Is This Normal?

[dfish]

After testing several weeks ago, my tests came back showing a huge intolerance to casein and all dairy products, a moderate intolerance to gluten, and no full blown celiac disease, just the intolerances. Well, I stopped eating all dairy products and gluten products, have a gluten free house, etc, and I've gotten worse, not better. Since I stopped eating gluten and casein and other various allergenic substances, I've had horrible stomach cramping and pain, heartburn that sent me to the cardiologist cuz I thought I was dying, my stools (sorry, this is where it gets graphic) are either rock hard and not wanting to "leave the building", causing some ripping and tearing, or very loose and full of mucuous. I am sicker than I ever was eating dairy or gluten. Also, my stools are "sandy", or "gritty" or something, have a consistency like an apricot facial scrub (again, sorry, graphic). Is this normal? I took some probiotic pearls prescribed by my naturopath and stopped taking them because I thought maybe they were causing the problems, but that was three weeks ago and I'm still all screwed up. Anyone else have these symptoms? If so, what was the cause and how long did it take for them to go away?

Thank you!!

[StrongerToday]

I always had the opposite problem, I had the big D constantly and yes, they looked sandy. Usually the first tip is to be sure everything is gluten free. I found wheat in my shampoo (in 3 different forms!), hairspray and foot lotion. Check your medicines too. You may also want to look for other food intolerences - soy, corn, etc. I'd recommend keeping a food log - write down what you ate (including meds.) and when the symptoms show up. You may want to take your diet down to the basics and slowly add back in one thing at a time - search "elimination diet".

Good luck, it'll get better!

[key]

Just a thought, but are you eating more of something you wouldn't normally eat? SUch as soy? I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what to do with myself lately!

Monica

[ravenwoodglass]

After testing several weeks ago, my tests came back showing a huge intolerance to casein and all dairy products, a moderate intolerance to gluten, and no full blown celiac disease, just the intolerances. Well, I stopped eating all dairy products and gluten products, have a gluten free house, etc, and I've gotten worse, not better. Since I stopped eating gluten and casein and other various allergenic substances, I've had horrible stomach cramping and pain, heartburn that sent me to the cardiologist cuz I thought I was dying, my stools (sorry, this is where it gets graphic) are either rock hard and not wanting to "leave the building", causing some ripping and tearing, or very loose and full of mucuous. I am sicker than I ever was eating dairy or gluten. Also, my stools are "sandy", or "gritty" or something, have a consistency like an apricot facial scrub (again, sorry, graphic). Is this normal? I took some probiotic pearls prescribed by my naturopath and stopped taking them because I thought maybe they were causing the problems, but that was three weeks ago and I'm still all screwed up. Anyone else have these symptoms? If so, what was the cause and how long did it take for them to go away?

Thank you!!

You really need to get with your GI doctor as soon as you can. You need to make sure you don't have something else going on. I would also call the company that makes the probiotics and make sure they were gluten-free, unless it says so on the label. Something that may help is doing the BRA diet, bananas, white rice (plain) and gluten-free unflavored or sweetened applesauce, try it for a few days and see if it helps things calm down. I hope you get some relief soon and wish I could be of more help.

[Nantzie]

I agree. Check your soy intake. For me, even though I have a lot of problems with gluten, and get stomach pain from it, my digestive reaction to SOY is much, much worse than my digestive reaction to gluten.

At first I had no idea why I still had bathroom problems. I had figured out that I was sensitive to soy already, but I thought the only soy products I ate were soy milk with my very occasional coffee (like once a month), gluten-free soy sauce and soybeans when I go out to a sushi place (also about once a month).

But then, because of going gluten-free and having to become a label reader, I discovered that they put soy in just about everything now. It's so aggravating.

I have found soy to be a main ingredient in regular brands of -

Mayonnaise (Best Foods - mostly soy)

Crisco (completely soy)

Margarine (Country Crock - completely soy, and I heard someone say all margarine is soy now (?) )

"Vegetable" oil (Wesson - 100% soy - why don't they just call it soy oil???)

