Numbness & Decreased taste on left side of tongue

[kindred3]

About a year ago I had to have a MRI done after loosening all taste on the Left side of my tongue.  I then went through periods where I would loose feeling of my left side of my body.  They treated me for Bell's palsy and things got better.  I also have a history of migraines.  I am also boarder line celiac disease.  I try hard to follow the celiac diet.  I went to the doctor and they didn't know what I had.  The doctors are still unclear.  My taste still isn't the same.  Sometimes I have a difficulty tasting my food on the left side.  Do you have any ideas of what is going on?  Could this be a pinched nerve, celiac disease, or something else?  

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

These symptoms are varied. You have loss of taste sensation, one sided weakness, celiac disease and probably Bell's palsy.

There could be a direct effect of the celiac disease on the brain functioning. You should be restricting gluten in your diet. Do you have allergy to certain foods?

I would like to ask if you have had MRI of the brain, EMG and nerve conduction study earlier. If not, can you get these done?

Regards

[kindred3]

I got an MRI done on the brain when all of this started.  The MRI came back negative.  Everything was fine, which I was glad to find out that I don't have MS.  I also know that celiac disease can show up as the same symptoms as MS.  I have restricted my gluten intake for about 5 or 6 years now.  It is extremely hard to eliminate everything completely as I have noticed that almost everything has gluten in it in some sense, but I try really hard.  I have several allergies on top of everything.  A few years back I got the cytotoxic test done, which basically shows how much oxygen is taken away from the cells when a specific food is ate.  I buy only gluten free cakes and anything that I can.  I don't eat any breads or cookies unless they are gluten free and yeast free.  I am also allergic to yeast which causes a bigger reaction than the gluten, so I have to out way the pros and cons of everything.