In seeing new pain patients, I became painfully aware that Celiac or at least gluten sensitivity has a definite presence- so much so that I always looked for it. Now, it looks like “anybody is fair game” now that even gluten intolerance without Celiac can potentially have their pain better off gluten for 6 months. What makes things clearer, is the finding of neuropathy in established celiac varies from 0.7% up to 23% with even more – 39% of celiac, having neuropathic symptoms. The latter might reflect how small fiber neuropathy is impossible to diagnose without biopsies – something not done where I live.
Another startling finding is that sensory Chronic Demyelinating Inflammatory Neuropathy (sensory CIDP) is increased in Celiac. Sensory CIDP is hard to diagnose because of the lack of muscle weakness early on yet is potentially treatable with IV gamma globulin, Plasmaphoresis and pulse steroids. This leaves a subgroup of people with widespread pain treatable which one study in Fibromyalgia found when subjects responded to IV gamma globulin. I find it disturbing that there could be a subgroup of widespread pain Celiac victims that have treatable disease.
Continue reading →
