Just found out of my allergy to gluten. 1 week clean!

[FugNasty]

I am 1 week off of gluten. I actually have had no issues going gluten free. I thought it was going to be harder. I am morbidly obese so I was freaking out. I have noticed towards the end of this week I am starving to death...but from what I have researched that is normal and will balance out. What I was wondering is...Why do I feel like I can breathe better? Like OMG!!! I can't stop taking deep breaths. It just feels so good I want to just breathe deeply all the damn time!!! I have had asthma since I was 12. I am almost 41 on the 18th. I have never breathed like this. I just can't stop. I feel alive. Is this normal?

[GFinDC]

Hi, and welcome to the forum FN!

I can also breathe much better after going gluten-free.

Celiac disease is an auto-immune condition.  My own opinion is that having your immune system cranked up to high volume in one area can lead to spill-over to immune reactions in other areas.  For instance, I had pretty bad allergies before going gluten-free.  After being gluten-free awhile, my allergies stopped being such a problem.   Instead of buying allergy meds every week I went to only buying allergy meds a few times a year.

The other thing is inflammation.  Celiac damage can cause irritation and inflammation in the gut.  The inflammation process though can affect the whole body.  So that might have affected your breathing.

It's great that you are experiencing improvements after a short time.  Your body being in a constant war with itself (AI condition) takes a lot of resources (energy).  So you may begin to feel more energetic also.

I don't know if you were tested for celiac disease?  If not, you might want to do that right away if you ever want to know for sure.  It is much easier to be tested now than later.  The test results depend on the immune reaction being active.

I also was hungry after going gluten-free.  But I didn't stay that way long.  You may find that you start losing weight being gluten-free.   In some people, the body starts storing fat as a reaction to being short on nutrients due to mal-absorbtion.   Once those vitamin and mineral deficiencies are corrected with a healed gut, the body can go out of anti-starvation mode.

A good way to start the gluten-free diet is to eat only food you make yourself at home.  Eat meats, veggies, eggs, nuts, and fruit.  No dairy as it is often a problem for a few months.  I suggest you stick to whole foods and no processed foods.  Lots of protein can be helpful.

[FugNasty]

Thank you for responding. I also noticed my nose won't stop running but that might be the ragweed lol. I am getting tested for Celiacs this week. I just am feeling better. I do have a lot of energy, maybe too much. I am afraid of crashing. So, I think I will start walking when I have the energy. I don't do much dairy as it is as I have a mild reaction to it already. Yesterday was really the first day I was starving like Marvin in a vegetable garden. Luckily I do all my cooking already for the most part, so cooking at home is all we have been doing and my entire family has been supportive. I'm excited for the journey. 

[cyclinglady]

Hi!  

If you are considering getting tested for celiac disease next week, you do need to get back on gluten right away.  All celiac disease testing requires you to be on a full gluten diet.  In as little as two weeks antibodies in the blood stream might decrease in some people.  The problem is you do not know if you are a fast healer or not.  Then you would receive a negative result when you might actually have celiac disease.  

I hope you feel better soon!  

[FugNasty]

Well thatmakes sense. Ill contact my doctor tomorrow and see what see wants me to do. I didn't think about that. Ha. Darn. 

[cyclinglady]

This happens to SOOOO many people.  Even many doctors get this wrong and fail to tell their patients that they need to remain on gluten for testing.  

Once you feel good after getting off gluten, it can be hard to go back on for testing.  Do not let your doctor persuade you into not testing because you are overweight.  That is an old fallacy.  Celiacs come in shapes and sizes.  You should consider wheat allergy testing too (different from celiac disease) as people can have both.  

If testing is negative, consider trying the gluten free diet again.  It sounds like you have already felt some improvement.