How Strict Should I Be With The Diet?

[Lymetoo]

Hey gang. I've been trying to do a lot of reading about celiac disease. I had a saliva test by DiagnosTechs several years ago that showed high levels of gliaden. I think that test can have a lot of false positives, but not sure.

I do not usually have diarrhea, though that does happen from time to time. I've always been plagued by constipation. Lately I've been having bloating and gas and in my search to find out what was wrong, I explored the celiac thing again. I found out that some people do indeed have constipation problems....Right???

Question: Since I don't have a really bad response [like diarrhea], how strict do I have to be with my diet? I am feeling a little better since staying away from gluten for the past two weeks. I do have to eat out several times a week due to my self-employed business. So that brings a whole host of problems.

I also battle systemic yeast, so places like Chinese food were always good for me. Now they're not, I suppose.

Since I don't have the diarrhea, does that mean that I only have the gluten intolerance, not true celiac??

Thanks, I hope I made sense!!

[CarlaB]

I have gluten intolerance, but all the celiac symptoms -- joint pain, brain fog, diarrhea, constipation, skin rashes, fatigue, weight loss, malabsorption, anemia, low thyroid, etc. If you truly have gluten intolerance, you need to stay 100% away from it. I don't know anything about the testing you had and how accurate it is, so I can't answer your question as to whether or not you have it or what you have. My symptoms started out small, but over the years the more severe symptoms developed, so if you have it, you might just be lucky enough to have caught it early!

It's kind of like pregnancy -- you are either intolerant or you aren't. Just like a woman who is only a couple weeks pregnant is no less pregnant than a woman who is 9 months pregnant, a person who has few symptoms but whose immune system is reacting to the gluten, is no less gluten intolerant than the one who has had more time to develop the symptoms.

[CarlaB]

That is such a good answer. I wish I had access to those words 20 years ago.

Thank you.

[Lymetoo]

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It's kind of like pregnancy -- you are either intolerant or you aren't. Just like a woman who is only a couple weeks pregnant is no less pregnant than a woman who is 9 months pregnant, a person who has few symptoms but whose immune system is reacting to the gluten, is no less gluten intolerant than the one who has had more time to develop the symptoms.

That makes me chuckle just a little....I've been on "Lymenet" for 6 yrs helping people go through the H*** of Lyme disease. We often tell them the same thing. The tests for Lyme are very inaccurate, but will show certain bands if you have it.....but the overall test result may say you don't have it. Very confusing for everyone....but we tell them it's kinda like being pregnant...you can't be just a little bit pregnant.

I unfortunately HAVE NOT caught this early. I am 55 yrs old [young!] and I've known for 30 yrs that I was at least "allergic" to wheat. I never went totally gluten-free, however. Big mistake!

I was VERY thin for most of my life......many health problems for a long time. I would say I had "failure to thrive"....our dr used to accuse my parents of pushing me away from the table, because I was so thin. I weighed 25 lbs when I went to kindergarten!

Anyway, I'm rather depressed and stressed about this as I have very little to eat. My dr thinks I also have diverticulosis, so that cuts out all the nuts and many vegetables right now. Sigh.

Does anyone know if Atkins bars are gluten free??

Thanks so much for your help!!!!

[CarlaB]

I don't know about Atkins. I eat Lara bars and Bumblebars, both are gluten free.

I am 43 and have only known for the past 6 months what's wrong ... I, like you have known wheat was a problem for a few years, but didn't think it was all gluten until I got really sick. I eat a lot of plain foods -- meat, fish, veggies, fruit, nuts. I feel better when I keep it simple! I also had to cut out dairy, so I know what you mean about a limited variety. Your diverticulitis may clear up some when you go gluten-free, at least I would think it would help!

The depression can be a side effect of the celiac. I take St. John's Wort for it and it helps a lot.

[Lymetoo]

Thanks, Carla. You've been very helpful and I appreciate it very much!!

I'm not THAT depressed. I take mangosteen juice everyday for other complaints, and one of the side "benefits" is how it helps depression.

I'm just bummed out because I also have yeast issues and would LOVE nothing better than eating fruit all day. So many of the gluten-free products contain sugar and/or YEAST, of all things! <sigh>

So I'm left with chicken and green beans right now. That's about it. I found some gluten free tortillas, that I put low carb peanut butter on, but even the tortillas can increase problems with yeast. I have to watch how much I eat.

Also, peanuts are a "nightshade" and that increases pain for me. I eat it in moderation.

Thanks again.....

[Nancym]

Unfortunately those low carb bars are loaded with wheat gluten since it is the low-carb, high-protein part of wheat.

I'd say be very strict about avoiding gluten. Who knows, maybe it'll help your diverticulosis.

[aprilh]

Thanks, Carla. You've been very helpful and I appreciate it very much!!

I'm not THAT depressed. I take mangosteen juice everyday for other complaints, and one of the side "benefits" is how it helps depression.

I'm just bummed out because I also have yeast issues and would LOVE nothing better than eating fruit all day. So many of the gluten-free products contain sugar and/or YEAST, of all things! <sigh>

So I'm left with chicken and green beans right now. That's about it. I found some gluten free tortillas, that I put low carb peanut butter on, but even the tortillas can increase problems with yeast. I have to watch how much I eat.

Also, peanuts are a "nightshade" and that increases pain for me. I eat it in moderation.

Thanks again.....

Have you tried doing a yeast cleanse? I also had yeast issues, but after the yeast cleanse it cleared. Also a good proibotic helps with yeast and intestinal problems. It helps put back the naturally occuring bacteria found in everyone's intestines. When your body is out of whack, say yeast or diahreah, the proibotic restores the balance.