Almost two months, symptoms still come and go

[Fbmb]

I was diagnosed on November 8 and have been gluten free ever since. I struggled for the first month and then noticed my GI issues were improving. Yay! Now I'm noticing a setback and I don't know why. I'm being strict on my diet and cross contamination. I eat healthy. Last night I had some Indiana popcorn (had it the night before too) and woke up both days with loose stools. Could it have been too much fiber? It also has 18 percent of your day's value of fat in it (movie theater kind) so maybe it's the oils? 

I don't have issues with corn tortillas or other products with corn so I don't think it's corn. 

I'm just discouraged and frustrated. Is this normal at 2 months? To feel ok and then have a setback or two, without gluten? 

[Fbmb]

I should also say that the serving for this specific flavor is 2 cups and I probably ate twice that both times..... 

maybe even more....I chowed on that popcorn for like 30 min...

[kareng]

It could take a year or more to heal and normalize  the system.  And even then, just like anyone else, we are susceptible to over-eating or foods that are hard to digest or too much fat in a meal or food poisoning or stomach virus, etc, etc, etc.  It seems that we sometimes think once we are on a gluten-free diet, we will ever have any normal fluctuations of gas, bowl movements, etc.  

[Fbmb]

1 hour ago, kareng said:

It could take a year or more to heal and normalize  the system.  And even then, just like anyone else, we are susceptible to over-eating or foods that are hard to digest or too much fat in a meal or food poisoning or stomach virus, etc, etc, etc.  It seems that we sometimes think once we are on a gluten-free diet, we will ever have any normal fluctuations of gas, bowl movements, etc.  

I think that's my issue - I expect to always be 100 percent regular now that I'm off gluten. So when I'm not I assume that something is wrong with me. Maybe I need to lay off the fatty popcorn....

[squirmingitch]

You may be fine eating corn but popcorn is a whole other ball of wax even if one discounts the fat content of it. That stuff is danged difficult to digest!!!!! Those kernels!!!!!! Your gut hasn't healed enough yet to handle that kind of thing without letting you know about it. I'm not saying don't eat popcorn but expect things to be wonky after you do. Preferably, you should lay off the popcorn for several more months but I get it that one can only deprive oneself just so far especially at this time of year & newly dx'd, when it seems like you're missing out on all the traditional foods of the season. 

 

 

[Fbmb]

3 hours ago, squirmingitch said:

You may be fine eating corn but popcorn is a whole other ball of wax even if one discounts the fat content of it. That stuff is danged difficult to digest!!!!! Those kernels!!!!!! Your gut hasn't healed enough yet to handle that kind of thing without letting you know about it. I'm not saying don't eat popcorn but expect things to be wonky after you do. Preferably, you should lay off the popcorn for several more months but I get it that one can only deprive oneself just so far especially at this time of year & newly dx'd, when it seems like you're missing out on all the traditional foods of the season. 

 

 

I didn't realize I should lay off the popcorn until I'm healed. I'll just steer clear for now. I do like it, but I'll try again in a few months.  

[squirmingitch]

1 hour ago, Fbmb said:

I didn't realize I should lay off the popcorn until I'm healed. I'll just steer clear for now. I do like it, but I'll try again in a few months.  

In my opinion it's a good idea. It's just hard on your gut right now. 

[Fbmb]

On 12/25/2016 at 1:14 PM, squirmingitch said:

In my opinion it's a good idea. It's just hard on your gut right now. 

Hey! So last night I ate corn chips. Not a ton but a decent amount (I never stick to serving sizes), and I woke up with a similar issue. Do you think it's the processed corn? I'm trying to keep a food journal but it seems like it's not consistent. Like, sometimes I'm fine eating something and then other times I'm not. I don't think it's all corn though because I seem fine with corn starch (used as a thickener in soups). 

And, even if it is corn or something hard to digest, that doesn't effect my healing, right?

[GFinDC]

You are in the early healing phase of the gluten-free diet.  It's not likely your digestion will be perfect for a while still.  6 months to a year and half, maybe things will be better.   Are you cooking your own foods?  Or eating foods others make?  How about processed foods, are you eating a lot of them?

[cstark]

It could because your body will have to work harder to continue healing and to work hard to digest whatever you eat.  My opinion is this, lay off on any "hard to digest" foods, such as popcorn and processed foods.  This will give your body an easier time to heal without having to do double duty.  After a time, slowly start to add some of the things you deleted from your diet to see how your system handles it. 

