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Delicate Subject - Anyone Else?

Rebecca's mom

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Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted

Hi all,

My DH has been gluten-free for a couple of months now (gluten sensitive, not celiac disease), and I am wondering if we are the only people who have made this serendipitous discovery. I'm not sure how to put this, but he's - um - "bigger and better" (lots!) when he's gluten-free.

Believe me, I'm not complaining; it's REALLY great - it's like we're 20-year-olds all over again. If anything, I complain if he eats something that he knows gives him trouble (ahem, the Steak Bowl at Taco Bell - thanks for "nothing".....), because for a couple of days afterward, it's not quite the same!

Goodness, this is so embarassing! I don't usually talk about these kinds of things to strangers, but I don't have many friends who have celiac disease, and even if I did, how would I go about broaching the subject? "Oh, by the way, if you eat Gluten-Free, you might not need Viagra for a VERY long time....."?

Anyway, I've bared my soul, so 'fess up people. Has anyone else had this experience? Does it last (I hope the answer is "Yes"!)? Is this the best thing since sliced bread? (It is for DH and me!)

Lord, I hope my family members don't read this -

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jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted
Lord, I hope my family members don't read this -

:lol: I think a lot of us have had this same hope after some of the things posted here!

I'm happy that going gluten-free has had such an effect for the two of you :D It never ceases to amaze me all of the systems that gluten can wreck havoc on.

Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted
  • Author

I just didn't know if anyone else had experienced this or not - I know we're not imagining things, and the ONLY change that DH has made is to eliminate gluten. I don't think it is a coincidence that we both see a difference (no pun intended....) when he does ingest gluten. Oh, well, I've put the subject out there, so we'll see what folks have to say!

chasbari Apprentice
chasbari
Posted

I can only agree with you and add...

Viva brussel sprouts.. (You might need to keep him away from them....) if you get my drift.

I, too, hope my family doesn't read this!

Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted
  • Author
I can only agree with you and add...

Viva brussel sprouts.. (You might need to keep him away from them....) if you get my drift.

I, too, hope my family doesn't read this!

Thanks for the laugh (and the confirmation)! That's interesting about brussels sprouts - good information to have -

You know, I bet we could get restaurants and food manufacturers to go completely gluten-free in a matter of mere weeks if people (men, especially!) knew that this could be a "benefit" of a gluten-free lifestyle........

Teresa K.

Tim-n-VA Contributor
Tim-n-VA
Posted

My wife said "No". :(

Ahorsesoul Enthusiast
Ahorsesoul
Posted

I thought I read somewhere that they are doing studies about Prostisitis improving on a gluten free diet. Certainly could explain his improvement.

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Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted
  • Author
I thought I read somewhere that they are doing studies about Prostisitis improving on a gluten free diet. Certainly could explain his improvement.

Well, he wasn't having any "problems" before, we just noticed an "enhancement", if you will. I guess it was just a matter of middle-aged equipment vs. young-adult stuff...... He hadn't gotten to the point that he was going to need to ask for pharmaceutical help yet, either.

If he ever sees this, I am going to be in so much hot water.....

mimommy Contributor
mimommy
Posted
You know, I bet we could get restaurants and food manufacturers to go completely gluten-free in a matter of mere weeks if people (men, especially!) knew that this could be a "benefit" of a gluten-free lifestyle........

Shhh...you might start a riot at the local health food store.

Just enjoy it, dear. ;)

My wife said "No". :(

Poor guy :(

(rolling on floor laughing) :lol::rolleyes:

Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted
  • Author
My wife said "No". :(

Thanks for the laugh - I appreciate it!

one more mile Contributor
one more mile
Posted

Congratulations you two. I hope you enjoy it!

Being female I have noticed that my drive did increase a bit. So did my Boyfriend. lol

debmidge Rising Star
debmidge
Posted
Thanks for the laugh (and the confirmation)! That's interesting about brussels sprouts - good information to have -

You know, I bet we could get restaurants and food manufacturers to go completely gluten-free in a matter of mere weeks if people (men, especially!) knew that this could be a "benefit" of a gluten-free lifestyle........

Teresa K.

Just start the rumor and WATCH the food manufacturers respond to this new market

demand of GLUTEN FREE food. Companies which heretofore were unwilling to market

gluten free items would want to be the GIG's best friend if this rumor was out and

believed (and maybe became true).....

Tim-n-VA Contributor
Tim-n-VA
Posted

I made my answer concise for the humor but since we are trying to share info...

My wife said "No" to the question about physiological differenece. She did say that the reduction of mood swings on my part helped with the overall mood/attitude/etc on her part resulting in improvements in that sense.

ianm Apprentice
ianm
Posted

I noticed a big improvement once I went gluten free. Stamina and many other improvements were noticed. My girlfriend was very happy. I don't think I can go into details on this forum. :DB)

Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted
  • Author
My wife said "No" to the question about physiological differenece. She did say that the reduction of mood swings on my part helped with the overall mood/attitude/etc on her part resulting in improvements in that sense.

Yes, both my husband and I experienced improvements in mood (and desire) as well. And, oh boy, can we each tell if the other one has accidentally gotten "glutened", simply by the surly attitude / behavior.......

