Gluten Reaction?

[Emma's Mom]

Hi there - I'm fairly new to these forums but I've been reading through them and you all seem to be full of wonderful advice.

Here's my story - my maternal grandmother is a diagnosed celiac. I suspect both my mother and sister are undiagnosed celiacs. I've been having a bad bout of depression and was reading that this could be associated with celiac disease (and I know you can be completely asymptomatic). I had my blood drawn last Wednesday and went on a gluten-free diet on Thursday. I fully inteded to be gluten-free for at least a month to see if it made me feel any better. I got my test results yesterday and it does not appear that I have celiac disease. Being that I'm a busy mom to a toddler I decided to scrap my original plan of gluten-free eating and had a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast...

...fast forward about 2 hours and I'm so dizzy it's not funny. Even when I lie down the room is still spinning...it's been like this for 2 hours now. So I have a couple of questions...the first is how long does it take to get gluten out of your system? Secondly...could this sudden bout of dizziness be attributed to gluten in the Cheerios I had for breakfast...or might it just be a crazy coincidence. Third...what should I do...do I go back to my original plan of gluten-free eating for a few weeks to see how I feel...or am I just overreacting Thanks!!!

[Carriefaith]

You could still be gluten intolerant without having celiac disease. Which tests did you have done? Gluten also makes me dizzy and my reactions can last for a few days or a few weeks, depending on how much I accidently ate.

[Rachel--24]

Many people have negative bloodtests....even some who are Celiac had negative bloodwork but positive biopsy. I'd go ahead and try the diet like you originally planned and see if it works. After a few weeks you can test yourself with gluten. If symptoms return you will have your answer. The gluten challenge is as good a test as any. If your body doesnt like it...you should avoid it.

[Lisa]

Cherrios and Milk.......Wheat or lactose problem. My balance was really off before I was dig. I ha ve never been dizzy, but sort of felt that way. Does that make sense

If you want to try the diet good for you, but if you want to be tested do not go gluten-free.

Sorry this is so short, but have to stir the grits. I will get back to you later.

[Mango04]

I get dizzy when I eat gluten as well. I think remaining gluten-free for a month is a really good idea. It's only a month...and it might entirely change your life. You might not even want to eat gluten again after doing so, depending on how much better you might feel....and unless your intending on getting a biopsy, you already had the blood test, so there's no need to have gluten in your system for that. Might as well give it a try.

[Guest nini]

I agree, you could be gluten intolerant without full blown Celiac, or just be in the early stages of it, especially since you have a genetic predisposition to it.

Dizzyness is one of my first symptoms of being glutened, and it can last anywhere from a few hours to up to a week... (but I've been gluten free for almost 3 years now so my reactions are very severe even to the smallest amount of gluten)

I was extremely depressed most of my teenage years and adult life... after having my daughter I was put on Paxil... but... after going gluten free I was finally able to go off the meds AND be completely free from depression.

Some people who have Celiac don't have any symptoms at all, and nobody seems to have all of the same symptoms as everyone else with this. It manifests in so many different ways, no wonder the medical community can't figure it out.

I would suggest going back to your gluten free diet, give it a good 6 weeks, then give yourself a gluten challenge... see what happens... if your body doesn't like gluten it will tell you pretty quick (usually)... there are some people who don't have any symptoms at all when "glutened" but they are still doing damage to their villi...

[Emma's Mom]

Thanks - I actually had to call DH to come home and take care of our DD today...I'm feeling so awful

As for what test I had - it was a blood test for endomycelial antibody. The original plan was to stay on the diet for the month regardless of the test results...because I know they can be incorrect...or I could be intolerant/sensitive without being celiac... I guess taking the easy way out this morning wasn't such a good idea after all.

I did go gluten-free for a while when trying to get off of antidepressants for PPD - I seem to recall feeling a lot more energetic at the time. I went back on gluten and don't recall having any problems. Fast forward to now and 1 bowl of Cheerios bringing me to my knees I suspect it was my body's way of saying stick to it.

Honestly I'm loving the food that I'm eating while on this diet - our dinners are really tasty. I'm just finding it very hard to find things that are quick to prepare for breakfast and lunch...especially while chasing a toddler around all day. I tend to be a picky eater in the best of times...

If this is my body's way of reacting to gluten..is there any way to speed this suffering up? I suspect the answer is no...but I thought I'd ask anyways

[Carriefaith]

I'm not familiar with the celiac blood test that you had done, but here are a list of some others, if you are interested:

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Total Serum IgA

I would guess that you have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant based on your reaction. If you don't want to go back to eating gluten to get a diagnosis, you could have the celiac gene test done.

If this is my body's way of reacting to gluten..is there any way to speed this suffering up?

I suggest getting lots of rest and having simple foods that are easy to digest like plain chicken, 100% orange juice, bananas, ect.

[CMCM]

Hi there - I'm fairly new to these forums but I've been reading through them and you all seem to be full of wonderful advice.

Here's my story - my maternal grandmother is a diagnosed celiac. I suspect both my mother and sister are undiagnosed celiacs. I've been having a bad bout of depression and was reading that this could be associated with celiac disease (and I know you can be completely asymptomatic). I had my blood drawn last Wednesday and went on a gluten-free diet on Thursday. I fully inteded to be gluten-free for at least a month to see if it made me feel any better. I got my test results yesterday and it does not appear that I have celiac disease. Being that I'm a busy mom to a toddler I decided to scrap my original plan of gluten-free eating and had a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast...

...fast forward about 2 hours and I'm so dizzy it's not funny. Even when I lie down the room is still spinning...it's been like this for 2 hours now. So I have a couple of questions...the first is how long does it take to get gluten out of your system? Secondly...could this sudden bout of dizziness be attributed to gluten in the Cheerios I had for breakfast...or might it just be a crazy coincidence. Third...what should I do...do I go back to my original plan of gluten-free eating for a few weeks to see how I feel...or am I just overreacting Thanks!!!

What really got me on the serious search for information was an intense bout of dizziness. I've had minor dizzy spells before for years and year, just sporadic dizzy spells though, but the one I had last November was a real doozie. It just came on out of the blue, and got progressively worse over about a 10 minute period....to the point where I struggled to my bed because I couldn't stay upright and had this intense vertigo and nausea for a good 4 to 5 hours. I was dizzy with my eyes closed, dizzy with them open, and it was actually worse laying flat down...I had to be a bit upright. I felt like I was going to throw up, but never did. As I lay there in that state, I was trying to think of what I'd eaten that day, and I realized all I'd eaten the night before and all that day were GRAIN things. My reaction started about 3 hours after my last gluten item (a huge bear claw!). Putting 2 and 2 together, I started searching and then found this site. Of course, I had a celiac mom, but wasn't thinking celiac for myself since my symptoms were different from hers and I wasn't underweight. I always thought more along the lines of some kind of dairy problem. Subsequent testing revealed I had 2 genes (1 celiac, 1 gluten sensitivity) and also casein sensitivity, and I was advised to avoid all gluten and all casein.

I still think I react worse to dairy....but my favorite food combination of cereal and milk ALWAYS made me sick...to the point where I just stopped eating that combo a good year or so ago. I guess for me, the milk and cereal was a really deadly combination.

I'd suggest to you get tested...at the very least, do the gene test as that's a good starting point.