Looking for advice and answers on a few gluten free diet questions

[zx820]

Hey all, this is my first post on here and I have a few questions regarding my symptomps and unclarity over weight loss after a dietary change.

So, to start, maybe roughly 6 months ago I noticed that whenever I ate pizza, the following day I would have fairly severe aches around my body, mainly in the long bones of arms and legs, it felt like throbbing ache that would be on my arms one moment, then switch to my shins and back to arms etc. At first I didnt know what it could be and had mild panic over the symptoms but after this occured again the next time I ate pizza I felt like i had made the connection.

I made the decision to go on a gluten free diet, and left out my 1 or 2 pizzas a month, and within maybe 2 weeks almost all aches from my arms and legs were gone. Does this sound like celiacs disease or gluten intolerancy? Normally I ate pasta almost daily and had some, mild aches which I was never really paying any attention to, but they seemed to get a lot worse after eating pizza.

My 2nd questions is in regards to the diet change, normally I would have pasta almost daily and was struggling to lose weight even though I ate smaller portions, after the switch my diet has remained pretty much the same, except that I switched pasta for white rice, portions are more or less the same too.

An example of what I normally might eat;
2 cups of coffee in the morning
one plateful (fairly large) of rice and some sauce on top which is normally tomato sauce and some red meat
1 banana and 3dl of jogurt a couple of hours before bed

Now, the strange thing is that I've lost a significant amount of weight without even trying, I would say roughly 10 kilos (22 pounds) in about a month and a half and it feels like its still falling off of me.

I am a fairly large man at almost 2 meters tall and previously weighed about 140kg

Can this extreme weight loss be explained by simply switching pasta to rice and also substituting a bowl of cereal for 1 banana and some jogurt?

 

[GFinDC]

Hi zx820,

Your digestion symptoms and pain could well be celiac disease.  Unfortunately to be tested for celiac disease you need to be eating gluten daily.  Two weeks for the endoscopy or 12 weeks for the blood antibodies testing.  Your weight loss seems excessive for a small change in diet IMHO.  But weight loss is common with celiac disease.  Celiac interferes with digestion and absorption of nutrients.  So people usually lose weight or stay slim.  Sometimes they gain weight but that is unusual.

Often people with untreated celiac have problems digesting dairy.  They may have lactose intolerance caused by the celiac damage to the small intestine.

[zx820]

Thank you for the reply, I was wondering why I was losing weight so quickly and so much, I tend to monitor my weight fairly frequently so I would say with perhaps 90% certainty that the weight loss coincided with the change in my diet. Of course, it's not like rice is something that is effective for weight loss as far as I know. I could try to change my diet back to what it was and see if there is a change, but I dont really want to for obvious reasons. Any idea what else it could be?
I have thought about other illnesses as well, such as cancer but I dont think the weight loss would be that extreme, that quickly, especially considering I dont have any other symptoms that are unsual, nor am I feeling unwell, apart from the cold I got about a week ago that has since gotten better.

EDIT: After some research, it could be around 8kg in around 7 weeks, which would average close or around 1kg per week.

Edited November 22, 2019 by zx820

[GFinDC]

Hi zx820,

Since your symptoms improved when you went gluten-free, it seems pretty likely that you have a problem with gluten.  There are other things that could cause weight loss, but the symptom improvement after going gluten-free points to celiac disease or NCGS (non-celiac gluten sensitivity).  Sometimes people with Crohn's disease improve on a gluten-free diet also.

Edited November 23, 2019 by GFinDC

[zx820]

Hmm, I dont really have any symptoms that would indicate Crohn's disease. However, when I was on a diet consisting of gluten and if I ate a lot of foods with it, I would feel like I need the bathroom often, even though I didn't, I could make 5 or more trips during the day, most of them for nothing.

Could my diet change (even though it isn't the most radical) perhaps increase my metabolism? As I said before, pasta used to be in my diet, maybe even as much as 6 times a week. Also, I haven't really noticed any improvement in my stools, they are often loose, or what feels like a small amount, depending a little on what I eat, I have been associating this with anxiety / stress, which is what I experience quite a lot. Coffee, or lack of it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

For now, I try not to worry about the weight loss, as on 2nd inspection it did seem like it was over a longer period of time than what I initally thought (at least 6 weeks, maybe as many as 7), it just seems / seemed strange to me how easily it was coming off, without even trying. Although, admittedly, I had some to loose to begin with, and still do, maybe this plays a part in how quickly I have been losing it.

Edited November 23, 2019 by zx820

[cyclinglady]

You can not diagnose celiac disease based on symptoms.  That is because the 200 or so symptoms overlap with many other illnesses.  If you suspect celiac disease, consider getting tested.  You must be on gluten for any of the celiac disease tests to work.  

Fast weight loss can be serious without significantly reducing your calories.    You should consult a doctor.  

[Corinne D.]

I experienced significant weight loss soon after going gluten free. I lost about 5 kg in one month. This may not seem so much as in your case, but I weighed 52 kg at the celiac diagnosis and ended up at 47 one month later. At the time, I read some explanations on several websites - sorry I cannot give a reference now - that it is only inflammation weight being shed. We celiacs are inflamed when we eat gluten, i.e. our tissues retain water, and this is eliminated when we take out gluten. To reassure you, I put that weight back on over the next year and a half. It took so long because I have been on a very limited diet due to other intolerances.

Speaking of intolerances and persisting GI symptoms after stopping gluten, you may want to vary your diet and try not to eat the exact same thing every day. As I was saying, celiacs can develop other intolerances after taking out gluten, especially to foods consumed every day over a long period of time.

But most importantly, I second the others' advice to see a doctor and get tested. This could be celiac, but might as well be some other autoimmune or inflammatory disease, even with unspecific symptoms. Doctors should know where to look, your health is too important to just make guesses about what might be wrong.

[GFinDC]

Going to a doctor is good advice.  I suggest you write down what has happened with your health recently and give it to the doctor.  Include dates and symptoms or change in symptoms.  If you do an internet search for "celiac doctor (your city name)" you may find some ideas for good ones.  Some doctors don't know much about celiac disease.

[zx820]

I have a doctors appointment on Monday, I'll bring this up, perhaps she will now about it and if not, maybe refer to someone else.

Thanks to everyone that replied.