Hi,

I am a new member, having PN for about 7 years. I am fortunate that gabapentin agrees with me and function well on 600mg/day with only a few restless nights - mostly foot cramps.

I would like to start a thread regarding Celiac Disease. Neurological conditions listed as a result of Celiac Disease include peripheral neuropathy and MS. Celiac Disease is a malabsorption of vitamins, minerals and nutrients caused by a reaction to gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and oats.

Celiac Disease was once regarded as a rare genetic disease. Then it was found that 1 in 133 Americans have it, 95% undiagnosed. The latest research says that Celiac Disease is the largest shared genetic disease in the world and new estimates out of Columbia University now say that 1 in 100 Americans have Celiac Disease.

One of the key clues and it appears to be a common denominator I'm seeing regarding PN is a low vitamin D level. This can be an idicator of Celiac Disease.

If you have good medical, please ask your doctor to run the blood work for this. You must have the correct genes. You may develop this disease at any time of your life if you have them, but you may have the genes and never develop the disease itself.

If you are an active Celiac, the only cure is to not eat anything with gluten for the rest of your life. PLEASE don't overreact, only 1 in 100 have it, but if you do have PN, low vit D and B's it could be an indicator.

Having developed PN while gluten free leads me to wonder if my PN could have been avoided by an earlier diagnosis (I believe my Celiac Disease was triggered by a hysterctomy at age 38, but did not go gluten free until 7 years later), or if my PN is not as severe as I was GF (gluten free) for several years prior to developing PN.

Comments?