Dealing With Being Gluten Free Accompanied By Other Serious Food Restrictions?

[supersquatchy]

I'm 18 and I was diagnosed with SOME sort of gluten issue early this year. It's probably celiac though the blood test came back negative.... my doctor didn't want to explore further and just told me to take gluten out of my diet anyway. Before I was having migraines, feeling tired all the time even though I was exercising and eating a pretty clean, healthy diet. I haven't gotten a migraine since getting gluten out of my system, I haven't been bloating as badly, etc. 

 

Here's the thing...

 

Now there is very very little that I can eat. I'm a vegetarian by choice and I have been for 10 years. I don't really intend to go back. I am very clearly lactose intolerant.. my doctor suspects this too, I just kept missing the test due to scheduling issues.. so I'm not diagnosed but it's clear. When I have lactose I get horrible gas, bloat, all of that lovely stuff. It has gotten worse lately and I've started eating less of it but that was really my main source of protein and calcium. ADDITIONALLY.. eggs make me extremely ill. I'm not one to throw up, I haven't thrown up in exactly two years.. but eggs are what will do it. For some reason the people around me think that it's because I'm disgusted by them but I'm not.. the sunny side up egg that my dad makes in the morning looks delicious. I can eat egg as an ingredient with little to no issue.. as long as it's a very very small amount. Extremely egg based gluten free breads make me sick.. there's this one brand that tastes really good, it's called Against the Grain and they have this english muffin that is extremely egg-y and that makes me really sick to my stomach. We even have chickens! We raise them for eggs! The eggs are totally fresh and amazing but I still can't eat them. 

 

Because of all these intolerances to animal products.. I feel that it might be a good idea for me to go vegan. Not the whole lifestyle but just the eating style lol. Probably not for my whole life but for a while.. bodies change and I'm sure that these particular intolerances may not always be an issue.

 

But wait, there's more..

 

Going vegan is hard enough as it is.... and even more so when you're gluten free...

I also have a life threatening nut allergy. This is something that I'll have for my whole life. It isn't something that I can force myself to get over.. it's really unfortunate really. I get tested every so often and so far, there has been no improvement. Surprisingly enough.. the ONLY nut that I can SUPPOSEDLY eat are walnuts.... which I won't. I absolutely will not eat them ever because I was allergic to them in the past and they landed me in the ER. It's like being put in a small cage with a lion and being told that it's well behaved and won't hurt you.. you still don't want to be put in that situation. So nuts are out. IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THAT... I'm allergic to oats, they've sent me to the ER three times, I'm also allergic to quinoa (wahh I used to eat it all the time, loved it!), peaches, pears, celery, probably avocados, corn and every corn derivative, probably cucumber (?), and a few other seeds. I also have oral allergy syndrome to a lot of uncooked fruits and veggies... like apples.. I can eat them cooked though because the proteins change. It's sort of a nightmare and going vegan is going to be extremely difficult but the thing is that I really need to stop eating eggs and dairy for now because they're making me miserable. 

 

Here are the things that I CAN eat:

Bananas, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, mango, kiwi

Oranges, clementines, etc.

Tomatoes

Broccoli (my favorite!)

Asparagus (also my favorite!)

Rice

Black beans

Basil, thyme, (your common spices basically)

Peppers

Potatoes

Lettuce, spinach, kale??, most if not all leafy greens

Carrots (steamed)

Soy

Tapioca 

Onions

Peas

Coconut

Olives

Things like xanthan gum or whatever are probably fine as long as they aren't nutty or anything of that nature.

 

To be honest.. that's basically it... if you take out dairy and eggs. Can I live off of those things? I suppose rice and beans can be my go-to for protein.. they pretty much are already anyway. 

I don't want to be unhealthy. I like to be fit and active, in fact, I'm just getting back into working out after healing from a knee injury that I sustained during ski season. So I need a good base of food that will give me the right amount of everything I need on a daily basis. I really need to avoid processed food in general because it's bad but it's also very difficult to find anything that I can eat. 

 

What do I do? Does anyone else have issues that are this extensive?? 

