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

Thoughts on my first few weeks gluten free

Bananasbananas

Recommended Posts

Bananasbananas Apprentice
Bananasbananas
Posted

Hi again everyone. I’ve been gluten free for 27 days now, and was officially dx late March with celiac. I received the diagnosis from a nurse over the phone, and my follow up isn’t til late June. I’ve been doing pretty well with everything but have so many questions. 

When I got my blood work back in December, I upped my gluten intake quite a bit— last time having all my favorite Christmas cookies, special holiday beers etc. I developed a really itchy rash around my mouth and nose bilaterally, which is still kicking around. Should I have this checked by a dermatologist or give it some more time to potentially respond to the gluten-free diet?

At the same time in December, I really relaxed my workout regimen. I have felt for a few years now that I’ve been making less progress than the effort I was putting in. My iron has been an issue since early childhood, and I’ve been on supplements but it doesn’t make much difference. Now that I’m on the diet, I am trying to get back into a workout routine, but I’m left feeling very achy and fatigued after. So I’m wondering if I should just keep taking it easy and hold off on higher intensity workouts? 

The last thing I’ve really been struggling with is brain fog. I have an intellectually demanding job, and even the most basic words can be tough for me to recall. My focus has been terrible. Outside of work, I find myself starting different projects and never completing them, jumping from one hobby to the next in quick succession. On top of that, I’ve been pretty emotional and feeling like I just do not know how to properly care for myself. I feel like a complete space case. Are there supplements I could take to remedy this?

sorry in advance for the long post. It is so nice to have this forum to seek advice. My family has been supportive, but they usually just say “it’ll get better, you’re doing your best..” etc without really knowing how to help. And I’m really eager to get back to my doctor, but he is a gastroenterologist and really only seemed interested in my GI symptoms the first time around.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted
21 minutes ago, Bananasbananas said:

Hi again everyone. I’ve been gluten free for 27 days now, and was officially dx late May with celiac. I received the diagnosis from a nurse over the phone, and my follow up isn’t til late June. I’ve been doing pretty well with everything but have so many questions. 

When I got my blood work back in December, I upped my gluten intake quite a bit— last time having all my favorite Christmas cookies, special holiday beers etc. I developed a really itchy rash around my mouth and nose bilaterally, which is still kicking around. Should I have this checked by a dermatologist or give it some more time to potentially respond to the gluten-free diet?

At the same time in December, I really relaxed my workout regimen. I have felt for a few years now that I’ve been making less progress than the effort I was putting in. My iron has been an issue since early childhood, and I’ve been on supplements but it doesn’t make much difference. Now that I’m on the diet, I am trying to get back into a workout routine, but I’m left feeling very achy and fatigued after. So I’m wondering if I should just keep taking it easy and hold off on higher intensity workouts? 

The last thing I’ve really been struggling with is brain fog. I have an intellectually demanding job, and even the most basic words can be tough for me to recall. My focus has been terrible. Outside of work, I find myself starting different projects and never completing them, jumping from one hobby to the next in quick succession. On top of that, I’ve been pretty emotional and feeling like I just do not know how to properly care for myself. I feel like a complete space case. Are there supplements I could take to remedy this?

sorry in advance for the long post. It is so nice to have this forum to seek advice. My family has been supportive, but they usually just say “it’ll get better, you’re doing your best..” etc without really knowing how to help. And I’m really eager to get back to my doctor, but he is a gastroenterologist and really only seemed interested in my GI symptoms the first time around.

If you have waited a whole year to go gluten-free - being diagnosed last May- it is going to take longer than a month to feel better.  You spent a whole year knowingly hurting yourself.

Bananasbananas Apprentice
Bananasbananas
Posted
  • Author
4 minutes ago, kareng said:

If you have waited a whole year to go gluten-free - being diagnosed last May- it is going to take longer than a month to feel better.  You spent a whole year knowingly hurting yourself.

And there’s that brain fog. I went gluten-free the day of my biopsy. The doctor said to keep eating gluten up until then even though we knew it was damaging based on the blood work.

Ennis-TX Grand Master
Ennis-TX
Posted

Read the newbie 101 make sure your doing everything right, removing diary and oats is normally suggested for the first few months. Also make sure you threw out contaminated scratched pots, crumbed condiment jars, cutting boards etc.
https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

To help with the fog try this combo, Liquid Health Stress & Energy, and Liquid Health Neurological Support 1 tbsp each 3 times a day. Also to help with fatigue and brain issues you need to take magnesium which is a common issue with this disease, here depending on your bowl habits depends on what you need. If you have constipation then Natural Vitality Calm, take 1/4tsp (1-2g) at first and up it every day 1/4tsp (1-2g) to the full dose or til you get loose stools then back it back down dosing to tolerance. If you have normal daily bowl movements get Doctors Best Magnesium powder and take as suggested, night works best.
Iron, to help absorption you have to take it with vitamin C other wise your going to have more issues, topped with damaged gut and body constantly healing you need the help.

