Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Gluten Withdrawal?

Newly Diagnosed

Recommended Posts

Newly Diagnosed Apprentice
Newly Diagnosed
Posted

Hi, I am new to the site.  I was just diagnosed at the end of December and started the gluten free diet a few days ago.  I did not have any symptoms while I was eating gluten (I was diagnosed because my doctor decided to run a routine blood test and added the celiac panel because I have had Graves disease) but the second day I was gluten free I started a horrible headache and I have been feeling sick ever since.  I even threw up this morning.  Is this typical and if so how long does it usually last? 

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


bartfull Rising Star
bartfull
Posted

Hi and welcome.

Unfortunately gluten withdrawal is very real and it sounds like that's what's going on with you. Headaches, mood swings. insatiable hunger, and a general uneasy feeling as if something bad were going to happen any minute now, are all symptoms of withdrawal.

For some folks it lasts a week or two. Some folks have it for a month or more, but here's hoping yours leaves quickly.

Since you're new at this, go on over to the Newbie 101 thread pinned to the top of the coping section here and you'll earn a lot about our disease, the diet, and avoiding cross-contamination. Then come on back and ask as many questions as come to mind. We're here to help. :)

AmberJ Rookie
AmberJ
Posted
1 hour ago, bartfull said:

Hi and welcome.

Unfortunately gluten withdrawal is very real and it sounds like that's what's going on with you. Headaches, mood swings. insatiable hunger, and a general uneasy feeling as if something bad were going to happen any minute now, are all symptoms of withdrawal.

For some folks it lasts a week or two. Some folks have it for a month or more, but here's hoping yours leaves quickly.

Since you're new at this, go on over to the Newbie 101 thread pinned to the top of the coping section here and you'll earn a lot about our disease, the diet, and avoiding cross-contamination. Then come on back and ask as many questions as come to mind. We're here to help. :)

He's right. I had withdrawals for a couple days like you're describing. And then a little irritability off n on for a few weeks. But it DOES gets better! In no time you'll be feeling much better! Keep in mind to be gentle with yourself, as your body is addicted to a substance that, in essence, has the capability of shortening your lifespan by 20 or more years. I thought of mine as a drug addiction withdrawal (full disclosure: not an addict, but a cousin is and withdrawals are hard!), and once I started thinking of it that way, I was able to take it easier. I drank broth and lots of extra water, and got extra sleep. It helped me. Here's hoping you're feeling fantastic soon!

celiac sharon Apprentice
celiac sharon
Posted

I didn't, but I wonder?  Are you going really low carb in an effort to be gluten free?  Going gluten free caused none of that with me, but going low carb does. Just something to think about. See if a nice big bowl of rice makes you feel better. When I try to go low carb I get very fatigued and flu like. I read that people with thyroid disorders, which we both do, can go moderate carb but shouldn't go very low carb. Food for thought?  Feel better!

Newly Diagnosed Apprentice
Newly Diagnosed
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for all the replies.  I did check out the Newbie section and it is very helpful.  I am not going low carb, I couldn't handle doing both at once, but I will keep my eye on how many carbs I am eating to be sure I am not accidentally getting too low.  Hopefully once my body adjusts I will feel better...  I was eating way more gluten than I realized. 

anyana Apprentice
anyana
Posted

I had all of those symptoms a few weeks ago after I was diagnosed.  It was a hellish week, but luckily for me only lasted about 6-7 days (I also got a wicked cold at the same time - no fair).  Now I'm just trying to patiently wait for celiac symptoms to start going away!

Funny story, my sweet husband asked yesterday what was going on with his stomach - it was hurting, etc - turns out he was accidentally going through gluten withdrawal because we'd been off work for a week, and he was eating all of my gluten-free cooking and showing solidarity with me! Ha!

 

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted
8 hours ago, celiac sharon said:

I didn't, but I wonder?  Are you going really low carb in an effort to be gluten free?  Going gluten free caused none of that with me, but going low carb does. Just something to think about. See if a nice big bowl of rice makes you feel better. When I try to go low carb I get very fatigued and flu like. I read that people with thyroid disorders, which we both do, can go moderate carb but shouldn't go very low carb. Food for thought?  Feel better!

I have been on a low carb high fat diet for two years now.  I have Hashi's and my blood glucose levels have almost normalized.  I say almost, because if I cheat my glucose levels will spike.  My doctor is happy, my thyroid is happy, I am happy.  I do not need to take diabetic meds.    While I do cheat on my low carb high fat diet, I NEVER cheat on my gluten-free diet.  It is true that it takes about three weeks for your body to adjust to a low carb high fat diet.  The key is to consume enough fat so that you can avoid feeling fatigued.  

