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

My One Week Update


tctwhite

Recommended Posts

tctwhite Apprentice

Today has been a week in my gluten-free life. Ive had more energy this week than I have in years. And the kids are back in school so Ive been getting up early. Yesterday morning I washed AND waxed my truck :blink: and then in the evening I bathed my dog. Which I paid for last night because I was sore, but it was a good kind of sore. Not the debilitating aches. Its obvious that my body is going to have to get used to all this moving around again. I was talking to DH last night and I told him that I feel better, and that I wasn't sure if it was all in my head or if I really am improving. I want to believe that its true progress and its not all in my head. I guess Ive been told "its all in your head" one too many times.

My headaches seem to be lessening in intensity, but not frequency. One thing that is bothering me though. I am absolutely ravenous. I was that way before but this has just taken it over the top. Could that be a gluten withdrawal? I don't feel the absolute need to go raid the bread box per se but I feel as though Im starving. That is not a good feeling, and the scale is starting to creep up, which really bothers me since I constantly struggle with weight. Just curious as to if others have experienced this.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



kittty Contributor

Today has been a week in my gluten-free life. Ive had more energy this week than I have in years. And the kids are back in school so Ive been getting up early. Yesterday morning I washed AND waxed my truck :blink: and then in the evening I bathed my dog. Which I paid for last night because I was sore, but it was a good kind of sore. Not the debilitating aches. Its obvious that my body is going to have to get used to all this moving around again. I was talking to DH last night and I told him that I feel better, and that I wasn't sure if it was all in my head or if I really am improving. I want to believe that its true progress and its not all in my head. I guess Ive been told "its all in your head" one too many times.

My headaches seem to be lessening in intensity, but not frequency. One thing that is bothering me though. I am absolutely ravenous. I was that way before but this has just taken it over the top. Could that be a gluten withdrawal? I don't feel the absolute need to go raid the bread box per se but I feel as though Im starving. That is not a good feeling, and the scale is starting to creep up, which really bothers me since I constantly struggle with weight. Just curious as to if others have experienced this.

I started feeling better after a week too, but not completely healed. It's been over four months, and I sometimes have setbacks, but the healing is still continuing. The first things to disappear were the D and the headaches, and the energy came back very quickly too. But the anxiety part, although reduced, is something I'm still struggling with. The brain fog comes and goes too, but less frequently.

As for the hungry feeling - I didn't have that. It could just be a mental thing, where you feel so deprived by not being able to eat the foods you're used to that your brain tells you to eat to overcome the deprival. I used to get that when I was trying to lose weight by cutting out certain foods. Not eating gluten will get easier though.

katrnc Newbie

I'm a week free too! I feel amazing! I have so much energy and I feel so light on the inside! I'm happier, calmer...my family even noticed a difference! I do get terrible cravings, and I get very hungry. I try to just suppress these and ride it out, they will go away I believe.

Well done! :lol: Go us! :)

BigSweaty Newbie

I am just over a week gluten-free..I can say the main thing that is constant is that I have an abundance of energy (or its normal energy that was not present due to the gluten intolerance). Also, I have seen a slight decrease in my belly (it was always "swollen".

Lost about 5 lbs. yet still eating when hungry(hunger has diminished, prob due to higher protein intake.

I dont crave wheat or wheat products and since I also cut back on sugar(to stop any yeast that may have been present), sweet tasting items seem much more sweet now.

GFinDC Veteran

HI,

Yes, I went through time of being extra hungry after going gluten-free. But it passed after a while and now I eat less than did before gluten-free.

tctwhite Apprentice

Well either last night I got CC'd or just had a bad night in general. I was blown up like a balloon looking pregnant, stomach pains, nausea, and just felt like I could throw up at any second.

Im still blowing up like a balloon after meals. And these are meals I have made with no one else around and have been oober careful of CC possibilities.

I was just looking at labs that were done on me at the beginning of this year and just about all my vitamin deficiency tests were either right at the lowest normal level or just below normal. The writing has been on the wall for a long time and no one has caught it......or cared enough to delve deeper into what was going on. So many pieces of the puzzle are fitting together, even if it is self diagnosing. No way am I going to do the gluten challenge to try the blood work, and I dang sure am not having another endo done. :rolleyes:

GFinDC Veteran

HI,

Being low on vitamins is a sign you may have damage to your villi preventing absorption. That's probably something doctors should always test people for, vitamin deficiencies. You are still very new to the gluten-free diet, so it is not surprising it hasn't cleared all your symptoms up yet. It may be a few months up to a year or more for you to get back to feeling right digestion wise. Healing can take some time.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



KMMO320 Contributor

The longest I went gluten-free was 3 weeks and I felt A M A Z I N G!!!!

