How To Identify Another Intolerance After Six Weeks Gluten Free?

[KCG91]

I've been gluten free for six weeks now after diagnosis. I didn't think that I had any other intolerances but I'm beginning to wonder. So it may sound like a stupid question (who am I kidding, it is!) but how do you spot the difference between another intolerance and a possible glutening (shared house...) or something that's just part of the withdrawal/healing process? I had hardly any symptoms prior to diagnosis so I'm not sure yet how I'd react to a glutening. 

I'm considering cutting my diet right back after Christmas to try and check for any other intolerances - it seems like a sensible thing to do given that coeliacs often have other intolerances. However is this something that I should only do if I have real concerns, in case I make myself more sensitive to something by removing it? :S 

My diet is currently pretty varied (I'm vegetarian though) and I'm not a bad cook. How would you guys suggest starting an elimination diet or something if I decide to do that? 

Thanks!

[shadowicewolf]

Better question: are you having any issues now? If not, do not worry about it. Not everyone has additional intolerances.

[KCG91]

Hard to say. As I said I wasn't particularly symptomatic before diagnosis - I'd had mild bloating/cramps/gas for a few years and then this summer just runner's tummy that took longer to go away. I also had the mucousy BMs which I take to be a sign of malabsorption (as well as severe anaemia and sensitive teeth). 

So - the BMs are normal now so I guess I'm managing to stay gluten-free and am absorbing nutrients better? The bloating, gas and cramps vary by day though, which is why I'm asking if there are clear differences between a glutening, healing and other intolerances. 

[w8in4dave]

After I was Dx'd I found I am having a hard time with corn products. I am about 5 months in. Watch for corn. Corn gives me Gas , Bloating , pain!! Big pain! And bloating!! The thing is .. After I was Dx'd I kinda started eating more corn products, noodles , chips, I always drank a pop now and then .. But I bumped it up! I think Corn was always a prob, But after stoping gluten It was ughhh something is still wrong!! The thing is your Villi need to heal! So cheese , dairy will bother you and the corn products. After your Villi heal you can probably eat them again. I eat cheese products again. It has been 5 months for me. I am not ready for corn stuff as of yet. Good luck!! 

[1desperateladysaved]

I eat any given thing only 1 of every 4 days.  I have an eating plan that I can look back at when I notice I have symptoms.  When I wait four days between each day of eating things it seems to get more and more obvious what is causing my trouble as I go on.  When I have undeniable trouble  (last time my tummy was so bloated that I couldn't get a deep breath), I look back and remember if I had the same trouble  (But milder) four days before.

 

How do I know just what caused it?  I don't always, but I recheck ingredients, sometimes I check with the person that made the products I then make a best guess.  Four days later, I skip that item and see if I have trouble or not.  If I don't, I strike off that food for a longer time.  If I do have a problem, I go through the process with the next food that is most suspicious.

 

D

[Juliebove]

In my case, an elimination diet likely wouldn't have helped.  I have issues with sooo many things!  I only figured out eggs on my own after totally eliminating them when daughter was diagnosed with have an IgG allergy/intolerance to them.  Then one day I got salad bar and took some egg salad.  Got sick something like 16 hours later.  Did not know why.  Ate the rest of the egg salad the following day.  2 hours later, sick. 

 

Repeated exact same scenario with egg salad I had made myself, believing the salad bar incident to be food poisoning.  Nope!  Same timing and all.  Never again.  I got lucky that time in figuring it out.

 

I have weird ones too like marjoram, thyme, lovage, cloves and mint.  Never would have figured those out!

[Pegleg84]

Six weeks is not very long, so you're probably still healing. It's sometimes not a bad idea to drop dairy for a while since it's hard to digest, but unless you're getting worse or having weird symptoms you didn't before, then it's likely just part of the healing process. Be sure to double check your kitchen and food for any lingering gluten.

 

Give yourself a few months at least before worrying about other intolerances. By then you should have mostly healed up, and if something else is wrong then you'll likely feel it.

For future reference though, dairy (lactose and/or casein). soy, corn, nightshades, eggs, etc, seem to be common intoleranes.

 

A digestive enzyme and/or probiotics might help with gas/indigestion.

 

Good luck!

