Fatigue, Muscle Pain Gone After Going Gluten Free?

[Nadia2009]

Hi everyone,

My last celiac results done on September 26 were normal. Previously, I had some testing done but not the whole panel. I went gluten free except for one day when I decided to cheat (I know that's crazy) but the pain I had for 5 days and heartburn is a good lesson for me. I am now very strict about the diet and I am feeling better. I feel lighter and the trips to the washroom are a little less frequent.

In the last days, I feel like I have been waking up less tired and without the feeling that someone is pushing me down. That's so true for my shoulders. I just started to exercise too but I started less than a week ago and I don't believe I can feel the benefit of physical exercise yet. I told myself it was the gluten free diet and my body getting better and healthier.

How long was it before you felt better and started waking up without muscle pain and lethargy?

I have read here that gluten intolerance causes lactose intolerance and I decided to avoid dairy. Is that how it should be?

Thank you

[amberlynn]

A gluten-free diet is generally pretty healthy. Avoiding dairy is a personal choice, if you feel it will be helpful, then by all means do so! I personally haven't noticed any problems with dairy recently, so I'm not quite ready to give it up, lol. If you give it up and don't notice anything in a few weeks, then the dairy is probably OK. It generally takes up to a month to clear an allergen out of your system (and as little as 2 weeks).

I've personally been going to the gym for at least 6 months, about 3 times a week (sometimes more, not usually less). This helped some of my pain, but not enough. It wasn't until I went gluten-free that the majority of my pain has gone away.

I was slated for surgery on a degenrative disc in my lower back over the summer (insurance cancelled it). It was so bad some days I couldn't walk. Now, I barely notice it, and the days I do are very similar to my 'good' days when it was bad. And this difference was 2 weeks after I started the diet, and my pain was pretty much constant. So, I don't believe it was the exercise alone.

I, too, wake up feeling rested instead of completely and utterly exhausted ALL the time. It got so bad, I was falling asleep at work (standing up!!).

I want to say it took at least 2 weeks before I started noticing dramatic differences, but I started feeling better in general within a few days. When I get glutened, I am miserable for at least 48 hours. Sometimes longer...

[Alphawave]

Hi everyone,

My last celiac results done on September 26 were normal. Previously, I had some testing done but not the whole panel. I went gluten free except for one day when I decided to cheat (I know that's crazy) but the pain I had for 5 days and heartburn is a good lesson for me. I am now very strict about the diet and I am feeling better. I feel lighter and the trips to the washroom are a little less frequent.

In the last days, I feel like I have been waking up less tired and without the feeling that someone is pushing me down. That's so true for my shoulders. I just started to exercise too but I started less than a week ago and I don't believe I can feel the benefit of physical exercise yet. I told myself it was the gluten free diet and my body getting better and healthier.

How long was it before you felt better and started waking up without muscle pain and lethargy?

I have read here that gluten intolerance causes lactose intolerance and I decided to avoid dairy. Is that how it should be?

Thank you

Kinda depends on how "sick" you were, or how long you actually had the disease. I had mine for approximately 5 years. However, I ate very little gluten/bread, as I am a type 1 diabetic. I DID have serious joint and muscle pain. I am a little over one month gluten free, and the pain is lessened, but NOT disappeared yet.. I know for a fact I am still low on Vit D and B vitamins because they were run last week. I also have osteoporosis of the spine. I am sure it will take months before the vitamin situation improves....... my stomach, however is just about the best I have had in over 5 years. You MAY need to avoid dairy if your disease had moderate to severe damage of the villi of your small intestine. It takes adults a long time to repair.....also, I can tell you as a nurse, that it is imperative to have a sound nutritious diet and supplements. Lots of probiotics, yogurt, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. It is best if you can go organic. WHY? Because your body is trying to heal from TOXINS, and you don't want to put MORE toxins back into it (from pesticide and contaminated food, do you?) I see a lot on these boards about people trying to find gluten free junk food, and I suppose that is human nature. But your body needs healing, and going to McD's isn't going to help. Also know, we were taught in Nursing School that Celiac's disease puts a strain on the liver (due to toxin and autoimmune responses), therefore you may have to really pull back on the diet for a short while to let your liver calm down. Hope that helps!

[Nadia2009]

A gluten-free diet is generally pretty healthy. Avoiding dairy is a personal choice, if you feel it will be helpful, then by all means do so! I personally haven't noticed any problems with dairy recently, so I'm not quite ready to give it up, lol. If you give it up and don't notice anything in a few weeks, then the dairy is probably OK. It generally takes up to a month to clear an allergen out of your system (and as little as 2 weeks).

I've personally been going to the gym for at least 6 months, about 3 times a week (sometimes more, not usually less). This helped some of my pain, but not enough. It wasn't until I went gluten-free that the majority of my pain has gone away.

