Any One Here Have Foot Pain When They Eat Gluten?

[Lynayah]

Has anyone here suffered from foot pain that improved once going gluten free? What were your symptoms and how long did it take to improve?

[Lynayah]

Has anyone here suffered from foot pain that improved once going gluten free? What were your symptoms and how long did it take to improve?

To add to my question: For me, specifically, the tops of my feet hurt and are more prone to swell.

Anyone else?

[ang1e0251]

Well, I just plain swell all over when glutened. I have ingrown big toenails. I get a lot of pain there when glutened & if it's bad they will infect. I stopped having that problem when I stay gluten-free. I imagine it ties into the swelling.

[eringopaint]

My feet were so tender and painful I couldn't go barefoot for the last year or more before I went gluten-free. I wore soft leather, rubber soled shoes all the time and didn't take them off until I was getting into bed.

My brother had the same problem.

I have been gluten free since April 08, and it took a few months to see a big change. I rarely get any foot pain now - sometimes it flares if I get gluten by cross-contamination.

And I can wear my heels again!

Good luck - and give it time!

erin

[Lynayah]

My feet were so tender and painful I couldn't go barefoot for the last year or more before I went gluten-free. I wore soft leather, rubber soled shoes all the time and didn't take them off until I was getting into bed.

My brother had the same problem.

I have been gluten free since April 08, and it took a few months to see a big change. I rarely get any foot pain now - sometimes it flares if I get gluten by cross-contamination.

And I can wear my heels again!

Good luck - and give it time!

erin

Thank you so much for posting this. I hope we hear from more.

I have been gluten-free for only a week and am already seeing improvement in my feet and ankles. THANK YOU!

Does anyone else have the same problems? Please add to this thread.

[waitingdorothea]

Thank you so much for posting this. I hope we hear from more.

I have been gluten-free for only a week and am already seeing improvement in my feet and ankles. THANK YOU!

Does anyone else have the same problems? Please add to this thread.

I had foot pain when I first got out of bed for years before being diagnosed. It was so bad walking down my four steps from my bedroom were excruciating! When I did my gluten challenge, it came back with a vengeance. Now I only get it when I am inadvertently glutened. For me it seems to dissapate with a lot water - I seem to need ridiculous amounts of water if glutened.

[Lexi]

Well, I just plain swell all over when glutened. I have ingrown big toenails. I get a lot of pain there when glutened & if it's bad they will infect. I stopped having that problem when I stay gluten-free. I imagine it ties into the swelling.

Ok - now I don't feel crazy! I was glutened and have been having the worst TOE PAIN. It even hurts to get a pedicure or if my kids accidentally bump my toes.

[boysmom]

I'm still pretty new at all this (avoiding gluten since 6/1/09), but joint pains were one of my complaints that disappeared when I quit eating gluten. Lately my first signs that I've gotten cross contaminated are a slight dizziness and sharp pains in my knees and/or feet when I stand up after sitting for a while.

[cmom]

I have been gluten-free (to the best of my ability) for the past several years. I still suffer from pretty intense pain all over upon standing after sitting for over 30 mins. Also, suffer from severe foot pain upon standing the first few minutes when getting out of bed. My left foot has been broken twice and after visiting the podiatrist b/c I believed I had broken it for the third time, found out that the bones in my foot had "regenerated" themselves into some weird adaptation which is causing some of my foot pain. Also have pain in the right foot daily.

[Lynayah]

I had foot pain when I first got out of bed for years before being diagnosed. It was so bad walking down my four steps from my bedroom were excruciating! When I did my gluten challenge, it came back with a vengeance. Now I only get it when I am inadvertently glutened. For me it seems to dissapate with a lot water - I seem to need ridiculous amounts of water if glutened.

That's interesting about the water. How much do you drink when you've been glutened? How do you know when you've had enough?

[OptimisticMom42]

It's only in my left foot and ankle. But yes when I eat things I souldn't (lately it's been small traces of soy) my left ankle hurts. I limp down the hall to the bathroom in the morning, after I get moving it's just an ache. And it goes away when I'm eating clean.

[waitingdorothea]

That's interesting about the water. How much do you drink when you've been glutened? How do you know when you've had enough?

This definitely isn't anything my doctors told me. I noticed after a month or so of being gluten free that I drank a lot less water when I wasn't glutened...mainly because I was going through only one, and sometimes less than one, pitcher (64 oz) of water during a day at work, instead of 2, sometimes 3 as I had been before. Yeah, I know I drink way more water than is normal...it's probably more or less a nervous tick.