Even Jif Peanut Butter has soy in it.

Soy oil also seems to be what they use to fry stuff in in a lot of restaurants too.

Looking back over the years, back when I was working and had never heard anything about soy except how healthy it was, I was drinking a lot of coffee with soy milk. That was a time when I had a huge problem with D. And the times when I was eating a lot of tuna salad and chicken salad (mayo). And the times when I was eating a lot of peanut butter.

Best Foods/Hellman's has a good canola oil mayo that I've been using. I've also changed to canola oil for cooking oil. Crisco, I haven't looked for a replacement yet. Found natural no-soy peanut butter.

I would try cutting out soy for a while, and then see what happens when you eat it again. For me it was clear that eating soy isn't good for me.

Nancy

[loraleena]

After testing several weeks ago, my tests came back showing a huge intolerance to casein and all dairy products, a moderate intolerance to gluten, and no full blown celiac disease, just the intolerances. Well, I stopped eating all dairy products and gluten products, have a gluten free house, etc, and I've gotten worse, not better. Since I stopped eating gluten and casein and other various allergenic substances, I've had horrible stomach cramping and pain, heartburn that sent me to the cardiologist cuz I thought I was dying, my stools (sorry, this is where it gets graphic) are either rock hard and not wanting to "leave the building", causing some ripping and tearing, or very loose and full of mucuous. I am sicker than I ever was eating dairy or gluten. Also, my stools are "sandy", or "gritty" or something, have a consistency like an apricot facial scrub (again, sorry, graphic). Is this normal? I took some probiotic pearls prescribed by my naturopath and stopped taking them because I thought maybe they were causing the problems, but that was three weeks ago and I'm still all screwed up. Anyone else have these symptoms? If so, what was the cause and how long did it take for them to go away?

Thank you!!

Are you sure you are gluten free. You should not be using any shampoos, conditioners, toothpaste, soap, makeup etc. with gluten. Also watch out for cross contaminaton with shared pots, utensils,cutting boards etc.

[dfish]

Thank you all for your responses. I'm not sure about the soy stuff. I have recently had extensive allergy testing, both IgE and IgG testing (RAST, Great Smokies, regular skin prick testing, Enterolab, etc) and the only things that I showed a huge response to was dairy (off the charts kind of stuff). Even my gluten intolerance was low and almost did not show up, but the doctor said just to be safe consider it "moderate" for a while until I see how I do without gluten or dairy. I am actually supposed to do an "elimination" type thing with gluten in a few months because my results were so low that it's not even clear if I have any type of reaction to gluten. The doctor truly thinks that dairy and eggs have been my main culprits all along (Interestingly, I started getting really sick and began having all of these health problems about two years ago when I went on Atkins, which, as we all know, includes a lot of cheese and eggs. Before that I was fine). The other things I tested highly IgE and IgG allergic to were bananas, asparagus, cranberries, and eggs. Soy was perfectly fine, as was everything else. Would I still be reacting to soy after doing all of this testing and getting these results consistently? Also, I do not have cross contamination because I am the only one that eats in my house, I've stopped eating out at restaurants, and I bought all new stuff when I got my diagnosis two years ago. I also use gluten free products on my hair, skin, face, etc. and thought I had pretty much eradicated gluten out of my life as much as is humanly possible. I guess what I am hearing is that this is probably not normal and that something else must be wrong?

Thank you so much again for all of your responses!

[mommida]

So are you casein free too?

[Judyin Philly]

Best Foods/Hellman's has a good canola oil mayo that I've been using. I've also changed to canola oil for cooking oil. Crisco, I haven't looked for a replacement yet. Found natural no-soy peanut butter.

I would try cutting out soy for a while, and then see what happens when you eat it again. For me it was clear that eating soy isn't good for me.

Nancy

wow Nancy, I didn't know any of this

No wonder i didn't do well with soy milk or soy ice cream....

