Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Will My Body Ever Realize That I'm Not Starving Anymore?


gfjayhawk

Recommended Posts

gfjayhawk Rookie

I had severe malabsorption issues for many years before diagnosis. Despite having the celiac belly, I was still quite thin. Since I have gone gluten-free (about 10 months ago) I've gained quite a bit of weight. I'm not eating more, but my body seems to be wringing the most out of every single calorie. Has anyone else had this issue, and did your body ever settle down?


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Mother of Jibril Enthusiast

I have three thoughts...

1. What is your current BMI? Aside from the issue of malabsorption, were you underweight before you stopped eating gluten?

2. What is your diet like? Are you eating lots of fruits and vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats? Avoiding heavily processed foods? Not all gluten-free foods are healthy or good for the waistline.

3. Have you ever had your thyroid checked? Hypothyroidism often clusters with celiac and it can make you gain weight (or make it difficult to lose weight no matter how good your diet is).

Personally, I'm not sure what my "normal" weight is supposed to be. I'm six feet tall, but I stopped growing when I was twelve years old. I was skinny for a long time (with a thick waist), but at my worst point I was around 200 pounds. I was eating a lot of processed foods and dairy products... stressed out from graduate school. Right now I'm 170 and I'm satisfied with that. My BMI is in the midrange of "normal."

ShayFL Enthusiast

I agree with having your thyroid checked. I was severely hypo and skinny. Doctors would not dx me because I was thin and had D all of the time. I just didnt fit the textbook picture of hypothyroid. When my labs finally got bad enough and I took a copy of the new TSH ranges, I got dx and properly treated. It was the best thing that had ever happened to me healthwise. I improved greatly.

Ask for:

TSH (3rd generation)

Free T4

Free T3

Both antibodies for thyroid

Ferritin

B12

Vitamin D

While you are at it.....

gfjayhawk Rookie

Thanks for the replies! I have had my thyroid checked, and everything came back normal. My BMI used to run around 19, while it's currently 24.5. I'm eating a healthy diet, though I could probably eat more vegetables. I'm trying to limit refined carbs and focus more on protein, fruits and vegetables. I can tell that I am a bit more muscular than before, but I'm sure that most of this weight is not muscle. <_<

ShayFL Enthusiast

Can you post your labs for thyroid. I was told I was "normal" for 12 years when I was severely hypo. None of my doctors knew and the labs didnt have the NEW TSH ranges. The new ranges are from .3 - 3. I just saw recent labs yesterday from someone whose lab was still using 6 as the upper range for TSH!! :huh:

gfjayhawk Rookie
Can you post your labs for thyroid. I was told I was "normal" for 12 years when I was severely hypo. None of my doctors knew and the labs didnt have the NEW TSH ranges. The new ranges are from .3 - 3. I just saw recent labs yesterday from someone whose lab was still using 6 as the upper range for TSH!! :huh:

I don't have the labs right now ... will have to ask the doctor. How likely is it that I suddenly developed thyroid issues at the same time I went gluten-free?