There isn't any set amount that I drink. I always have water nearby - and I drink however much I feel like. Just seems to me that I drink more when I get glutened, and it seems to make things better.

Water seems to have a pretty immediate effect on my swollen hands and the rest of my system.

[ang1e0251]

Ok - now I don't feel crazy! I was glutened and have been having the worst TOE PAIN. It even hurts to get a pedicure or if my kids accidentally bump my toes.

That's me!! There was a time before gluten-free that I could even tolerate the weight of the covers on my toes at night. My husband had to rig a thing to hold the covers above my feet! Much better now unless glutened. I'm hoping I can return to wearing closed shoes all day at some point.

[muffy1219]

Hi I'm new here. I just came across this thread. I'm pretty much a mess & am getting more crippled all the time. The pain in my feet & hands is peripheal neuropathy we think was brought on by this gluten intolerance along with meat allergies. The pain is there everyday & as of 2 yrs. ago, what started out as short flareups has gone into high gear with flareups that stay put and don't let up.

I think they call it gluten neuropahty. I still am not on a 100% gluten free meat free diet so I'm getting crippled from all this. When I eat meat or pork of any kind the pain is in the the big toes. When I eat the gluten the pain is in the entire foot. It started in my feet 7 yrs ago & last year it moved to the hands.

And what I've learned here is its going to get worse before it improves if it improves at all. Know now I'm gonna have to be in for the long haul. I tell ya I been on 2 yrs. of trying different pain meds & different treatments, nothing has worked at all. Doc says its a severe case.

I'm 51 & this way of living is horrible. This thing stopped me dead in my tracks.

[Lynayah]

Hi I'm new here. I just came across this thread. I'm pretty much a mess & am getting more crippled all the time. The pain in my feet & hands is peripheal neuropathy we think was brought on by this gluten intolerance along with meat allergies. The pain is there everyday & as of 2 yrs. ago, what started out as short flareups has gone into high gear with flareups that stay put and don't let up.

I think they call it gluten neuropahty. I still am not on a 100% gluten free meat free diet so I'm getting crippled from all this. When I eat meat or pork of any kind the pain is in the the big toes. When I eat the gluten the pain is in the entire foot. It started in my feet 7 yrs ago & last year it moved to the hands.

And what I've learned here is its going to get worse before it improves if it improves at all. Know now I'm gonna have to be in for the long haul. I tell ya I been on 2 yrs. of trying different pain meds & different treatments, nothing has worked at all. Doc says its a severe case.

I'm 51 & this way of living is horrible. This thing stopped me dead in my tracks.

Has your doctor tested your blood for any vitamin deficiencies? I was a horrible mess last year, very weak and in a lot of pain. It turned out that I had a chronic Vitamin D deficiency -- almost no D in my body at all.

Be careful with this and do not diagnose on your own. Deficiencies call for monitored mega-doses which can be dangerous if not analyzed regularly. There is an interesting thread on D at Open Original Shared Link

[muffy1219]

Lynayah, he has had me on 50,000 mil. of vitamin D for sometime now.

[ang1e0251]

Hi I'm new here. I just came across this thread. I'm pretty much a mess & am getting more crippled all the time. The pain in my feet & hands is peripheal neuropathy we think was brought on by this gluten intolerance along with meat allergies. The pain is there everyday & as of 2 yrs. ago, what started out as short flareups has gone into high gear with flareups that stay put and don't let up.

I think they call it gluten neuropahty. I still am not on a 100% gluten free meat free diet so I'm getting crippled from all this. When I eat meat or pork of any kind the pain is in the the big toes. When I eat the gluten the pain is in the entire foot. It started in my feet 7 yrs ago & last year it moved to the hands.

And what I've learned here is its going to get worse before it improves if it improves at all. Know now I'm gonna have to be in for the long haul. I tell ya I been on 2 yrs. of trying different pain meds & different treatments, nothing has worked at all. Doc says its a severe case.

I'm 51 & this way of living is horrible. This thing stopped me dead in my tracks.

I'm also 51 and I have turned the pain and other problems completely around in the last two years. You can too. Is there a reason why you haven't gone completely gluten-free? You can start turning around your pain and suffering when you can devote yourself to the diet.

