New With Gluten Allergies And Anxiety

[Georgia]

Hello I"m new to this board and have been trying to deal with gluten and egg allergies for over five years.(probably longer just didn't know) It all started in my early twenties when I suffered from extreme panic attacks. Not knowing what was going on I was taking to a naturopath and after many different tests found out I was having problems with gluten, eggs and other foods. As I child I never felt well always having stomach aches, kidney infections the list goes on and on in and out hospitals and doctors offices. I live in a very very small town and the closest health food store is three hours away. Needless to say I can barely find the time to get there. I have such horrible reactions when I eat something that contains gluten or anything my body is allergic to. I get very spacy and irratable and feel like I could sleep for hours. Sometimes followed by a panic attack. I was just wondering if anyone gets anxiety after eating gluten? I also have rashes all over my chest stomach and chest area. It's so hard to find foods without gluten in the town i'm living in. I've been prescribes clonazepam for my anxiety but I would rather not take it. I not to big on taking medication.

Georgia

[queenofhearts]

Hi and welcome! Anxiety, exhaustion & rashes are fairly common issues with gluten intolerance, so you are probably on the right track. As for the food, you are the perfect candidate for online shopping. There are lots of things in the Celiac.com store, amazon .com has a discount grocery service with many gluten-free foods, & you can also shop online directly with most of the major gluten-free manufacturers. Of course this works best for nonperishables so you can order in bulk. It might be worth investing in a freezer so you can store more of the perishables.

Eat well & be well!

Leah

[GFBetsy]

Ordering things online is a great idea for baking mixes and things like that (pasta, too, I bet). But there are lots of naturally gluten free foods that are readily available everywhere - meats, potatoes, rice, veggies, fruits, etc. There are lots of delicious things you can make with those basic ingredients. Try the cookbook "Saving Dinner" by Leanne Ely. It's got a lot of back to basics recipes.

As for the anxiety - that's my mom's most obvious symptom. She gets jiggly and irritable and very short tempered. My aunt also has WAY fewer panic problems when she is gluten-free.

Good luck!