Gluten withdrawal and adrenal fatigue

[Kirsty40]

I hope it's ok that I post in this group. I do not have the celiac diagnosis, but am very gluten sensitive. My gastroenterologist is retesting for celiac, but that has been done before with biopt and blood test and then was negative. My symptoms from gluten sensitivity are extreme, burning itching. And sometimes, oversensitivity to sounds/movement and anxiety after eating gluten. Probably my nausea also.

My problem is, that because of coming of off psych meds with pre-existing adrenal fatigue, I get severe withdrawal when I go gluten free. Even when I taper. I get painfull feet, constant hunger, and since trying to come off gluten, I have bad hypoglycemia up to the point where I often have to eat every hour. The adrenal fatigue issues seem to get worse from trying to get off gluten. Especially the hunger and blood sugar regulation problems. I have about 1.5 slices of bread left to get off. But am afraid the adrenals will not recover from it. The damage from psych meds is this bad that I can't tolerate supplements like B12, magnesium, vitamin C. I know I have to come off, maybe slowly.

I would like to hear from you if you had something similar. Did you have severe withdrawal? Were you afraid your nervous system would not be able to handle that? How did it turn out?

 

[GFinDC]

Hello Kirsty, welcome to the forum!

Tapering off gluten does not work.  You have to just quit and never eat it again, if you are a celiac.  The celiac reaction is an autoimmune reaction.  The immune system doesn't recognize tapering off in either germs or gluten.  Instead it attacks full force any germs/gluten that it encounters in order to protect your body.  So tapering off is not any good or any use.   As long as you eat any gluten the immune system will continue to attack.  And it will not stop attacking for weeks or months after exposure to gluten.

Also, if you are being tested for celiac disease you need to keep eating gluten until all testing is completed.  The endoscopy requires 2 weeks of eating gluten and the blood antibodies require 12 weeks of eating gluten.

Withdrawal symptoms vary a lot.  Also, healing and recovery times vary a lot.  Generally though some improvement should be noticed in a month or 2.   Full recovery can take 18 months or more.

[Jmg]

Hi Kirsty and welcome

We have something in common:

22 hours ago, Kirsty40 said:

I do not have the celiac diagnosis, but am very gluten sensitive.

I also had anxiety issues although the gluten free diet has all but made them disappear 

22 hours ago, Kirsty40 said:

The adrenal fatigue issues seem to get worse from trying to get off gluten. Especially the hunger and blood sugar regulation problems. I have about 1.5 slices of bread left to get off.

The bread is not good for hypoglycemia, gluten notwithstanding. It gets very rapidly converted into sugar by your body and that in turn drives your blood sugar into a spike, followed by a crash and the cycle continues. Have you come across theOpen Original Shared LinkIt's all about controlling blood sugar via eating. If you can switch to lower GI foods you will benefit from it.  

I also have hunger and blood sugar issues by the way. I tackle them via diet, making sure I'm eating a good volume of protein at each meal and trying to pick some low GI foods to reduce the blood sugar spike/crash cycle that fuels hypoclycemia. I don't always get there because I like sugary treats, but that's my object!

Anyway, hopefully once you fully remove any gluten sources from your diet you may find that your anxiety and other issues improve markedly. I spent many years on one anti depressant after another, but it was going gluten free that made the real difference. I hope you have the same experience and that you find this forum helpful.

Best of luck!