Feet Problems/neuropathy/amputations

shericeliac2010 · March 26, 2011

Both me and my husband were recently diagnosed Celiac and have both been gluten free for about a month now. My husband developed neuropathy in his feet about 20 years ago. He was a landscaper and on his feet 10-12 hours a day and had chronic burning in his feet. In 2000, he developed an ulcer on his big toe and 2nd toe which would not heal. In 2008, when infection set in and doctors recommended amputation of both toes. Recently, he developed an ulcer on his big toe and 2nd toe on his other foot and it looks like possible amputation of those 2 toes as well. At least he has a sense of humor and refers to himself as Keith "8-toes" and even said he may have to change his name to "6-toes". And he can walk just fine without the missing toes and is not terribly upset and having the other toes removed. He has had several test for diabetes and glucose tolerance test, all test are negative for diabetes.

My question is this: Have any celiacs had similar issues with their feet(i have read that neuropathy can be a side affect of celiac)?? Could the ulcers on his feet be a side effect of years of undiagnosed celiac?? Could celiac have contributed to his feet ulcers developing or not healing??

rosetapper23 · March 26, 2011

I can attest to having neuropathy in my feet since about the age of 15, and I also don't have diabetes. I was diagnosed with celiac when I was 47, and I'm 54 now. The neuropathy improved a little bit after going gluten free, but it's still there. I recently read that, besides malabsorption of B vitamins, neuropathy may be caused by years of iron anemia. Has he had his ferritin level checked? My anemia was so severe from age 11 until age 50, I had to receive iron intravenously for several years.

If your husband suffers from malnutrition due to years of undiagnosed celiac, I would imagine that that would have had an impact on his ability to heal. I hope you have both had blood panels run to determine which nutrients you may be low in.

adab8ca · March 26, 2011

[

My question is this: Have any celiacs had similar issues with their feet(i have read that neuropathy can be a side affect of celiac)?? Could the ulcers on his feet be a side effect of years of undiagnosed celiac?? Could celiac have contributed to his feet ulcers developing or not healing??

GFinDC · March 26, 2011

I don't know about neuropathy, but I had some issues with my feet. Before I went gluten free my feet and ankles were always swollen and odd looking. Kind of blue and white in patches. They were also cold. I didn't actually realize they were cold until after I had been gluten-free a while and they started warming up. Now after 3 years gluten-free they are warm and not swollen, Still don't look just like a normal person's feet but they work ok for me. And they aren't blue and white any more but actually look warm.

ravenwoodglass · March 26, 2011

Neuropathy is not uncommon with celiac. I had it beginning in both hands and feet and it moved up the legs and arms by the time I was diagnosed. They did surgery on one hand because they thought it was carpal tunnel. The idiot doctor even chopped off a muscle he thought was overdeveloped. It was overdeloped because I was an artist and worked with woodcarving and tools a lot and it took a long time for me to get any hand strength back. Anyway I found sublingual B12 helped the nerves heal a bit faster. I even regained reflexes in my legs after losing them as a child. Since I had congenital deformities corrected then they attributed the lack of reflexes to those even though I also had symptoms of celiac at the time including severe DH that was misdiagnosed as 'poison ivy in the blood'.

Hopefully the nerve issues for your husband will resolve eventually but it does take time. I hope they don't have to do another amputation but glad for him that he has such a good outlook on life.

Marilyn R · March 31, 2011

There was a really good article in this month's issue of "Living Without" about peripheral neuropathy and gait ataxia. If you can't get access to the article and want to read it, send me a PM. (I sent a link to all of my siblings because it explained what Mom went through to a "tee", and it is what I'm going through. Neuropathy was my first symptom, but none of my doctors connected the dots.