Hi Diagnosed Celiac 3 Months Ago

[horseatemymoney]

Hi just joined the forum but have been lurking since May.

I'm a 48 year old female from the UK who got diagnosed with celiac disease in May, but I suspect that I may have had this disease for about 30 years.

As I am not one of the skinny type of celiacs, my symptoms have been put down to eating too much, eating the wrog diet for many years, and , to be honest, I rarely went to the doctor, after a while, as it was dispiritif to be dismissed like this.

Finally, when I finally was so bad I had to do something about it. I went to the doctor and mentioned that I felt much better on the Atkins diet, and asked if it could be celiac disease. the doctor did the tests, and yes, I do have celiac disease.  It was such a relief,  It meant that I could at last do somethig to get better.

The first three months have been a bit of a rollercoaster for me.  The first 2 weeks I felt so high, unable to sleep, and then I had my first chrash.  I ate gluten free oats.(I now know this is not recommended) The next 8 weeks saw me accidently gluteing myself regularly.due  to not reading lables.  I discovered that Milk is evil, and codex wheat is the work of the devil.  The past 3 weeks or so, I have been on a more even keel.  I have had no more accidental glutenings.  I am still tired as I have anaeia,amd other vit/mineral deficiencies.  My GI tract is still doing the fandango more often than I would like, but the terrible brainfog is starting to lift, and my indigestion and aches and pains are better..

At the moment, I am keeping glute free taking multivits.minerals, extra calcium/vitd3 and iron/vitc.  I also take slippery elm and aloe vera.  I am thinking of adding probiotics.  I am also thinking of going on a juice fast like in tne movie Fat,Sick and nearly Dead.  Any comments or suggestions as to i.mproving my lifestyle would be appreciated.  Thanks.

 

 

[mamaw]

hello &  welcome

 

I  think  you maybe  now you  understand  how  important  for  your  health  it is  to be  VERY strict  with  what  you  put  in  your  mouth....no one  can  continue  to be  passive  about  gluten  and  expect  to  get  or  even feel better....Being  celiac  does  take  lots  of  time  &  work,  researching  info   to  help  you  learn   &  understand  in the  beginning  but  once  you master  the  basics &  stop  falling  into  old  habits   things  will  begin to  be  brighter & healthier for  you...  This  is  a  major  life  change  in the  beginning... but again  once  you master  what  needs to be  done  it  all  becomes  second  nature.......

Have  you  had  bloodwork  done  for  B-12, Vit D, CBC,  Lipid  panel, iron,  ferritin,  thyroid ( not just  the TSH).

many  stay  away  from  dairy  .... dairy  is  also  broken  down  at the  tips of the  villi....in  time  some  can  add  a little  dairy  back in to their  diet, others  must  remain  dairy  free...

Almond  milk  is  a  wonderful  sub  for  milk....some  can  use  goat  milk  or  camel's  milk  without  a problem....

gluten-free Oats  ,  lots  of  fiber    so  that may  be  just  to much for your  system at  present  until  your  body  heals.. Most  say not  to  try oats  (gluten-free)  for  at  least  a year  after  being  totally  gluten-free  ... I love  gluten-free oats  but  after  ten years of  being  gluten-free  I  can only have  one  serving  maybe  once  a week...

As  you  become more  aware  of  what  your  own  body  is  telling  you  , you may find  foods  that  are  naturally gluten-free  but  still cause  upset.....ie:  tomatoes,  eggplant,  corn, &  so on... 

Yes,  to  digestive  enzymes  & probiotics........

 

hth

[1desperateladysaved]

_{I am so happy you got your diagnosis and are working on being gluten free!  Perhaps, with your way of telling the story, you could do a blog.  I hope you are able to laugh at yourself some.}

 

_{Instead of dairy I use nut milk, coconut milk, or almond milk.  I would stick to eating a nutrient dense diet.  Get rid of junk foods and put in meat, vegetables, nuts, and fruits. Don't forget the good oils.  I use  coconut oil or olive oil.  You need some fat for energy, but It sounds like your body currently is not making good use of the fat.  It can change. Do you cook from scratch?  It seems easier than reading labels to me.} 

 

_{I suggest getting outside for a walk in the fresh air and sunshine.}

 

_{Get Well,}

_{I hope you are soon enjoying a clear mind and energy.}

 

_{I was diagnosed at your age and am 18 months gluten free.  I still have damage, but I am much better.  All the same for you!}

 

_D

[notme]

I am also thinking of going on a juice fast like in tne movie Fat,Sick and nearly Dead.  Any comments or suggestions as to i.mproving my lifestyle would be appreciated.  Thanks.

lolz!  i must have missed that movie!  

 

protein, baby!  i don't think i would juice fast until i was healed a little better - once your body adjusts to it's new 'normal' you may find yourself losing weight (i hear alot of people lose water weight, too, once their body is running right)  i think of it this way:  (because i am a trucker's daughter)  you can't put gasoline in a diesel engine and expect it to run.  i am still skinny as a rail, but managed to put on (HEALTHY! yayy!) weight once i started running on that 'diesel fuel' - give yourself a little more time, you may be surprised (oh, Lord, just thinking about a juice fast makes my guts hurt lolz)  sounds like you are on the right track!  that is great news!  

[IrishHeart]

I have a few thoughts, IMHO in no particular order. 

 

The last thing a celiac should do is fast. 

 

Your body is in starvation mode from malabsorption, hon.

 

Eat!!!!. Protein!! and  Good complex carbs.

 

I ate certified G F oatmeal at 6 months--no problem. Every body is different.

