Celiac

Sorry for the delay in the update here. Unfortunately we have seen no change from the stem cells. We do have other things to write about now though. With encouragement from a good friend, I had Janice tested for Celiac and guess what, the results are positive. Janice does indeed have Celiac disease. Since her diagnosis of MS last year, I have been searching the internet for information on the disease and treatment options and studies that have been done. Now with this new diagnosis, we are putting the two together. Celiac which is also autoimmune, damages the villi in the small intestine. The damaged surface in the lining of the intestine inhibits the ability to digest and absorb nutrients in many if not all foods. As a result, people with untreated celiac disease can suffer from malnutrition. So, with that said, all that vitamin D she has been taking may not be getting absorbed. The only treatment for Celiac at this time is a gluten free diet. Well, since we have seriously considered changing her diet for MS, we decided now would be a good time to start. Our house is slowly turning into a gluten free zone. Janice has completely eliminated gluten from her diet, which she has decided includes gluten free kisses from Ryan. We have tons to learn about this, so with the help friends and internet information, we will get this figured out, and hopefully have a healthy Janice once again.
This statistic is from webMD:
Until fairly recently, celiac disease was considered rare among Americans. In 2003, the results of a large, multi-center study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found celiac disease in one in 133 Americans. Among those with parents, siblings, or children with celiac disease, up to one in 22 people in the study had it.
Now I am wondering how long Janice has had this, and if it was one little trigger leading to her diagnosis of MS, perhaps due to the autoimmune response in her small intestine and due the lack of absorption of nutrients, especially the all important vitamin D.
Janice has been taking tons of nutrients. With her doctors blessing we have added Curcurmin/Tumeric . I believe that if there has been a study done proving it is effective, and that it causes no harm, why not give it a try. Although the last link posted here, has reservation on the dosage, it is my plan to monitor her closely. So, here are some links:
http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/curcumin.html
http://ms.about.com/b/2009/06/08/hydrangea-root-for-multiple-sclerosis.htm
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/chb-anl060109.php
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17569223
More updates as I have more information. Six month post stem cell MRI is to be done in July. Have a wonderful healthy summer.
Melinda