I had to do this with dairy especially.  I knew almost instantly when I had gone over the limit of how much my body could handle.  You will know as well what your body is telling you.  Good luck on your journey!

[Awol cast iron stomach]

I too can't handle popcorn. You can have cornstarch . I can't . I  get joint and muscle pain from corn and corn sourced anything /derivative added to food.

As the others say not time yet. Frustrating I know. Your not alone.

 

[squirmingitch]

You've gotten some good answers and I agree with them. Whole foods, non processed and things that are easy to digest are the foods that will allow you to heal more quickly without putting stress on your gut that it has to use to digest things other than whole food that is easily digestible. I will again repeat that it takes time. You had Marsh stage 3b, your gut is doing it's best to heal but you have to baby it along so it can do the work of healing unhindered. Also, I will remind you that the first 6 months to 1 year can be a roller coaster.

All rolled into a simple answer....... Be kind to your gut.

[Caroles]

I have been diagnosed for about a year and I found a product that helps heal your small intestine, it's called Intestinew by Renew Life. I was getting the powder and drinking it every morning along with EmergeneC. It seems to calm everything down. I also take a THRIVE probiotic at night and I take Magnesium (glycinate) 120mg 3-4 times a day. I also drink green tea with raw honey and I add a couple of drops of Frankincense. This oil does wonders for me and I feel young and energetic. I have just come to the conclusion I cannot have gluten ever again. Just be careful what you eat, make sure it's whole food, eat plenty of fruits and veggies.

[Fbmb]

On 12/27/2016 at 9:24 AM, GFinDC said:

You are in the early healing phase of the gluten-free diet.  It's not likely your digestion will be perfect for a while still.  6 months to a year and half, maybe things will be better.   Are you cooking your own foods?  Or eating foods others make?  How about processed foods, are you eating a lot of them?

 I don't eat a ton of processed foods, but I do eat gluten-free crackers and snack on things that aren't the healthiest. I'm pretty good about not eating junk food, but I definitely don't stick to a clean diet as much as I should (whether I had celiac or not). I'm cooking my own stuff for the most part. Sometimes we'll have an Udi's gluten free pizza at home if we need to do something easy. But I've been on the hunt for gluten free recipes and/or have modified my recipes to be gluten free. I'm not a very adventurous cook so my family eats about the same 7 things each week lol. It's always been that way. But I cook a lot of chicken, and we have pork chops, a lot of salmon, and a tiny bit of red meat here and there. I don't like it much. I've switched to gluten-free noodles (I like Barilla a lot actually) and I make pasta with pesto and salmon. I make spaghetti with ground turkey and Prego traditional sauce. My husband makes a yummy fajita salad and we found gluten-free fajita seasoning for the chicken. I make green chili and use corn starch to thicken. I add hominy and Navy beans to it. We eat a lot of eggs. I make chicken tenders with gluten-free bisquick, parmesean, and egg. And I snack on sugar snap peas, almonds, carrots, clementines, etc. I eat gluten-free bread and it seems to be ok for my belly. Really the only thing I've noticed that give me issues are corn chips and popcorn. I can do corn starch, or so it seems. I'm finding that there really isn't much I can't eat - I just have to modify. And luckily I wasn't a huge sweet eater and bread eater before (family history of type 2 diabetes) so adjusting to gluten-free bread and noodles hasn't been that much of a struggle for me. In one of the books I read they talked about a famous dietician who said that, really, if a person eats the way that they "should" eat, there are only about 5 things they can't have if they have celiac. Meaning, if you eat healthy anyway, you'd be amazed at all the stuff you can still eat - and most of it is really healthy and you should be eating it regardless. Once I realized that it didn't all seem so overwhelming. 

I'm too neurotic (you've seen my posts about my anxiety) to really enjoy eating what others cook, so I try my best not to. For Christmas Eve we went to my grandparent's house (tradition and I love doing that) but I told my Gram that I would cook dinner and bring it. So that's what I did. And for Christmas dinner I took homemade mashed potatoes to my inlaws house. My MIL has been great about this (our son has celiac too), and she's been really careful with cross contamination. We had prime rib with no seasoning and green beans. She put bacon in them and almonds. I was fine the next day. I think everything was ok but I was nervous the whole time because I don't know how clean people keep their kitchens. My family is really clean and we know how to not contaminate people because of our family history, but other people don't realize that it's more than just eating bread. And I hate to insult people by questioning how well they wash their dishes or clean their counters. I know that I can't be afraid to ask and I'm sure that in time I'll be less shy, but I don't want to make my husband's mom feel bad by saying "Is your counter clean? How about your pans? Did you use that cutting board for bread at some point?" So for now I just steer clear. We haven't gone to a restaurant. I probably eat processed foods more when we travel because I don't want to go to a restaurant. So I pack things that I can stash in the car and eat, which aren't the healthiest options.

