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

Gluten Withdrawal?

Sunny1008

Recommended Posts

Sunny1008 Rookie
Sunny1008
Posted

Hello everyone,

I am new to this. I just started a gluten-free diet about two and a half weeks ago. My digestive symptoms seem to have improved, but now I am experiencing severe bouts of dizziness. I feel like I could pass out at any moment.

Could this be a symptom of gluten withdrawal? Anyone else experience this? When will it pass?

Thanks!

Sunny

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


love2travel Mentor
love2travel
Posted

Many of us here had gluten withdrawal and the symptoms are many and varied. I was quite nauseous and got daily headaches and felt dizzy. It lasted for a few weeks then disappeared. Others have said it lasted longer so unfortunately it is impossible to tell you how long it will last. Our bodies are all different; subsequently, healing times/symptoms are different as well. Some symptoms are a little harder to bear than others.

Do not be discouraged - this can be normal. Keep at the gluten-free diet and before you know it the withdrawal symptoms will be a distant memory. :) Just think - your body is already on the road to recovery!

Sunny1008 Rookie
Sunny1008
Posted
  • Author

Many of us here had gluten withdrawal and the symptoms are many and varied. I was quite nauseous and got daily headaches and felt dizzy. It lasted for a few weeks then disappeared. Others have said it lasted longer so unfortunately it is impossible to tell you how long it will last. Our bodies are all different; subsequently, healing times/symptoms are different as well. Some symptoms are a little harder to bear than others.

Do not be discouraged - this can be normal. Keep at the gluten-free diet and before you know it the withdrawal symptoms will be a distant memory. :) Just think - your body is already on the road to recovery!

love2travel,

Thank you for the reassurance. I needed it! I have noticed dizziness and low blood sugar, as well as some body aches. But I guess the most frustrating is that my GI tract is still VERY inflamed, and so I am having to take it easy on what I eat. Like last night I had some strawberries - oh my gosh, I thought I was going to die! I guess I will have to try to have patience with some of these "setbacks". But I hope that I am on the road to recovery!

Sunny

love2travel Mentor
love2travel
Posted

love2travel,

Thank you for the reassurance. I needed it! I have noticed dizziness and low blood sugar, as well as some body aches. But I guess the most frustrating is that my GI tract is still VERY inflamed, and so I am having to take it easy on what I eat. Like last night I had some strawberries - oh my gosh, I thought I was going to die! I guess I will have to try to have patience with some of these "setbacks". But I hope that I am on the road to recovery!

Sunny

Remember that you are NOT alone. We are here for encouragement and to share our personal experiences, which are many and varied.

For the first few months my dietitian recommended I avoid raw fruit as I too had troubles with it. Now I eat it with no problem whatsoever. Just give your gut time to heal. Take it slow, breathe and focus on things you enjoy. Distractions really help! I hope today is a good day. :)

Sunny1008 Rookie
Sunny1008
Posted
  • Author

Remember that you are NOT alone. We are here for encouragement and to share our personal experiences, which are many and varied.

For the first few months my dietitian recommended I avoid raw fruit as I too had troubles with it. Now I eat it with no problem whatsoever. Just give your gut time to heal. Take it slow, breathe and focus on things you enjoy. Distractions really help! I hope today is a good day. :)

Thank you, love2travel. I am so glad to know I am not alone. I am trying to distract myself as much as possible because it helps take my mind off how my digestive system is functioning (or not!). :D

LauraB0927 Apprentice
LauraB0927
Posted

Sunny,

Welcome to the forum! You'll find a lot of very experienced and knowledgeable people on here - that's how I learned as much ad I did. I was diagnosed in May of 2012 so I'm pretty new at this too. It seems that withdrawal symptoms are very different for everyone and I had almost the same symptoms that you are describing. I felt very foggy and was dizzy at times and didn't feel myself at all. My mood was all over the place and I still thank my fiance for putting up with me during that time period. I began to feel better after about 2-3 weeks but still have my moments here and there. Try to eat as natural as possible and try to stay away from eating gluten replacement foods like gluten free pasta and breads. I've been making home made beef broth to ease my GI system in the morning which seems to help me digest foods much better now. Don't be surprised if you get random reactions here and there, from what I've read on the forum it seems that this is a natural reaction of your body trying to heal. Are you taking a multivitamin? If not, you may want to consider it. Hang in there and if its any comfort to you, we all went through it. Please feel free to vent anytime - I know I did!! Best wishes to you...

