Is A Third Week Relapse...

[Cornhusker]

This past week has been my third on the diet. I was doing really well. GI symptoms gone. Weight and energy levels still low, but pretty happy with how it was going.

I don't believe I've been a long time sufferer. I can go back maybe 5 or 6 years where I can, in retrospect, see possible symptoms. The past year was getting worse and things really started going south 2-3 months ago. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think the damage was extreme and I'm hopeful the recovery will be quick.

So that brings me to the third week of the diet. I saw my dietician on Tuesday and she gave me the info on the diet (which I already knew). We also discussed our plan to get my weight back up. I'm a 35 year old 6'1" male. My weight has dropped down to 137 from 165-170. Obviously at this weight my strength and endurance isn't where I'd like it to be. I'm also somewhat impatient to make some progress on this now that I know the cause.

So this past week I've been pushing the calorie envelop. We're targeting 2400/day. I've never had what I would call a severe problem with dairy, so I've added some cheese to my diet. I've also introduced almonds and cashews as a snack. They have good nutrient density, good oil, and a high calorie to low volume ratio (I struggle eating large portions). Our kitchen is gluten-free as are my bathroom products. I don't think I've been exposed to gluten.

So ever since the middle of this week, I've slowly started to feel worse and worse. It kind of came to a head on Friday with nausea (which is new to me). When I get hungry I start to eat a little then become sick to my stomache and stop about half way through. There has been no D (which is a typical gluten thing for me), no gas to speak of, no pain, and no mental issues. Just sick to my stomache, but not to the point of throwing up.

Geez, this has rambled on a bit. But anyway, is this part of the healing curve? I imagine I pushed things a bit this week. I plan to back off and cut out the nuts in particular. I guess I'm just looking for a 'hey, that sounds like me' kind of thing.

Thanks.

[Lisa]

Corn:

I will go through each issue you stated. First you said that you had sympton for 5 -6 years, that is just when the symptoms show up for you to notice. The silent damage was when you did not feel any symptoms. I expect, you as well as me, had no symptoms and gradually lost weight over years, loss of interest in food, fatique,....... So this did not begin when you felt symptoms.

You can learn more on this site than any dietitian could give your (present company excluded). Weight gain take alot to time and careful diet.

You sound like you are informed. Perhaps the nuts may be an issue. Continue cutting them from your diet and stay gluten free and see how you feel.

If you have fatigue, I have found in my early dx time, that B-12 shots were the most wonderful thing in the world. Or do a full blood panel and check any deficiencies. (expensive though) B-12 is very important at this time. Buy off the shelf. I take 2,000mg a day, after stoping the shots.

Hope this help and I hope you feel better after the nuts.

Lisa

[Cornhusker]

It's hard to say when it started. I'm just hopeful the damage isn't too extreme because it appears I'm free of a lot of the additional/follow-up issues so many talk about here.

My comment wasn't a knock on the dietician. Being new to the condition, I had done some significant research. She's pretty knowledgable about celiac. I think she'll be a valuable team member as I go through this.

I have an appointment with my doctor on 8/8. I'll be pushing for a full evaluation of deficiencies. I'm particularly interested in bone density because there is some family history and my build has always been slight.

[marciab]

What she said but, I just wanted to add that nuts are a problem for me if they are roasted, etc. Except peanuts for some reason. I can eat PB

I eat the raw nuts found in the bins at my local health food store. They taste so much better than the pre packaged stuff. I started out very very slowly and found that the cashews were the easiest for me to digest. The hardest for me were the brazilian, but now I am fine with those too. The walnuts at one point were causing canker sores, but I don't get those anymore either.

I eat these to help me keep my weight up too. The key for me was to go slowly. I eat a wide variety of nuts every day now that I know I am ok with them.

Another trick I learned was to add EVOO, flax oil, grapeseed oil, etc. to your meals. Pour it on. It is all good for you.

Hope this helps.. marcia

[LKelly8]

So ever since the middle of this week, I've slowly started to feel worse and worse. It kind of came to a head on Friday with nausea (which is new to me). When I get hungry I start to eat a little then become sick to my stomache and stop about half way through. There has been no D (which is a typical gluten thing for me), no gas to speak of, no pain, and no mental issues. Just sick to my stomache, but not to the point of throwing up.

Your stomach might just be rebelling against the sudden increase in food volume. Any trouble with reflux? Pain/sore spot upper right abdomen? (gallbadder)

During my first gallbadder attack I lost a great deal of weight, not due to poor appetite, I just couldn't finish anything.

[Cornhusker]

Your stomach might just be rebelling against the sudden increase in food volume. Any trouble with reflux? Pain/sore spot upper right abdomen? (gallbadder)

During my first gallbadder attack I lost a great deal of weight, not due to poor appetite, I just couldn't finish anything.

No upper right pain. No reflux. I did drink some Pepto Friday evening to settle things down. That may have delayed my misery into the second day...

[evie]

[quote name='Cornhusker' date='Jul 29 2006, 10:22 PM'

No upper right pain. No reflux. I did drink some Pepto Friday evening to settle things down. That may have delayed my misery into the second day...

[eleep]

The charcoal capsules will absorb nutrients as well as toxins, so be aware that you may need extra supplementation after you've used them.

I also thought I had mostly "silent" symptoms and expected to get better after a few weeks, but I've found that the damage to my body was far greater than I'd realized -- the "relapse" experience is very common (I think). I've needed to pull back on my weight-gain goals a bit and watch what my body is doing.

Since I've gone gluten-free, I've also had about three accidental glutenings and several more reactions to dairy (was being stubborn about that for a while) which resulted in more weight loss, so I've really had to cultivate a lot more patience with the whole situation. The reactions to dairy, in particular, involved a great deal of nausea -- I never thought I was lactose intolerant before, but I am clearly so right now -- I didn't test positive for casein intolerance.

For the time being, I've given up on dairy -- except for butter and occasional yogurt, buttermilk and lactose-free milk in my coffee. I'm looking forward to trying it out again in 4 months or so because I really do appreciate a good cheese, but this has inspired me to cultivate an appreciation for many more kinds of food as well.

Avocados are another good thing to add to a weight-gain-oriented diet -- especially if you need something to rotate out with the nuts. I've also been eating quite a bit more tuna and salmon and have re-introduced myself to the occasional really good piece of red meat or homemade hamburger, although I don't want to rely too much on that for weight gain.

eleep.

[Cornhusker]

I guess we'll chalk another one up to, "Not everything is celiac related".

Just got back from the doctor's office. Looks like a have a stomache virus. Bentyl and the BRAT diet and take it easy for a couple days.

Never been glad to have the stomache flu before...