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Several members of this listserv have asked about the relationship
between Celiac/Sprue and other autoimmune diseases.  I am neither
a physician nor a researcher, but I would like to share my family
history in the hope that it may shed some light or inspire others
to find answers to these questions.
 
I have the following diseases:  systemic lupus erythematosis
(lupus), rheumatoid arthritis (RA),  hypothyroidism, sjogren's
syndrome (SS), raynaud's phenomenon, antiphospholipid antibody
syndrome, livedo reticularis, fibromyalgia, costochondritis,
chronic diffuse interstitial pneumonitis, and prednisone-induced
cushing's disease.
 
My mother and my nephew have Celiac/Sprue.  My two sisters have
asthma and various food and environmental (pollen, grass, animals,
etc.) allergies.  One of them also has chronic fatigue syndrome,
fibromyalgia and Hashimoto's disease (which results in
hypothyroidism).  One of my aunts has rheumatoid arthritis and
bipolar disease.
 
(By the way, my blood type is A+ and I am left-handed.  I am the
only one in my immediate family who is left-handed.  I do not know
the blood types of the others.)
 
After reading in this forum a synopsis of a study showing that
persons with RA saw improvement in their symptoms after going on a
gluten-free diet, I (with my doctor's okay) restricted myself to a
GF diet three months ago.  (I am also a vegetarian and have been
for over 10 years.)  I have never been tested for Celiac or any
food allergy.   Nevertheless, within days after going GF, my GI
tract improved significantly.  For the first time in several years
(since being diagnosed with lupus), I now have normal BMs.  I
cannot help but conclude that the GF diet is responsible for this
phenomenon.   As to the effects of  the GF diet on my RA, I cannot
say because the severity of my arthritis fluctuates as my lupus
fluctuates (i.e., the worse the lupus, the worse the arthritis and
vice-versa).  Still, I will remain GF because I do believe that
this diet is helping me.
 
Based on my reading of various studies and my own family history,
I believe that people with autoimmune diseases are genetically
predisposed to develop their diseases but that it takes some (as
yet undetermined) external trigger to activate the illness.  Is
there a connection between the various autoimmune diseases?  In my
opinion, yes.  Having said that, there is nothing to my knowledge
which shows that by having one autoimmune disease you will develop
another.  For example, there are many people who have lupus but do
not have SS, RA, hypothyroidism or any of the other diseases I
have.
 
Well, that was pretty long!  Before I go, though, I would like to
take this opportunity to thank the owners of and participants in
this listserv.  You are a wealth of information to me and the
daily digests have helped me considerably.  If you think I might
be able to help you, please feel free to e-mail me.
 
Debra Skal, Atlanta GA   E-mail:  [log in to unmask]