Gluten Free - No more arthritis

by Leigh Munro
(Wellington)

Hi,
For the past few years I have had constant sinus problems which made me feel tired and irritable. Then gradually mild joint stiffness which became more and more painful and affected more and more joints.

I often couldn't sleep at night because of painful hips, shoulders and hands. My feet began to get stiff so that after getting up I would have to hobble until my joints freed up. Finally I had to take steroids once or twice a year to minimize the discomfort so I could continue to be reasonably active and pain free.

Finally I got sick of feeling old and sore, and asked for an appointment with a rheumatologist. He suggested I try a gluten free diet as it apparently helps some arthritis sufferers.

Going Gluten Free

I began the diet thinking I could be a bit relaxed about it when I went out so as not to be a pain at restaurants etc., which was true for the first three or four weeks. After I had been on the diet for over a month, I suddenly discovered that any small amount of gluten ingested by mistake because I didn't read a label properly would cause quite severe stomach bloating and discomfort and stiff joints within a few minutes. That was odd as I had never had stomach problems before.

Life Now

I am now energetic, pain free, have no sinus problems, am able to sleep at night, and am feeling far younger than my 50 years.

Its Even Helping Others

I told my Mother about the improvements my diet had made because she had suffered from digestion problems for years, was losing ridiculous amounts of weight and had had barrages of tests which could find no problem. She decided to try the diet too.

She is feeling well for the first time in years. Has no digestive problems and is starting to put on weight again. She told her doctor when she visited recently and the doctor apparently acted as though she had not heard anything my Mother had said, an interesting example of how significant numbers of the medical profession have some sort of myopia on the issue. Though I'm very grateful to my rheumatologist for his advise.

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