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      125,916
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    nonleadedmilk
    Newest Member
    nonleadedmilk
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.9k
    • Total Posts
      69k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Hi, @Dawn R., I get gluten ataxia.  It's very disconcerting.   Are you still experiencing gluten ataxia symptoms eating a gluten free diet?  
    • knitty kitty
      @Jordan Carlson, Sorry to hear you're having a bumpy journey right now.  I've been there.  I thought I was never going to stop having rashes and dermatitis herpetiformis breakouts and hives, oh, my! I went on a low histamine Autoimmune Protocol Diet (AIP diet).  It gave my digestive system time to heal.  After I felt better, I could add things back into my diet without reactions.   In Celiac Disease, we make lots of histamine as part of the autoimmune response.  There's also histamine in certain types of food.  Lowering histamine levels will help you feel better.  Foods high in histamine are shellfish, crustaceans, fermented foods like pickles and sauerkraut, canned foods, processed meats and smoked meats like bacon and ham, and aged cheeses.  Grains and legumes can also be high in histamine, plus they contain hard to digest Lectins, so they go, too.  Cutting out corn made a big improvement.  Some Celiacs react to corn as though it were gluten.   Dairy can be problematic, so it goes.  Some Celiacs have lactose intolerance because their damaged villi cannot make Lactase, the enzyme that digests lactose, the carbohydrate in dairy, while some Celiacs react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten.  Dairy is high in iodine, which makes dermatitis herpetiformis flare up badly.  Eggs are high in Iodine, too.  I even switched to pink Himalayan salt, instead of iodized salt.  Avoid processed gluten free facsimile foods like cookies and breads because they have lots of additives that can cause high histamine, like carrageenan and corn.   Yes, it's a lot.  Basically veggies and meat and some fruit.  But the AIP Paleo diet really does help heal the intestines.  My digestive tract felt like it was on vacation!   I'd throw meat and veggies in a crock pot and had a vacation from cooking, too.  Think easy to digest, simple meals.  You would feed a sickly kitten differently than an adult cat, so baby your tummy, too! Take your vitamins!  It's difficult to absorb nutrients from our food when everything is so inflamed.  Supplementing with essential vitamins helps our absorption while healing.  Niacin B3, the kind that flushes (nicotinic acid -not the same as nicotine in cigarettes, don't worry!) REALLY helps with the dermatitis herpetiformis flares.  Niacin and Thiamine make digestive enzymes so you can digest fats.  Add in healthy Omega Three fats, olive oil, flaxseed oil, avocado oil, coconut oil.  Vitamin D helps lower inflammation and regulates the immune system.  Thiamine helps mast cells not to release histamine at the slightest provocation.  Benfotiamine, a form of Thiamine B1, has been shown to promote intestinal healing.  Pyridoxine B6, Riboflavin B2, Vitamin C and Vitamin A help heal the digestive tract as well as the skin.  Our outside skin is continuous with our digestive tract.  When my outside skin is having breakouts and hives, I know my insides are unhappy, too.   Talk to your doctor and nutritionist about supplementing.  Blood tests are NOT accurate measurements of B vitamin deficiencies.  These tests measure what's in the bloodstream, not what is inside cells where vitamins are used.  Supplementing with essential vitamins and minerals made a big difference with me.  (My blog has more of my bumpy journey.) Let me know if you have more questions.  You can get through this!    
    • Jordan Carlson
      Hey there @knitty kitty! Thanks for checking in. Things are not really going as planned for myself unfortunately. As much as I feel better than I did while eating gluten, I still seem to be reacting to trace amounts of gluten in gluten free foods. I constantly break out in rashes or hives after eating. My dermatitis is constantly flaring up. I take every precaution possible to be as gluten free as I possibly can and have simplified my diet as much as I possibly can but still cant get past this point in my recovery. If this is the case, I believe it would be considered non-responsive Celiac Disease or Refractory Celiac Disease. The only time I have ate gluten purposely in the last year was for the 3 weeks leading up to my endoscopy for diagnosis. Aside from that, the last year has been a constant disappointing effort to be gluten free with the same result of getting stuck at this point. I have a appointment with my doctor next week to discuss some treatment options and what the next steps are in trying to get my body to push past this point.   I will keep you posted! 
    • knitty kitty
      @GardeningForHealth, How are things going for you?   I found another topic you might be interested in... To Be or Not to Be a Pathogen: Candida albicans and Celiac Disease https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6906151/
    • knitty kitty
      @Jordan Carlson, How are you doing now?  Your post slipped by, but I had to let you know you weren't alone.  I've had cravings for raw meat my whole life.  It's due to being low or deficient B vitamins, specifically Thiamine.  Meat is a great source of B vitamins.  Cooking meat destroys some of the vitamins, so a craving for raw or rare meat shows up.   Thiamine and Niacin make digestive enzymes that will help you digest fats.  Thiamine will help improve gastroparesis, anxiety, vertigo, and heart palpitations.  Niacin will help Dermatitis Herpetiformis.  I get dermatitis herpetiformis blisters on the palms of my hands, too. Really active people (especially if outdoors in hot weather) need additional Thiamine.  If a high carbohydrate diet is eaten, additional Thiamine is needed, too.  I take Benfotiamine, a form of Thiamine that helps heal the digestive tract.  I also supplement magnesium because Thiamine and magnesium work together.   Hope you can update us on how you're doing.  
×
×
  • Create New...