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. trents
      - trents replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      5

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      Currently, there are no tests for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out and we do have testing for celiac disease. There are two primary test modalities for diagnosing celiac disease. One involves checking for antibodies in the blood. For the person with celiac disease, when gluten is ingested, it produces an autoimmune response in the lining...
    2. SamAlvi
      - SamAlvi replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      5

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      Thank you for the clarification and for taking the time to explain the terminology so clearly. I really appreciate your insight, especially the distinction between celiac disease and NCGS and how anemia can point more toward celiac. This was very helpful for me.
    3. Jsingh
      - Jsingh replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Son's legs shaking

      Hi, My 7 year daughter has complained of this in the past, which I thought were part of her glutening symptom, but more recently I have come to figure out it's part of her histamine overload symptom. This one symptom was part of her broader profile, which included irritability, extreme hunger, confusion, post-nasal drip. You might want to look up "histamine...
    4. lizzie42
      - lizzie42 posted a topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Son's legs shaking

      My 5yo was diagnosed with celiac last year by being tested after his sister was diagnosed. We are very strict on the gluten-free diet, but unsure what his reactions are as he was diagnosed without many symptoms other than low ferritin. He had a school party where his teacher made gluten-free gingerbread men. I almost said no because she made it in her...
    5. trents
      - trents replied to Paulaannefthimiou's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      Bob red mill gluten free oats

      Not necessarily. The "Gluten Free" label means not more than 20ppm of gluten in the product which is often not enough for super sensitive celiacs. You would need to be looking for "Certified Gluten Free" (GFCO endorsed) which means no more than 10ppm of gluten. Having said that, "Gluten Free" doesn't mean that there will necessarily be more gluten than "Certified...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,868
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    yooperjb
    Newest Member
    yooperjb
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By trents · Posted

      Currently, there are no tests for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out and we do have testing for celiac disease. There are two primary test modalities for diagnosing celiac disease. One involves checking for antibodies in the blood. For the person with celiac disease, when gluten is ingested, it produces an autoimmune response in the lining of the small bowel which generates specific kinds of antibodies. Some people are IGA deficient and such that the IGA antibody tests done for celiac disease will have skewed results and cannot be trusted. In that case, there are IGG tests that can be ordered though, they aren't quite as specific for celiac disease as the IGA tests. But the possibility of IGA deficiency is why a "total IGA" test should always be ordered along with the TTG-IGA. The other modality is an endoscopy (scoping of the upper GI track) with a biopsy of the small bowel lining. The aforementioned autoimmune response produces inflammation in the small bowel lining which, over time, damages the structure of the lining. The biopsy is sent to a lab and microscopically analyzed for signs of this damage. If the damage is severe enough, it can often be spotted during the scoping itself. The endoscopy/biopsy is used as confirmation when the antibody results are positive, since there is a small chance that elevated antibody test scores can be caused by things other than celiac disease, particularly when the antibody test numbers are not particularly high. If the antibody test numbers are 10x normal or higher, physicians will sometimes declare an official diagnosis of celiac disease without an endoscopy/biopsy, particularly in the U.K. Some practitioners use stool tests to detect celiac disease but this modality is not widely recognized in the medical community as valid. Both celiac testing modalities outlined above require that you have been consuming generous amounts of gluten for weeks/months ahead of time. Many people make the mistake of experimenting with the gluten free diet or even reducing their gluten intake prior to testing. By doing so, they invalidate the testing because antibodies stop being produced, disappear from the blood and the lining of the small bowel begins to heal. So, then they are stuck in no man's land, wondering if they have celiac disease or NCGS. To resume gluten consumption, i.e., to undertake a "gluten challenge" is out of the question because their reaction to gluten is so strong that it would endanger their health. The lining of the small bowel is the place where all of the nutrition in the food we consume is absorbed. This lining is made up of billions of microscopically tiny fingerlike projections that create a tremendous nutrient absorption surface area. The inflammation caused by celiac disease wears down these fingers and greatly reduces the surface area needed for nutrient absorption. Thus, people with celiac disease often develop iron deficiency anemia and a host of other vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is likely that many more people who have issues with gluten suffer from NCGS than from celiac disease. We actually know much more about the mechanism of celiac disease than we do about NCGS but some experts believe NCGS can transition into celiac disease.
    • SamAlvi
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By SamAlvi · Posted

      Thank you for the clarification and for taking the time to explain the terminology so clearly. I really appreciate your insight, especially the distinction between celiac disease and NCGS and how anemia can point more toward celiac. This was very helpful for me.
    • Jsingh
      Son's legs shaking

      By Jsingh · Posted

      Hi,  My 7 year daughter has complained of this in the past, which I thought were part of her glutening symptom, but more recently I have come to figure out it's part of her histamine overload symptom. This one symptom was part of her broader profile, which included irritability, extreme hunger, confusion, post-nasal drip. You might want to look up "histamine intolerance". I wish I had known of this at the time of her diagnosis, life would have been much easier.  I hope you are able to figure out. 
    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      My 5yo was diagnosed with celiac last year by being tested after his sister was diagnosed. We are very strict on the gluten-free diet, but unsure what his reactions are as he was diagnosed without many symptoms other than low ferritin.  He had a school party where his teacher made gluten-free gingerbread men. I almost said no because she made it in her kitchen but I thought it would be ok.  Next day and for a few after his behavior is awful. Hitting, rude, disrespectful. Mainly he kept saying his legs were shaking. Is this a gluten exposure symptom that anyone else gets? Also the bad behavior? 
    • trents
      Bob red mill gluten free oats

      By trents · Posted

      Not necessarily. The "Gluten Free" label means not more than 20ppm of gluten in the product which is often not enough for super sensitive celiacs. You would need to be looking for "Certified Gluten Free" (GFCO endorsed) which means no more than 10ppm of gluten. Having said that, "Gluten Free" doesn't mean that there will necessarily be more gluten than "Certified Gluten" in any given batch run. It just means there could be. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.