Frustrated with slow healing, inflammation, weight gain despite gluten-free. Help?

[JenniK]

Hi all, Does anyone have any advice about slow healing, and the frustration of weight  gain and inflammation despite giving so many things up? I was gluten-free for 2-3 years and I got sooo much better in so many ways. I never dreamed I had celiac. I thought I had leaky gut or IBS that gluten exacerbated until I was so much better that I believed I had totally healed myself. So, I purposely embarked on a gluten challenge which lead to me being diagnosed as celiac. Insert big frowny face here. Anyway, the challenge only lasted one month and since then, I have been gluten-free again for over six months, but my whole body still feels affected! My D, which was always my most obvious symptom and what turned out to be DH have both gone away, but my whole body still feels inflamed. Aside from being exhausted, all my joints hurt, I have developed new plantar fasciitis in my feet, so exercise is nearly impossible, and the belly fat is just piling on! Despite eating gluten-free, and most days, not even eating nearly enough of anything, my belly, waist and hips keep getting fatter and fatter!  I am so discouraged that I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what else to add or take away. 

 

I am female 49 years old, and I wonder, is this just that I am older this time, so my body is never going to positively respond? (It is not menopause since I finished menopause very early before age 40- probably due to undiagnosed celiac- and after menopause, I still had a figure I was happy with, but no longer!  I almost never eat restaurant food (which furthers my discouragement because we have given up so many events and fun family traditions and outings for my celiac changes.) I cook almost everything myself or just eat yogurt, cheese, fruit. I don’t make prepackaged gluten-free items like gluten-free frozen pizza or cakes because I know they are filled with crap and I learned the many of them still make me sick. I will admit that I do eat M&Ms after dinner sometimes, and I make homemade banana muffins or gluten-free oatmeal cookies. Do I need to give up ALL sugar too? I hate to do that unnecessarily because I don’t want to feel resentful and emotionally more deprived than I already do. Any advice? What can be done for all the inflamed, painful joints so I can exercise again? I feel like doctors have basically no advice on this, especially since most of us had to take them by the hand and lead them to our own diagnosis, then they just say, ‘stop eating gluten’…

[yuluyouyue]

JenniK, 

have you tested your thyroid? 

[JenniK]

8 minutes ago, yuluyouyue said:

JenniK, 

have you tested your thyroid? 

Good suggestion. I kind of forgot about the old thyroid. Seems like for years and years, it has been ‘borderline bad’- like the doctor would say that the number was not great, but not bad enough to treat… frustrating. Maybe i should ask her again. 

[yuluyouyue]

1 minute ago, JenniK said:

Good suggestion. I kind of forgot about the old thyroid. Seems like for years and years, it has been ‘borderline bad’- like the doctor would say that the number was not great, but not bad enough to treat… frustrating. Maybe i should ask her again. 

Yes,  because weight gain, joint pain, fatigue might be hypo? 

[RMJ]

You said you make oatmeal cookies.  Are they gluten free oats? Unless special care is taken, oats are usually contaminated with wheat.  Plus some people with celiac disease react even to oats that are grown, harvested and processed under special procedures to avoid contamination.

[JenniK]

9 hours ago, RMJ said:

You said you make oatmeal cookies.  Are they gluten free oats? Unless special care is taken, oats are usually contaminated with wheat.  Plus some people with celiac disease react even to oats that are grown, harvested and processed under special procedures to avoid contamination.

They are Bob’s Red Mill certified gluten-free oats. I may try eliminating them. 
 

Also, aha moment that my husband drinks beer and I do kiss him…. Doesn’t seem like that would be enough, but…

[Sof]

Hello Jennik, I accidentally stumbled upon your post! I think I might help you.

In my case, oats, even gluten free, also cause inflammation in my body, even if I eat a little bit. And also chocolate and pistachios, it’s crazy.
 

I’ve also seen here that some celiacs are also sensitive to diary because it’s also inflammatory per se and you’re eating plenty. I do not eat it because of other reasons so I don’t know how I would react.

 

I would definitely give it a try and eliminate oats and diary and, if it does not work, chocolate. 
 

have a nice day!

[cristiana]

Hi Jenni

I would definitely give up oats and see what happens.   In the UK it is normally suggested to give them up for 6 months to a year after diagnosis while you are healing and then reintroduce them to see if they are causing symptoms. They really are an issue for a number of those who post in this forum - me included.  Most celiacs can eat them but some can't.

I also wanted to say that I think being diagnosed with coeliac disease in the perimenopausal years makes things very tricky.  I'm in the same boat and at times I'm not sure what to blame my various symptoms on - there is some common ground, for example, aches and pains could be caused by both coeliac disease and/or the menopause.

It has taken me years for my TTG numbers to reach normal levels - eight to be precise.   Why so long, I'm not entirely sure.  This is unusual.   I think perhaps my numbers may have been stratospheric to begin with and what with that and a few mistakes I have made on the way, it has taken a long time to heal but I have finally got there.   In the first three years of my recovery I had a lot of aches and pains and blamed dairy and impending years but I think, looking back, it was inflammation.   My specialist had forgotten to test my TTG levels for three years and when they were looked at they were still in the late 80s.   But as they came down so did the pain. 

Regarding weight, I lost a huge amount when I was ill and first went gluten free but put it back on when I found all the gluten free substitutes for the food I love in the supermarkets, unfortunately!  But I now find a lot of my friends are putting on weight too, but that's due to the menopause.   I can lose weight these days but it takes so much longer - it's an age thing that my girlfriends and I share!

Cristiana

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by cristiana

[Foggyat52]

JenniK, I can't speak in regards to perimenopausal hormone changes, but the VERY first thing I would do is have your thyroid output checked, as it can explain all of your symptoms as yuluyouyue stated early on in the conversation.  The next thing I would do is (if your thoughts on diet are open), is up your intake of whole protein sources (red meat, chicken), whole steamed or raw vegetables, and whole fruits.  I know that it's theoretically possible, but I have never seen anyone gain fat by eating vegetables and fruits.  Stay away from fruit juices (even unsweetened ones) because they cause your insulin to spike, which starts the whole glucose/insulin war inside you.  I will be honest, for the first 4-6 weeks after implementing a diet like this, you will be starved to death (at least your brain will tell you so) because fiber is a huge concern.  Do a little research on which foods are high in soluble fiber and pick several to include in your diet at EVERY meal.  My fiber of choice is red lentils.  They're cheap, they have little to no taste, and if you mix them into a soup or chili they can really help you out.  Anyway, high soluble fiber and protein will trigger a hormonal response which will tell your brain that it is full and you will snack less because it won't cause your insulin levels to spike.  Praying for your health and wellness!!