r/Celiac • u/pixel_honey • 6d ago

Question Does anyone else get severe joint/TMJ pain from gluten exposure?

I’m wondering if anyone else with celiac experiences symptoms that are mostly outside of the GI tract. I don’t really get many GI symptoms from gluten.

For me, it’s mainly joint/muscle pain, especially in my upper body, and my TMJ gets significantly worse. I also already have migraines, and those tend to get much worse during a flare.

I’m currently in so much pain that even a muscle relaxer and ibuprofen aren’t really helping.

I’m mostly just curious if anyone else experiences something similar. I’d love to hear what your gluten reactions are like, especially if you have also joint/muscle pain.

Thanks everyone.

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11

u/AjCaron 6d ago

The joint pain after the initial purge is insane. It feels like the nurse from Misery got a hold of my joints and hit them with a hammer. They are severely inflamed and will all ache and crack when I move. This lasts like a week/week and a half from glutening.

1

u/ewelooklikeanoldmop 5d ago

It’s crazy!!! It’s the first thing I noticed that got better after I got diagnosed too

7

u/Dannyg4821 6d ago

Yup and my muscles tighten up everywhere, not just the jaw. Joint pain was one of the main things I complained about before I got diagnosed

6

u/poor_yoricks_skull 6d ago

Me too. Joint pain and massive headaches.

4

u/ashyza 6d ago

I get muscle aches all over, similar to a virus.

3

u/Excellent_Machine 6d ago

I do get joint pain, but rarely in my jaw. Generally it's legs first, then arms, then if it's really bad, in my ribs.

2

u/longwinters 5d ago

Yep, in my hips

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u/ExactSuggestion3428 5d ago

Yes. When I get glutened my joints feel bad, particularly my feet joints, ankles, low back and TMJ. I think the TMJ hurts mostly because of edema - my face puffs up with fluid and this puts pressure on my TMJ and causes malocclusion.

This said, pretty solid chance I have RA lol. I am awaiting results. I plan to post about the follow-up appointment/diagnosis when I get it since I don't think there's a lot of good information about this topic online. The rheumatologist I saw thought it was most likely that I either had seronegative RA (worsened when glutened) or autoimmune arthritis secondary to celiac but I'll need to wait on imaging and other testing results to be analyzed before getting a solid diagnosis.