<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Thamks for all the replies to my question, and sorry my summary has taken so long. We went on vacation for a few days and I haven't had time to touch the computer since we got back, but here it is. I sorted and listed out the things people mentioned, and followed that by some lengthier comments of interest. Carma in Phoenix (US) [log in to unmask] --------------- THE QUESTION: --------------- I am interested in finding out the spectrum of odd, unusual, or atypical symptoms that cleared up on a GF diet or that recur when gluten is ingested. --------------- SYMPTOMS LIST: --------------- SKIN, HAIR, NAILS canker sores seborrheic dermatitis (cracked, irritated, flaking skin in brows, by nostrils, and corners of mouth) herpes infection on lip or in nostril rosacea dry skin acne insect bites itching on the palm of hands to elbows fingernails: ripples, white spots, ridges, brittleness, splits, cracks dry hair hair loss hair becoming curly after being straight EARS, EYES, NOSE, MOUTH tinnitus (pounding or ringing in ears) watery eyes dry eyes nosebleeds post-nasal drip sinusitis loose teeth bleeding gums GENERAL excessive appetite sleep: disturbed or prolonged temper tantrums heat intolerance irritability fatigue general malaise persistent morning drowsiness nightime leg cramps INTERNAL drop in platelet count rapid heart beat (up to 200 beats per minute) gasping for air muscle spasms bone pain (hips, knees) joint pain headaches, migraines dizziness and nausea unexplained fevers bloating, stomach swell 3-4 times normal size pain in midsection internal bleeding constipation or diarrhea painful menstrual cramps extreme premenstrual syndrome OTHER ILLNESSES arthritis asthma candidiasis (yeast infection) chronic fatigue syndrome colds & flu depression, physical and mental environmental illness fibromyalgia hypoglycemia --------------- THE RESPONSES: --------------- With any accidental ingestion or absorption of gluten a combination of these cheerful ogres rears its ugly head. A tsp of Metamucil taken as soon as any symptom presents helps enormously. --------------- For a partial listing see Ron Hoggan's web site: http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/hoggan/ And I seem to recall a listing at: http://www.wwwebguides.com/nutrition/diets/glutenfree/ --------------- This may fall under your definition of dermatitis heptaformis (which is associated with celiac sprue), but my sister and I both have bad acne. When I say bad, I mean it, I have lots of scaring, as does my sister. We both have gluten intolerance, if not celiac (we have not both been formerly tested by a doctor, but the improvements we experience on our diet is proof enough for us). We have known we were intollerant since we were babys. Both of us cheated on our diets in our early teens. We would notice that our acne would flare whenever we added gluten to our diet, and subside when we remained on our diets. To help prove the point, my younger brother, who is also gluten intollerant does not cheat, and is extremlly serious about his diet. He has what I would call typical teenager acne. Nothing major. --------------- with me i found a general malaise, which would generally last until it had been passed through the system. my stomach would swell to three to four times its normal size, there would be a lot of pain and heaviness, and i would retain water all over, at least that's what it looked like. my face would get rounder, fingers would sweel, feet, legs etc, i would look approx. ten pounds heavier than i generally am. i also find that even gluten free i need a good night's sleep, 7-8 hours of rest, and since diagnosis, i've found that viruses tend to hang on longer than before. for me also, the reaction is almost immediate, i can generally tell within a few hours whether i've ingested gluten. i found after i went gluten free the weight just dropped off, probably due to the fact that i had been so swollen prior. my metabolism increased, and it was very easy to lose and maintain a healthy weight with a smart diet and some excercise. my energy level also picked up significantly. another thing i and several other people have noticed is that once gluten free for a while, if some gluten is accidently ingested, the reaction is far more extreme than before. the bloating is more painful, passing through the system is extremely painful, i swell more, i'm exhausted, and it can take up to a day to recover. the lesson i've learned is, at all costs, avoid the stuff completely. --------------- My immediate reaction (other than gastro-intestinally) is intense itching on the palm of my hands, going up the insides of my arms towards my elbows. After a day or two, I get depressed. Not just sad, but really depressed, physically and mentally. I have contact with quite a few Celiac's, and it seems that we all have slightly different reactions to gluten injestion. One thing we all seem to agree on though, it's awful. Really awful. --------------- I am self diagnosed since October 1996. I had 14 symptoms - some went away in about 10 days and the rest went away in a couple months. The one symptom that was very bothersome to me was having rapid heart beat..........sometimes up to 200 beats per minutes. In February 1996 this started. I was given tests, medications and finally had two heart ablations done. Nothing helped. But when I went GF in October 1996 my rapid heart beat went away and I was very happy about that. I haven't really read of others having tinninitus before going GF but I did. I have had ear problems for years and the noise in my ears had become so bad I could hardly go to sleep at night. After going GF the tinninitus cleared up so much that I only have it once in a great while but not at the noise level I did have. Hypoglycemia is 95% better. I could go on and on but most of the other symptoms are the ones a lot of the Celiacs also have. --------------- disturbed/prolonged sleep. I went from feeling unrested with 10 or 11 hours sleep to being well satisfied with 7 hours. Looking at my nails today, i also notice the many white spots i used to have are gone. I think most of these symptoms cleared up because relieving my body of the burden of dealing with gluten allowed me to get some actual nutrition out of my food. Just a note: i find that eating barley derived ingredients like malt or syrup, etc, is much worse for me than having a little soy sauce with wheat in it. Also oats don't seem to be a problem at all, though i'm still very careful to avoid them most of the time. Enjoy the new diet, it's going to make you feel like a new person! ---------------