Possible Ingestion Of Gluten?

[musiscience]

Hi everybody, 

 

I am new on this forum and in the gluten free world (It has been 7 months since I started eating gluten free) and it has been going mostly well  . But lately, my symptoms have returned and they do not seem to go away. When I stopped eating gluten, I was really depressed and anxious and had been for most of my life. Doctors have prescribed me a lot of different medications including a lot of antidepressants, most of which had close to no effect on me. After a lot of research online, I decided I would give a try to the gluten free diet as a last resort, and, to my surprise, it worked. My depression and anxiety went away for the first time in years, that was a miracle. It lasted until about 2 months ago when the symptoms started coming back. The thing is, I don't know what happened, am I ingesting gluten in one way or another? Have I developed another intolerance and I suffer the consequences of eating said food? I am usually pretty careful about what I eat, but some of it I am not sure (Is it possible that a company change recipe without notice and gluten has been added?).

 

Anyway, sorry for the long rant, I am pretty desperate to retrieve my wellness once again, that is why I am asking for your knowledge. Has anyone else experienced anything similar, like a fairly long relapse in symptoms? If so, have you found the source? How did you find it? 

 

Thank you so much for the help,

 

Musiscience 

[GF Lover]

Companies can change their ingredients without notice.  In the Celiac world, you must read every label, every time.  Please keep in mind that Gluten may not be the underlying problem for you since you do not have a diagnosis of Celiac Disease.  I'm not saying it isn't a problem but you should still look at other possibilities.  Many people report improvement of Depression symptoms.  They may wax and wane but still need medication depending on severity and diagnosis.  As far as food intolerances, if you choose to investigate further you should start a food journal. 

 

Good luck to you.

 

Colleen

[nvsmom]

It could be either the celiac lingering or a glutening. Like Colleen said, I would check all of you labels just to be sure you are eating gluten.

 

Arthritis was one of my celaic symptoms and I had a pretty severe backslide after I had been gluten-free for a couple of months. Once again, my hair thinned out, I felt flu-ish, and I could barely use scissors or get my arms above my head. I was pretty convinced that I had other problems like lupus or MCTD but the docs said no, it was the celiac. It passed after a few months and I have been mostly arthritis free for about 10 months - a long time for me so I'm hopeful it was caused by celiac disease and that was the last bout of pain for me.

 

So, my point is that it could be celiac disease still, but check labels and look into other causes (like hypothyroidism) in the meantime.  Good luck!

[musiscience]

Thank you for the kind answers.

 

NVSmom, it is really weird that you had that awful weakness for so long on the diet, and that the Doc still pinned it on celiac. I always thought that the diet should take care of the symptoms entirely.

 

It is true that I have not been diagnosed properly, but when I stopped eating gluten it made such a difference (stomach noise, depression, anxiety, fatigue all lifted), I could not believe it. It is to be noted that I was on an SSRI at the time, that was not working, and the depression lifted almost immediately when I stopped gluten. That is why I suspect that I am eating something that mess with my diet to some extent since the symptoms are back. 

 

I think I will double check all my labels from now on and try to eat a lot more raw foods such as fruits and vegetables. Let's wait and see if that make a difference  . 

[dilettantesteph]

When I first went gluten free, my symptoms resolved when all I did was eliminate my Cheerios and bread.  Then they came back and I had to educate myself about where gluten can be found.  It seemed like I kept getting more and more sensitive to trace gluten and I had to learn more and more about how to avoid it.  This apparent increase in sensitivity seems common from what I have read on forums.  In a way it is a good thing because I was able to know that the gluten free diet works.  It gave me the motivation and determination necessary to really figure out what I had to do.  I do much better with unprocessed foods. 

 

I hope that you feel better soon.

[nvsmom]

Good luck!   I hope you find the cause and it is just a "glutening". If you can't find a cause, stay gluten-free and give it time - I still had symptoms improving at one year gluten-free.

[musiscience]

Good luck!   I hope you find the cause and it is just a "glutening". If you can't find a cause, stay gluten-free and give it time - I still had symptoms improving at one year gluten-free.

Thank you for the kind words ! As an update to my thread, it was indeed gluten that was causing my symptoms. My symptoms improved when I cut gluten, but I (stupidly I must add...) never thought about changing my non-stick pans, my cutting board and using a different sponge for the dishes. Now I completely changed my kitchen appliances and cleared my kitchen of gluten containing food, since my girlfriend agreed to eat gluten free to help me. Result? I am now back to feeling awesome and my symptoms are gone! Who thought such small traces of gluten could cause such damage in my boding  .

 

Thank you so much for your answers! You guys are great  !

[nvsmom]

Glad you are feeling better! . It's tricky to find those tiny amounts of gluten!