Feeling Worse On The Elimination Diet

[emcmaster]

I felt great on a gluten-free/cf diet for 3.5 months, but lately I haven't been feeling normal anymore. Not nearly as bad as I used to feel, but not great, either. So I decided to start an elimination diet to hopefully figure out what else I'm intolerant to.

It's only been 2 days, but I actually feel a little worse. Am I just detoxing and it will get better in a few days or is it something else?

Thanks.

[Lisa]

Elizabeth:

It is very normal to have many ups and down. It took a long time for your body to react to that damage, as well it will take time to heal.

In the beginning it is almost impossible to go cold turkey from Gluten and be informed about all the things you need to avoid. It takes time to educate yourself. Gluten is everywhere.

It also takes time for you to heal enough to know that you have been glutened. Does that make sense? It took me about 7 months to feel better, to feel the effects of being glutened. It took me that long to heal

Be patient and you may need to re-check you shampoos, suppliments, lipsticks or anything that may come into contact with you mouth.

Sometimes, when you feel better, you tend to get a little lax in your diligence. You always want to keep that in check.

Hope you feel better.

Lisa

[jerseyangel]

Hi Elizabeth

How are you going about your elimination diet? When I did mine, I began by just eating the basics--nothing processed and very little sugar.

Each week or so, I would add something back in to see how or if I'd react.

I'm thinking that if you are at the point where you're down to basics (meat, veggies, fruit, water), you may be experiencing some withdrawl--especially if you were eating sugar and caffeine.

Have you added anything back in yet?

Let me know more about where you're at, and maybe I can be of more help.

[Natlay]

I'm doing the elimination diet right now too. For the last four days all I have been eating is lean meat, fruit, vegetables, and water. And I have been eating smaller meals too. My stomach feels a lot better, but the rest of my body is very tired...I have no energy and feel really shaky. I figured my body needs some time to adjust. I plan on giving it at least two weeks and see how it goes.

Good luck

[Helena]

I did a few foods diet awhile ago---my allergist put me on it. But he didn't give me very much direction or info. So I bought this book by Janice Vickerstaff Joneja, PhD, RDN. (_Dealing with Food Allergies_) She explains everything! (she deals with intolerances + allergies) + gives lots of tips on what to eat on the diet + recipes for the diet. I highly recommend this book.

One of the things she explains----if you have allergies/food sensitivities you might actually feel worse at first. she calls this "serum sickness"---flu-like symptoms can be expected.

hope this helps!

[tarnalberry]

If you're only eating a few things, you may find that you're not getting:

1) enough calories

2) the right protein/carb/fat balance to keep your blood sugar steady

3) enough vitamins/minerals

[emcmaster]

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the replies!

I've only been on the elimination diet for 2 days - not long at all. I'm only eating fruits, vegetables and lean meats, which is really hard - I'm craving carbs of any kind! I haven't had anything processed, with the exception of canned in water albacore tuna, and the sugar I'm getting is coming from fruit.

I'm probably jumping the gun and not waiting long enough to see my symptoms disappear.

Thanks for all the support. I've been somewhat depressed because I was very, very bloated and had a lot of stomach pain for years before going gluten-free and now I'm worried that the relief I've felt for the last several months won't be permanant. I know that's just paranoia talking, but it's scary nonetheless.

[Natlay]

I'm feeling so dumb right now...I made it through six rough days of the elimination diet and felt like crap for most of it...and I just ate a ton of peanut butter. I feel like my stomach is going to explode. Ugh...I'm going to go throw away the rest of the peanut butter in the house. I'm so bloated right now. No food is worth this...I don't care how good it tastes. I think it will be easier to stick to the diet now.

[emcmaster]

I'm feeling so dumb right now...I made it through six rough days of the elimination diet and felt like crap for most of it...and I just ate a ton of peanut butter. I feel like my stomach is going to explode. Ugh...I'm going to go throw away the rest of the peanut butter in the house. I'm so bloated right now. No food is worth this...I don't care how good it tastes. I think it will be easier to stick to the diet now.

I'm so sorry sweetie! It's so hard to stick to this diet - I've had moments of temptation where I wanted to have a gluten-free english muffin or make some rice, but I'm sticking it out.

If you ever want to chat, PM me. I'm going through this as well!

