Gluten-Free For 3 Months - Now Symptoms Again?

[smpalesh]

I have been gluten-free for 3 months and I started to feel better after about a month and over the last 2 weeks I've started to feel really sick again.  I don't think I am getting cross-contaminated bc I am being really careful.  The rest of my family (husband and 3 kids) all eat gluten but I wash my hands after handling their food.  I am really, really hoping that I am not also sensitive to dairy.  I drink two smoothies a day as part of my diet plan to lose weight (visalus smoothies) and after cutting out so much already I don't want to cut out dairy.   How would I know if I have other sensitivities?  Or is it possible that I am getting cross-contaminated somehow?

[shadowicewolf]

Its always possible to get CC'd in a shared home.

 

Are teh smoothies safe?

[smpalesh]

Its always possible to get CC'd in a shared home.

 

Are teh smoothies safe?

I just went and read the ingredients.  The package says gluten-free but it does say it's processed on equipment that is used to process wheat products.  Is that a problem?  How do you avoid being CC'd? I am already doing my own toaster and things like peanut butter.  We make sure counters are wiped and things are cooked separately. I'm not going to forced my kids and husband to go gluten-free just because I have to.

[Mdhriggin]

The smoothie ingredients could be getting cross contaminated at the plant. Are you using a shared blender? That could do it too. Also, many people with gluten issues have trouble with casein, whether permanent or temporary. Maybe try no smoothies for a few days, them try some without the possibility of cross contamination.

[mushroom]

It's more likely the lactose in the milk than the casein.  Just as a test, drink a glass of milk, or some ice cream, and see what happens.  If within an hour you find yourself in the bathroom, you can blame the lactose.

[Takala]

To find out if you have other sensitivities, you go to a very simple diet until your symptoms resolve.  This would be food in its basic form of meat, chicken, fish, egg, nuts, fruits, vegetables, good fats/oils, and perhaps one simple clean form of grain, such as plain cooked rice.   Then you would add in ONE ingredient at a time, and see what your reaction to it would be.  Where people screw this up is adding more than one thing in, and then they can't tell what the culprit is.  Or they eat out, and get slammed by a bad restaurant meal.  

 

The is a huge learning curve with gluten free diets, as individuals vary to reactions to cross contamination.

 

That being said, if your return of symptoms coincided with starting to drink these soy-protein smoothies that are sweetened artificially with sucralose (aka "Splenda", which can have its own side effects which include those mimicing celiac symptoms Open Original Shared Link  ) 

the answer is, perhaps, to drink something else. 

[smpalesh]

No, I've been drinking these smoothies all along, from day 1.  So it probably isn't that.  I don't know why the symptoms have come back.  I do notice that I react to some products that are labelled gluten free like Enjoy Life cookies or certain kinds of crackers and I can't figure out why.  I am going to try eating more natural foods and less gluten free products and see if that helps.  I also told my husband and kids that they need to be way more careful about crumbs and cleaning up after themselves.

[CaliSparrow]

I'm four months along and recently eliminated dairy from my diet. The experts recommend eliminating dairy for six months while the gut is healing. After six months, most can reintroduce dairy without any problems. I believe that I have a lot of sensitivities to food that the symptoms of gluten were covering up. You know when you have a big pain, you don't feel lesser pain? This is how it seems to be going for me.

Good luck on your journey.

Cali (and missing cheese!)

[EricaM15]

I personally don't believe cross-contamination is an issue. I think most often it's a reaction to another food and has nothing to do with contamination. If you have Celiac Disease, it's likely that you have secondary allergies to foods other than gluten. I experienced the same thing about a month of being gluten-free and vegan--I realized I was sensitive to all grains in addition to gluten and lactose/casein. I'd suggest trying to eliminate certain food groups for at least 2-3 weeks at a time (the longer the better) and see how it makes you feel. After that, you can try to slowly reintroduce foods to see how you react. It's likely that you're sensitive to either dairy or grains.