PN and Wheat Connection
 

In the book, "Wheat Belly," by William Davis, M.D., a cardiologist from Milwaukee, Dr. Davis talks about p.n. and its connection to ataxia. He devotes an entire sub-paragraph to the subject and ends by stating that the p.n. will not improve until you give up the wheat and gluten. He talks mostly about diabetics.

I'm not a diabetic but have stopped eating wheat to see if it helps. That's not easy to do as wheat is in everything these days. He has studied wheat from its beginning, and noted how it has changed over the years and recently in our attempt to grow a product quickly that will feed the world.

And, of course--
 

--celiac/gluten sensitivity IS a documented cause of neuropathy, and can happen either primarily through direct cross-reactivity of nerves to gluten peptides and/or as a result of the kinds of nutritional deficiencies that people with malabsorption are prone to.

The Gluten File (https://sites.google.com/site/jccglu...eralneuropathy) is full of information and links on this--and googling the names Russell Chin, Norman Latov, Peter Green, Hadijvassiliou, etc. will also bring up a lot of information and papers regarding this.

Glen, thanks for all these references. I've been busy reading and reading. I was just a new member of the old Brain Talk forum when J.C. was discovering that her daughter had celiac disease, and I even had a doctor test me for that. He said the results were negative. However, I have had so many of the symptoms listed in your references, including a mysterious arm disease (break-out) when I was a teen-ager, I'm beginning to think I've been a celiac for years.

I've had digestive problems since at least 1975 with many, many lab studies and the result always IBD; hypo-thyroid since the early '70's, then in later years, osteoporosis. Now that I'm a senior citizen, I'm wondering how many of these things I've passed on to my children and grandchildren.

My parents are both deceased, so I can't ask questions, but I remember my dad who lived to be 93, complained about his feet always being cold in his later years--p.n.? My mother was also hypo-thyroid--p.n.?

As Mrs D. always says, you have to be a detective--I wasn't a very good one, but a picture is finally starting to develop now.

I have that book. I have not eaten gluten for about three years. That and carbs are important to watch.

My favorite book it 'Minding my Mitochondria.'

How has that helped, and to what degree? Thanks.

Keeping carbs to the healthful kind and simple carbs to a minimum has helped me heal. Important to do for nerves and whole body. Blood sugar needs to be kept level without spikes and lows.

That and the supplements, infrared dome etc. are all important.

Is being gluten intolerant or celiac start from childhood/younger years (but not manifest symptoms until later in life) OR can they develop even during adulthood?

I believe it can be acquired. I read a paper from 1999 once suggesting use of NSAIDs could contribute to acquired gluten intolerance. But this is still just a theory.

Cox-2 cytokines work in the GI tract to block absorption of undesirable substances ...and when suppressed by NSAIDs this can lead to "leaky gut" .

Mrs.D,
Thank you so much for your quick reply.

I threw the question because this gluten intolerance/celiac is still hanging over my shoulder. Although, my panel is negative but i become paranoid in looking for a reason for some of my symptoms. I was a pleasant and cheery person but now my mood swings. I think i have anxieties, brain fogginess. But then all these can be caused by a chronic illness. So, I am not sure where these mood swings and anxieties are coming from.

I tried a couple of times to go on gluten free but i tend to cheat because of lack of a black and white diagnosis. I know this is not a right attitude but with my losing weight, elevation of sugar, GI problem, lung issue, I could not focus on one thing.

Idiopathic-you sound like me a little. I have tried, but never commit, because I don't have a diagnosis yet for my PN.
Also, had the blood test done for Celiac and it was negative, but some will argue that the only true way to test is from a biopsy of the tissue itself. We just can't trust these blood tests in general, can we! Everyone you ask has a different answer !! B12 in particular has many variables, like the ranges considered normal, and intrinsic factor,

Anyway, I think for anyone with idiopathic p.n, it is always worth a shot to cut out gluten for as long as possible, then re introduce and note any symptoms.

Another thing I wanted to ask is if you have ever considered candida ? This is yeast overgrowth. A quick Google search will explain , if you're not familiar. The possible symptoms go on and on. You mentioned brain fog, mood swings and anxiety. I remember these in particular from working at a health food store for years.

Food for thought :-)

lined_in_silver,
Thank you for your post.
Candida may always be a possibility. I was reading a long list of the symptoms and I have some of them, e.g. brain fogginess, memory problems, bloating, etc. I dont have though the skin problems like mouth thrushes, rashes, etc. Its confusing because most of the symptoms can also be the symptoms of other diseases.

I am not sure if the testing for bacteria overgrowth (stool and blowing - I could not remember now the name of the test where you ingest sugar and you blow) is same for Candida. I had the test I mentioned but its negative. Does this rule me out?

i had a biopsy of the small intestine and celiac was ruled out.

I have recently personally learned that there may be many shades of grey between "no problem" and "celiac".

I had stopped eating wheat, not because of suspecting gluten intolerance, but because I wanted to hold back on fast carbohydrates.

After 4 months I tried eating some bread sporadically (as I'm nearing my ideal weight), and on another day some whole wheat pasta. I was amazed at how difficult it seems for my body to process the wheat. Immediately I felt slightly bloated after eating one piece of bread, and in both cases I felt hungry again after 3 hours, where I got used to not getting hungry at all for up to 8 hours after a meal.

My wife - who first reluctantly followed my diet, but is now over the moon with it - had exactly the same reaction.

I'm not talking about a severe reaction: just slightly uncomfortable, a feeling of having eaten too much (we hadn't). That feeling lingered for quite a long time.

It may be anecdotal, and I suppose it's still speculation, but it just might be that our bodies aren't really made to eat wheat (especially refined forms). I was really surprised, as I always loved whole wheat bread (fresh from the bakery here), and considered it healthy. At this point I don't think I will introduce it into my diet again, as I want to avoid eating anything that upsets my digestion and/or my PN.

Your description of the way you and your wife felt after eating wheat again pretty much sums up my experience too. I know I feel better not eating it. Also several articles have been written about gluten free helping people who are hypothyroid too--which is my case.