RollingAlong Explorer
RollingAlong
Posted

yes. :)

DH is also NCGS. We saw further improvement when he gave up casein and still later, soy. I should say that we may have confounded our variables on these last two. There was a 12 week gluten challenge in there and things got really bad for awhile... don't think so though,

I've been looking into this and it has something to do with tryptophan metabolism. Your body needs that for serotonin and that is a big player in mood, libido, and um, performance.

Thanks for breaking the ice on this one. I felt he could not be the only one out there. And I agree, this is one effect of gluten that gets very little publicity but could be a real publicity bonanza! I think it is why the Paleo and Primal type diets are so popular, they get rid of the gluten, but from the other direction, so to speak. I mean, people focus on what they are gaining, not what they are giving up.

Brussel sprouts?? really? can't hurt to try it....

Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for confirming that for me - I was starting to think that people might think we were perverts or sex addicts or something like that...... It's good to know that other people have had the same experience, but again, how do you tell people about that? It's not as if it would come up in polite conversation, you know?

Maybe some medical professional will "report" on it - there's no money to be made in the Pharmaceutical industry, but boy there would be an explosion in gluten-free products in restaurants and on grocery store shelves once that information was out there! And best of all, there are no pesky side effects, and there isn't a "window" of opportunity -

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      By Jmartes71 · Posted

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    • trents
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      Welcome to the celiac.com community @EssexMum! First, let me correct some misinformation you have been given. Except in the case of what is known as "refractory" celiac disease, which is very rare, it is not true that the "fingers" will not grow back once a consistently gluten free diet is adopted. Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition whereby the ingestion of gluten triggers an inflammatory process that damages the millions of tiny finger-like projections that make up the lining of the small bowel. We call this the "villous lining". Over time, continued ingestion of gluten on a regular basis results in the wearing down of these fingers which greatly reduces the surface area of this very important membrane. It is where essentially all the nutrition from what we eat is absorbed. So, losing this surface area results in inefficiency in nutrient absorption and often to medical problems related to nutrient deficiencies. Again, if a gluten-free diet is consistently observed, the villous lining of the small bowel should rebound. "We was informed that her body absorbs the gluten rather then rejecting it and that is why she doesn't react to the gluten straight away, it will be a build up and then the pains start. " That sounds like unscientific BS to me. But it does sound like your stepdaughter may have a type of celiac disease we know as "silent" celiac disease, meaning, she is asymptomatic or at least the symptoms are not intense enough to usually notice. She is not completely asymptomatic, however, because you stated was experiencing tummy aches off and on. Cristiana gives some good suggestions about ordering "safe" food for your stepdaughter from restaurant menus in Europe. You must realize that as the step parent who only has her part of the time you have no real control over how cooperative her other set of parents are with regard to your stepdaughter's needs to eat gluten free. It sounds like they don't really understand the seriousness of the matter. This is very common in family settings where other members are ignorant about celiac disease and the damage it can do to body systems. So, they don't take it seriously. The best you can do is make suggestions. Perhaps print out some info about celiac disease from the Internet to send them. Being inconsistent with the gluten free diet keeps the inflammation smoldering and delays or inhibits healing of the villous lining. 
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    • cristiana
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      Good evening @EssexMum You are quite right to be concerned about this situation.  Once diagnosed as coeliac, always a coeliac, and the way to heal  is through adopting and sticking to a strict gluten diet. That said... I have travelled twice to France since my diagnosis, firstly in May 2013 and again in August 2019.   My spoken French isn't bad, and whilst there I tried my best to explain my needs to chefs and catering staff, and I read labels very carefully when shopping in supermarkets, but both times I came away with worsening gastric symptoms and pain. Interestingly,  after the second holiday, my annual coeliac review took place the following month and although I'd been very careful to avoid gluten all year, thanks to that August holiday my coeliac antibodies were elevated,  Clearly I hadn't been imagining these symptoms and they must have been caused by gluten sneaking in somehow. When I spoke to my gastroenterologist on my return, who is an excellent doctor, he told me with a smile that this was a very common experience in France among his patients, and not to worry too much about it! In fact, before we went away in May 2013, which was just after I had been formally diagnosed, he told me not to even bother trying to adopt a gluten free diet until I returned, knowing what France was like, but I was feeling so awful at that time I ignored his advice and at least tried to make a start with it. (I ought to say - both these visits were some time ago, so perhaps things are a lot better there now.) So what to do?  I would say at least try to explain to catering staff the situation - they should be able to rustle up a plate of cheese, boiled eggs, tuna, salad and fruit, and if things like crackers and gluten-free pot noodle or oats can be packed in the UK, those can be produced at mealtimes.    Of course, most larger supermarkets in France do now cater for coeliacs, but when I was last there the the choice wasn't as wide a range as we have in the UK but I think that is partly because the French like to cook from scratch, whereas our gluten-free aisles have quite a lot of dried or pre-baked goods in them/convenience foods, because I think we as a nation tend to use them more. I would be worth doing a bit of research on the internet before the trip, - the words you want are 'sans gluten'.  I've just googled 'sans gluten Disney Paris" and this came up.  I do hope at least some of this is of help. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g2079053-zfz10992-Disneyland_Paris_Ile_de_France.html  Whatever befalls in France, at least your stepdaughter can resume her usual diet on her return. On a related tack, would you be happy to post any positive findings/tips upon her return - it might be of use to others travelling to Disneyland Paris with children in future? Cristiana
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