Complete Newbie Day 6 Gluten Free. Advice Please

[louisetreagus]

hi people its hard to know where to start really but im currently on day 6 of being gluten free and im just starting to feel better,

im a 27 year old mother of 4, very overweight and very unwell,

my illness started 3 years ago when I was first pregnant with twins I was diagnosed with a rare heart condition p.o.t.s which affected my mobility massively, anyway my twins were born lovely and healthy and are now 2

I started to notice that certain foods made my heart condition worse I suffer from dizziness and fainting

ive never done any food testing before and my diet has been awful, lots of fast food, mcdonalds kfc etc, the reason is just that im totally exhausted and have no energy, and fast food has become a easy fix, I do know how bad it is btw, and I do not recommend anyone eating it, im just trying to be honest, anyway these foods became the trigger for my symptoms to become worse,

then 2 weeks ago I had awful stomach pains terrible bloating toilet problems etc ive suffered from the worst headaches for about 2 months I had zero energy to the extent I couldn't leave my bed I honestly thought I might be dying, I know it sounds extreme but I cant tell you just how bad I felt, I decided to search the internet and see what was going on an my symptoms matched with celiac disease so 6 days ago I took a test BIOCARD from boots, it came back negative but I still decided to go gluten free to see what happened and I am just starting to feel better I have also been taking candida supplements as that was another probable cause

but I think it could be a combination of the 2, given how poor my diet has been over the last 2 years and the way I seem to react to gluten rich foods

 

I would be very grateful of any advice or if anyone has a similar story thankyou louise.

[GF Lover]

Hi Louise,

 

Welcome to the forum.  A few ?'s for you.  Is your pots primary or secondary?  Have you had your thyroid checked?

 

I've read that over 1/3 of pots sufferers have digestion problems.  Interesting eh?  I ask about your thyroid for a few reasons.  When I was pregnant with my first child I started falling off stools from dizzyness, lightheaded going up stairs and such.  I was shortly thereafter diagnosed with thyroid disease.  This also effects weight and feeling fatigued. 

 

A gluten-free diet would most likely help you feel better.  If you want to test for celiac disease you need to keep eating gluten until testing is done.

 

All the best.

 

Colleen 

[Celtic Queen]

I don't have POTS but did suffer from fainting spells for quite a while.  The "specialists" I went to see never could figure out what was causing the problem but it is one of the things that improved for me while being gluten free.  Hopefully it will for you too.

 

As for the fast food, I feel your pain.  It is hard some days to get everything done that needs to be done and still fit in a meal for everyone too.  Maybe just make healthier choices at the fast food restaurants, like ordering a salad (minus croutons, of course).  Also, being gluten free limits the number of fast food restaurants you can eat at.  For instance, just about everything at Taco Bell has gluten in it, including the meat.  Same with KFC. 

 

Like Colleen mentioned, if you want to be officially tested for Celiac, you will need to keep eating gluten up until the day you are tested, otherwise your results will be skewed.  But a lot of people don't bother with an "official" diagnosis.  They just try the diet and when it works for them, they consider that a diagnosis.  That is up to you. 

 

Good luck and welcome to the boards.

[1desperateladysaved]

Fast easy to cook food:

 

Eggs:  Poach them while you ready the rest of breakfast.  6 minutes

Fish:  Bake for about 25 minutes  Place in pan with melted butter and salt

Steak:  Salt and place in the oven 50 minutes.

Crock pot foods:  Brown roast in the oven 1 hour.  place in crock with 1 cup water and salt.  You may add other spices.  Add veggies such as potatoes and carrots.  Turn on and forget until supper time.

Ham:  Slice, sizzle in pan and serve with vegetables.

Kale chips are delicious.  Toss kale with 1 tbsp. olive oil, sprinkle with salt.  Dry in 275 oven 15 minutes and turn over.  Then place in oven for another 5.  Keep a close watch.

 

I am sure I could come up with more.  My oldest daughter sometimes made an entrée when she was only 6!  I spent many years as a mother rundown and I want you to have an earlier recovery.

 

Please stay away from McDonalds.  For extra motivation see the video Supersize Me, I think it is on Utube.  A man eats MCDonalds food every meal for a month and nearly dies!    You need the best most nourishing food available and so do your little ones.f

 

I am a mother of 7 and have been there.  Ask if there is anything more I can help you with.

 

D