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

Anyone Experienced "withdrawal" Symptoms When Going Gluten Free....?

cami

Recommended Posts

cami Rookie
cami
Posted

Hi,

I've just gone gluten free for the second time (had to start eating gluten again for a biopsy... :angry: ).

Anyway, i'm experiencing the weirdest thing. All my symptoms gets really bad for the first few (gluten free)days before fading away (bloating, abdominal pain, excema, aphtous ulcers in mouth....). Now, the first time I cut out gluten I experienced the same thing, and it's only bc it's happening again that I see the pattern.

Anyone experineced this???

/C

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Rachel--24 Collaborator
Rachel--24
Posted

Its not unusual to experience withdrawl symptoms as gluten is highly addictive. I actually thought I was dying the first few days of the diet. I was already really sick and off work on disability so when I went off gluten it was much much worse for the first week. I was scared but I felt human again after that first week.

achiera Rookie
achiera
Posted

hello, im in a similar situation, i was dx'ed sept 2003, from inconclusive tests, but my doc has a pretty good understanding of celiac disease and said i most definitly have it. but of course my curiousity got the best of me and i went on a gluten diet 8 months ago so i could redo the blood tests (which i completly regret now!), im going this tuesday to see him again. but anyway, i started getting very sick again about 2 months ago and about a week ago i decided i cant take it anymore and i went gluten free. and omg did i have some badddddd withdrawl!! i had flu like symptoms, my muscles ached, i had a migrane for 3 days staright, i absolutley felt awful at first and i knew its because i stopped eating gluten. it didnt work out the way i wanted to because i was supposed to have my appt last week but it got bumped to next week so i had to start eating gluten again, i just dont want my test to come out weird. and i know im going to feel sicker again after i go gluten free. so i guess my answer is YES you most definitly can have withdrawl symptoms after going gluten free!

alexis

Guest nini
Guest nini
Posted

sounds like withdrawal to me... the second week was the worst for me...

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

I had a lot of symptoms just after going gluten-free. I was terribly fatigued--like I could not get enough sleep. Also--lightheadedness, low ab. cramping, neck pain, brain fog, basically like a used dishrag the first 2 months. By the 4th. month, things really got a lot better.

cami Rookie
cami
Posted
  • Author

Wow - I had no idea it was this common to experience some kind of withdrawal... Thanks everyone for your comments/advice.

/Cami

chuikov Newbie
chuikov
Posted

I think words like "addictive" and "withdrawal" are inaccurate. If your symptoms stay the same or get worse for a while, it might be an expulsion or a painful cleansing.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted
I think words like "addictive" and "withdrawal" are inaccurate. If your symptoms stay the same or get worse for a while, it might be an expulsion or a painful cleansing.

the use of the word addictive comes from research that suggests that, when crossing the blood-brain barrier, gluten that has entered the blood stream (or gluten antibodies, I do not remember which) and then the brain can act in a similar fashion to opiates - one quality of which is addiction.

chuikov Newbie
chuikov
Posted
the use of the word addictive comes from research that suggests that, when crossing the blood-brain barrier, gluten that has entered the blood stream (or gluten antibodies, I do not remember which) and then the brain can act in a similar fashion to opiates - one quality of which is addiction.

Being a recovering junkie, it's obvious to me that the two have nothing in common. I don't put much faith in research results until they have been proven and re-proven over time and through real world experience. Researchers also tend to contradict one another for a long time until things get sorted out.

I think medical science is still very primative. The common cold, most other viruses, MS etc - there are more mysteries than answers around.

marciab Enthusiast
marciab
Posted

My main symptoms of withdrawal were emotional. I finally had to stop going out to eat with others because I was tearing up when they got their food and I got my plain baked potato and glass of water. That must have been a real bummer for them too. I've never been a whiner, but god, I miss real food !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Archived

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

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. asaT
      - asaT replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      48

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      plant sources of calcium, such as spinach, have calcium bound to oxalates, which is not good. best source of calcium is unfortunately dairy, do you tolerate dairy? fermented dairy like kefir is good and or a little hard cheese. i do eat dairy, i can only take so much dietary restriction and gluten is hard enough! but i guess some people do have bad reactions...
    2. asaT
      - asaT replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      48

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      i take b12, folate, b2, b6, glycine, Nac, zinc, vk2 mk4, magnesium, coq10, pqq, tmg, creatine, omega 3, molybdnem (sp) and just started vit d. quite a list i know. I have high homocysteine (last checked it was 19, but is always high and i finally decided to do something about it) and very low vitamin d, 10. have been opposed to this supp in the past...
    3. nanny marley
      - nanny marley replied to hjayne19's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      20

