then had a flare-up of my iritis about 5 months later, much to my dismay, frustration and disappointment. Since then (it's now 8 months later) nothing - and that includes a period when I was in Borneo for 3 weeks where gluten and msg was EVERYWHERE and I had a horrible skin reaction (I have Dermatitis Herpetiformis). Just about 2 weeks ago I woke with that 'uh-oh' feeling (the eye-clinic calls it 'grumbly eye') and thought 'here we go again' but it never came to anything. So unfortunately I'm not sure whether the iritis is cured... my flareups were sometimes years apart, and other times only a few months apart. I am definitely remaining gf though! Fingers crossed...

[Penel]

Hi rio dog

My iritis flare ups stopped (fingers crossed) a few years into going gf. It seems very common for coeliacs to have more than one autoimmune disease.

This question has come up before glutenfreeguerrillas.health...

The Occular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation (US) posted that they were conducting a study last summer on the association between gluten and iritis/uveitis. I can't find any results on line yet.

[Penel]

Just found this study from a few years ago. More research is needed!

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/198...

[Bluefloss10]

I am very surprised to see this never thought about it had severe iritis attacks was diagnosed a coelia ignored for a few years but now on a strict gluten free diet for last three years and have not have an iritis attack never connected the two.

[riodog in reply to Bluefloss10]

i had ank. spond. for 20 years and iritis for almost same-both gone -no ugly meds.eye spec. 100 percent with me on this and very interested. rheumatologist thinks i am nuts. iwas very crippled at one point, now i am fine!!

[Lexy in reply to riodog]

Hi riodog, would you mind specifying what kind of gluten free diet you are on? Is it standard - as in you still eat rice, corn, soy, millet, pulses etc? Or are you totally grainfree/pulsesfree etc etc? I'm very curious as I'm battling with recurring iritis despite being gluten free for over 14 months. Thanks for any info you can share!

[Tuan in reply to Lexy]

Soy does contain gluten. Ther is soy gluten free

[Penel in reply to riodog]

Hi riodog

Are you saying your rheumatologist does not know that iritis is common with ank. Spondylitis? It's about a third of patients.

medical-dictionary.thefreed...

Glad to hear that you are fine now.

My eye specialist didn't have a clue about the link with coeliac/gluten. Sometimes I despair of the medical profession - too much specialisation I think.

[riodog in reply to Penel]

rhuemy attitude is anything but heavy duty drugs is "nonsence"-he shuts down and will not listen

[riodog]

just standard-off gluten only eat lots of fruit veg. some meat and fish and small amount of grains. sun. morn. the best pancakes.!!! standard buttermilk pancakes but sub. wheat flour for "bobs red mill bean flour-real yummy. same time i got off gluten i started using infared sauna 4 times a week--iritis is depressing and painfull-hope yours goes away.

[Tuan]

I am turning to 40s living in Australia and sudently having uveitis and iritis both eyes. Symptom : hazy ,cloudy(in the morning after big meal at nite),floating dots, smear look. Bleeding ( black line appearing for couple hours normally by lunch time ), Jumping tiny lights in the centre, white dots moving in the same parth sometime the light of two ping pong ball moving around the edge of the eyes when I close my eye in the shade, reading and driving start to be difficult. Medical history: 20 years of hemoriod and constant constipated and bleeding , running nose . Recently My blood test IS positive latent TB and the treatment still going for two years with steroid methotrexate and eye drops a tone of TB medicines but the imflamation keep flare up one after the other repeatedly minimum at least one a month. The doctor took all the jelly out inside my eye (biopsy) to investigate the cause but they found nothing( no fungus, no TB, no bacterial and no Lyme desiease). The symptom subsided when I tried sweaty excercise by jumping or eating vetererian and eat less than normal but I can't go on I lost too much weight. Then I went to nature practice medicine ( NOT the chinese medicine practice) she told me try gluten free and it work like magic. three and a half weeks now no flare up vision I can feel improving each day and now I eat as much as I want to. However I told the eye doctor but as if the doctor believe me.