I agree with the previous poster on vitamins. I take D but, for me, the magnesium and B12 helped the most for the neuropathy. Yesterday I forgot to take the B12 at my usual time and a few hours later I started to feel twinges and funny muscle tweeks. Then I remembered. I took the B12 right away and in a little while all was calm again.

[jabberwife]

I wouldn't call it intense pain, but when I'm glutened, this strange swelling feeling that's highly uncomfortable happens in my feet, on the tops, near my toes. It's almost immediate, which is so weird to me. I'm still pretty new to this, and did a 2-month gluten-free diet and then challenged, and when I challenged, two things happened immediately - the food swelling thing (it tingled too) and brain fog...so bad that I couldn't speak, I was tripping on my tongue. Horrible.

I feel for all of you that have pains when being glutened! I hope the continuation of a gluten-free diet alleviates your pain soon.

[muffy1219]

ang1e0251,

You're right I'm gonna have to do something. I'm morbidly obese have been overweight since 5. I never did anything about it & my entire family has the same problem. So in addition to all this I have a obsessive compulsive eating disorder which has made it harder yet. I've never been able to control my eating & now with all that is going on I'm not sure why I can't seem to get on track. Have even had counseling.

This last week the doc gave me some new medicine to try, I started taking it as directed in smaller quantities & my feet started swelling up, then after a week it went to higher dosages & that is when all hell broke loose. Swung the neuropathy into a rage. I was in bed all last week & today I still can't stand or sleep or anything. The pain is out of this world.

Ya know I can go on & on complaining about all this. Actually I am the only one who can even mention the word "Gluten" cause this whole string of doctors I have working on me just don't use that word even tho I been talking about this for 3 yrs. now. Wondering if it is the gluten but just not caring about trying to fix this.

Yes the question has been & still is>>WHY? Both my hubby & my ex hubby cannot understand how someone can be in this much pain daily & not do something else to see if it would work.....mainly a gluten free diet. So awhile back I stopped eating gluten for about 3 weeks & the pain was still there so then I thought maybe this neuropathy is really being caused by something else. But I don't think so. As many have posted here its will most likely get worse before it gets better. Also when I stop the gluten, the muscles in my legs are better otherwise you cannot touch my legs from the knees down, the pain is very intense, not to mention how much better I feel.

As I look back on my life there are so many signs that the gluten thing was there from the start & 7 yrs. ago when it started completely affecting me ....well I guess a lifetime of gluten just caught up with me. I know I gotta do this.

ang1e0251....please please if you have time...tell me a little about your story.......what kind of pain did you have, what did you go through when you started the diet........just anything. My God is it really possible to turn this around?

[ang1e0251]

I hope this is helpful to you. I have been "overweight" since I hit puberty around age 12. That is I saw myself as overweight but I wasn't carrying a lot maybe, 10 pounds. I learned to be OK with that much and if I drifted away, about once a year I could diet and bring it into line.

About 20 years ago, I began to have stomach pain and edema. I had had varicose veins with foot and leg pain also from about age 12. The stomach pain came to a head on a vacation. I nearly ruined a fun time for our family. When I returned I took myself in hand and went to the dr. That started many years of Pepcid which worked for a long time. At some point I had an upper GI just to check and everything looked normal.

But over time the stomach pain and burn slowly increased. I was taking diuretics and continuous birth control for extreme periods. I began to slowly have problems controlling my weight. The regular way to control it wasn't working any more. I read everything I could to find an answer. I felt it was tied into my insulin production and I felt I was hypoglycemic but really couldn't see a true pattern. I also had a bout with carpal tunnel about then.

We moved back to Indiana and all my symptoms slowly worsened. At this time I wasn't working so for the first time I could rest when I needed to and work at a slower pace, if needed. My pain continued to rise and my diseased gallbladder was removed. I became hypertensive and was put on blood pressure meds.

I went to work part-time and really started just to feel crappy every day. I figured out that artificial flavorings were really making me feel bad. I gave up soft drinks. Better but still not well. I put the D down to the gallbladder stuff and ignored the rest. I started taking allergy meds as for the first time I suffered drainage that kept me awake at night. I was doubling over with pain many times a day but told myself "this is just my life now". I had pain in my shoulder that I medicated every day. I suffered a bad eye infection and had to get perscription drops to use daily. Looking at my med bill, I felt like a senior citizen with higher and higher medicine costs.