      Insomnia help

      Great advise there I agree with the aniexty part, and the aura migraine has I suffer both, I've also read some great books that have helped I'm going too look the one you mentioned up too thankyou for that, I find a camomile tea just a small one and a gentle wind down before bed has helped me too, I suffer from restless leg syndrome and nerve pain hence I...
    4. nanny marley
      - nanny marley replied to wellthatsfun's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      4

      nothing has changed

      I agree there I've tryed this myself to prove I can't eat gluten or lactose and it sets me back for about a month till I have to go back to being very strict to settle again
    5. trents
      - trents replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      48

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      You may also need to supplement with B12 as this vitamin is also involved in iron assimilation and is often deficient in long-term undiagnosed celiac disease.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,342
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Muhammad
    Newest Member
    Muhammad
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • asaT
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By asaT · Posted

      plant sources of calcium, such as spinach, have calcium bound to oxalates, which is not good. best source of calcium is unfortunately dairy, do you tolerate dairy? fermented dairy like kefir is good and or a little hard cheese. i do eat dairy, i can only take so much dietary restriction and gluten is hard enough! but i guess some people do have bad reactions to it, so different for everyone.  
    • asaT
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By asaT · Posted

      i take b12, folate, b2, b6, glycine, Nac, zinc, vk2 mk4, magnesium, coq10, pqq, tmg, creatine, omega 3, molybdnem (sp) and just started vit d. quite a list i know.  I have high homocysteine (last checked it was 19, but is always high and i finally decided to do something about it) and very low vitamin d, 10. have been opposed to this supp in the past, but going to try it at 5k units a day. having a pth test on friday, which is suspect will be high. my homocysteine has come down to around 9 with 3 weeks of these supplements and expect it to go down further. i also started on estrogen/progesterone. I have osteoporosis too, so that is why the hormones.  anyway, i think all celiacs should have homocysteine checked and treated if needed (easy enough with b vit, tmg). homocysteine very bad thing to be high for a whole host of reasons. all the bad ones, heart attack , stroke, alzi, cancer..... one of the most annoying things about celiacs (and there are so many!) is the weight gain. i guess i stayed thin all those years being undiagnosed because i was under absorbing everything including calories. going gluten-free and the weight gain has been terrible, 30#, but i'm sure a lot more went into that (hip replacement - and years of hip pain leading to inactivity when i was previously very active, probably all related to celiacs, menopause) yada yada. i seemed to lose appetite control, like there was low glp, or leptin or whatever all those hormones are that tell you that you are full and to stop eating. my appetite is immense and i'm never full. i guess decades or more ( i think i have had celiacs since at least my teens - was hospitalized for abdominal pain and diarrhea for which spastic colon was eventually diagnosed and had many episodes of diarrhea/abdominal pain through my 20's. but that symptom seemed to go away and i related it to dairy much more so than gluten. Also my growth was stunted, i'm the only shorty in my family. anyway, decades of malabsorption and maldigestion led to constant hunger, at least thats my theory. then when i started absorbing normally, wham!! FAT!!!    
    • nanny marley
      Insomnia help

      By nanny marley · Posted

      Great advise there I agree with the aniexty part, and the aura migraine has I suffer both, I've also read some great books that have helped I'm going too look the one you mentioned up too thankyou for that, I find a camomile tea just a small one and a gentle wind down before bed has helped me too, I suffer from restless leg syndrome and nerve pain hence I don't always sleep well at the best of times , racing mind catches up I have decorated my whole house in one night in my mind before 🤣 diet changes mindset really help , although I have to say it never just disappears, I find once I came to terms with who I am I managed a lot better  , a misconception is for many to change , that means to heal but that's not always the case , understanding and finding your coping mechanisms are vital tools , it's more productive to find that because there is no failure then no pressure to become something else , it's ok to be sad it's ok to not sleep , it's ok to worry , just try to see it has a journey not a task 🤗
    • nanny marley
      nothing has changed

      By nanny marley · Posted

      I agree there I've tryed this myself to prove I can't eat gluten or lactose and it sets me back for about a month till I have to go back to being very strict to settle again 
    • trents
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By trents · Posted

      You may also need to supplement with B12 as this vitamin is also involved in iron assimilation and is often deficient in long-term undiagnosed celiac disease.
×
×
  • 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.