can coeliac disease cause lightheadedness? will it go??

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hello, I'm new to this but id like to give you some back ground information, sorry for how long this is hehe,

i know i haven't been good with gluten from when i was a baby, in fact my mum took me off it because it made me so ill (stomach ache, nausea, diarreha etc.) and ive been on and off a gluten free diet my whole life, along side having anxiety and bouts of depression.

im in my late teens, and a few months ago i was on a diet full of gluten, choc weetabix for breakfast, often sandwhiches for lunch and tea, burgers, cookies, cake, awful!!

a few months ago i started with some really scary symptoms of dizzy spells and feeling very tired, turns out i was iron deficient, which i wasnt too worried about, so took meds and lots of steak!!

though a few weeks later, it felt like my body was shutting down, i couldn't eat for about a week and felt awful, so tired, lightheaded mainly when standing and my body seemed to be telling me not to eat. i went to the doctors and they said it was a virus, which i believed.

but even when i was eating again and with slight more energy i was still very tired, stomachachy and lightheaded when i stood up. this scared me, could i have pots? something serious?

doctors were heistant to test me because i was also extremely anxious, having panics and worrying about my health, saying they were all anxiety symptoms, and my health was fine.

one evening i was so desperite i rang 111 and the lady on the phone said i could see an out of hours gp tonight, at about 11 i went to see a very experianced doctor who said my iron deficiancy may have came back, which was a relief too me because i knew i could recover.

he asked me what the main cause of anemia is and i said pregnancy?? (oops hehe, i was embarssingly wrong) he said gluten intolerance which bewilded me but nevertheless i decided to try it so i could have a hope or absorbing some iron. he also said i weighed 56kg, which doesnt sound very light to me, but he told me to try not to loose weight, which was fine by me!

anyway, a week later i was so much less anxious, i thought it was the re assurance nothing was wrong with me, and i didnt feel lightheaded when i got up (maybe one in 10/20 times, but i think that can be normal)

i only made the connection a few weeks ago, after the blood tests came back i wasn't iron deficent anymore, i asummed it was anxiety, but i was eating some cesar salad and had a crouton.. and a day or to after my anxiety came back, along with lightheadedness it has gone now.. which is good. could this have a connection? could i be coeliac? could it cause anxiety??

finally, i was eating a cesar salad a few days ago, and i left the croutons but they were still touching, a couple days later i was having panics and feeling lightheaded sometimes when i got up (although not too bad)

if i am on a strict gluten free diet and i am coeliac could i still experiance symptoms? is it dangerous it could have been untreated my whole life, poisoning myself??

will i still feel lightheaded if it is to do with gluten and i cut it out completely?? what about gluten axtnia could i have that maybe??

many thanks xx

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Posted

    hi daisy, i am only 6 months in to readjusting my diet after a positive coeliac diagnosis, i noticed problems with exhaustion, leg pains and anxiety. my diet is still awful, i still feel tired and i still get pain. have doctors checked your vitamin d and b12 levels? i don't know how old you are but your b vitamin levels may be down, due to periods etc. get them to check out your thyroid levels and see that you don't have malnutrition too, apparently it's common in coeliac sufferers. i wish you luck, put your foot down, you need to know what is wrong for you!

    • Posted

      hi sam , thank you for your time replying.

      yes, my iron levels were low, ( thats partly how i found out i was coeliac!!) although they have returned to normal now.. no i havent been checked for vit d,maybe i should!

      i definitely get anxious when i eat gluten.. in fact im starting to wonder if the lightheadness is to do with anxiety.. the doctors say it is..

      thank you for your help i hope you find a diet that suits you (i am intolerant to 9 other foods including dairy and eggs so its hard for me too!!) snacks like nairns biscuits keep me going!!

    • Posted

      hi daisy, i made sure that i had every test going to check if there was anything else amiss. my vitamin d was low, my iron etc was clear, my b12 was clear and i am still awaiting a soya allergy test. in addition to this i am vegetarian. trying to find dinners is incredibly hard, but never mind. after being diagnosed coeliac you find your energy levels are low, lots of people have this apparently.

    • Posted

      hi mary, it's good to hear from you. coeliac disease buggers your mind as well as your body. try really deep breathing exercises for the panic attacks it sounds like your experiencing. i tried that a couple of weeks ago and discovered i had an awful ear infection as i fell! you need to see what vitamins you can take, i have taken them for years regardless. i have coeliac disease, ibs symptoms, acid reflux and oral allergy syndrome too. i am also veggie, but all my bloods have come back negative, i struggle with chronic leg pain that makes me feel sick some days. lots of multi-vitamins and deep breathing helps - breathe in for 4, hold it for 2 and slowly breathe out for 4. good luck. i always check for the physical causes 1st.

    • Posted

      the only other thing that helps me with dizziness is procholperazine, which is a little tablet that stops the side effects of the dizziness. i have compressed sinuses so suffer from dizziness a lot, like vertigo or labyrinthitis.

    • Posted

      Hi, I know this thread is quite old now but I'm so hoping you still get to read my reply. I also suffer exhaustion and leg pains, can you be more specific on what your leg pains feel like? i also have dizziness like OP, abdominal pain and anxiety and depression and all these symptoms have me convinced I'm dying or suffering from some terrible disease. after having bloods taken I was told I had no detectable folate level in my body and put on folic acid for 4 months. I was also booked to be tested for celiac disease but then coronavirus hit us and I haven't been able to have the test as yet. the symptoms I dont have are weight loss even tho I'm have no appetite, but the things I do eat are junk food when I can eat. i also don't have diarrhoea, but intake pain killers daily for another condition so I suffer more with constipation than anything. I'm hoping you or someone from this thread can read this and reply as my anxiety is so bad at the moment, I literally fear I'm dying and don't know where to turn 😪

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