What Does Inflammation Have To Do With It?

[Papa-Hen]

Folks,

I lost a lot of weight this past month, most notably 8 1/2 lb in 5 days of what was a crisis period for me, and which I've pretty much come out of.

This is a lot more than could possibly be achieved for a loss of fat, so it must be mostly water weight. Right? ...From a release of chronic inflammation?

The story...

I had given up only wheat through May, then after reading "Dangerous Grains" learned to eliminate the rest, and finally gave up the dairy, too. So, basically from the beginning of June, unknowing to me, my body was in the next state of transition.

In the 1st week, I saw my GP, who reassured me that the no-wheat was good for me based upon my 6-month loss of then 40-ish lb & my blood inflammation #'s were way down. I told him that I was still "iffy" feeling that the chronic fatigue/depression/whatever could take over my life at any moment...even though I always have felt that there is a "happy boy" just waiting to come out just as soon as I could figure out what has been keeping me down.

June also brought in more stress to what was already stressful, so it was easy to blame the external factors for getting me into "overload" by the end of the 2nd week. During the 3rd week, what I called the "anxiety attacks" began. I looked it up and saw that they were not "panic attacks", however, so now I was not only miserable, but confused, too.

My call into the GP office lead to a called-in Rx of Ativan for anxiety, which was very much needed and thankfully helped. I later learned that this is not something to be taken continuously, and I hope I have taken the last one of my lifetime. The 4th week was very rugged, especially Thurs/Fri. As the weekend progressed, I got up out of the hole, and I'm progressing to the point that I felt quite good last night (Monday), only OK-ish today & better this PM.

...

So, my thinking is that my body really liked the idea that I had quit eating the remaining gluten products, and started to relax and give up life-long battle it was waging. The inflammation goes down and the inflammatory cocktail of chemicals are seeking to be released. Much water would be needed for this, but I'm still drinking the normal amount. My body gets overloaded in these chemicals, leading me to my crisis. Since then, I'm making it a point to drink a lot of water and I'm doing better.

Seems to make sense, but what's the real "poop"?

The inflammation seems to be a key health concern, especially after looking up "inflammatory diseases".

I'd like to think that I'm on the right track, but some reassurance would help, especially after doing a search here for "inflammation" and finding nothing of note.

If nothing else, would a lot of water really helped keep me out of the crisis?

Thanks for the prayers & well wishes, and many blessings to you, too,

- Henry

[Guest Robbin]

Hi Henry --I seem to have had a similar chain of events --during the first month of totally going gluten free I went from feeling better, losing weight, and kind of "up" to nervous and jittery with hot "flushes" and extreme thirst. This seems to be pretty common as the gluten "withdrawal" goes. It was a good three months of ups and downs for me, but I have found other intolerances as well, so it may be better for you. I have been gluten-free now for five months and have also found I am casein intolerant and corn intolerant, which have slowed my healing. Everyone heals differently, but there does seem to be a pattern with the withdrawal process. Be aware that it is common for gluten intolerant people to be intolerant of dairy and sometimes other foods. If you suspect this, I highly recommend keeping a food journal. Take care, and keep us posted on your recovery.

oops--sorry I didn't catch that you gave up dairy already! That is a hard one to give up, I know.