 

Supplements like slippery elm, etc. may or may not help, depending on what you actually absorb at this point, Why waste your $$$ ?

 

Vitamins, based on deficiencies, are helpful. (have your levels been checked?) 

 

I think probiotics are a must for imbalanced celiac guts.

 

Please, read this

Open Original Shared Link

 

If you have pancreatic insufficiency, digestive enzymes are also a huge help.

 

I love coconut milk. Less dairy at the beginning helps heal the gut.

 

I tried juicing fruits and veggies just before my diagnosis and with a damaged GI tract...?? all that acid and fructose made me hurl ....from all openings. It wasn't pretty.

 

I'd say...wait.  

best wishes and welcome to the fold! 

[horseatemymoney]

Hi all, thanks for the replies.  Sorry I have not replied sooner, but I was digesting your suggestions and doing a little research and thinking.  I have had a vit/min blood test and thyroid pannel done when I had my celiac bloods done, and I am due to have them repeated in about 3 weeks as I have my repeat dietitians appointment in October..  I will ask for a blood lipds to be done.  I have been having some problems with eating meat fish and eggs since I started going gluten free.  It is really odd.  I just can't eat eggs at all.  I feel sick when I put them in my mouth.  I am starting to feel the same way about meat and fish.  I dont know if this is my body's way of telling me to eat more fruit and veg. That is why I was thinking of doing a juice fast.  I enjoy cooking. but really only if there are others there.  If it is just me. I don't tend to bother to much, so tend to eat a lot more unhealthy food,

Not me, this is the film I was talking about.  The transformation of the men are remarkable.  Especially Phil the american.

So. I will keep on taking the multivits and mins, add in probiotics and digestive enzimes.  I know that I have to start exercising, so will start walking.  I live in the country, so it won't be difficult.  As for diet, I think I will start on a juice fast for 10 days.  If it doesn't suit me. I will just go back to a normal gluten free diet,  I didn't know that I could do a blog on this site. I wll look into that, 

[AlwaysLearning]

When it comes to juicing, getting a juicer and making some delicious drinks that can replace a meal is just fine. I personally think that fresh apple/carrot/ginger juice is ambrosia. But only drinking juices as they did in the documentary and not eating other solid food is not something a person with past malabsorption issues wants to do. Fruits and vegetables simply don't contain all of the nutrients that we need. And some, like carrots, are actually are more nutritious when cooked.

Plus, the juicing process actually removes a lot of the fiber that the fruits and veggies contain, and not having enough fiber is not something you want to do to an already-damaged digestive system. Many of the gluten-free alternatives for flours are also lower in fiber than their gluten counterparts so eating the apple is definitely more helpful than drinking the juice. Plus, our bodies are not built to handle an all-liquid diet where the absorption of nutrients has to be accomplished in even less time.

I'm a huge fan of juicing and smoothies, but any diet that is too much of one thing and excludes others is not the healthiest choice. Variety is the best way to get a wide range of nutrients and benefit from all of the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are available in every food. Even potatoes have the benefit of lowering blood pressure. Avoiding processed foods, any sort of chemical additives, and using fresh, whole foods to cook from scratch is probably the best thing you can do for your body. (Okay, avoiding sugars or sweeteners of any sort is never a bad thing.)

I wouldn't worry about the weight issues at all until you are further along in the healing process and have more of your vitamin deficiencies worked out. Sure, don't overeat or eat foolishly, and try to get some exercise, but your body has already been through so much, taxing it in some other way seems a little cruel.

Also, being gluten free comes with a ton of emotional issues. Fear of being glutened, stress over every new ache or pain and what it might mean, frustration with doctors who seem to know a lot less about celiac than most of the more experienced members of this forum (big thank yous to them for helping all of us), bouts of low sugar because we were caught out without a snack and couldn't get anything that was safe until we get home. You're already traipsing through a mine field every single day - and that's before you get an accidental glutening. Trying to follow a diet that excludes even more foods than you already have to is just adding more pressures.

Oh, and juicing is way expensive!

Sorry, I was ranting a bit there. (You should see me go off on another site where people try to convince others that being vegan is in any way healthy.)

But I do think it may be time to cut yourself some slack, say "screw it" to what other people think about your weight, and just enjoy some great food while avoiding those that were harming you in the past. Maybe set yourself some goals that are easy to achieve and will make you feel better, like walking X miles per week. Some day in the future, say maybe after a full year of being gluten free, when you've got being gluten free down to a science and have your vitamin deficiencies more on track, reevaluate and revisit some of the additional things you can do to lose weight. 

[nvsmom]

Welcome to the board! 

 

I only lose weight, and feel really good, when I am eating plenty of fats and meats. If my carbs get high, or I eat something like a 1/4c of rice, small potatoe, pasta, or something baked more than a couple of times a week, my weight won't budge downwards or it even goes up. That being said, I LOVE to have a smoothie for lunch. I like to drink my calories, and just gave up soda, so smoothies suit me well.

 

As someone else said, juicing something takes out almost all of the helpful fibre so you are left with sugar/fructose and vitamins. Because of that, I make smoothies where I only puree smooth a few things (like avocado, hemp, carrots and cucs) and I leave my greens shredded into small half centimetre pieces to help with fibre.  For my boys, I also add a proetin powder so they get more out of it, but I have to add more fruit to sweeten it up. 

 

I really enjoyed that movie too!  The transformations were impressive. It helped prod me toward making green smoothies on most days.  Another good show to motivate you towards healthy eating is Supersize Me.  I haven't had a MacDonald's burger in about 5 years now.  Bleh! LOL