I didn't know it was in so much.

Don't use soy, use talamari or something like that name

I use Trader Joes peanut butter 100% penuts. Also a Acme Crazy Richards p/b is good too, just have to stir it up and put in the refrig...

thanks Judy

[jerseyangel]

Judy--I love Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter

[Judyin Philly]

Judy--I love Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter

HI Patti

good to hear from you

How are you doing today???

Still haven't called Mark re: soap just too many calls to make and cleaned all day which I HATE.

I have to watch how much of the p/b I eat.... love love love it.

Judy

[jerseyangel]

I also want to add that I use Spectrum Organic All-Vegetable Shortening--it comes in a tub and I found it at Whole Foods. It's 100% organic palm oil. (www.spectrumorganics.com) I found I like to use a bit more of it than I would Crisco. In the future, I think I am going to experiment with a little butter flavor mixed in. I love the way Butter Flavor Crisco tastes.

Doing good today, Judy--how about you? I got my box from The Savonnerie yesterday after ordering on Friday.

[Judyin Philly]

I also want to add that I use Spectrum Organic All-Vegetable Shortening--it comes in a tub and I found it at Whole Foods. It's 100% organic palm oil. (www.spectrumorganics.com) I found I like to use a bit more of it than I would Crisco. In the future, I think I am going to experiment with a little butter flavor mixed in. I love the way Butter Flavor Crisco tastes.

Doing good today, Judy--how about you? I got my box from The Savonnerie yesterday after ordering on Friday.

I'm doing ok today also. Isn't Mark great.

have you made the cookies from GFpantry or the others? Think they say shortening...crisco seems so unhealthy and havent' used in years...could i use the B F crisco?

are do doing much baking.

My gluten-free lasganna was to die for taste wise but...it killed me...hate giving up the milk.

judy

[jerseyangel]

I have made The gluten-free Pantry Pie Crust using the Spectrum shortening and it was very good. Also the Snickerdoodle recipe on the gluten-free Pantry Cake and Cookie mix bag. Yummy and easy! Trying to go easy on the baked goods--I have a Dr. appt. on Fri. and am going to ask her about food allergy testing. This is my GP--the Gastro last week didn't seem too concerned about the other intolerances. I need to try and get this figured out--my eyes are so itchy and swolen and I'm sick of the whole thing .

[Judyin Philly]

I have made The gluten-free Pantry Pie Crust using the Spectrum shortening and it was very good. Also the Snickerdoodle recipe on the gluten-free Pantry Cake and Cookie mix bag. Yummy and easy! Trying to go easy on the baked goods--I have a Dr. appt. on Fri. and am going to ask her about food allergy testing. This is my GP--the Gastro last week didn't seem too concerned about the other intolerances. I need to try and get this figured out--my eyes are so itchy and swolen and I'm sick of the whole thing .

Ah, I'm sorry. Since I've been cleaning our DIRTY basement my eyes are so itchy too think some is this darn up and down weather...and the wet leaves out side.

Good to know some of the 'snacks' are good. Trying to stay away from 'treats' as I don't want to gain any of the 35 #'s I've lost...and the old clothes i can get back into.

going to start dinner.

lol

Judy

[mamaw]

hello dfish

sorry you are having such a hard time of it-----don't panic I know it gets crazy at times . I agree with everyone else who e-mailed back on this but I will also throw in to the bowl this. you may be detoxing and this can take awhile for things to settle down to a more normal pattern..I think you said you were going to a naturpath, they should be able to help you out with what is best for your system.sometimes digestive enzymes will help instead of the probiotics.you may have throwed your system a curve ball by stopping evrything ... I know when some stop alot of food items at once it seems to bring out other intolerances' that we didn't even know we had..after I stopped wheat & gluten I had a terrible reaction to night shade veggies and before that I didn't think I had a problem with them , I ate them all the time.

remember it probably took years to get to the point where you are at and it will also take time to recover.

good luck to you......

mamaw

[Claire]

On the topic of being worse rather than better after going gluten free - it seems to be a common response.