[Natlay]

I'm so sorry sweetie! It's so hard to stick to this diet - I've had moments of temptation where I wanted to have a gluten-free english muffin or make some rice, but I'm sticking it out.

If you ever want to chat, PM me. I'm going through this as well!

It's been a pretty tough week. My stomach felt sooo much better, but I had no energy at all and was cranky all the time and last night I broke down and had a bite of peanut butter and I could feel it immediately. So I figured if I already felt sick I might as well eat as much as I wanted. So I have eaten two small jars in less than a day Maybe I needed this to make it easier to stick to my diet...I'm starting over right now.

Thanks for your help...email or IM me anytime if you need some too

[sspitzer5]

I felt great on a gluten-free/cf diet for 3.5 months, but lately I haven't been feeling normal anymore. Not nearly as bad as I used to feel, but not great, either. So I decided to start an elimination diet to hopefully figure out what else I'm intolerant to.

It's only been 2 days, but I actually feel a little worse. Am I just detoxing and it will get better in a few days or is it something else?

Thanks.

I felt horrible on the elimination diet too! Now I think I know why. I got my IgG food intolerance test results which showed a major reaction to almonds. I was probably eating more almonds than usual on the elimination diet because it was something I thought was ok. I kept eliminating stuff but hadn't made it to almonds yet. Erg.

S

[mle-ii]

Here's another reason why folks might feel crappy when doing an elimination diet.

Ok, I've heard of Peptides before, but being curious I looked it up on wikipedia.

Open Original Shared Link

While reading it I came across this bit of info:

Opioid peptides, now that sounds interesting what is that?

Open Original Shared Link

Wow, no wonder it's so hard for some folks to give up breads and dairy. Since a lot of us have issues with gluten, lets take a look at one.

Open Original Shared Link

Wow.

Looking into a few of those opioid peptieds led me into some interesting areas as well.

How in the world can Doctors still believe that food plays no role in a lot of our problems? The evidence out there is pretty substantial that it does.

Mike

[pturse]

I really want to do the elmination diet but I crave stuff like rice and corn tortillas. I probably eat rice cakes almost every day! I tend to have a lot of difficulty with roughage type stuff (veggies like carrots, spinach, heck all veggies really) and I am a VEGETARIAN (who consumes some tuna). I feel like the rice and corn tortillas "settle" my often upset stomach.

So I have some questions re: the elmination diet.

1. What on earth would I eat (remember I am a vegetarian)?

2. How do you stick to it!?

Any ideas/suggestions would be great. I am so tired of being bloated and having an upset stomach all the time. The only time I feel "good" is right when I wake up in the morning w/nothing in my stomach.

[emcmaster]

I really want to do the elmination diet but I crave stuff like rice and corn tortillas. I probably eat rice cakes almost every day! I tend to have a lot of difficulty with roughage type stuff (veggies like carrots, spinach, heck all veggies really) and I am a VEGETARIAN (who consumes some tuna). I feel like the rice and corn tortillas "settle" my often upset stomach.

So I have some questions re: the elmination diet.

1. What on earth would I eat (remember I am a vegetarian)?

2. How do you stick to it!?

Any ideas/suggestions would be great. I am so tired of being bloated and having an upset stomach all the time. The only time I feel "good" is right when I wake up in the morning w/nothing in my stomach.

I'm going to leave the big answer up to the experts (if no one answers, PM jerseyangel or Ursula), but here's my $0.02:

If you have trouble with roughage, you might try cooking it really well and pureeing it. That breaks down the fiber into a more managable form for your intestines to digest.

As a vegetarian, you might try eating only well cooked and pureed fruits and veggies until your symptoms disappear and then adding eggs, if you eat them. Eggs are excellent sources of protein.

Another thing it might be, since it sounds like your entire gut is sensitive, is an intolerance to high levels of fat. You might try eating a very low-fat diet for a few days and see if your symptoms improve - I cannot eat more than 25% of my calories from fat in any given meal or I bloat up like a balloon. It seems that a good number of celiacs have fat intolerance problems as well.

Good luck!

[Nancym]

Just want to explain something. If you go from a high carb, starchy or high sugar diet to one of meats and veggies you're going to have a couple of weeks of adjustment. Your body is shifting from a high glucose/insulin mode to doing things like converting proteins to glucose and burning dietary fat and body fat. After the conversion process you'll feel better. In fact, you might feel massively better. Stay the course!