Still I didn't put any of this together. I had a good friend with celiac disease but she didn't talk about it much. I respected her privacy. I went on yet another diet. It was working very slowly but I broke out in a terrible rash in the groin area that I couldn't cure and I couldn't even sleep well. The pain of it would wake me. I had already had another rash that came and went but I told myself this was bug bites. During this time I was solicited by mail to buy a book on celiac disease. I started to throw it out then stopped. I may as well read it. Maybe I could gain some insight to my friend if I read it. It mentioned the symptom of unhealing rash. Could it be as simple as that? As simple as changing the way I eat?

My husband was laid off and we were without insurance and unemployment had run out. We were scrambling to eat. No way could I go to a dr. So I thought I can just try the diet. I would have tried anything to get rid of that rash. I saw immediate relief and I was completely shocked at the relief I received. I tried the diet to get rid of the rash but it cleared up nearly all the other symptoms too! In 12 hours, I had the first normal BM in years. In 3 days, I was surprised to see pink in my cheeks! I don't even know when I had seen that before. The rash slowly improved. It took about 8 weeks to finally clear up. The swelling slowly backed off. I still have some of that but no more diuretics needed. I still fought the intestinal pain off and on but I realize now that I can have no regular grains and just occasional rice and corn. I don't have that pain now. With the vitamin supplements, I have greatly improved my brain function and pain level. No more carpal tunnel stuff, no more PN. I only see these return if I'm glutened and that hasn't happened in a while. I've even lost some weight and lowered my BP. I'm feeling younger than I have in many years.

I hope this helps. I know you can improve the way you feel. Dedicate yourself to your own health and see to it personally. No one can change your life but you. But I sense a strength in you that can turn your life around. It doesn't all happen over night. It takes time and determination but you have all that. Today could be your "new birthday", the day you start living again. Do it!

[muffy1219]

ang1e0251

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I guess I got lost in all of this. The doctors been working for about 3 yrs. now to try & control this pain I have. My system does not take well to medicine & I have had some of the worse reactions to different meds so that really added to the stress. I been on every medicine for peripheal neuropahty that is on the market and even all the newest meds they are working with. I have such horrible reactions that it throws me in bed for anywhere from a week to a month. Can't believe it takes that long to get them out of my system. We tried epidurals & they did not work either.

Today we were gonna call my neurologists to let him know this latest med did not work & I had a very bad reaction w/ the swelling of my feet & what it did to the PN with getting it all riled up. If I would go in today, they would give me a pain shot & then the plan is to be on to the next treatment. I've had it. Can't stand living w/ this anymore. I'm still trying to come to terms w/ the fact that this pain is there 24/7 & I can' live anymore, can't do anything.

I'm a big halloween person, we go all out, now I can't even get on a ladder to decorate, I have several huge projects going with paper mache. I had to stop because when I worked with the glue my hands would hurt so bad for days, so they are all sitting here 1/2 done. We came to the conclusion that the glue is full of gluten & was in contact for to long on my skin.

To be honest I have been giving up hope that I can ever change this life I live now full of pain everyday. I lost my way & perhaps have gotten my weakness, but thats what pain does........it wears you down & shows you who the boss is. Worse part is I have always drove myself to the highest limits in life, so being like this now is killing me. I just feel like I can't get it even a little bit under control.

When you typed that it took you 2 years to turn it around, I think that was my 1st ray of hope. That "just maybe" it could be done.

Even tho I started the diet for those 3 weeks I did not know enough until I got to this board that "It" could get worse before it gets better, so I gave up.

With what has been going on this last week & now into this week with this pain has made me realize its going to just keep getting worse unless I do something. Yes its hard for me.....I come from a family of chefs, we all cooked professionally except me, I got in to restaurant management & I also had my own restaurant for 11 yrs.. I do cook & bake. I cook all kinds of ethnic foods that we love. I was coming to a hard time trying to figure how I was going to give this all up & also I have this meat, pork, lamb thing going on so thats all out too. Its a lot to cut out & I have a feeling the only way I'm gonna really heal is to just start with a very limited set of basics(food-wise). I know what to do & how to do it for all this. I just have not done it.

I was up all night w/ this pain raging. So I finally fell asleep at 6:30 this morning & I just got up at 12. Thank God I got some sleep cause on days when I don't sleep it hurts worse.

