Jump to content

  • 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

Deciding To Start A Gluten-Free Diet

smpalesh

By smpalesh
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

smpalesh Explorer
smpalesh
Posted

I had a blood test for celiac and it was negative and yesterday I had a biopsy and won't have the results until December 17. At first I had decided I would try gluten-free for 3 months anyways to see if I have a gluten intolerance and to see if it improves my symptoms but now I am struggling with the idea. If I knew I had celiac then it would be easy to stick to it but if I don't even have celiac then how am I going to be able to stick to such a restrictive diet. Originally I was going to start the diet after my biopsy but now I am wondering if I should even bother. There are a million different things that could be causing my symptoms so why put myself through all the trouble?? I am very conflicted right now. For those who don't have a celiac diagnosis how do you make yourself stick to the diet?

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


gatita Enthusiast
gatita
Posted

Well, my guts react very strongly to gluten (in a bad way) and now I also seem to have a wheat allergy to boot. So that pretty much leaves me no choice but to be gluten-free.

Have you tried eliminating and then re-introducing gluten into your diet? I did that twice, and each time the nasty results clinched it for me.

ps. I mean only if your biopsy is negative of course.

rosetapper23 Explorer
rosetapper23
Posted

Yes, this is true--if you eliminate gluten and feel great...and then reintroduce it and feel horrible again, you have your answer. You won't know if you don't try, right? The sooner you try, the sooner you may start feeling well. Believe me--you'll have your answer soon enough, and then you won't mind the "restrictive" diet (which really isn't very restrictive at all).

SMDBill Apprentice
SMDBill
Posted

The only difference between knowing the answer and not knowing is knowledge. However, if your body reacts positively without gluten and negatively with it...the decision is simple. Plus, if you do have celiac and don't get definitive proof that you don't, ignoring it and continuing to consume products with gluten can have long term effects you may want to avoid. The decision comes easy when you learn your body can be permanently and irreversibly harmed by continuing down the same path, but if you don't have it and gluten-free does not help, then you're right...why restrict yourself at all. Eat what you want and have your GP focus in on what could really be the problem.

Celiac Mindwarp Community Regular
Celiac Mindwarp
Posted

Feel much better without gluten. Like, much better.

Also, I like having good fresh food.

And, the good folks here will help if you have a wobble.

Keep investigating other possibilities, ask lots of questions

Good luck, and welcome

:)

smpalesh Explorer
smpalesh
Posted
  • Author

How long would I have to be gluten free before I could "challenge" it? I know you are supposed to do a minimum of 3 months but if I did gluten free for one month and then ate gluten would that be enough time out of my system to make me feel like garbage if I am gluten intolerant? I am very stubborn and like proof for things so I think it would be beneficial for me to see that it is actually the gluten making me feel like crap, as dumb as that sounds. Also how do you get started? Do you just wake up one day and say no more gluten? I keep thinking I need to do a bunch of stuff to prepare or something.

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

.. There are a million different things that could be causing my symptoms so why put myself through all the trouble?? I am very conflicted right now. For those who don't have a celiac diagnosis how do you make yourself stick to the diet?

Putting yourself through "all the trouble" of following a gluten-free diet will eliminate one of the "million things" that could be causing your symptoms. You need to start somewhere right? Eating gluten-free is a heathly diet that is good for you. It doesn't need to be complicated or expensive if you follow a whole foods diet. After you have been gluten-free a while you may not want to go back to eating the "junk" food from before. If you follow a gluten-free diet for 3 to 6 months and then do a gluten challenge for a couple weeks your body should let you know if it likes gluen or not. If your symptoms don't return then you are probably ok with eating gluten. Even if that turns out to be true, you will have learned how to eat healthier, more wholesome foods that will support your body better than processsed junk foods. And that knowledge can help you the rest of your life. Even if you have some other disease, a healthy diet is a positive for your health, not a negative.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

I get sick when I eat gluten, so I am highly motivated to avoid it. I don't have a formal diagnosis, either. I knew within 24 hours that I had found what was bothering me, but I wasn't taking a bunch of masking medications, and I pay close attention to how I feel and react to things. I had lots of non gluten food in the house, which is really important, and had my spouse gradually eat up the "bad" regular food. After several years of sometimes making mistakes with cross contamination, I had it more or less sorted out that I just had to be really insistent on having safe food available, in all situations, to protect myself.

