Emotional Topsy-turvy & Fatigue

[clover]

Hello.

I was diagnosed with celiac disease about a year and a half ago. While it was easy for me to eliminate gluten from the food I eat at home, its been too hard to avoid eating out, as Im in graduate school and REALLY busy. Lately, I've been feeling really frustrated and overwhlemed. I know Im busy, but no matter how much rest I get, its never enough. I cry all the time, I feel bloated, heavy, and Im always tired. I feel "normal" about 1/10 of the time. I dont have any more stomach pain and Im relatively regular. I dont eat out carelessly-- I always ask & pray that I can trust the gluten-free word. However, I have yet to truly learn when I have gluten in my body & I have these other symptoms all the time. I know that healing itself can be hard on the body. I've considered other allergies but I cant pinpoint anything. I dont really know whats going on. I've complained to the doctor about this a handful of times and even AFTER I was diagnosed with celiac, she still alwyas recommends the same thing to me: anti-depressants. I feel like I need to go back to the doctor but I dont know how to convince her that I'm not depressed. Does anyone have any suggestions? Maybe another doctor in Chicago? Thoughts on what it could be? Shared experience?

THANK YOU.

[confusedks]

clover,

Hello. I am going through something very similar. I have a lot of other health issues that have been diagnosed and we are trying to manage them, but I do have a lot of other strange symptoms. Fatigue is my biggest complaint and I actually am looking into Lyme disease. I am going to get tested in the next couple days. I am in High School and it's really difficulty to keep up with all these young teenagers who seemingly can do so much more than I can. It is so sad to me. If you ever want to talk, please feel free to pm me. I am having a really sad day today too. I used to be a 4.0 student and now I am barely passing my classes. This is all because of health problems in which I have no control over.

As you can see in my signature, I am free of a lot of foods. I can suggest that you go dairy free. I don't know if you are free of anything else, but soy seems to be a problem for people too. I know it seems like a lot to be free of, but they are in the top 8 allergens and thus have to be listed on products, UNLIKE gluten. So you KNOW if something is dairy free for example and don't have to call 54389574893 manufacturers.

Again, please feel free to PM me if you EVER want to talk. I wish you well!

Kassandra

[Ursa Major]

Kassandra is right, all the symptoms you describe (including the depression) can be caused by dairy and/or soy. It would be wise for you to eliminate those two and then see how you feel. Give it a good try, at least two weeks to a month, before you decide it isn't working.

[ravenwoodglass]

"its been too hard to avoid eating out, as Im in graduate school and REALLY busy."

If there is any way you can eat out less that might help. Do you have a slow cooker so you can throw some stuff in there and just let it cook? Something we do is on days when we do have time we cook big batches of stuff that freezes well so it can just be pulled out and zapped when needed. I try to keep gluten-free snacks like canned fruit, pretzels, dried fruits etc on hand at all times including keeping a baggy or two in the car with my 'trail mix'.

"However, I have yet to truly learn when I have gluten in my body & I have these other symptoms all the time"

You may need to be eating only whole unprocessed naturally gluten free foods for a while. For your body to stop the autoimmune reaction you need to be totally gluten free for a while with no accidents. It doesn't sound like you have ever healed whether because of CC, accidental injestion or non-food sources like cosmetics and toiletries. If you can go with unprocessed food for a bit and see if it helps that may be beneficial. You could eliminate soy and dairy at the same time and then challenge when you feel better. Some find it very hard to go without all the processed stuff we are so used to but it is often needed. If after a couple of months eating for sure gluten-free (and ideally CF, SF) naturally foods you are still having a problems you may want to consult with your doctor.

I hope you get some relief soon, it is so hard to do our best when we feel so awful.

[clover]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the responses. What kinds of things do you make in a slow cooker? Stew? Maybe I should get one. And this week I did have some soy-- and just a little bit of dairy-- so I will try eliminating those things as well. Thanks, Kassandra. And what does PM mean? I just might take you up on that.

[Piccolo]

Clover,

PM= means private message.

Hope that helps.