I had a talk with the folks here in my house , and you should know they are 100% supportive in me doing this. So the decision we have made is this. Instead of running back to the doctor today cause of this incident, I'm gonna just give it the time to settle down by itself. If I go back to the doctor, we are only going to be on to the next new med he has. I remember last year when some doctor put me on methodone & then onto morphine. I never been that sick in my life. I broke out in sores & scratched myself to death. Its been so long since I took those & I still have the sores all over my legs. They are healing but leaving those big deep purple blotches all over. I never could understand why people would want to take those as recreational drugs!

SO I'm gonna let this settle down & start this gluten free diet today. Trust me I know gluten is in everything so it will be easy for me to know what to eat.

I WANNA THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

[Lynayah]

Muffy, where do you live? Are you anywhere near a teaching hospital or a state-of-the-art facility? If there's one thing life has taught me, it is not to mess around with any health care provider who doesn't have expertise in what I suspect may be my problem.

Case in point:

I didn't find out about my Vit. D deficiency until I went to a rhumatologist associated with a teaching hospital.

I didn't find out about my gluten-intolorance (possibly celiac, waiting on more results now) until I went to the Celiac Center at University of Chicago.

Go for the gold. You're worth it.

[ang1e0251]

Hey, I'm glad to support you and I totally understand being given drug after drug. I don't want to treat symptoms, I want to find the root problem and reverse it!

I wanted to mention several things to you that I have read from other posters regarding the pain of inflammation. I already mentioned that much of my pain was related to eating grains and many others here have said the same. Many have found relief in the SCD and there is a long thread in the forum discussing it. I'm not completely on the diet but I have gained a lot of insight from reading that thread. Others have found relief from adding Vitamin D3, magnesium and the methyl type of sublingual B12 to their diet. I also take those and they are a huge help. Stay off your meat products for now but later when you are better, you could challenge those. You may be able to eat some again. But that is down the road.

I don't remember if you said you are off dairy, but you should also avoid that for now. Others that are sensitive to nightshades report pain from them. You will have to experiment with that one. Nightshades are potatoes, peppers and eggplant. Don't forget paprika which is from a pepper.

I'm not saying all these are your problem. I'm saying they might be. Start on a very simple whole food diet that you prepare yourself. Stay away from prepared or processed foods. Research all you meds and make sure they do not have gluten or dairy fillers. Start at a low dose of magnesium and work your way up to about 600 mg's. I take more but you have to find the level that works for you. Soak in epsom salt (magnesium) baths for pain relief.

I know you can do this. You are going to be your new dr! Keep a food journal, write down everything you eat, drink or supplement. Note your reactions and pain levels. This can be very helpful to pinpoint food problems. Find a glue that does not have gluten and get rid of everything, EVERYTHING around you that has gluten. This is your new birthday.

[Lynayah]

Hey, I'm glad to support you and I totally understand being given drug after drug. I don't want to treat symptoms, I want to find the root problem and reverse it!

I wanted to mention several things to you that I have read from other posters regarding the pain of inflammation. I already mentioned that much of my pain was related to eating grains and many others here have said the same. Many have found relief in the SCD and there is a long thread in the forum discussing it. I'm not completely on the diet but I have gained a lot of insight from reading that thread. Others have found relief from adding Vitamin D3, magnesium and the methyl type of sublingual B12 to their diet. I also take those and they are a huge help. Stay off your meat products for now but later when you are better, you could challenge those. You may be able to eat some again. But that is down the road.

I don't remember if you said you are off dairy, but you should also avoid that for now. Others that are sensitive to nightshades report pain from them. You will have to experiment with that one. Nightshades are potatoes, peppers and eggplant. Don't forget paprika which is from a pepper.

I'm not saying all these are your problem. I'm saying they might be. Start on a very simple whole food diet that you prepare yourself. Stay away from prepared or processed foods. Research all you meds and make sure they do not have gluten or dairy fillers. Start at a low dose of magnesium and work your way up to about 600 mg's. I take more but you have to find the level that works for you. Soak in epsom salt (magnesium) baths for pain relief.

I know you can do this. You are going to be your new dr! Keep a food journal, write down everything you eat, drink or supplement. Note your reactions and pain levels. This can be very helpful to pinpoint food problems. Find a glue that does not have gluten and get rid of everything, EVERYTHING around you that has gluten. This is your new birthday.

Ang1e: What books are available on SCD? What would you recommend? Thank you!

[Lynayah]

PS: I tried to find the thread about SCD but the search function wasn't working for me. Might you post the link? Thank you so very much.

PS: Are tomatoes a nightshade?