I fell off the wagon and have been feeling pretty crappy all the time again. I do not have Celiac, I am Gluten Intolerant. I just went 4 days and felt great again and then stupidly ate some stupid cake at work today. I am not in pain, just feel lousy. I cannot say why I do this to myself, its all mental, I know that.

My energy level the last few days have been so amazing. Tonight I feel like I am ready to pass out but the last few days I had to find ways to get myself to sleep because I had so much energy!

nvsmom Community Regular

That's great you are feeling better so soon! Congrats! I'm sorry to hear you were cc'd though; it's amazing how noticeable the symptoms are when we've been off gluten a while (I'm 2 months in).

I was extra hungry the first week or two, and now I find I'm less hungry. I can go more than 2hours without eating. LOL I used to get the shakes if I did that. In those first weeks, I did eat gluten-free snack foods a lot, and I still lost a couple pounds. Now, after 8 weeks, I'm down about 10-15 lbs. I don't know if it's the lack of inflammation, or just eating healthier foods, but it's working for me so I'm going with it! LOL

Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      126,483
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    sammiller
    Newest Member
    sammiller
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.9k
    • Total Posts
      69.4k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • GardeningForHealth
      Most doctors would dismiss the experiences I have described here, including my food diary, as somatic reactions, and begin to think of me as a hypochondriac--so I am very careful about what I share with doctors.  Most of the research done so far in the medical field has focused on Type I hypersensitivity: classic IgE-mediated allergic responses. I wasn't even aware of Type IV (or had forgotten about it) until knittykitty reminded me about it with her post. But even when talking about an allergist, does an allergist understand that Celiac is a Type IV hypersensitivity reaction? And if so, would an allergist believe or understand that other foods can cause a Type IV hypersensitivity reaction? And if so, are there objective tests that prove these non-gluten reactions, such as a hypothetical Type IV hypersensitivity reaction to apples, plums, sausage, cassava flour, etc? I do not believe these tests exist right now.  And lets say that these tests did exist, and I could take them, and obtain objective proof (besides my food diary) of my reactions to these foods. Now what? Is there a treatment besides avoiding those foods? I am not aware of it. I would simply be told: avoid all of those foods forever.  And that is not reasonable either. Avoid all of those foods forever? Really? There are times that I feel malnourished. I then will eat a food from the bad list, and suddenly feel much better nourished, but then I have a reaction that begins the next day or the day after that, and lasting many days afterwards. The reaction is always the same: brain fog, fatigue, dizziness, headache, significant enough to impair any productivity. I have been on this elimination diet for about 3 months now, but each time I attempt to re-introduce a food item that I initially reacted to, I have the same reaction. Therefore, I do not believe it will ever be safe in the future to re-introduce a food back into my diet safely. This is a big problem with no solution.
    • aperlo34
      Title says it all. I’m at 4 months since Dx/starting gluten-free diet but the last month and a half I’ve had pretty irritated eyes. Originally they started really dry and sensitive to light, especially in the morning. Saw the eye doc and he said eye strain/dry eyes due to season change/radiators turning on in my apartment. I’ve been using a heat mask and eye drops and that helped a lot. However my eyes still feel tired and red and gunky, but not really dry anymore. Just a bit irritated.    any thoughts?   THANKS!
    • Mmar
      Hello! I have been on a strict gluten-free diet for 20 years after my initial diagnosis, but in July had an endoscopy that showed villous atrophy (but multiple ttgs have all been normal). I have gone through everything in my house to eliminate any gluten and have been eating almost no processed foods, and will be getting a second endoscopy in a month because my GI doctor thinks it could be refractory celiac. She told me that if it’s refractory, I would need to see a “specialist” because she doesn’t know enough.  I live in Philadelphia and the Celiac Center at Jefferson has 0 appointments with any doctors, I keep trying. Does anyone know of either a doctor in Philadelphia that treats refractory celiac or a doctor elsewhere that does virtual appointments to treat refractory? Thank you!
    • knitty kitty
