Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
about untreated gluten sensitivity.
http://www.livingwithout.com/issues/1_1 ... 2&t=B_TL_P
A scary article
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Thank you, Deb, that is very interesting and I'm so glad you found this and posted it. I'm sending this link to lots of people in my family, explains a lot, in my own experience and in theirs.
Early in the article it mentioned that he had gone through chelation therapy for heavy metals, I used to be a stained glass artist and also had heat stripped my house, which had lead paint, after which I developed constant body pain. When I finally found an ND who had me have my hair tested, I was in the 97th percentile for lead poisoning. Going through chelation resolved so many of my problems, but it was still years before I made a connection to the issues I had that were gluten related. My generation is thought to be the most toxic with heavy metals, yet few people are ever tested.
I had many sessions of IV Chelation sitting in a room with others like myself and we became friends. One of my favorite stories, and I think I've told this here before, is of a woman, an artist, who one day woke up and couldn't speak. All the tests showed nothing wrong. She had a mouth full of mercury containing fillings. A friend suggested that this might be her problem and it was. She had to have all the teeth with fillings removed, as her mercury levels were so high that her doctor felt the risk of her ingesting any more might kill her. Lead removal is simple, mercury is more complicated. Lead goes to your hair, nails and bones, mercury goes to your brain. During chelation it tends to gather slowly in clumps until the chelation causes it to very dramatically dump all at once. After 15 treatments, she woke up one morning and knew it was gone and her voice had returned. True story.
My ND at the time explained it to me in a metaphor I've never forgotten. She said, Imagine that your body has a vessel in it where all the toxins go. Now imagine what happens when that vessel is full and the toxins begin to overflow and circulate in your body. That is how auto-immune diseases begin.
Early in the article it mentioned that he had gone through chelation therapy for heavy metals, I used to be a stained glass artist and also had heat stripped my house, which had lead paint, after which I developed constant body pain. When I finally found an ND who had me have my hair tested, I was in the 97th percentile for lead poisoning. Going through chelation resolved so many of my problems, but it was still years before I made a connection to the issues I had that were gluten related. My generation is thought to be the most toxic with heavy metals, yet few people are ever tested.
I had many sessions of IV Chelation sitting in a room with others like myself and we became friends. One of my favorite stories, and I think I've told this here before, is of a woman, an artist, who one day woke up and couldn't speak. All the tests showed nothing wrong. She had a mouth full of mercury containing fillings. A friend suggested that this might be her problem and it was. She had to have all the teeth with fillings removed, as her mercury levels were so high that her doctor felt the risk of her ingesting any more might kill her. Lead removal is simple, mercury is more complicated. Lead goes to your hair, nails and bones, mercury goes to your brain. During chelation it tends to gather slowly in clumps until the chelation causes it to very dramatically dump all at once. After 15 treatments, she woke up one morning and knew it was gone and her voice had returned. True story.
My ND at the time explained it to me in a metaphor I've never forgotten. She said, Imagine that your body has a vessel in it where all the toxins go. Now imagine what happens when that vessel is full and the toxins begin to overflow and circulate in your body. That is how auto-immune diseases begin.
Resolved MC symptoms successfully w/L-Glutamine, Probiotics and Vitamins, GF since 8/'09. DX w/MC 10/'09.
Hi, Thank you Deb. The healer I see for my hair tests told me about one of her clients with his permission. He went to her on a referral from a friend. He was in extreme pain and had seen many doctors and they were going to do an implant to stop the brain pain centers. She tested his hair and the lead levels were extremely high. He started taking the trace minerals and a chelation pill to help remove the lead, within two weeks the pain was gone. Jon
Jon,
We aren't really "acquainted" here, so I don't know what your experiences are that led you to have hair testing done, which I also had done many years ago, so I'm curious as to what your heavy metal exposures were. I wasn't aware that there was a chelation pill. I still, sporadically take a half tsp of Beyond Clean from Longevity Plus, w/water, and should probably take it all the time, considering my history. Took me considerably longer and IV treatments before my pain sensations stopped. Did your healer do the hair testing herself, or did she send it to Great Smoky Labs?
We aren't really "acquainted" here, so I don't know what your experiences are that led you to have hair testing done, which I also had done many years ago, so I'm curious as to what your heavy metal exposures were. I wasn't aware that there was a chelation pill. I still, sporadically take a half tsp of Beyond Clean from Longevity Plus, w/water, and should probably take it all the time, considering my history. Took me considerably longer and IV treatments before my pain sensations stopped. Did your healer do the hair testing herself, or did she send it to Great Smoky Labs?
Resolved MC symptoms successfully w/L-Glutamine, Probiotics and Vitamins, GF since 8/'09. DX w/MC 10/'09.
I did a hair test a number of years ago (sent to a lab). I was extremely stressed and anxious at the time. I had very high copper levels. I think it was due to my adrenals being in "high gear" for a long time. I literally felt like I could pop out of my skin and felt like that for weeks. Scary! I went on a regimen of supplements but didn't retest. Deb
Hi Deb,
I'm slow to respond to this thread as I've been very busy at work. This guy's story could be my Uncle Howard's story. Mom has celiac and her brother Howard had the same down hill memory drop, in his 50's, particularly in slowed speech and gait issues as referenced in the article. My Uncle also lived in Rochester and was not diagnosed with gluten issues. I think there was talk of possibly strokes or something. Given the family history of gluten issues, Mom--celiac, the third sibling schizophenia and on a GF diet for decades in lieu of psych drugs I'm thinking Howard's issues were maybe gluten in origin.