[MChase]

I'm new to Gluten Free too (5 weeks).  I started keeping a food diary (using an app on my phone where I can put in food, medication, symptoms).  I know it takes awhile for things to get better when you go gluten free.  But I noticed  other symptoms were popping up.  I then realized eggs were the culprit.  So I started eating them different ways every 3 or 4 days (scrambled with milk, easy over, hard fried, omelet, even tried in baked goods, just egg whites, just egg yolks).  Every time I ingested any eggs whatsoever, I would have issues within 15 minutes that lasted anywhere from several hours to a day and half (depending on how much eggs I consumed).  I also have issues with dairy.  Digestive wise, I can have some dairy if I take Lactaid, but it causes headaches and sinus issues regardless of how much Lactaid.  I know I didn't realize all the foods that I am intolerant to until going gluten free.  I think because I was always in pain (digestive wise) that I never pinpointed what the culprit was.  I now realize what pains (and other symptoms) are associated to what food. I am sure there are plenty of food that I have realized that I have an intolerance to.  Good luck to you.

 

So far I can't have gluten, wheat (allergic according to a prick test), bananas, eggs, dairy, mushrooms, raw onions, any red onions, garlic powder (fresh garlic seems okay if I use it sparingly).  I also break out if I touch pineapples and ginger (so I try not to ingest those.)  I am also beginning to believe I have issues with white potatoes.  Its a long road.  

 

 

**  For me, I didn't want to do a shared household.  At least not at first.  I didn't want to accidentally get glutened.  So, everyone in the household is  gluten free at home.  What they do on their own time outside of the house, is fine.  They must wash their hands when they get home, so they do not get "gluten" on the fridge, cabinets, packages of food, pantry door, etc.  Even with a teenager, no one has complained.  I just make sure I have gluten free snack foods for him (gluten-free yogurt, bananas, apples, fritos, cheese, nuts, etc).  

[MChase]

Six weeks is not very long, so you're probably still healing. It's sometimes not a bad idea to drop dairy for a while since it's hard to digest, but unless you're getting worse or having weird symptoms you didn't before, then it's likely just part of the healing process. Be sure to double check your kitchen and food for any lingering gluten.

 

Give yourself a few months at least before worrying about other intolerances. By then you should have mostly healed up, and if something else is wrong then you'll likely feel it.

For future reference though, dairy (lactose and/or casein). soy, corn, nightshades, eggs, etc, seem to be common intoleranes.

 

A digestive enzyme and/or probiotics might help with gas/indigestion.

 

Good luck!

Pegleg, 

 

How do you know whether it is lactose intolerant or casein intolerant?

[KCG91]

Thank you everyone advice duly noted Got myself onto some good probiotics and decided to put worrying about 'other intolerances' out of my mind for a while - except for eggs. I have noticed that if I eat eggs alone (boiled, omelette etc) I get not D exactly, but a tender tummy, bloating and gas. Products containing eggs seem to be OK though. Anyone else get this? And does anyone know if it might go away when my villi grow back? Thanks!

[cyclinglady]

Pegleg, 

 

How do you know whether it is lactose intolerant or casein intolerant?

Pegleg, 

 

How do you know whether it is lactose intolerant or casein intolerant?

I am butting in.....milk allergies for me start with sinus issues (start generating mucus within minutes.) Then it is on to indigestion, etc. Garlic makes my mouth tingle and then digestive issues. Gluten always begins with indigestion (burping) and actual stomach (not the small or large intestine) pain. Funny how I did not have noticeable gluten issues before my dx. I guess eating a loaf of bread a day for 7 weeks prior to my biopsy did me in!

I guess if you can safely drink Lactaid milk (with the milk sugar removed) you are just lactose intolerant. I can not eat or drink anything derived from cow's milk. I can have butter in baked goods now. It is probably contains such a small amount of milk proteins that it does not produce noticeable symptoms.

[cyclinglady]

Thank you everyone advice duly noted Got myself onto some good probiotics and decided to put worrying about 'other intolerances' out of my mind for a while - except for eggs. I have noticed that if I eat eggs alone (boiled, omelette etc) I get not D exactly, but a tender tummy, bloating and gas. Products containing eggs seem to be OK though. Anyone else get this? And does anyone know if it might go away when my villi grow back? Thanks!

I am hoping that all my allergies and intolerances that I have had for over 15 years will go away. I am not holding my breath though!