      @GardeningForHealth, On my journey, I found following the Autoimmune Paleo Diet most helpful in reducing reactions to various foods.  It's very restrictive, but it really helps improve gut health.  It's worth the effort for a few weeks or months. Tea from any grocery store; Tea, organic; Tea, grown in USA, never-sprayed, loose leaf Tea contains TANNINS which can inactivate Thiamin resulting in Thiamin deficiency.  Tannins inhibit the absorption of other vitamins and minerals, especially iron. Tannins can inactivate digestive enzymes.  So drink tea between meals.  Choose a tea with lower levels of tannin, like green tea or Oolong tea.  Oolong tea contains amino acid Theanine which reduces inflammation in the digestive tract. Dairy; Rice, any brand, even after washing 3 times Many people develop Lactose intolerance because damaged villi in the intestinal lining of the digestive tract cannot produce the enzyme Lactase needed to digest the sugar in dairy, Lactose.   Many people with Celiac Disease react to the protein Casein the same as they react to the protein Gluten.  This is because both Casein and Gluten, as well as the protein in rice, carry a similar segment of a protein building block chain (33 mer peptide) that triggers the autoimmune response in Celiac Disease.  Basmati rice is less likely to carry this protein chain and may be better tolerated.  Don't wash rice before cooking.  The added vitamins get washed away.  Some of those grains of rice are extruded vitamins.  They dissolved into the cooking water and are reabsorbed into the grains as the rice cooks. Organic catchup, Potatoes; Tomatoes are a member of the Nightshade vegetables which have been shown to increase gastrointestinal permeability and "leaky gut syndrome."  Potatoes, Peppers and Eggplant also belong to the Nightshades, and should be avoided until healed.  Catsup usually is acidic which can be irritating to the digestive system. Any and all brands of gluten-free breads and dessert items; Cassava flour; Gluten-free flour Often these contain cross contamination with gluten.  @Scott Adams recently posted a new article about this.  Gluten free products are not enriched with vitamins and minerals needed to digest and process them.  They are high in insoluble fiber and saturated fats.  These may also contain microbial transglutaminase, see below. Sausage, Any processed meat These foods contain microbial transglutaminase, a flavor and texture enhancer, called "meat glue" in the food processing industry, which triggers and provokes anti-gluten antibodies to attack the microbial transglutaminase as well as the tissue transglutaminase produced by our own bodies as with Celiac Disease.  We have articles about microbial transglutaminase, too.  Cassava also contains Thiaminase, an enzyme which destroys Thiamin. Cucumbers from a grocery store, but not from my garden, Most apples, Zucchini, Plums Cucumbers, like these other fruits and veggies, contain lots of soluble fiber, pectin, which intestinal bacteria can ferment and then make short chain fatty acids, which are beneficial.  So that's a good thing.  However, commercially produced breeds of veggies and fruits may contain higher levels of pectins than historically home grown varieties.  Excess consumption of pectins can result in gas, bloating and diarrhea.   Bottled spices  There's an article (perhaps @Scott Adams can help us find, please) about how some spices can cause gastrointestinal symptoms. Gluten-free dairy-free ice cream These can cause reactions if one reacts to oats.  Products made from nuts or nut milks may contain high levels of lectins which are hard to digest and can cause all the usual symptoms.   Smoke from a fire; Strong cleaning chemical fumes These contain Sulfites.  Developing a hyperensitivity to Sulfites is possible in Celiac Disease.  We can be low in vitamins and minerals needed to process Sulfites.  I have Hypersensitivity Type Four where the immune system identifies Sulfites as something to be attacked.  Celiac Disease is another Hypersensitivity Type Four disorder. Packaged sweet potato chips; Packaged plantain chips;  Rice; Any and all brands of gluten-free breads and dessert items; Cassava flour; Gluten-free flour; Gluten-free dairy-free ice cream A High Carbohydrate diet can lead to Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).  Adopting a Paleo diet like the AIP diet is a great way to change your gut biome without using antibiotics which kill off the bad with the good bacteria.  Taking probiotics may not be very effective as long as SIBO bacteria are entrenched in the digestive tract.  You change what you eat and you change what grows inside you.  You starve out the bad SIBO bacteria, repopulate and feed the good ones.  Supplementing with Benfotiamin helps because thiamine has antibacterial properties that keeps the bad bacteria in check and benefits the good bacteria.  Benfotiamin is needed to process all those carbs turning them into energy instead of them turning to fat.   I hope this has been helpful.
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum @Newhere19! Yes, we have had many forum members that for one reason or another cannot go forward with the confirmation step of the endoscopy with biopsy. Usually it is because they have already been gluten free for a significant period and react so severely to gluten ingestion that they cannot undertake the gluten challenge without endangering their health. But we also have had more than a few who have severe anxiety surrounding the endoscopy itself and cannot bring themselves to go forward with it. May I ask, what was your antibody score or scores, what was the name of the test or tests done and what were the ranges given for normal/negative vs. positive?  What symptoms do you have? What caused you to seek out celiac testing? And to answer your question, many on this forum have had to go forward with the gluten free diet without an official diagnosis for the reasons already stated. You should start seeing symptom improvement within weeks. But realize that achieving a truly free gluten lifestyle is more challenging than most of us realize at the outset. There is a real learning curve involved in order to achieve consistency. That is partly due to the many unexpected places gluten is tucked away in the food supply/supplements/medications and partly because of CC (Cross Contamination) issues. I will offer this primer to get you off to a good start:  
×
×
  • Create New...