Help-what Is Wrong With Me?

[Guest imsohungry]

Hey everybody,

I need help. I am trying so hard to remain gluten-free in order to feel better. But I am just trying to figure out if gluten is my only problem.

There is one major symptom that won't leave me alone after I eat: Fatigue and headache. They actually go together. It is like someone has set a ten pound weight on the back of my eyes making them close and my head feel off balance right after I eat certain foods. Anybody else get this feeling?

I wonder if it is food related because I don't get it every time I eat...but when it happens, it occurs within 15 minutes of eating and knocks me flat of my behind. The frustrating thing is that I can't find any particular food it is related to. It has gotten better since I have quit eating bread. But yesterday and today, I noticed it happened after I ate tropical flavored Starburst candy. I called the company and they are gluten-free. I am also CF, but I didn't see any evidence of Casein in them either. Help! I can't keep taking naps at work!!

Has anyone continued to have similar symptoms through recovery on the gluten-free diet? Is there anything obvious that I am overlooking to eliminate from my diet? I've been tested for hypoglycemia and thyroid problems, but they both came back within normal range. I really want to feel better. I keep thinking that there has got to be something obvious that I'm just overlooking to try eliminating.

Any ideas ya'll? Much hugs to everybody! -Julie

[dbuhl79]

Jules,

Just thought I'd try a stab in the dark here since you've been so helpful with my posts!

Do you notice it with sugar consumption? Maybe try eliminating as much as you can for a week and see if it improves. (Atlhough I know thats tough already being CF and gluten-free)

Would you perhaps really define them as migraines?

Caffeine intake?

Dehyrdation can cause headaches also and fatigue.

I know food allergies can quite often trigger headaches/migraines as symptoms, so it very well could be another allergen.

I guess another thought is try Enterolab's testing, everyone here raves about it!

[beelzebubble]

msg? i have similar problems with msg.

[darlindeb25]

hi beezlebubble---tell me things that msg is in---i have read labels that say "no msg"--is it listed as an ingred otherwise or am i missing something--i know many people have problems with msg---thanks for any info---deb

[Guest imsohungry]

Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken me a while to respond...I had school this weekend...took my mid-term I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it went o.k.

Anyway, THANK YOU for the suggestions.

D-,

Thanks for the compliment Also, I hadn't thought of dehydration. How do I know if I'm dehydrated? I guess it could be sugar related or caffeine related, but if it is, it is not consistantly making me sick (sometimes I eat sugar with no problem).

As a side note, I do get migraines and I take a prescription medication for them. I've also been tested for food allergies, and I'm only mildly allergic to Tuna fish (kind of a random allergy)

Thank you for the suggestions...I'm particularly curious about dehydration.

Hey there B-

What kind of foods have msg? What are the symptoms of intolerance? Thank you for your info.!

Much hugs and blessings -Jules

[llj012564]

MSG ( Monosodium Glutamate ) , Its in alot of stuff just read the ingredients it will be listed if its in there. I get migraines from it and my guts react to it as well so I avoid it at all cost.

[Guest momof3]

Hi Julie,

I have been going to doctors for this for sometime now relating to sudden onset of fatiuge and so called passing out spells. Since march I have been to 13 doctors and admitted to the hospital 2x. Psuedo seizures, depression is my inital diagnoises. From march to july my spells were like a epi seizure(tremors). Now it's like slowly passing out. I can't say for me it's related to food. I could start out feeling o.k., start laundry,shower, and then be out of energy. I feel like a ballon that is being deflated. I sometimes have a short time to get to safe place before I go down. Losing muscle, can't open my eyes, verbaly unable to respond. My hearing varies to understanding, to unable to make since of voices.

I no longer drive. Doctors orders. I lost my job due to not driving. I drove high school students.

I went to UCLA yesterday for a follow up visit. He is going to run the scope to take a closer look on 12/14.

Hope this helps. I have posted during the first months of spells. I will try to find it and tell you where to look if you would like.

Debbie

[Guest momof3]

Hi Julie,

I have been going to doctors for this for sometime now relating to sudden onset of fatiuge and so called passing out spells. Since march I have been to 13 doctors and admitted to the hospital 2x. Psuedo seizures, depression is my inital diagnoises. From march to july my spells were like a epi seizure(tremors). Now it's like slowly passing out. I can't say for me it's related to food. I could start out feeling o.k., start laundry,shower, and then be out of energy. I feel like a ballon that is being deflated. I sometimes have a short time to get to safe place before I go down.  Losing muscle, can't open my eyes, verbaly unable to respond. My hearing varies to understanding, to unable to make since of voices.

