Celiac and the link to other diseases

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I have celiac diseas3. This fact is pretty well-known by this time.

But I haven’t shared my other health issues with you.

The reason that I am baring my soul (so to speak) is that I’m curious if there is a connection between celiac disease and the many other health issues I’ve encountered.

I figure if I share my story, perhaps I can entice you folks to do the same and we can do some kind of unscientific study. If I win a Nobel, I will be sure to share the glory.

So here is a list of the health issues I’ve dealt with:

In my youth (ages 8-14), I had WARTS. Some on my knee. Some on my hands. Not disfiguring mind you. Just annoying. Eventually, they went away.
At age 10, I woke up one day not feeling well. We had a doctor who lived down the street come by and he suggested I get to the hospital right away. (To this day, I am wondering what he saw in me that made him suggest that. I felt like I just had a cold.) Anyway, I spent 7 long days in the hospital. Blood work out the kazoo. Diagnosis: unknown. I found out years later that they were testing me for RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. By the way, the highlight of the week was my dad visiting my every night after work and we’d watch Hogan’s Heroes together. It’s funny the things you remember.
Through my childhood, I had a variety of NERVOUS TICS (throat clearing, eye rolling, etc.)
In my teen years, I had the pleasure of dealing with ACNE. Worse than many; not as bad as some.
At this point, I know what you’re thinking. “Wow…warts, tics AND acne. You must have been quite the catch.” Yeah…good times indeed.
Fast forward to my late twenties and I developed LOWER BACK PAIN. Severe at times. It’s something I still deal with and actually am currently in physical therapy for it.
In Spring 2007, I began peeing blood. Diagnosis: BLADDER CANCER. And you males out there don’t want to know how they diagnose it. Uh…huh. It was low-grade and after one reoccurrence, I’ve been cancer free (phew!!).
In Spring 2008, after years of complaining of stomach aches and losing 15 pounds, I finally listened to Mrs. Dude and went to a GI. Diagnosis: CELIAC DISEASE.
In Fall 2008, working one night, starting feeling “not right”. Pain in my neck and shoulder…hurt to inhale. Mrs. Dude said we should go to hospital. Do you think I learned my lesson? Of course not. Lying in bed, had a strange sensation. Almost like back pain, but in my entire torso. Jumped out of bed. Feeling went away. Mrs. Dude spent the entire night poking me in the back to make sure I was alive. The next day, my doc said I should go to emergency room just to get it checked out. After five hours of tests, diagnosis: MULTIPLE BLOOD CLOTS IN BOTH OF MY LUNGS (medical term: pulmonary embolism). That strange sensation I had was the clots passing thru my heart into my lungs. This is the point in time where most people die from this. Seriously…WTF!?

So that’s my story. Are they related? I have no idea. But I’m thinking there has got to be something going on that ties at least some of it together.

But I would love to hear your stories. And thru your stories, maybe we can see if there is any kind of connection.

What other health issues have you had to deal with?

——

August 2021: But wait…there’s more!!!

I got hit bad with COVID in April 2020. Came in two waves. Not fun.
DUPUYTREN’S CONTRACTURE. Kinda hard to explain, so here ya go.
KNEE PAIN. Sometimes bad…sometimes not. Sometimes in my right leg…sometimes in my left leg. Sometimes in the front of the knee…sometimes…well, you get the picture.
STAGE 2 MELANOMA. Surgery August 17, 2021 to remove cancer and to see if it’s spread into lymph nodes. It did not!

October 2022: Yep…the hits keep coming.

Got slammed by COVID a second time in June 2022. Tested positive on my birthday. I’ve had better birthdays.
Remember that knee pain I mentioned above? Yeah…it got a lot worse. Got x-rayed: OSTEOARTHRITIS. Unfortunately, quite common with those with celiac disease.

Are we having fun yet?!

2023:

CRACKED TOOTH. Had to get the damn thing pulled. Luckily it was one of my back teeth.
COVID…yet again.

2024:

COVID again…fourth time is the charm.

Yay!!!

Comments

9 responses to “Celiac and the link to other diseases”

January 19, 2026

logansqrd3954

Bladder infections and migraines in my 20s Gall bladder removed at 29 Thyroid medication also started at 29(tested positive for Hashimoto’s years later) Nasopalatine cyst removed at 47 Diagnosed celic at 48 Basal cell carcinoma removed at 48 Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at 48 Extremely low digestive enzymes for lactase and sucrase diagnosed at 49 I’m probably forgetting a dozen things right now… Thread menopause and all the symptoms that come with that into the equation, and your left feeling like you don’t even know why you’re body is doing what is doing anymore… related? I figure a lot of it could be…

Reply
1. January 19, 2026
  
  Gluten Dude
  
  🧡
  
  Reply
February 28, 2026

jpspence761509

major hair loss at 26, they said it was pcos but then when I was doing in vitro they said I don’t have PCOS. I think it was undiagnosed celiac. Acne, always, still at 49. 😡. Breast cancer at 45. dx with celiac right after chemo finished.

Reply
1. March 7, 2026
  
  Kmaes0005748
  
  Hair loss for me too plus brain fog
  
  Reply
July 8, 2026

Nlemon5658

CD is an autoimmune disease and therefore people who have it are more likely to have other autoimmune diseases. Like thyroid irregularities, psoriasis or eczema, and autoimmune liver diseases. I have all 3 though fortunately they’re under control. The super healthy GF diet my immunologist/allergist helped me with plus weekly red laser treatment has brought my liver enzymes back to normal to the surprise of my hepatologist. She’s stopped trying to get me to take steroids.

Reply
July 9, 2026

Neicyd222690

Wow! This is amazing thank you for sharing. In my younger years, I was always the skinny girl. My parents would try to feed me endless bowls of pasta and baked goods. Well, go figure. I had endless bad bloody noses throughout the years. Issues with my teeth galore. I’ll never forget the one year I had 11 cavities. That was cool. In my thirties, I took one year and went GF. I felt great! My nails were growing back and I was so alive. A stressful job led me to not continue the GF path. Here comes the skin issues! My hands would actually crack and “snow” before my eyes. They would get so flaky it was ridiculous, and sometimes they would bleed. Of course, I never wanted it to be wheat. So I blamed dairy, meat, legumes…anything so I could continue eating my beloved bread. And then finally on June 5, 2026 I received my Celiac diagnosis. BEST thing that’s ever happened to me. I have peace now.

Reply
1. August 30, 2026
  
  Gluten Dude
  
  All I can say is wow.
  
  Reply
August 30, 2026

AnnaMarie1149

Scott, I hope you are doing well and that your medical issues are under control and that you’re feeling well. You’ve had a lot going on. It seems like every year there is something new with me and I’m not sure if they’re related or not. Last year I was diagnosed with a meningioma on the brain, I had a heart attack this past February which was a total shock as I eat pretty clean and go to a gym. My bladder cancer returned for the 7th time after a 3 year absence. I’ll be having surgery in September . I’m under an endocrinologist’s care for thyroid disease, an adrenal tumor and osteoporosis. I have more “ologists” than I can count. I’ve got the dupuytren’s contracture also on both hands. I feel like a train wreck sometimes and I know there are people way worse off than myself but thanks for letting us come on here and feel sorry for ourselves for a hot minute. ❤️

Reply
1. August 30, 2026
  
  Gluten Dude
  
  Damn… that is a lot to deal with. I am so sorry. Hang in there and may your future journey bring you health and peace. 🧡
  
  Reply