gluten-free For Month And A Half, Inconsistent Symptoms.

[Woolygimp]

I've been gluten free for about 6 weeks, and my symptoms are like a roller coaster.

The first few weeks went great, I noticed an immediate improvement and started feeling very good. At about the two or three week mark I went from feeling amazing, to just rock bottom. Now some days I feel alright, and some I don't.

If I were to map how I felt over the time span of since I started I think it'd have to go something like...

(1-10 scale)

<start>3 4 6 7 7 9 10 2 3 2 5 3 5 6 3 4 4 5 6 3 5<now>

There's no way I'm getting glutened, because I moved into a new apartment and everything in here is gluten free. And it's the same stuff I've been eating since day 1 of the diet.

Other things bother me like, for instance the amount of saliva in my mouth. One minute I'll have plenty, and the next it will be incredibly dry and I'll be unable to draw any. Anybody experience dry mouth like this? Also on the days that I feel good, I'll never have this problem. Do you guys experience anything like this?

Also the only thing that I can see that has changed as far as my diet is the fact that I started drinking milk. I drank a lot, and felt immediate fatigue. Slept for about 5 hours afterwards, but had nothing as far as intestinal symptoms.

Could other things like milk be causing this?

I've also read posts where people explain that they feel great initially, then it worsens be it improves for good. Is this normal?

[Ursa Major]

Hi, and welcome to these boards.

Yes, other things, especially dairy, could be causing you to feel so bad. When you described what happened after drinking milk, it is obvious that you really know that it was bad for you.

As can happen with gluten, with milk you can get only neurological outward symptoms as well, rather than gastrointestinal problems.

My husband's cousin's only symptom of an extreme dairy intolerance is almost immediate severe depression after consuming it. She was suffering from terrible depression for years (taking antidepressants), before they figured it out. As soon as she stopped drinking milk, her depression cleared. If she is being foolish and has milk, she'll be in that black hole within hours.

So, feeling extremely fatigued right after drinking milk and sleeping for several hours sounds to me like you need to eliminate dairy as well as gluten. Possibly other things as well, but start with dairy. You might be surprised at the difference it will make.

[Paulr]

I AM ALSO 6 WEEKS GLUTEN FREE,THE LAST 5 DAYS I THOUGHT I WAS BETTER AS FAR AS BATHROOM GOES BUT I AM REALLY SICK TODAY ,I BUY ALL MY FOOD GLUTEN FREE NO GLUTEN IN MY SYSTEM,AGAIN I WONDER AS WELL IF THIS IS THE WAY IT GOES AT THE BEGINNING I AM ALSO LOOKING FOR THE SAME ANSWERS, YOUR NOT ALONE

[Woolygimp]

Hi, and welcome to these boards.

Yes, other things, especially dairy, could be causing you to feel so bad. When you described what happened after drinking milk, it is obvious that you really know that it was bad for you.

As can happen with gluten, with milk you can get only neurological outward symptoms as well, rather than gastrointestinal problems.

My husband's cousin's only symptom of an extreme dairy intolerance is almost immediate severe depression after consuming it. She was suffering from terrible depression for years (taking antidepressants), before they figured it out. As soon as she stopped drinking milk, her depression cleared. If she is being foolish and has milk, she'll be in that black hole within hours.

So, feeling extremely fatigued right after drinking milk and sleeping for several hours sounds to me like you need to eliminate dairy as well as gluten. Possibly other things as well, but start with dairy. You might be surprised at the difference it will make.

All dairy?

Cottage Cheese?

Yogurt?

Milk Chocolate?

[Ursa Major]

All dairy?

Cottage Cheese?

Yogurt?

Milk Chocolate?

Unfortunately, the answer is 'yes' to all of the above. Sorry about that, but that will leave you with an awful lot more food than I can tolerate!

Try it for a month. If you feel a whole lot better, you'll soon be happy you found the culprit, and won't mind eliminating your favourite foods so much.

Try dark chocolate, you might like it.

[Woolygimp]

Unfortunately, the answer is 'yes' to all of the above. Sorry about that, but that will leave you with an awful lot more food than I can tolerate!

Try it for a month. If you feel a whole lot better, you'll soon be happy you found the culprit, and won't mind eliminating your favourite foods so much.

Try dark chocolate, you might like it.

There a dark chocolate Reese's peanut butter cup?

Just kidding, thanks for the advice. I'll give it a go.