Recently diagnosed, symptom recurrance

[Jean Carrithers]

Hello!  I was diagnosed 2 months ago with celiac disease, after several months of feeling fatigued and a few weeks of diarrhea, no appetite, and feeling incredibly full and bloated all the time.  Since diagnosis I've been on a strict gluten free diet, which initially helped a ton.  However in the last week I've had a major recurrence of symptoms- inability to eat being the worst one.  I'm back on rice, bananas, and pedialite only but it doesn't seem to be helping.  This makes me think I'm either not being as strict as I thought and got glutened, or I could have other illnesses.  How long does it take for you to get over accidental gluten exposure?  How severe are your symptoms, and how immediately do they come on?  Are there foods people often mistakenly think are gluten free and eat anyway?  I've been eating (gluten-free) oats no problem for those two months, but read recently some people have issue with oats, so I'm cutting those out.  Does anyone have experience with also having oat problems?

Thank you!  I'm just wondering what others' experiences have been, I'm a little scared I won't get better and I'm having such a hard time eating.

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, Jean!

Have you been checked for SIBO? The limited diet you describe is high in carbs and low in protein. Can you eat fresh meat and eggs?

[Jean Carrithers]

I haven't been checked for SIBO, my GI said they don't have a SIBO test available.  I'll ask for a referral to a doctor who can test for SIBO.  I normally add in plain chicken or tilapia eventually, so I'll try eating those.

[trents]

Another thing to consider that is common among celiacs is histamine intolerance. This is something I personally struggle with. Cells that line the gut produce a natural antihistamine called DAO (diamine oxidase). These cells may be damaged/destroyed by the gut inflammation that accompanies celiac disease. Histamines are produced by our body as part of the immune system response to invaders but they are also found in high concentrations in many foods. Some foods both trigger the body's histamine response and are high in histamines themselves so they are a double whammy. I believe bananas are one of those foods. Chocolate is another and I think coffee also. Anyway, I suggest you research this. Histamine Intolerance.

Histamine intolerance can be exacerbated by high pollen counts at certain times of the year. The trick is to lower the total histamine load as much as you can. Modern antihistamine meds such as zyrtec and allegra can help and possibly also DAO supplements.

Edited September 26, 2022 by trents