Susan

[ravenwoodglass]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the responses. What kinds of things do you make in a slow cooker? Stew? Maybe I should get one. And this week I did have some soy-- and just a little bit of dairy-- so I will try eliminating those things as well. Thanks, Kassandra. And what does PM mean? I just might take you up on that.

PM means private message, if you look at the top of the page there is a spot that says New Messages far on the right. Also if you want to send one to someone if you click on the tab beside thier avatar you will get a pull down menu that has a tab to PM someone.

There are a lot of things you can do in a slow cooker, stew is one of my favorites but there are lots of other things also. You can brown a small roast on the stove and place that in one then add the veggies of your choice and it will cook nicely while your out. You can do the same thing with chicken. If you pick up a pot usually they contain recipe booklets that can get you started. Mine was not very expensive, less than $20 and saved me when I was working and had kids home.

[alamaz]

the slow cooker is a life saver! i try to use it three times a week and then i only have to cook maybe those three times plus one other day. you can make practically anything in the slow cooker. they have whole cook books dedicated to recipes. One book I have is called Fix it and Forget it. Some recipes are naturally gluten free, others you need to substitute but it is a good guideline to start with. One of the easiest slow cooker dishes I've done in there is chicken breasts, throw in a can of cranberry sauce (like the kind at thanksgiving) and a can of pineapple chuncks. very tasty! You can also do things like chicken/beef fajitas, meatloaf, and taco meat. I try to avoid the ones that call for browning the meat first because I think that defeats the purpose of the slow cooker but........

I have to say, when I eat out constantly or eat too many gluten-free baked goods/pastas and breads I have the big D, bloating and fatigue. It's best to try and eat those things in moderation even though it's so hard to do that. Do you have a Dinner by Design or similar business by you? Sometimes they can help you make allergy appropriate meals. You go in, make 12 meals at one time, take them home and freeze them. They can be great to have on hand. since i'm assuming it's only you who you have to feed, those 12 meals can be broken up into two or three servings and you double your food just like that.

Where in Chicago are you? I see a great specialist in arlington heights who is very aware of celiac and would probably be easy to work with. I've only seen him for the initial stuff but he was so nice and helpful. I walked out of there feeling better about my diagnosis then I had with my other doctor. I don't know how well informed he is of other allergies/intolerances but for celiac related issues he is good. PM me if want his name.

[loco-ladi]

things to cook in a slow cooker are almost endless, any meat with any veggie and a bit of water or broth a spice or two and you have a huge meal when you get home!

My personal favorites are chicken stew, beef stew, chicken soup, veggie beef soup, gumbo and baked beans, I have also has BBQ ribs that were very tasty.

[JNBunnie1]

Hello.

I was diagnosed with celiac disease about a year and a half ago. While it was easy for me to eliminate gluten from the food I eat at home, its been too hard to avoid eating out, as Im in graduate school and REALLY busy. Lately, I've been feeling really frustrated and overwhlemed. I know Im busy, but no matter how much rest I get, its never enough. I cry all the time, I feel bloated, heavy, and Im always tired. I feel "normal" about 1/10 of the time. I dont have any more stomach pain and Im relatively regular. I dont eat out carelessly-- I always ask & pray that I can trust the gluten-free word. However, I have yet to truly learn when I have gluten in my body & I have these other symptoms all the time. I know that healing itself can be hard on the body. I've considered other allergies but I cant pinpoint anything. I dont really know whats going on. I've complained to the doctor about this a handful of times and even AFTER I was diagnosed with celiac, she still alwyas recommends the same thing to me: anti-depressants. I feel like I need to go back to the doctor but I dont know how to convince her that I'm not depressed. Does anyone have any suggestions? Maybe another doctor in Chicago? Thoughts on what it could be? Shared experience?

THANK YOU.

A really great way to "eat out", if it's not a social thing for oyu and it's just that you're away from home, is to find your local grocer and just buy a package of meat and a package of cheese and some veggies in a bag. If you're really stuck in restaurants, I've found that asking someone to cook plain meat and veggies in a clean pan with just a little oil is usually the safest thing. Chicken usually turns out better with this treatment. I ask to talk to the chef if I have to, if my waiter doesn't seem "with it" enough to relay the message back and forth properly.