Since I started having memory issues in my 40's, ick, your article and the Jennifer Esposito article have really motivated to eat as paleo/low grain as I can.
Question for Tex----There seems to be very little discussion on the internet about gluten and memory/brain issues and alzheimers. My guess is particularly in the 5% diagnosed with early dementia or early alzheimers (under age 65) is that some of these cases are due to gluten damage that is never diagnosed. If a 50 year old man had memory issues it is considered "aging". If a 50 year woman has memory issues it is considered periomenopausal and estrogen related. I had memory issues throughout my 40's that seemed to have stopped since I went GF. I had zero IBS issues b/f my MC issues, i.e. no history of bowel issues so really it is kind of a blessing that I was diagnosed with MC as I've been able to stop my brain decline. Without MC I guess I'd be another person with ongoing brain decline. So Tex...I don't really have a question but was kind of curious about your thoughts on whether some of the alzheimers/dementia cases, particularly the young ones are not simply gluten damage to the brain?
Regards, Brandy
I'm slow to respond to this thread as I've been very busy at work. This guy's story could be my Uncle Howard's story. Mom has celiac and her brother Howard had the same down hill memory drop, in his 50's, particularly in slowed speech and gait issues as referenced in the article. My Uncle also lived in Rochester and was not diagnosed with gluten issues. I think there was talk of possibly strokes or something. Given the family history of gluten issues, Mom--celiac, the third sibling schizophenia and on a GF diet for decades in lieu of psych drugs I'm thinking Howard's issues were maybe gluten in origin.
Since I started having memory issues in my 40's, ick, your article and the Jennifer Esposito article have really motivated to eat as paleo/low grain as I can.
Question for Tex----There seems to be very little discussion on the internet about gluten and memory/brain issues and alzheimers. My guess is particularly in the 5% diagnosed with early dementia or early alzheimers (under age 65) is that some of these cases are due to gluten damage that is never diagnosed. If a 50 year old man had memory issues it is considered "aging". If a 50 year woman has memory issues it is considered periomenopausal and estrogen related. I had memory issues throughout my 40's that seemed to have stopped since I went GF. I had zero IBS issues b/f my MC issues, i.e. no history of bowel issues so really it is kind of a blessing that I was diagnosed with MC as I've been able to stop my brain decline. Without MC I guess I'd be another person with ongoing brain decline. So Tex...I don't really have a question but was kind of curious about your thoughts on whether some of the alzheimers/dementia cases, particularly the young ones are not simply gluten damage to the brain?
Regards, Brandy
Hi Brandy,
Here's my 2 cents worth, (FWIW):
I believe the reason why you don't see that connection discussed on the internet is because while the early stages of memory and cognizance loss may be similar between Alzheimer's and gluten damage (IOW the clinical symptoms may be similar), the laboratory markers are dissimilar. Gluten damage is seen as a shrinking cortex and increased white matter deposits. (I'm not sure what the exact mechanism is, though.)
Alzheimer's, on the other hand, appears to me to be caused by changes in the cerebrospinal fluid that result in deterioration (dessication) of the protective nerve sheaths. As the nerves become exposed, they die. IOW, I think Alzheimer's is a matter of brain damage caused by an inadequate cholesterol supply. Fatty acids are necessary to maintain the health of the nerve sheaths, and without adequate levels, the sheaths dry out.
IOW, if someone actually has Alzheimer's I doubt that it is caused by gluten sensitivity. I can certainly see how the two problems could be confused, though, especially in the early stages. Of course, there is a way that gluten sensitivity can probably cause Alzheimer's, so you might be right, after all.
As I believe I pointed out in the book, the malabsorption problem that goes with celiac, MC, and probably any other IBD, can lead to a loss of the ability to recycle the bile salts in the terminal ileum, thus eventually causing a condition of decreasing blood cholesterol levels as the body's reserves become depleted (this has been documented with Crohn's disease, I believe). So by this mechanism, yes, gluten sensitivity (IMO), can eventually lead to Alzheimer's, especially if certain genetics are present.
Tex
Here's my 2 cents worth, (FWIW):
I believe the reason why you don't see that connection discussed on the internet is because while the early stages of memory and cognizance loss may be similar between Alzheimer's and gluten damage (IOW the clinical symptoms may be similar), the laboratory markers are dissimilar. Gluten damage is seen as a shrinking cortex and increased white matter deposits. (I'm not sure what the exact mechanism is, though.)
Alzheimer's, on the other hand, appears to me to be caused by changes in the cerebrospinal fluid that result in deterioration (dessication) of the protective nerve sheaths. As the nerves become exposed, they die. IOW, I think Alzheimer's is a matter of brain damage caused by an inadequate cholesterol supply. Fatty acids are necessary to maintain the health of the nerve sheaths, and without adequate levels, the sheaths dry out.
IOW, if someone actually has Alzheimer's I doubt that it is caused by gluten sensitivity. I can certainly see how the two problems could be confused, though, especially in the early stages. Of course, there is a way that gluten sensitivity can probably cause Alzheimer's, so you might be right, after all.
As I believe I pointed out in the book, the malabsorption problem that goes with celiac, MC, and probably any other IBD, can lead to a loss of the ability to recycle the bile salts in the terminal ileum, thus eventually causing a condition of decreasing blood cholesterol levels as the body's reserves become depleted (this has been documented with Crohn's disease, I believe). So by this mechanism, yes, gluten sensitivity (IMO), can eventually lead to Alzheimer's, especially if certain genetics are present.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.