Bruisin Newbie
Bruisin
Posted

I had a blood test for celiac and it was negative and yesterday I had a biopsy and won't have the results until December 17. At first I had decided I would try gluten-free for 3 months anyways to see if I have a gluten intolerance and to see if it improves my symptoms but now I am struggling with the idea. If I knew I had celiac then it would be easy to stick to it but if I don't even have celiac then how am I going to be able to stick to such a restrictive diet. Originally I was going to start the diet after my biopsy but now I am wondering if I should even bother. There are a million different things that could be causing my symptoms so why put myself through all the trouble?? I am very conflicted right now. For those who don't have a celiac diagnosis how do you make yourself stick to the diet?

You know what feels better for your belly. Keep in mind that YOU are the one that hurts when you eat/drink something your body can't process. I have fallen off of the wagon before, and suffered for weeks after. That's what keeps me from doing it most days....now that I know how it feels to NOT have tummy pain all of the time, I don't want to go back to all that pain.

I'm to the point that I have to juice. I may eat one small meal per day, but the rest of the time I juice (I AM NOT SUGGESTING THIS TO ANYONE, IT"S WHAT I HAVE TO DO TO BE OKAY), and I've been so much happier & the belly bloat is mostly gone.

I keep all temptations that are my weakness, like no doughnuts in the house.....but the ones that I care little about are here for my family (like bread for sandwiches). Avoiding all temptations is what works for me.

And now I'm staying away from restaurants because of an accidental exposing to gluten because it hurts so bad!

hugs you!

bartfull Rising Star
bartfull
Posted

I think a gluten-free diet would be a good place to start because it does not require medications with all their expense and side effects, and it doesn't require surgery.

You need to be strict about it though. A lot of folks go gluten-free, but they don't consider cross-contamination. Go read the "Newbie 10 " thread to learn about places that gluten hides. Then give it a good try. Three months isn't that long. It'll fly by!

Also, be aware that you will feel worse for a couple of weeks. You will go through withdrawal and probably have headaches and constant hunger. Don't let that bring you down. A lot of us find that even though we get headaches, the OTHER symptoms clear up pretty quickly.

Good luck. If you have any questions, this is the place. We have all been through it and are more than glad to help. :)

DavinaRN Explorer
DavinaRN
Posted

Truthfully it just depends on how sensitive you are. I don't have a formal diagnosis, either. I can tell usually within an hour if I have accidentally had gluten. I feel as if I have the stomach flu when I eat it now. Before going gluten free 5 weeks ago, I just always felt bad.

smpalesh Explorer
smpalesh
Posted
  • Author

I am currently on day 3 of my diet. I decided to go for it. I definitely don't feel any better yet and I am STARVING! I am eating lots of healthy foods and making sure I am gluten-free. How long until I start to feel remotely better if gluten is the problem?

shadowicewolf Proficient
shadowicewolf
Posted

gluten withdrawl... its just as real as any other addictive withdrawl.... your body will crave it and it will cause many a mood swings and such....

It takes time dear, just hang in there....

Archived

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

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. HectorConvector
      - HectorConvector replied to HectorConvector's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      319

      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      Evidence from normoglycaemic studies shows that healthy people peak at ~1 hour, and they then return to baseline in 2–3 hours, not 1. CGM shows normal post-meal rises even in metabolically healthy subjects. Clinical tests use the 2-hour value to judge normal glucose clearance. Therefore the 1-hour-back-to-fasting claim contradicts both physiology and clinical d...
    2. HectorConvector
      - HectorConvector replied to HectorConvector's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      319

      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      I'm not sure what you're referring to as "normal" here - and is this something your doctor has mentioned (in bold)? As that isn't what any study or official information says. According to diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation, normal fasting blood sugar is 4.9-5.4mmol/L. Normal by 2 hours from the start of a meal is anywhere below 7.8mmol/L. Random...
    3. HectorConvector
      - HectorConvector replied to HectorConvector's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      319

      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      My skin biopsy and MRI scan shows no signs of any type of nerve damage. Nothing consistent with demylination or peripheral nerve damage. On the contrary, the nerve function from the skin biopsy proved better than normal. I don't get any pins and needles or have any loss of nerve function. It's pain only. Thiamin I take is 100mg a day in tablet. I...
    4. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to HectorConvector's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      319

      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      @HectorConvector, My blood glucose level would spike after I ate. It wouldn't return to "normal" fasting blood glucose level for longer and longer. Blood glucose level should return to normal an hour after eating. Mine would take two hours, then three hours, then longer. So over night fasting blood tests wouldn't necessarily be very high until they...
    5. HectorConvector
      - HectorConvector replied to HectorConvector's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      319

      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      These symptoms started initially in 2009/2010 and I've had normal blood sugar readings in all the blood tests - so never been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes. I did request another blood test recently (yesterday in fact) which I have had, and if the blood sugar looks high it'll come up in my results which I'll be able to see next week. I don't have...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,589
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Ozibella
    Newest Member
    Ozibella
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • HectorConvector
      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      By HectorConvector · Posted

