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I'm Still So Tired - What Is Going On?

aprilh

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aprilh Apprentice
aprilh
Posted

I have been gluten free since around first of July. I am doing much better but I am still tired all the time. Some times are worse than others. I went off dairy for a short time, but am back on it - very little bits. Today, for lunch I ate leftover gluten free pasta with gluten free sauce and ground beef. I have been soooooo tired since. I could go to sleep but I can't until my kids do.

My legs constantly feel so weak and tired. I have lost LOTS of weight in a short period. Everytime I weigh, I have lost more weight. I thought maybe its corn? Some gluten free pastas are made with corn.

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queenofhearts Explorer
queenofhearts
Posted

I find I do best with a lighter lunch, anything heavy makes me sleepy in the afternoon. I always have an afternoon snack so I don't fade out before dinner. Maybe you should try the "grazing" approach, & eat several smaller meals.

marciab Enthusiast
marciab
Posted

I found out that I have to limit my processed grains. I do better on whole quinoa, buckwheat or millet.

key Contributor
key
Posted

It could be you are still healing and recovering. You were sick for along time. Are you sure you aren't getting gluten anywhere still? Do you still eat out?

I know I have those symptoms when gluttened.

Monica

RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted

I've also been extremely tired, but I'm now finding out there have been some things in my food choices which have been causing much of the reactions I've had. My leg weakness eventually worsened to the point where I could not walk at all, and there was a whole LOT of pain, twitching, spasms, etc. A great deal of digestive/intestinal issues as well.

But now, I think I may have narrowed down what it is (still trying to recover). It seems that nightshade foods like potatoes and tomatoes have become intolerable to my system! Triggered by what I'm not sure. Perhaps nothing triggered it, but at any rate it doesn't take too much of it to effect me. On the other hand it apparently takes several weeks to recover from the effects.

This may or may not help you at all, but I figure it might be worth considering.

Hope you feel better than I do!

jenvan Collaborator
jenvan
Posted
I have been gluten free since around first of July. I am doing much better but I am still tired all the time. Some times are worse than others. I went off dairy for a short time, but am back on it - very little bits. Today, for lunch I ate leftover gluten free pasta with gluten free sauce and ground beef. I have been soooooo tired since. I could go to sleep but I can't until my kids do.

My legs constantly feel so weak and tired. I have lost LOTS of weight in a short period. Everytime I weigh, I have lost more weight. I thought maybe its corn? Some gluten free pastas are made with corn.

Being gluten-free since July is not long at all...for many folks it isn't long enough on the diet to notice any improvement. ie. myself :) You may want to keep a food/symptom journal to see if other foods are causing you issues, like the dairy. For some folks, pasta would bring on post-meal tiredness. If this is the case for you, you could always err on the side of protein. Vitamin deficiencies, ie. b12, iron etc., fairly common in Celiacs, can also cause an extra dose of fatigue. You may want to look into these if you haven't already. Either way, chances are also that you just need more time. Every person is different, like their history... I didn't notice real improvement in my energy till after a year gluten-free. And honestly, I still struggle. Good news is many folks noticed it within a few months. ...But not knowing what your system is like, I suggest stick with it and try and cope as best you can while you continue in this beginning stage of healing. It will get better!

kbtoyssni Contributor
kbtoyssni
Posted

It sounds like you're just going through the normal healing process. I did really well the first month on the gluten-free diet, then I got a slight cold and was out of commission for the next month. Give it time.

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Nancym Enthusiast
Nancym
Posted

Have you had your thyroid checked out? That's a possibility. Another though is some autoimmune disease, they all seem to include a lovely dose of fatigue.

Also, carbs are processed by the body rather quickly raising the blood sugar, insulin gets release which brings it back down. That drop in blood sugar makes some of us really sleepy. You can either eat another carby meal and start the cycle over again, or you can try to eat something that doesn't spike the blood sugar so much. I personally limit the amount of starchy or sugary stuff I eat and it really helps with my alertness. I focus more on proteins and natural sources of carbs that are digested more slowly, like fruits and veggies. If you're going to have starchy stuff, I wouldn't eat it until dinner time. Then you might find the sleepiness coinsides with when you want to go to sleep.

Final thought, all the stuff I'm intolerant of, dairy, soy and wheat make me feel tired and make my brain malfunction. So perhaps you're still eating something you shouldn't be.

Guhlia Rising Star
Guhlia
Posted

Soy is in most store-bought spaghetti sauces... Just a thought. It could be that you've developed an intolerance to soy. Many of us develop other intolerances after Celiac surfaces.

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      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

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      Yes, I do think they need a Thiamine supplement at least. Especially since they eat red meat only occasionally. Most fruits and vegetables are not good sources of Thiamine.  Legumes (beans) do contain thiamine.  Fruits and veggies do have some of the other B vitamins, but thiamine B 1 and  Cobalamine B12 are mostly found in meats.  Meat, especially organ meats like liver, are the best sources of Thiamine, B12, and the six other B vitamins and important minerals like iron.   Thiamine has antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Thiamine is important to our immune systems.  We need more thiamine when we're physically ill or injured, when we're under stress emotionally, and when we exercise, especially outside in hot weather.  We need thiamine and other B vitamins like Niacin B 3 to keep our gastrointestinal tract healthy.  We can't store thiamine for very long.  We can get low in thiamine within three days.  Symptoms can appear suddenly when a high carbohydrate diet is consumed.  (Rice and beans are high in carbohydrates.)  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so symptoms can wax and wane depending on what one eats.  The earliest symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are easily contributed to other things or life events and dismissed.   Correcting nutritional deficiencies needs to be done quickly, especially in children, so their growth isn't stunted.  Nutritional deficiencies can affect intelligence.  Vitamin D deficiency can cause short stature and poor bone formation.   Is your son taking anything for the anemia?  Is the anemia caused by B12 or iron deficiency?  
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