Gluten Challenge - Bad Symptoms

[tpchan85]

Hey all

I'm on a gluten challenge at the moment before endoscopy. At the start of the year I had problems with heart palpitations and panic attacks in combination with worsening IBS that I had for many years and signs of malnutrition. I improved greatly after about 4 months gluten free.

 

I am now on a gluten challenge and have been for 2 weeks. The bowel symptoms and fatigue came back immediately which were tolerable. How ever I have been having increasing anxiety the past few days, heart palpitations have returned and last night I had what felt like a scary adrenaline dump / panic attack that sent my blood pressure to 180/100 briefly (Im only 22 and my normal BP is 120/70!) and then caused violent cold shivering. Today I feel like adrenaline is just circulating around my body like I could have another attack at any moment.

 

I have 4 and half weeks left of gluten challenge and considering just abandoning it here. I could move the endoscopy forward but if it comes back negative I'll be left even more hopeless.

 

What should I do?

 

[BlessedMommy]

It's entirely up to you. If you proceed, proceed cautiously though. You don't want to end up in the hospital.

 

I ended up in the ER from my gluten challenge. (my doctor agreed that was the cause as well) I felt that was good enough reason to just be gluten free for life. I'm almost 5 years into the gluten free diet and it's totally possible to do it, even without a doctor's note.

 

Good luck on whatever you decide.

[ravenwoodglass]

Call your doctor's office first thing in the morning and ask to speak to a nurse. The nurse will relay to the doctor what is happening and the doctor may tell you to stop the challenge or possibly give you some medication to help with the effects. Did you have any celiac blood testing done before you went gluten free? If you did and those tests were positive your doctor may diagnose based on those results and the results of the challenge, if you need a formal diagnosis. . 

[squirmingitch]

I agree with ravenwoodglass.

[nvsmom]

Ditto.  Good luck.

[BlessedMommy]

How is it going?

[tpchan85]

How is it going?

Thanks for asking. I'm doing okay. I've started taking magnesium baths and also am making sure to eat enough potassium and am feeling good enough to soldier on. My bloods were negative but the difference between when I eat gluten and don't is night and day. I've had chronic heartburn and IBS since about the age of 12 and the only thing that has ever relieved my symptoms is the gluten-free diet. My brother is a diagnosed celiac so it seems highly likely that I am also celiac hence why I'm so determined to get this endoscopy.

[squirmingitch]

{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}} And hang tough.

[tpchan85]

A symptom that went while gluten-free has returned that I wonder about. Hunger that won't go away. When I was a teenager I got rather obese because I just felt permanently hungry all the time, I would eat until my belly hurt and then keep going. never feeling satiated. Like having the munchies all the time. That went away gluten-free and has returned on this gluten challenge. Is this typical?