      Evidence from normoglycaemic studies shows that healthy people peak at ~1 hour, and they then return to baseline in 2–3 hours, not 1. CGM shows normal post-meal rises even in metabolically healthy subjects. Clinical tests use the 2-hour value to judge normal glucose clearance. Therefore the 1-hour-back-to-fasting claim contradicts both physiology and clinical diagnostic standards.
    • HectorConvector
      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      By HectorConvector · Posted

      I'm not sure what you're referring to as "normal" here - and is this something your doctor has mentioned (in bold)? As that isn't what any study or official information says. According to diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation, normal fasting blood sugar is 4.9-5.4mmol/L. Normal by 2 hours from the start of a meal is anywhere below 7.8mmol/L. Random (more than 2 hours after a meal) should be below 5.6mmol/L.  Not in any study of normoglyceamic individuals does blood sugar go down to less than 5.4mmol/L one hour from the start of a meal, and I don't see such numbers being considered a limit for one hour post prandial in any official definition of normal blood sugar ranges anywhere. It is basically impossible even for the most metabolically healthy individual to have a blood sugar level anything like a fasting number 1 hour only after eating a high carb meal. This is also why medical standards use the 2-hour postprandial value, not 1 hour. Blood sugar normally spikes at about 1 hour after a high carb meal.  For example this study shows that young, healthy normoglycaemic people experience a 1hr peak blood sugar level of about 6.5-7mmol/L before which the 2hr number returns to about 4.7mmol/L, slightly higher than the fasting number of that morning. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2769652/?utm_source=chatgpt.com Even a normal person isn't going to be seeing essentially fasting blood sugar numbers after any meal except for one with 0 carbohdrates contents.
    • HectorConvector
      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      By HectorConvector · Posted

      My skin biopsy and MRI scan shows no signs of any type of nerve damage. Nothing consistent with demylination or peripheral nerve damage. On the contrary, the nerve function from the skin biopsy proved better than normal. I don't get any pins and needles or have any loss of nerve function. It's pain only.  Thiamin I take is 100mg a day in tablet. I used to test blood sugar a lot in the past, and it never correlated directly with the nerve pain. It has only correlated with increased exercise and stress. The after eating getting worse thing happens when the blood flow is directed to the stomach for digestion away from the peripheral areas, which is normal, but central sensitization has caused normal sensations to be turned into pain by the brain, according to the latest doctors, hence whey I am being referred to the pain clinic.
    • knitty kitty
      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @HectorConvector, My blood glucose level would spike after I ate.  It wouldn't return to "normal" fasting blood glucose level for longer and longer.  Blood glucose level should return to normal an hour after eating.  Mine would take two hours, then three hours, then longer.  So over night fasting blood tests wouldn't necessarily be very high until they got really bad.  But the peripheral neuropathy would feel the worst while my glucose was too high.  My blood glucose meter confirmed this.   On top of all that, my Celiac disease was still undiagnosed at the time, and I was suffering from malabsorption and nutritional deficiencies.  The deficiencies in B vitamins affected not just insulin production in the pancreas, but also the nerves in my extremities.  Nerves need B vitamins to maintain the myelin sheath protecting the nerves (like the plastic coating on electrical wires) when they fire.  When the myelin sheath is not maintained, that "pins and needles" feeling starts and increases as more of the sheath is damaged.  My parathesia progressed until the "pins and needles" went from my toes all the way up to my thighs.   Without sufficient vitamins, I started slowly losing weight.  Our bodies will start using not only stored fat, but also tear down our own muscles to provide fuel for the body to stay functional.   I hope you don't have pre-diabetes or diabetes.  Most diabetics have a thiamine deficiency.   How much thiamine are you taking?  What form of Thiamine are you taking?  
    • HectorConvector
      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

      By HectorConvector · Posted

      These symptoms started initially in 2009/2010 and I've had normal blood sugar readings in all the blood tests - so never been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes. I did request another blood test recently (yesterday in fact) which I have had, and if the blood sugar looks high it'll come up in my results which I'll be able to see next week. I don't have any other symptoms relevant to diabetes except for the nerve pain, which had been in existence for many years with "normoglycaemia", but we'll see. In terms of my current diet: I get roughly 60% of my calories from fat and protein, and 40% from carbs (an estimation). I'm on currently about 2200 calories per day, which is too low for someone of my size, so I've been slowly losing weight that I want to put back on again. But I don't want to do that without using weights, which flare my pain up unfortunately. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.