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Before Going gluten-free Was Anyone Else Always Hungry?

Guest buzzinboston

By Guest buzzinboston
in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease

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anerissara Enthusiast
anerissara
Posted

I didn't read all the replies, but I wanted to let you know that I had a similar pain in the upper right side, right under my lowest ribs. It almost felt like a muscle catch, or something...the golfball analogy really fits. As if there were something there. Thats the place where the small and large intestine connect, and it's an area that can really get inflamed when you're eating gluten. Also, gas (which is worse with gluten) can get trapped there...my dr. told me that area can blow up as big as a soft ball!!!!! No wonder something doesn't feel right.

When I went gluten-free after several months the discomfort gradually dissapeared. It's been nearly 2 years now and i never get that feeling any more. Sometimes I will get pain in the lower right side if I get glutened, but I don't have the upper pain anymore.

I have to echo what eveyrone is saying...go back on the gluten-free diet!!! It will probably take care of that discomfort, plus it will save your life long-term, plus you will probably lose a lot of weight. I had about 15 or so extra pounds packing around on me, that wouldn't go away no matter what I did and after going gluten-free the weight just came off like nothing. Plus my skin cleared up, i had 100% more energy, i felt better, I could think clearly again, I slept better, my anxiety dissapeared....the list goes on and on. It is SOOOOOOOO worth it! Do it and do it right, and you will be a new person, no kidding. There are so many great gluten-free products out there and every day they come out with new ones, although it's more expensive you can almost eat like anyone else with gluten-free breads, cookies (the KToos OREO knock-offs are as good as the real thing, no joke!) and even bagles and muffins. And those are just the things you can buy, if you bake you can do jsut about anything gluten-free with a little practice. Please, please do yourself a favor and make the decision to go gluten-free for life! Your quality (and quantity) of life will be so much better.

Oh, I forgot (sorry about the double post!)....I get *starving* when I have been glutened. No kidding, I just want to eat and eat and eat. It's like my body craves *everything*, and I'm eating for a "cure" for the gluten in my system. This will last several days after the glutening incident, then fade away. Without gluten in my system, my body works much better at telling me what it needs. Also, I will gain 3 pounds overnight (seriously) without eating *anything* if I've been gluetned...I retain a ton of water. It's miserable, but I didn't know the difference before going strictly gluten-free.

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casnco Enthusiast
casnco
Posted

I am glad you brought up this topic. I too had a problem with being full. My stomach would hurt, and rather than obstain from eating, I would eat something and the pain would go away. Then the food would begin to "digest" and the pain would come back. Again I would eat more and the pain would subside. This has gone on for most of my life. I have developed the worst eating habits known to man. Now that I am gluten free (for 3 yrs) I do not have the stomach upset. Now I am working on changing my eating habits. Now that is a chore. I have always been about 50 lbs overweight and hoped when diagnosed with Celiac I would lose some weight. I haven't, darn it. And now I realize it is because I have bad eating habits due to the constant cycle of stomach pain and using food to comfort it. What a vicious cycle. When there was no pain in my stomach I was hungry because of all the food I was eating most of it was gluten containing carbs so there was no nutrition for my body. Therefore I was hungry for nutrition. Wish they taught more about nutrition in high school.

  • 2 months later...
e&j0304 Enthusiast
e&j0304
Posted

I just stumbled upon this and I see that it's a really old thread, but I just wanted to add a little of our story for you. My then 2-year-old dd was ALWAYS hungry. Hungry to the point of eating 2 sandwiches, a bowl of grapes, apples, bananas, bowls of cereal, 3 glasses of milk, animal crackers, etc. IN ONE SITTING.

She was so ravenous that we took her to dr. after dr. to see what on Earth was wrong with her. She was also not really growing and VERY short for her age. She had totally fallen off the growth chart. She then started to lose her hair (as you can see in the pic in my avatar) due to not really getting any nutrients even though she was eating so much.

She was blood tested and it was negative. She was never biopsied. We just started the diet the day of the blood test. She responded very quickly, but still eats quite a bit for her age. However, we just had her at the dr. today and she is now in the 20% for height and 40th for weight, which is HUGE for her.

I just wanted to share a little. It always helps to know that others are going through the same thing.

Shannon

Electra Enthusiast
Electra
Posted

Yup definitely have starvation here. I just don't eat dispite the pain and constant growling because hunger pains are so much more tolerable for me then Celiac symptoms :-(!! It gets worse too UG!!! I swear I can eat and 5-10 min later I'm famished!! Like I haven't eaten in days. I just want to sleep my life away at this point so I don't have to live with this any longer!!

ARK Apprentice
ARK
Posted
Yup definitely have starvation here. I just don't eat dispite the pain and constant growling because hunger pains are so much more tolerable for me then Celiac symptoms :-(!! It gets worse too UG!!! I swear I can eat and 5-10 min later I'm famished!! Like I haven't eaten in days. I just want to sleep my life away at this point so I don't have to live with this any longer!!

My 14 year old son was constantly hungry and usually ate every one to two hours throughout the day and was complaining again about being hungry in a few minutes.

Within a week of going gluten free, that all disappeared and we were really shocked. I STILL cant get over him eating small meals three times a day, with maybe only one afternoon snack. It is unreal. I had NO idea how big of a problem it was because I was so used to it!

He is so much happier in so many ways. :D

Looking for answers Contributor
Looking for answers
Posted

I agree with others, as I was constantly hungry before going gluten free. I would eat and then go through my kitchen cabinets to try to find something to satisfy me. Sometimes I would eat two or three small meals after dinner, trying desperately to make the urge to eat go away . . . but it never would. Trust me when I say that going gluten free is a lot easier than dealing with this.

Ann1231 Enthusiast
Ann1231
Posted
I agree with others, as I was constantly hungry before going gluten free. I would eat and then go through my kitchen cabinets to try to find something to satisfy me. Sometimes I would eat two or three small meals after dinner, trying desperately to make the urge to eat go away . . . but it never would. Trust me when I say that going gluten free is a lot easier than dealing with this.

This sounds just like me. I could not find "full" for anything! It was nothing to eat 3 or 4 bowls of cereal, then make several slices of toast. I was eating low fat and everything was wheat products. I felt horrible too and gained so much weight, because of the celiac and also the massive amounts of food I was eating. My appetite changed dramatically when I went gluten free. I was like a different person.

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amber-rose Contributor
amber-rose
Posted

Same here, nothing could ever actually fill me up.

lonewolf Collaborator
lonewolf
Posted

The whole time I was growing up and well into adulthood I was always hungry. It's a lot better now, but I still have a few extra pounds.

Mary Contrary Rookie
Mary Contrary
Posted

Boy this is so me, I am always starving to death it seems..I can eat like a logger...I eat a meal and can still eat more. It has been worse recently, I thought it was because I have had constant D for 3 months and everything is just running right through me..been gluten free for about 2 months now and the D is starting to just barely get better, but I am ravanous all the time....After work I can, or would like to eat non-stop and then still have dinner...I am a bit overweight, but not obese, but I have noticed I can eat alot lately and not gain weight, now that I am no longer eating any wheat/gluten. I am trying to control my eating because large meals just seems to make things worse at the mo, the D, I hope as I continue to heal that this goes away, the feeling I am starving alll of the time.

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