What steps do you take to heal/recover from being glutened?

[ingodslove]

Hi!  I'm new, so maybe this already discussed on here someplace, but I looked and looked and couldn't find it so:

What steps do you take after you've been glutened?  Does anything soothe your symptoms?  Do you follow a protocol?

[cyclinglady]

Sorry to hear you were glutened! ?

I do a few things.  First, I fast.  That means giving my GI tract a break.  Like 12 hours.  That means no snacking after dinner and then sleeping!  Then I make a big pot of simple stew or soup and eat that morning, noon and night.  The mushier and softer the better.  If I want fruit, I choose a mushy one like a banana or cooked apples (applesauce).    I also drink plenty of water to aid in digestion.  I add in other foods when I start to feel better.  

Better?  This is what happens to me.  After all the other dramatic pain, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., I notice that I am okay as long as I am not eating.   I am okay for an hour or so after my first bite of food, until the food hits my small intestine.  Then it hurts.  It hurts to digest anything, really.  But eventually it gets better.  

Your antibodies can come down fast or slow.  It is an individual thing.  Get plenty of rest.  

[GFinDC]

I take peppermint tea or Altoids for gas.  Pepto Bismol for gut pain.  I also drink lots of water.

[Ennis-TX]

Take gliadinx if I catch it early enough...seems to reduce the severity. I normally end up on a soft stewed food diet of simple foods and bone broth. I also have to take extra magnesium and digestive enzymes. Cooking everything to mush and avoiding carbs, fiber, spices, etc...Think of your intestines as carpet burned or raw....avoid anything that might cause discomfort and make it as easy as you can for digestion. If you consume dairy drop it for awhile also.  I found some other herbal stuff that soothes the intestines and helps with gas...but I can not take most other meds.

I found this stuff for that helps with healing villi and the D...originally designed for people undergoing cancer treatment which can destroy the villi also. Might help heal faster? Enterade was what it  was called.

[Talltimber]

When I feel contaminated by gluten I take papaya enzyme tablets to speed up the gi track.

[Scott Adams]

Regarding papaya enzymes, not all are the same. There is some research on caricain which is derived from green papaya...full disclosure that the link below was from a sponsored spot for this site, but they did do a double blind study on their product:

 

[ingodslove]

Thank-you for the helpful responses:)  I felt some relief after about five days, but am not healed fully yet.  I made a lot of veggie soup...but also just snacked on whatever my family was eating when my husband cooked (gluten-free) meals.  I will dig out my digestive enzymes tonight.  Does anyone take an iron supplement after a flare up?

[cyclinglady]

I would not take iron unless you are iron-deficient.  One gluten exposure is probably not going to make you anemic.  You can overdose on iron.  

I did take iron at the advice of my doctor when I was first diagnosed with celiac disease.   I had the lab tests to show it was necessary.  Otherwise, the gluten-free diet and iron supplements resolved my iron-deficieny within a few months.  I stopped taking iron once my repeat blood test showed improvement (normal ranges).  

 

[Ennis-TX]

1 hour ago, ingodslove said:

Thank-you for the helpful responses:)  I felt some relief after about five days, but am not healed fully yet.  I made a lot of veggie soup...but also just snacked on whatever my family was eating when my husband cooked (gluten-free) meals.  I will dig out my digestive enzymes tonight.  Does anyone take an iron supplement after a flare up?

I would suggest eating foods higher in iron like red meats, pea protein, or cooking your soup in a cast iron pot (it does infuse a bit). Vitamin C will also help with your natural ability to absorb it.
Iron supplements are also notorious for being hard on your stomach and gut often causing nausea....if anything they make a patch you can wear to avoid this but as mentioned above probably not iron anemia from a few days and it can be dangerous in moderate to high does. (Dosing, Men 15-25mg Women 18-30g, it becomes toxic over 75mg..this includes what you get from food)

If your feeling anemic it can also be from B-Vitamins,

[ingodslove]

I am feeling anemic.  I haven't had my levels tested in years.  The last three doctors I have gone to would not even test my vitamin D levels for me:(  One just told me to take a decent multivitamin and not worry about it.  Honestly, I am pretty frustrated with doctors.  My 3-year old had a scary food allergy reaction last week, so I am thinking it is time for me to start dragging her to allergy/immunologist though.  Anyway, I bought some ... liver pills recently, so I will try to faithfully take those or my b12 and see if that helps.  Thank-you!  

[cyclinglady]

But what is feeling anemic?  One usually thinks about fatigue, but that symptom covers so many illnesses (including active celiac disease).  I was severely anemic.  So much that I could not catch my breath.  I had to stop all exercise.  You could just be tired because you have a three year old!  (Been there, done that.)

Have you had your thyroid checked?  Autoimmune thyroiditis is very common with celiac disease.  I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.  When my thyroid is off I feel a strong urge to nap.  I am exhausted.   

Try to find a supportive doctor.  

You can have more than one autoimmune disorder.  ?

 

[Beverage]

I also did not have good luck with traditional doctors in diagnosing Celiac's and in any follow up.  I finally found a great naturopath up here near Seattle.

One big lesson I learned from mine is that not all forms of vitamins absorb the same and give you results.  Also certain combinations of vitamins work better, as they help each other absorb.  Classic examples are D needs C and acid, and a big improvement in D absorption with K.  The form of D matters, the form of K matters, and the doc can recommend different forms for different people.  For me it's D3 cholecalciferol and K2 MK7 meaquinone-7...I only list these here not for you to run out and get them (they did make a huge difference for me for energy), but to show that the form matters.  And you won't find many of these different forms on your traditional vitamin shelf at the grocery or vitamin store.

So I recommend going to a good naturopath or integrative medicine doctor who will test you for vitamin deficiencies and recommend the right for what you need. I also like the Dr. Osborne (author of No Grain No Pain) youtubes (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoiSo5WDJmRxOf2cqgC7DSg). 

But you really need to find out specifically what you might be deficient in and not just guess, you can be wasting money and possibly cause other problems.

 

[Ennis-TX]

...Yep too me 5 doctors to get a diagnosis and I shiver at what I had to do to be taken seriously. Anyway fact is many doctors hate the celiac diagnosis as there is no medicine to be sold for so they can not make money off you...yeah they get commissions off prescribing meds.
I used to have a herbal and supplement store in town with a licensed nutritionist and dietician back then I used to talk to him a lot. After I made another friend who was a naturopath and learned more. I have since read some books and course material to learn for myself the way different vitamins and minerals interact and work with the body....funny but often with this disease we end up having to do so.