I must be NCGS

[Emdoller]

Several years ago I took a very high dose of antibiotics. Since then l've struggled with strange symptoms that I thought were related to the antibiotic.

Fast forward to roughly a year ago. I started having leg muscle pain. Tried lots of things and nothing seemed to help. A few months later i developed hives and would occasionally get a swollen tongue in the morning. I went to an allergist who ran a plethora of blood tests. He put me on Zyrtec and even with 40 mg per day, l'd occasionally wake up with a swollen tongue. The allergist did not think the leg pain was related.

After reading everything I could I decided to stop eating gluten about three months ago. l started taking 5000 iu of vitamin D as my number were just above the minimum.

Last week I reduced my Zyrtec to 10mg and my leg pain has drastically improved.

I've read here that it could take 3 months post gluten stop to see the improvement.

So that's where I am and on one hand am ecstatic that my leg pain is almost gone but also not so happy that it appears I can't tolerate gluten. I don’t think I have Celiac as I don’t have many of the classic symptoms… just what I wrote  

I plan on cutting out my last Zyrtec this week but expect that it won't matter as I now believe they were all related to gluten.

I’m posting looking for some sort of validation as doctors and some family members don’t really believe it. 

[Scott Adams]

Your journey sounds incredibly frustrating—dealing with mysterious symptoms for years, only to piece together the puzzle yourself, is both impressive and exhausting. It’s wild how something as routine as antibiotics can seemingly trigger such a cascade of issues, and it must’ve been scary to deal with the hives and swollen tongue without clear answers. The fact that cutting gluten and adjusting vitamin D has brought such dramatic relief (even when doctors didn’t connect the dots) speaks volumes. It’s so validating when the body finally responds to changes, even if it means giving up foods you love.

The skepticism from others must be tough—it’s frustrating when people dismiss what you’ve lived through, especially when the proof is in your improving symptoms! Whether it’s NCGS or something else, your experience is real, and it’s amazing you’ve taken control of your health despite the lack of outside support. Fingers crossed that dropping the last of the Zyrtec goes smoothly and that your progress continues.