Want To Have A Little Gluten?

[Gemini]

You will find that notme! has a very finely tuned sense of humor, which we appreciate.  Doesn't hurt to laugh at things because if you don't, your head would explode!  Ha, Ha!

 

I used to have a Buddha belly but that is long gone.  I have to ask....are you dairy free also?  I know you have cut out a lot of foods from your diet but dairy intolerance often goes hand in hand with Celiac.  It can be permanent or temporary, depending on how your gut heals.  Mine is semi permanent so I have to eat dairy lite.  Dairy will cause bloating as badly as celiac.Really think about what foods you are cutting out and ask yourself if you really need to.  I hate to see people cut out foods that they don't have to because it makes weight gain harder.  But dairy can be a huge problem for Celiac's and I did not discover that issue until 2 years into the gluten-free diet. That might explain the Buddha belly problem.

 

Also, as a fellow thyroid disease sufferer, I know how fatigued and draggy one can feel when the thyroid is off.  That might explain some of your fatigue and body pain. If my thyroid gets too low, I have joint pain in my fingers (I don't have arthritis) and I can barely get my butt out of bed in the morning to go to work.  I will also get sick and I never get sick anymore....only when my thyroid is wonky.  I think part of your problem is that you haven't been able to finely tune food and meds enough yet and it can take a while to do. Things change as you heal so it's very tricky in the beginning to attain balance. You also have to realize that as you start absorbing better, thyroid meds need adjusting.  Then if you get stressed, that can throw things off. We don't have the capacity to have our bodies adjust to stress as well because we have to do it manually by taking thyroid hormone as we don't make enough.  With other people without thyroid disease, their thyroid pumps it out on demand.  It only made me appreciate how well the human body is designed to work...only mine and yours and many other's don't work that smoothly.  Just keep doing the things you have been doing but think about the dairy issue.  Test your thyroid more often and make sure they do a complete panel on you every time until your thyroid is in a happy place and stable.  Not just the TSH but the Free T3 and T4.....always good to know what the actual hormone levels are.  Those are the ones readily available for use by your body.

 

About your eyes.......One of the other AI diseases I have is Sjogren's Syndrome.  It occurs frequently with Celiac and, as you were diagnosed older, odds are it could be a problem.  If a doc has told you that you probably have dry eye, it could be Sjogren's.  Is your mouth dry or do you have a lot of dental problems?  Do you have trouble swallowing food, especially bread?  There is a blood test for Sjogren's so it's an easy test but they are testing for antibodies so it can be like Celiac.....you can test negative and still have it.  Might be something to look into if you have symptoms because the docs won't look for it.

 

That's enough for now and I hope your head isn't ready to explode!     Any questions, just keep posting.......

[manasota]

I don't think my Buddha Belly is from dairy because I was totally off dairy for years & still had the BB.  I have restarted the SCD yogurt daily to get the giant probiotic doses recommended.  The BB has not increased.  (Maybe the SCD yogurt will help.)

 

I don't think I have Sjogren's because my mouth is not dry & I do not have dental problems.  Also, my eye issues are "only" intermittent.

 

My plan is to "just keep going" --like Churchill!  At my next MD appt., I'll get all the bloodwork you all have recommended.  My guess is that my continuing pain & fatigue are from a combo of the Graves and Celiac healing.  I will just keep going!

 

I might mention that my doc gave me zinc to treat the peripheral neuropathy (tingling in extremities) that I was having.  It worked for me!  I almost never have the tingling anymore.  YEA!

 

Just Keep Going!