[Fbmb]

On 12/27/2016 at 9:46 AM, Awol cast iron stomach said:

I too can't handle popcorn. You can have cornstarch . I can't . I  get joint and muscle pain from corn and corn sourced anything /derivative added to food.

As the others say not time yet. Frustrating I know. Your not alone.

 

Does that mean you're allergic to corn? Or is it just not something your body likes? Will you eventually be able to have it again?

[GFinDC]

2 hours ago, Fbmb said:

 I don't eat a ton of processed foods, but I do eat gluten-free crackers and snack on things that aren't the healthiest. I'm pretty good about not eating junk food, but I definitely don't stick to a clean diet as much as I should (whether I had celiac or not). I'm cooking my own stuff for the most part. Sometimes we'll have an Udi's gluten free pizza at home if we need to do something easy. But I've been on the hunt for gluten free recipes and/or have modified my recipes to be gluten free. I'm not a very adventurous cook so my family eats about the same 7 things each week lol. It's always been that way. But I cook a lot of chicken, and we have pork chops, a lot of salmon, and a tiny bit of red meat here and there. I don't like it much. I've switched to gluten-free noodles (I like Barilla a lot actually) and I make pasta with pesto and salmon. I make spaghetti with ground turkey and Prego traditional sauce. My husband makes a yummy fajita salad and we found gluten-free fajita seasoning for the chicken. I make green chili and use corn starch to thicken. I add hominy and Navy beans to it. We eat a lot of eggs. I make chicken tenders with gluten-free bisquick, parmesean, and egg. And I snack on sugar snap peas, almonds, carrots, clementines, etc. I eat gluten-free bread and it seems to be ok for my belly. Really the only thing I've noticed that give me issues are corn chips and popcorn. I can do corn starch, or so it seems. I'm finding that there really isn't much I can't eat - I just have to modify. And luckily I wasn't a huge sweet eater and bread eater before (family history of type 2 diabetes) so adjusting to gluten-free bread and noodles hasn't been that much of a struggle for me. In one of the books I read they talked about a famous dietician who said that, really, if a person eats the way that they "should" eat, there are only about 5 things they can't have if they have celiac. Meaning, if you eat healthy anyway, you'd be amazed at all the stuff you can still eat - and most of it is really healthy and you should be eating it regardless. Once I realized that it didn't all seem so overwhelming. 

I'm too neurotic (you've seen my posts about my anxiety) to really enjoy eating what others cook, so I try my best not to. For Christmas Eve we went to my grandparent's house (tradition and I love doing that) but I told my Gram that I would cook dinner and bring it. So that's what I did. And for Christmas dinner I took homemade mashed potatoes to my inlaws house. My MIL has been great about this (our son has celiac too), and she's been really careful with cross contamination. We had prime rib with no seasoning and green beans. She put bacon in them and almonds. I was fine the next day. I think everything was ok but I was nervous the whole time because I don't know how clean people keep their kitchens. My family is really clean and we know how to not contaminate people because of our family history, but other people don't realize that it's more than just eating bread. And I hate to insult people by questioning how well they wash their dishes or clean their counters. I know that I can't be afraid to ask and I'm sure that in time I'll be less shy, but I don't want to make my husband's mom feel bad by saying "Is your counter clean? How about your pans? Did you use that cutting board for bread at some point?" So for now I just steer clear. We haven't gone to a restaurant. I probably eat processed foods more when we travel because I don't want to go to a restaurant. So I pack things that I can stash in the car and eat, which aren't the healthiest options.

Hi FBMB,

It sounds like you are trying anyway.   You eat many things I wouldn't eat myself, but I probably have more food intolerances than you.  The Bisquick is one example.  I'd never recommend that to a newbie person going gluten-free.  It 's basically carbs and they are bad for your healing gut.  Parmesan would be a no-go also.  And the fajita spices, unh-uh.  The Udi's gluten-free pizza wouldn't make it in my shopping cart either.  Same with the Barilla pasta and the crackers.  Or the Prego sauce.  But if it's working for you, that's fine.  We are not all the same.

All I can say is it is better to go with whole foods at the start IMHO.  You can always add processed gluten-free foods into your diet once you are healed up.  But healing is not a 2 week process.  You've got months to go for that.