I was slated for surgery on a degenrative disc in my lower back over the summer (insurance cancelled it). It was so bad some days I couldn't walk. Now, I barely notice it, and the days I do are very similar to my 'good' days when it was bad. And this difference was 2 weeks after I started the diet, and my pain was pretty much constant. So, I don't believe it was the exercise alone.

I, too, wake up feeling rested instead of completely and utterly exhausted ALL the time. It got so bad, I was falling asleep at work (standing up!!).

I want to say it took at least 2 weeks before I started noticing dramatic differences, but I started feeling better in general within a few days. When I get glutened, I am miserable for at least 48 hours. Sometimes longer...

I stopped all dairy in the hope that it will help me clear my chronic sinus inflammation and also, I wasn't getting much dairy anyway since I heard about the blood type diet but now I miss having cream in my tea or having an ice cream. I was hoping my sinus congestion would go away after I go gluten free but it is still there. I am also on a very low sugar diet: the only sugar I have in my comes from fruits. So, I am basically eating rice, veggies fruits, meat, fish, seefood and a bit of potato. I have plenty of good fats from avocado and olive oil. The only processed food I eat is pop corn which I will have to stopped because my favorite one has cheese. I am also planning to go without fruits (sugar) for one week just to starve any bad bacterias in my gut. I am reading Stu Mittleman's book, Slow burn and he advises to go on a cleanse without sugar for a week-10 days so that we go from a sugar burner mode to a fat burner one. He consider good fats as the fuel of the body. The cleanse will be to alkalize and give me more energy for my exercise program. Then, I will go back to fruits.

I can relate to falling asleep standing and at work. I was wondering what was happening to me for the last 3 years I would feel drowsy anywhere and would yawn non stop for a long time.

[Nadia2009]

Kinda depends on how "sick" you were, or how long you actually had the disease. I had mine for approximately 5 years. However, I ate very little gluten/bread, as I am a type 1 diabetic. I DID have serious joint and muscle pain. I am a little over one month gluten free, and the pain is lessened, but NOT disappeared yet.. I know for a fact I am still low on Vit D and B vitamins because they were run last week. I also have osteoporosis of the spine. I am sure it will take months before the vitamin situation improves....... my stomach, however is just about the best I have had in over 5 years. You MAY need to avoid dairy if your disease had moderate to severe damage of the villi of your small intestine. It takes adults a long time to repair.....also, I can tell you as a nurse, that it is imperative to have a sound nutritious diet and supplements. Lots of probiotics, yogurt, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. It is best if you can go organic. WHY? Because your body is trying to heal from TOXINS, and you don't want to put MORE toxins back into it (from pesticide and contaminated food, do you?) I see a lot on these boards about people trying to find gluten free junk food, and I suppose that is human nature. But your body needs healing, and going to McD's isn't going to help. Also know, we were taught in Nursing School that Celiac's disease puts a strain on the liver (due to toxin and autoimmune responses), therefore you may have to really pull back on the diet for a short while to let your liver calm down. Hope that helps!

I don't know how long I have had symptoms of gluten intolerance and I haven't heard of celiac before March this year. I also don't know if my vili is damaged but my estomach is very sensitive to many things: fried food and oily food, acidic and spicy food give me heartburn and reflux. I also don't diggest well many foods. But I got sick mid March and it started with me being upset and very disappointed with something in my life. I was feeling very depressed and started big loads of carbs. During a cold winter, I was typically eating a lot of carbs but then this year, I was feeling very depressed and upset and I started not paying attention to what I ate: I would starve myself for a long day or have a cinnebon full of caramel and gluten at around 10pm. I didn't care until I found myself very bloated and too tired in the morning. I also had nausea maybe from starting myself at times and then suddently eating not the best food for my body. I felt miserable one week-end and decide to make changes and I started ready about candida and parasites and about wheat intolerance and then I found a website from celiac.

I described above how I came to think I could have gluten intolerance but I don't know if it started then or earlier. One funny thing is that I am the most aware and read on health among my friends and relatives but I have also been the one who went to see the doctor and the dentist more often. I read all sorts of books on health and would give helpful suggestions to others but I didn't seem the healthiest person and I would catch flus and colds before and after others. I have suffered from muscle pain and tiredness for years though never the lethargy of the last few years. I thought my muscle pain was due to what you call in America anxiety attacks (but it has more than anxiety and touches the muscles and nerfs). Anyway, the only diggestive symptoms I had and have for as long as I can remember are acid reflux and regurgitation of food.

I am low on vit D (55) but no other deficiency was found not vit B, iron or calcium. But I used to be calcium deficient for years and it taught me to take supplements for calcium, vit B, C and D. I don't know if low vit D alone suggests celiac but for my doctor, it is because of the long winter and I have no celiac but he doesn't know I take all year long my vit B and calcium magnesium and I also ate nutritious food even when I was craving gluten. Now, I added provitamin A with selenium and oregano oil. I also take some other herbs and seeds that are known for their health benefits. Thank you for your suggestions.