If you can't handle it, add in a bit of fruit.

[pturse]

Thank you both (emcmaster and Nancym). I think I am going to really give a full effort. My DH might think I am nuts since I *want* to restrict even more from my diet but I think it might help.

I will try cooking the veggies really really well. That does seem to make some what a difference because I notice when I eat cooked broccoli vs raw broccoli . . . I get less gassy. Still gassy, but a lot less. I like the idea of adding eggs in first for protein. I am a runner and I know I will need some carbs/protein at some point but figuring out what really bothers me first is important.

So I will try fruits for breakfast (I read apples and citrus are out right?). Veggies for lunch and veggies and perhaps yams/sweet potato for dinner? I read that sweet potatos were allowed . . . just not white potatos.

Still will be hard to go w/o my morning tea though. :-)

I take it that BEANO is also out huh? I tend to use that when I eat veggies.

One thing I have noticed, and maybe this is just me, but have you seen those HANNS bags called Broccoli Salad where it's basically shredded broccoli, carrots and red cabbage? I love those but for some reason, my digestive system really doesn't handle it well and I think it is because it is shredded. Does that sound weird? I mean it goes "in" and "out" exactly the same . . . sorry for TMI.

I don't post on here much, more of a lurker, but I am really trying to stick to this diet because my DH and I are considering kids in the near future and I want to be healthy for the process.

Thanks again for the tips.

[emcmaster]

Thank you both (emcmaster and Nancym). I think I am going to really give a full effort. My DH might think I am nuts since I *want* to restrict even more from my diet but I think it might help.

I will try cooking the veggies really really well. That does seem to make some what a difference because I notice when I eat cooked broccoli vs raw broccoli . . . I get less gassy. Still gassy, but a lot less. I like the idea of adding eggs in first for protein. I am a runner and I know I will need some carbs/protein at some point but figuring out what really bothers me first is important.

So I will try fruits for breakfast (I read apples and citrus are out right?). Veggies for lunch and veggies and perhaps yams/sweet potato for dinner? I read that sweet potatos were allowed . . . just not white potatos.

Still will be hard to go w/o my morning tea though. :-)

I take it that BEANO is also out huh? I tend to use that when I eat veggies.

One thing I have noticed, and maybe this is just me, but have you seen those HANNS bags called Broccoli Salad where it's basically shredded broccoli, carrots and red cabbage? I love those but for some reason, my digestive system really doesn't handle it well and I think it is because it is shredded. Does that sound weird? I mean it goes "in" and "out" exactly the same . . . sorry for TMI.

I don't post on here much, more of a lurker, but I am really trying to stick to this diet because my DH and I are considering kids in the near future and I want to be healthy for the process.

Thanks again for the tips.

Broccoli is a very gas-producing vegetable and I believe cabbage is, too. This sounds funny, but you might try cooking that broccoli salad a bit to make it easier to digest.

I think your idea sounds good for the e. diet, however, you will most likely need to eat every 2 or 3 hours if you're only eating fruits and veggies. I can't go much longer than that without getting extremely hungry.

If you can handle it, you can have nuts (except for peanuts) and oils. That will help to satiate you.

Good luck!

[rutland]

I really want to do the elmination diet but I crave stuff like rice and corn tortillas. I probably eat rice cakes almost every day! I tend to have a lot of difficulty with roughage type stuff (veggies like carrots, spinach, heck all veggies really) and I am a VEGETARIAN (who consumes some tuna). I feel like the rice and corn tortillas "settle" my often upset stomach.

So I have some questions re: the elmination diet.

1. What on earth would I eat (remember I am a vegetarian)?

2. How do you stick to it!?

Any ideas/suggestions would be great. I am so tired of being bloated and having an upset stomach all the time. The only time I feel "good" is right when I wake up in the morning w/nothing in my stomach.

Id hate to say it but you could possibly have an allergy or intolerance to rice and corn. When you notice that you have strong cravings for something that can be a sign in and of itself that your allergic. I know from my own experience having major cravings for cheese or bread and indulging and feeling like hell afterwards. Any food that triggers heavy cravings are suspect. I guess the only way to know is to eliminate it for a few weeks, notice how you feel without it, then add it back in and see how you feel again.