Healing Crisis?

[aquamarine-queen]

Beginning my third week gluten-free and I find myself: feeling vaguely "sick" (swollen glands, slightly stuffy, slightly feverish); with a full-blown acne breakout (I have trouble spots here and there, but a face - and scalp! - full of acne is not usual for me); and a huge cold sore on my lower lip that doesn't want to go away. A naturopath explained to me once that when the body rids itself of toxins (like gluten?) they have to go someplace, and often show up on the face, etc.

The other side of this is that I have never felt more clear-headed in my life and I should be grateful for that and ignore the nastier aspects of healing. My joints feel somewhat less achy, too. I am also beginning to learn (by trial and error) what other foods are giving me problems (soy, and to a lesser extent, corn). What's odd is that I've always been somewhat sensitive to coffee (only ever drink decaf) - and now I find that it doesn't irritate my stomach at all! Well, at least not at this stage.

Anybody else experience such things?

AQ

[loraleena]

Yes, detox is possible when you stop gluten. I was nauseous for a month!

[Sinenox]

Hey AQ,

When I first stopped the gluten this past autumn the exact same thing happened to me!

When I asked my doctor about it, he kind of shrugged and said that it was all probably stress related.

I was concerned, foremost because the symptom that tipped them off was immunesuppression, and my lymph nodes and other glands would get swollen whenever I ate gluten, among other things. I was a bit worried that I'd have to be hospitalized again. But in any case I experienced all of those symptoms as well, in addition to the sudden fog-lifting effect that made it clear it was all worth it! Things will get better, but it takes a loooong time. I've been growing impatient, though I know it hasn't even been a year yet. The gland-swelling and aches and pains and breakout and such all went away after a couple of weeks, for the most part. Whenever I eat any accidentally now I still manage to get the symptoms back en force, much worse than before when I'd built up a sort of tolerance. After the sudden rush in the beginning it seems as though it should have all gone away by now (the symptoms I get after being glutened that is). People on here tell me it's just a waiting game. Every month things get a bit better.

Good luck.

[kbtoyssni]

I also used to get the most upset stomach from caffienated coffee. I should try it again because I bet I'd be ok now, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[wowzer]

Coffee may not have been the problem, but what you used to eat with the coffee could be the culprit. I've found some foods that I thought were problems for me that I can eat with no problem since going gluten free. Of course coffee would be a hard one for me to give up I must admit.