Missing too much work

[Nicoleilene]

I found out I had celiac disease in February. I was having problems and took 4 months off work on fmla. So December til March. I'm back to work as a cna on light duty and part time. I've been gluten free since January and I'm still having problems with feeling shaky and light headed. There's times I can't even drive because I feel too out of it. I've had to call in a lot already because I either can't drive or I'm afraid to pass out at work. I'm so afraid of getting fired and I need money to pay my bills. Does anybody else have this problem? I've been to 3 different doctors about this and all they tell me is to sit down if I feel light headed. 

[ironictruth]

EAT PROTEIN!  My globulin dipped a bit and my protein was at the lowest end of normal during my gluten challenge. Nothing shocking lab wise, but boy did I feel it. I literally had times when I felt I would pass out and ended up in the ER. I was also afraid to drive with my son. I also realized this was connected to hunger even though I felt I should not be hungry. I swear, three weeks ago I almost had a metabolic crisis for lunch and dinner when I spent the day with my boyfriend. He was literally racing to find a place to eat when we were out.

I started just loading salads up with chicken breast, salami, eggs, ham, for 3 weeks straight.  Eating protein bars, (my personal favs are bounce energy balls and "the gluten free bar" and eat often (warning, high protein can constipate you a bit so keep fiber in your diet). Take a b multi-vitamin but do not go overboard on it.

My protein is now mid range and the globulin is back to normal. My alkaline phosphate is a bit low. I no longer feel like I am going to pass out though and was able to tone down my diet.

Has all of your blood work been checked?

[Nicoleilene]

Yeah the only thing low was vitamin d. So I take multi vitamins. Maybe that is it. Work switched me to second shift so all I eat before work is bananas because I'm paranoid about getting a stomach ache if I eat anything else.

[ironictruth]

Plain chicken breast with that banana. Try it for a week. 

[flutegal64]

It sounds like something else could be going on.  I would have hoped the doctor would run a blood test for other vitamin deficiencies?  A lot of people with Celiac are deficient in other vitamins. A lot of regular food is fortified with vitamins and most gluten free foods are not fortified with vitamins.  Also, your intestines are still healing probably so they may not be absorbing what they need to quite yet.

It could be other things besides Celiac.  Dizziness could be anything from throid, blood pressure, anemia, diabetes, etc... I'm not a doctor but it could be a lot of things. Go to another doctor until someone listens.  A lot of doctors figure if they wait long enough another symptom will appear to help them diagnose or they figure it will go away.  Medicine isn't clear cut a lot of the time.  If symptoms are vague it's tough for doctors to figure out.

I always keep a granola bar or a piece of fruit with me at all times... you can't always find gluten free food in a hurry.  And I know unexpected things happen so it's always good to have food on hand.  Protein is a good idea like someone said above.  Also sugar is a good thing for many people.  Charting how many calories you consume might be helpful too- with a change in diet you may not be getting the calories you used to.  But, really without medical advice it's tough to pinpoint what is making you dizzy.

[SLLRunner]

2 hours ago, flutegal64 said:

It sounds like something else could be going on.  I would have hoped the doctor would run a blood test for other vitamin deficiencies?  A lot of people with Celiac are deficient in other vitamins. A lot of regular food is fortified with vitamins and most gluten free foods are not fortified with vitamins.  Also, your intestines are still healing probably so they may not be absorbing what they need to quite yet.

It could be other things besides Celiac.  Dizziness could be anything from throid, blood pressure, anemia, diabetes, etc... I'm not a doctor but it could be a lot of things. Go to another doctor until someone listens.  A lot of doctors figure if they wait long enough another symptom will appear to help them diagnose or they figure it will go away.  Medicine isn't clear cut a lot of the time.  If symptoms are vague it's tough for doctors to figure out.

I always keep a granola bar or a piece of fruit with me at all times... you can't always find gluten free food in a hurry.  And I know unexpected things happen so it's always good to have food on hand.  Protein is a good idea like someone said above.  Also sugar is a good thing for many people.  Charting how many calories you consume might be helpful too- with a change in diet you may not be getting the calories you used to.  But, really without medical advice it's tough to pinpoint what is making you dizzy.

So well said.