I use Vegan Protein Powders like Jarrow Pumpkin, Naked Pea, Growing naturals pea, Julian Bakery Pegan (both plain which is sancha inchi, and the cinnamon twist which is pumpkin), MRM Veggie elite etc all of which are high iron, magnesium, etc and great for working out, recovery. It took the first 2 years of healing before I started being able to step up my work out regime....I am now body building and working out most of the week. I personally follow a Paleo/Keto diet to manage other conditions and it keeps a lean and muscular build sustainable due to the higher protein, fats, and iron intakes and this disease.

Zinc might also be needed, which you can get in lozenges...if the lozenges taste like metal then your good, your body lets you know by the taste if it needs it or not.

Archived

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

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,668
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    CDR40
    Newest Member
    CDR40
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Rejoicephd
      Draft gluten-free ciders… can they be trusted ?

      By Rejoicephd · Posted

      That and my nutritionist also said that drinking cider is one of the worst drink choices for me, given that I have candida overgrowth.  She said the combination of the alcohol and sugar would be very likely to worsen my candida problem.  She suggested that if I drink, I go for clear vodka, either neat or with a splash of cranberry.   So in summary, I am giving ciders a rest.  Whether it's a gluten risk or sugars and yeast overgrowth, its just not worth it.
    • Inkie
      Tea Bags and Gluten

      By Inkie · Posted

      Thank you for the information ill will definitely bring it into practice .
    • Scott Adams
      Tea Bags and Gluten

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      While plain, pure tea leaves (black, green, or white) are naturally gluten-free, the issue often lies not with the tea itself but with other ingredients or processing. Many flavored teas use barley malt or other gluten-containing grains as a flavoring agent, which would be clearly listed on the ingredient label. Cross-contamination is another possibility, either in the facility where the tea is processed or, surprisingly, from the tea bag material itself—some tea bags are sealed with a wheat-based glue. Furthermore, it's important to consider that your reaction could be to other substances in tea, such as high levels of tannins, which can be hard on the stomach, or to natural histamines or other compounds that can cause a non-celiac immune response. The best way to investigate is to carefully read labels for hidden ingredients, try switching to a certified gluten-free tea brand that uses whole leaf or pyramid-style bags, and see if the reaction persists.
    • Scott Adams
      Inconclusive results

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      This is a challenging and confusing situation. The combination of a positive EMA—which is a highly specific marker rarely yielding false positives—alongside strongly elevated TTG on two separate occasions, years apart, is profoundly suggestive of celiac disease, even in the absence of biopsy damage. This pattern strongly aligns with what is known as "potential celiac disease," where the immune system is clearly activated, but intestinal damage has not yet become visible under the microscope. Your concern about the long-term risk of continued gluten consumption is valid, especially given your family's experience with the consequences of delayed diagnosis. Since your daughter is now at an age where her buy-in is essential for a gluten-free lifestyle, obtaining a definitive answer is crucial for her long-term adherence and health. Given that she is asymptomatic yet serologically positive, a third biopsy now, after a proper 12-week challenge, offers the best chance to capture any microscopic damage that may have developed, providing the concrete evidence needed to justify the dietary change. This isn't about wanting her to have celiac; it's about wanting to prevent the insidious damage that can occur while waiting for symptoms to appear, and ultimately giving her the unambiguous "why" she needs to accept and commit to the necessary treatment. This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. One test that always needs to be done is the IgA Levels/Deficiency Test (often called "Total IGA") because some people are naturally IGA deficient, and if this is the case, then certain blood tests for celiac disease might be false-negative, and other types of tests need to be done to make an accurate diagnosis. The article includes the "Mayo Clinic Protocol," which is the best overall protocol for results to be ~98% accurate.    
    • Scott Adams
      Medication

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Welcome to the community! Generally, for a gluten challenge before celiac disease blood tests, Tylenol (acetaminophen) is considered safe and should not interfere with your antibody results. The medications you typically need to avoid are those like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) that can cause intestinal irritation, which could potentially complicate the interpretation of an endoscopy if you were to have one. However, it is absolutely crucial that you confirm this with either your gastroenterologist or your surgeon before your procedure. They know the specifics of your case and can give you the definitive green light, ensuring your surgery is comfortable and your celiac testing remains accurate. Best of luck with your surgery tomorrow
×
×
  • 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.