Sunny1008 Rookie
Sunny1008
Posted
  • Author

Sunny,

Welcome to the forum! You'll find a lot of very experienced and knowledgeable people on here - that's how I learned as much ad I did. I was diagnosed in May of 2012 so I'm pretty new at this too. It seems that withdrawal symptoms are very different for everyone and I had almost the same symptoms that you are describing. I felt very foggy and was dizzy at times and didn't feel myself at all. My mood was all over the place and I still thank my fiance for putting up with me during that time period. I began to feel better after about 2-3 weeks but still have my moments here and there. Try to eat as natural as possible and try to stay away from eating gluten replacement foods like gluten free pasta and breads. I've been making home made beef broth to ease my GI system in the morning which seems to help me digest foods much better now. Don't be surprised if you get random reactions here and there, from what I've read on the forum it seems that this is a natural reaction of your body trying to heal. Are you taking a multivitamin? If not, you may want to consider it. Hang in there and if its any comfort to you, we all went through it. Please feel free to vent anytime - I know I did!! Best wishes to you...

Hi Laura,

Thanks for the advice! I have been gluten-free for three weeks now, and I have to say, I am still not feeling that much better. I still get nausea, acid reflux, feeling full all the time, distended belly, etc. I am taking vitamins.

This is really starting to make me depressed. :( It is difficult for me to do social activities because I never know what my stomach is going to do. So I have been staying pretty close to the house for the past few months. And speaking of your fiance...I am really, really sad because the person I was dating basically just ditched me when I got sick. I have been sick for the past few months, and I guess he just couldn't handle it. I really loved and cared about him, but obviously he didn't feel the same, because if you truly love someone, you stick with them through sickness AND health!!

Sorry, just needed to vent real quick!

Sunny

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


nvsmom Community Regular
nvsmom
Posted

I just started gluten-free last week and withdrawal is hitting me now. Ugh, what a headache! It makes me wonder if some of my past headaches were caused when Iaccidently went gluten-free for a few days(I eat pretty gluten lite).

So for now it's the migraine and i'm not sleeping that well. I woke up before 5am ... And it's a holiday today! I don't feel more tired than normal but I always feel like I could do with a nap. I am one of those who falls asleep within minutes.... Oh geepers, I hope that doesn't go away once I start to heal! LOL

I am guessing the withdrawal will last about two weeks, and then maybe I'll start to feel good Ina couple of months.

LauraB0927 Apprentice
LauraB0927
Posted

Hi Laura,

Thanks for the advice! I have been gluten-free for three weeks now, and I have to say, I am still not feeling that much better. I still get nausea, acid reflux, feeling full all the time, distended belly, etc. I am taking vitamins.

This is really starting to make me depressed. :( It is difficult for me to do social activities because I never know what my stomach is going to do. So I have been staying pretty close to the house for the past few months. And speaking of your fiance...I am really, really sad because the person I was dating basically just ditched me when I got sick. I have been sick for the past few months, and I guess he just couldn't handle it. I really loved and cared about him, but obviously he didn't feel the same, because if you truly love someone, you stick with them through sickness AND health!!

Sorry, just needed to vent real quick!

Sunny

Please feel free to vent anytime! This is a VERY hard thing to go through - and unfortunately its a steep learning curve. Three weeks isn't unusual for you to still be feeling withdrawal symptoms. How are you tolerating dairy? That could also be making you feel sick if you're still eating it. A lot of other people on here say that when they started the gluten free diet, they began to weed out other foods because of reactions that were developing. You're GI system is still very sensitive and its trying to heal, so you're probably going to have some reactions. Regarding the depression (which I experienced mildly), I read another helpful post where a moderator advised a member that depression is often involved with the withdrawal process. Gluten supposedly acts on the receptors of the brain and when these receptors aren't getting gluten anymore, it can cause you to feel depressed. As far as going out socially - that was the hardest part for me. I LOVED going out to eat and ordering whatever I wanted. But if you haven't discovered it already, there are a lot of gluten free apps on the smart phones that can show you gluten-free restaurants in your area, so you can still be close to home, just in case. The ones I use are "Find Me Gluten Free," "Gluten Free Registry," "Is that Gluten Free? - Eating Out," and "Is that Gluten Free?" Some of them I had to pay for but it was well worth it because you can read other people's reviews on their experiences with the food at that specific place.

