Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Muscle Spasms and Celiac Disease

I have always been a very pale, colorless person. It's why I wear so much makeup! Without my makeup, I am all one color, with the exception of my eye color.
According to the Celiac Sprue Association, pallor is one of the many symptoms of Celiac Disease. Here is a list of symptoms that they say the doctor will look for:
  • emaciation
  • pallor (due to anemia)
  • hypotension (low blood pressure)
  • edema (due to low levels of protein, [albumin] in the blood)
  • dermatitis herpetiformis (skin lesions)
  • easy bruising (lack of vitamin K)
  • bone or skin and mucosa membrane changes due to vitamin deficiencies
  • protruding or distended abdomen (intestine dysmotility)
  • loss of various sensations in extremities including vibration, position and light touch (vitamin deficiency)
  • signs of severe vitamin/mineral deficiencies which may include:
    -diminished deep tendon reflexes
  • muscle spasms (magnesium and/or calcium deficiency)
  • bone tenderness and bone pain (due to osteomalacia)
I find this an interesting list because the reasons behind the symptom are also listed. For example, I have always had fairly low blood pressure, and that is on the list as "hypotension." Besides the strange rashes, I also bruise quite easily ("lack of vitamin K"), and the muscle spasms are also present ("Magnesium and/or calcium deficiency").

One of the symptoms that has been bothering me more and more are the muscle spasms at night. Prior to the worst of my illness (prior to going to the ER) I had been having weird spasms and tremors when I went to bed at night. Most of the time I felt it in my neck, especially while laying on my left side. For the past couple of months, the tremors/spasms have increased to the point of lasting longer than a minute or so. They will also tend to travel around, sometimes in my lower abdomen, sometimes in my chest, sometimes in my neck, regardless of my position while lying down.

Last night, I was almost asleep when I noticed the spasms again, but this time it lasted much longer and seemed to encompass my whole esophagus (chest area) and up and down my throat and neck. It just kept going and going. But I was so very sleepy, I don't remember if I fell asleep or how long it continued.

Tomorrow I have an appointment at the clinic, in which I will discuss my 'findings' over the past several days, and discuss these spasms and tremors.

Can a person with CD take vitamin supplements, or is it fruitless since the intestines are not absorbing nutrients anyway??

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