I have many years experience with food intolerances and I know that there are few people who have only one. When you have a lot of them and take one away the others become more assertive - at least it seems so in the eye of the victim. You just have to identify the culprits one by one and become super vigilant over everything you eat. It is a trying time but it will get better.

After years of being only gluten restricted I went totally gluten-free last summer. My whole body went crazy. It seemed like I couldn't eat anything that didn't mess me all up. All these months later and I am still having problems but I can see improvement so I am encouraged.

One thing I find that helps - Group your foods. By that I mean - eat protein foods separately. carbs separately. For me eating fruit by itself is the only way I can eat it at all. Do this while your body is readjusting. It may also help show you what is bothering you.

Now back to reading those labels! Be vigilant. good luck. Claire

[debmidge]

for temporary relief from hard stools consider and ask Dr. if OK to use a stool softener (Colace). This would at least give you relief until you learn what is the culprit. If it's oK to use, use only the smallest dose (1 pill a day).

[CMCM]

You have my total sympathy. I'm working thru all this myself. For 20+ years I've known I had dairy problems, so when my test came back positive for casein sensitivity that didn't surprise me. After dumping dairy from my diet, I tried a substitute soy milk in my cappuccino...and boy did I get sick for a couple of days. I've always known that soy sauce messes me up, too. I just ordered a test for soy/eggs/yeast, so we'll see what happens with that. I won't be surprised if soy is a positive too.

Meanwhile, I'm now on not eating gluten, dairy or soy, but things certainly aren't back to normal and I'm continually trying to pin down what didn't agree with me. Sometimes I think I can't eat much of anything any more. It's a long process, that's for sure. And as someone said in a prior message, it's pretty rare to have one allergy or sensitivity in isolation...there are virtually always a whole bunch of them. Maybe doing that diet where you simplify things down to just a couple of foods, then add things one by one would be helpful. I'm thinking of doing that...except I've first got to figure out which the "simple and harmless" foods are to start with! My mom said she was always told "lamb and rice", but I hate lamb so that's out!

[Claire]

I am repeating myself here but will offer this suggestion again in case it was missed.

I have mulitple food intolerances. When I went totally gluten-free last summer they bloomed like summer roses!

I was really having trouble eating much of anything.

I have recently started isolating foods - eating often but one type of food at one time and allowing one to two hours between each 'snack'. I especially isolate fruit which I seem to be able to handle if it is eaten alone and digested alone. This is true for carbs foods - especially 'sweets'. I eat veggies and protein foods together and sometimes include a pasta or a potato carb. So far this approach is helping and I am getting the calories that I was missing by skipping foods. Claire

[paw]

For me, my GI told me to treat the hard stool (sometimes loose, more often hard) with lots of liquids, fiber suppliments like metamucil or citrucel (the ones I checked were gluten-free, but please read the label) and he said the 250 mg of Nature Made (gluten-free) Magnesium was good. I checked my multi-vitamin and found it only had a small amount of magnesium and that I needed more. The 250 mg tablet is 63% of the RDA for Magnesium. The GI doc offered me Zelnorm but I did not want a prescription drug if a simple over the counter mineral would do the same thing. I am also told I have IBS along with the dairy and gluten problems. My doctor wants me to get 30 grams of fiber. I have a hard time making that goal.

Warning: It takes a litte time for your body to get used to the magnesium. It can cause loose stool if you take too much -- and the amount I need could be different than what you need. You might want to ask your doctor if magnesium is ok for you and if it is start by cutting one tablet in half. After a few days, try a whole tablet. I have seen tablets with higher amounts but that would be too much for me.

I have been taking the magnesium for about 4 months now and if I miss a day or two I can really tell. I was sick last week and missed a few days. It was right back to the hard stool. I am becoming normal again after 2 days of magnesium. For me it has been a very good and simple thing that has helped a lot.