I'm so sorry to hear about your boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend I should say. At least you know now that he's an @$$ and you wouldn't want to have to deal with that for any longer. I know this doesn't mean much, but it sounds like you're better off without him. Still, its bad that we Celiacs feel ostracized enough with this stupid illness but to have something like that happen is devastating. Although my fiance is very supportive, I still get the feeling of being alone and different, especially when I take my bag full of snacks everywhere I go. Not sure if this would interest you, but I found a local support group for Celiacs that has been fantastic - in fact, we have a gluten free Pot Luck dinner meeting coming up on Tuesday. Is there anything like that in your area? If so, it may be worth checking out. Please stay strong - this is very hard and you're doing fantastic. It WILL get better...I will definitely keep you in my thoughts. And again, this forum is what venting is for! Vent away!!!! :)

Archived

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

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      127,877
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    SamEsplanade
    Newest Member
    SamEsplanade
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.5k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Bebee
      Testing for celiac

      By Bebee · Posted

      I have been diagnosed with Microscopic Colitis (LC) for quite a few years, so I have been gluten-free and DF.  I would like to get tested for Celiac Disease because of the possibility of cross contamination and colon cancer.  And if you were hospitalized and didn't have a celiac diagnosis you could not get gluten-free food, I don't know if that is true or not.  Also because there is chance of colon cancer so I want to know if I have Celiac Disease and need to be on very restrictive diet.  The only testing I did was a sigmoid scope and Enter Lab but no gene testing.  I know I can go back to eating gluten for a few months, but I would worry you would have to stay home for the few months while getting gluten.  What other options do I have?  Should I do the gene testing?  Maybe through Entero Lab?  Any other tests?  How important is it to have Celiac diagnosed? Thank you! Barb
    • trents
      Hidden Gluten in distilled vinegar

      By trents · Posted

      Take it easy! I was just prompting you for some clarification.  In the distillation process, the liquid is boiled and the vapor descends up a tube and condenses into another container as it cools. What people are saying is that the gluten molecules are too large and heavy to travel up with the vapor and so get left behind in the original liquid solution. Therefore, the condensate should be free of gluten, no matter if there was gluten in the original solution. The explanation contained in the second sentence I quoted from your post would not seem to square with the physics of the distillation process. Unless, that is, I misunderstood what you were trying to explain.
    • Mynx
      Hidden Gluten in distilled vinegar

      By Mynx · Posted

      No they do not contradict each other. Just like frying oil can be cross contaminated even though the oil doesn't contain the luten protein. The same is the same for a distilled vinegar or spirit which originally came from a gluten source. Just because you don't understand, doesn't mean you can tell me that my sentences contradict each other. Do you have a PhD in biochemistry or friends that do and access to a lab?  If not, saying you don't understand is one thing anything else can be dangerous to others. 
    • Mynx
      Hidden Gluten in distilled vinegar

      By Mynx · Posted

      The reason that it triggers your dermatitis herpetiformis but not your celiac disease is because you aren't completely intolerant to gluten. The celiac and dermatitis herpetiformis genes are both on the same chronometer. Dermatitis herpetoformus reacts to gluten even if there's a small amount of cross contamination while celiac gene may be able to tolerate a some gluten or cross contamination. It just depends on the sensitivity of the gene. 
    • trents
      Hidden Gluten in distilled vinegar

      By trents · Posted

      @Mynx, you say, "The reason this is believed is because the gluten protein molecule is too big to pass through the distillation process. Unfortunately, the liquid ie vinegar is cross contaminated because the gluten protein had been in the liquid prior to distillation process." I guess I misunderstand what you are trying to say but the statements in those two sentences seem to contradict one another.
×
×
  • Create New...