I probably can't do the raw vegan thing because of the oral allergies but I could do just basic vegan.. obviously with serious restrictions. How do I make sure that I'm getting everything that I need to survive? 

[StephanieL]

My DS is in the same boat as you except for the meat part. Life threatening allergies to all nuts/peanuts, egg, dairy and Celiac on top of that.  What is your issue with meat? Is it from a philosophical place or do you not like it?  If it's philosophical, would the sourcing of the meat help you incorporate it into your diet?  (Not pushing just asking).  If that's not going to happen you need to look into alternatives to be sure you're getting your calcium and protein.  Protein isn't as big an issue as people make it out to be. Look up online how much is recommended and you'll be surprised at some of the alternative to getting it and how little you actually really need. 

 

It's possible but you'll need to do the work in  figuring out what you need in your diet. 

[kareng]

Even if you don't become completely vegan, you might try googling that word on here.  We have a few gluten-free vegans running around.  Might give you some ideas.

[fergusminto]

Yes there is more to gluten intolerence and Coeliac than meets the eye. I was dignosed with celiac disease 6 years ago. A first the diet went ok but then things started to go wrong about 4 years ago. Too many intolerences building up and I started losing weight and became increasingly tired. Intolerence tests and experience indicated that I was intolerent to all dairy, eggs, soya, oats, and many other things. Was 154 lbs now 133. Now on GAPS diet which is particularly boring - no carbs at all and I live on protein, vegetables and fruit! celiac disease has caused something to happen in my gut so that I am not digesting properly. Had a SIBO breath test (inconclusive), also a scan (no results yet), checked for paracites (no result yet) and have been referred to immunology.

 

My advice is not to go vegan. You are restricted enough as it is. In fact eat some meat/fish as you will need the protein and, you won't like this, don't eat out as you cannot trust any kitchen except your own - I know as I have a degree in Hotel and Catering.

 

Your gut must be inflamed. My Nutritionist (a highly competent doctor) has told me no grains at all, no carbs and use plenty of coconut - milk, oil and cream. Very nice in fact! And ghee which is "clarified" fresh butter. Put unsalted butter into a pan and under low heat skim off the fat as it rises to the top. You should finish nup with a pure golden liquid. Use that in place of oils. Animal fats are also "good" for you. Stay clear of "vegetable" oil which often contains soya but is not disclosed on pakaging. Use Olive oils for salads only.

 

This kind of diet will help to cure the inflammation but can take some time. See a good nutritionist. This won't be easy bu there are many of us out there with similar problems. In fact we are breaking new ground!

[beth01]

I think the hardest part right now is our stomachs are so inflamed that it seems like everything is bothering us.  I have some of the same problems that you have with food and it's frustrating because that is what we are supposed to eat.  It's gluten free, why does it make us feel like poo? 

 

Right now eat your safe foods for a while and only them.  Start adding things in one a time a few days apart( I believe three days is what people recommend) and keep a diary of what you eat and what symptoms you have so you can pinpoint just what foods are really bothering you.  I know a lot of people can't have dairy right off the bat because our bodies secrete the enzyme to digest dairy on the tips of our villi and celiacs have blunted villi from the damage of gluten.  Most can incorporate the dairy back in after we heal but there really isn't a time table on that.  Have you tried lactaid? I have been using it to eat things that I know have dairy incorporated in them and it doesn't bother me like it used to.  I wouldn't go and drink a large glass of milk, but I did have a small amount of ice cream the other night that I know without the lactaid makes me feel like ass.  For the eggs, have you just tried eating the whites?  I have the same problem as you, I can eat them if they are incorporated into a recipe but cannot eat them in their pure form. I can eat the egg beaters though with no problem. I also have problems if I eat too many different foods in one day, even if I know they are my "safe" foods.  I don't think my body can handle that much in one day.  I know it gets to be repetitive to eat the same thing day in and day out, but while I bodies heal it's best.

 

It seems we all have food intolerances of some sort, it's just a matter of pinpointing them.  I think the first year is the hardest.  It's going to take time to heal, try not to get too discouraged.