I no longer drive. Doctors orders. I lost my job due to not driving. I drove high school students.

I went to UCLA yesterday for a follow up visit. He is going to run the scope to take a closer look on 12/14.

Hope this helps. I have posted during the first months of spells. I will try to find it and tell you where to look if you would like.

Debbie

I posted under "related disorders" extreme weakness and fatigue.

[kactuskandee]

Julie,

You may want to start suspecting food dyes, or other additives that we still may not know what the affects are in sensitive people. Other than odd symptoms, I know no way of testing for sensitivity to them. We have so many chemicals in our foods now that it's a wonder some people function as well as they do.

Kandee

[Guest imsohungry]

Oh my goodness...food additives!

I started looking up food additives and there are a million things to avoid!

I'm thinking that I may just chew on carrots for the rest of my life! Rabbits seem to live a happy life

Honestly, I would give anything to figure out what causes this fatigue and these headaches.

Debbie, I've read your posts (I thought that I had responded to it). Although, I won't swear to it. I so hope that they find out what is causing your struggles soon! Bless your heart...I've lost my job before also over a disability...only mine was for seizures. You hang in there o.k.?

Many blessings and much hugs everyone!

-Julie

[mommida]

Have you been tested for diabetes?

Laura

[tom]

After everything else had gotten better but i still had headaches, i stopped eating sugary foods also and the headaches went away. Just a couple weeks ago this happened.

I've tested it a couple times; candy bar or something after 2 days or more w/ minimal sugar and each time i got the worst headache since the LAST time i tested ! hehe i guess i'm done testing for now.

I don't expect it to be this way forever, since things must be changing down there as the villi repair.

For now, instead of old fav Skippy Superchunk i get the natural one without the added sugar, and the gluten-free cereal w/ some sort of non-sucrose natural sounding sweetener, and splenda in the coffee, and on and on. It's far easier than starting gluten-free.

[Guest imsohungry]

Laura,

I have been tested once for hypoglycemia and I did not have it. I assumed if there were any sugar-metabolism abnormalities they would have told me. Is there another test that you know of? I had a 4 or 6 hour long test at the hospital after fasting the evening before. When they gave me the sugar mixture, I fell asleep! They had to put me in the bed and wake me up every hour when I had to drink more of the mixture One of my friends who works in the hospital came down to say hey to me, and when she walked in she said I was "out" with my mouth hanging open and drooling ....not exactly my best moment!

Tom,

thank you for your info.!

Much hugs ya'll

-Julie

[jaycee30]

Hi Julie,

The EXACT same thing happened to me for years and for years I thought I had "funny" blood sugar. I would eat and 20 minutes later, I'd be just tired to death. Then, I started also sometimes getting weak, or feel like my heart skipped a beat, etc. I had my blood sugar tested and everything was fine but still the problem.

For me, I found out (the hard way) it was food allergy, IGG mediated. My reaction depended on not only the food I was eating that I was sensitive to, but also my "allergic burden" at the time. My allergist told me to think of it like a bucket. Everytime you exposed yourself to something that you are sensitive to, be it food, mold, cat hair, pollen, etc., it adds an allergic reaction chemical to your "bucket". Your body handles it fine when the bucket is almost empty, but when it finally gets full....BAM! you react! And since food sensitivities can really last for a few days, you can be adding to your bucket and not even knowing it.

My main culprit at the time was a severe IGG antibody to both egg white and egg yolk. So, one day, I'd have a salad with blue cheese dressing and be ok. Then the next day, a sandwich with mayo and I'd feel like a truck hit me! So I'd stay away from everything except fruit, veggies and meat for a few days, feel better, eat a sandwich again and I'd be fine. It was so confusing!

At any rate, I don't know if this helps, but you can try just spending a week on meat and veggies, rice or potatos....everything as plain as you can make it. See if that makes a difference for you. Then add something back in and eat it frequently for a couple of days. You could also try a food allergy panel from somewhere like York Nutrition Labs.....that is what I finally did and found the 10 things that I just can't eat. That cured my problems at least (along with assorted tummy trouble that even gluten-free diet didn't cure).

Hope this helps.

Jen