Change In Symptoms

[Kate107]

I'm on a gluten challenge diet now, getting ready for blood tests. I had one set of tests, but my doctor and I didn't know I needed to eat gluten before the tests, and I had been avoiding it. The thing is, some of my initial symptoms have tapered off and the ones I'm left with are probably the less typical ones. For instance, the random bouts of diarrhea and the multiple BM's per day are wa-a-a-y down. The frequency (but not the abominable smell) of the gas is down quite a bit, too. The bloating is still there, I think, but I can't tell because I'm so puffy from water retention, and I've gained 8 pounds in a very short period of time. On the other hand, I can't remember when I've been so jittery. I wake up jittery and go to bed just as shaky, as if I've had caffeine pumped into me intravenously all day. I take medication for anxiety and all of a sudden it has no effect. I also have this annoying itchy feeling inside my palms and fingers, and in the soles of my feet. It's not on the skin - it feels like it's way inside, and nothing relieves it. It's torture. I eat voraciously which is something I've done before and always thought was a binge eating disorder, except that when I was doing my best to be gluten free, I never binged and didn't feel any urge to do so. I'm also having soaking night sweats as if I were in menopause, or something, but I'm only 39 and have no other signs of early menopause. Did anybody else experience anything like this, or am I really just having some sort of psychosomatic food problem?

[tarnalberry]

If you're anxious about doing the gluten challenge, you're more likely to get psychosomatic symptoms, but that doesn't mean that's the sole explanation for what you're experiencing either. I know that I've seen those symptoms listed on here before, and the last one in particular is perfectly reasonable if your body is no longer absorbing nutrients well. Good luck, and I hope your gluten challenge will be over quickly!

[darlindeb25]

Kate---believe it or not--it could be menopause too--many women go through menopause at your age and i have readmany times that many celiac women do go through menopause at a younger age--i was a little older then you--probably 42 when i started down that road and by 46 yrs of age--i was through it--it was a christmas party 4 yrs ago that i had my last hot flash and it was a biggie----i turned bright red and sweat poured off of me--i havent had one since--my mom told me that i had blew my thermostat and did i want a new one----NO WAY--hehe---so, it could be that too----deb

[Iheartbostons]

Are you getting enough carbs in your diet. If not that will make you shaky. Have you noticed that you have stinky armpits and bad breath? Sound weird but I was on atkins and had alot of those symptoms.

[jools]

This is odd. I, too have been put back on gluten for a month due to what the dr. thinks is a false negative test result (I had put myself on a gluten-free diet a while back). Since I have re-introduced gluten into my diet (I haven't gone crazy with it, it makes me too ill so I just do it very moderately) I have a little shift in symptoms. The most noticable one is sweaty palms and armpits. I don't know if it is stress induced or not, this whole health thing has been driving me crazy for months though, I am just so worried about all of the possiblities.

I also think that since I have gone gluten free and now consuming it again, I might have developed an intolerance or allergy to dairy? It seems that the sweaty palms occur after ingesting milk. I also get really naseous and tired after eating anything with dairy or gluten. Man I am going crazy trying to figure all of this out.

Anyone else get sweaty palms and or armpits?

[Kate107]

I haven't noticed the armpits being really, really sweaty, but I load on the antiperspirant (not plain deoderant) anyway. I do get sweaty feet and hands, even when they feel ice cold, and I think I get hot and sweaty more easily in general. I haven't noticed being stinky (other than that abominable gas!) except that now, when I work out I can't stand the way I smell by the time I'm done. I mean I always work up a sweat when I exercise, but it never seemed unusually smelly before. Now it's like all the toxic stuff in my body is pouring out of my sweat glands.

About the early menopause - I know it can happen at my age, but I really don't think that's the explanation this time. Everything else about my cycles is too text book normal. Also, I've read that most women go through menopause around the same age as their mother and that early menopause occurs mostly for women who started having periods when they were pretty young. I hadn't heard that about celiac, though.

Jools, I've read that the stuff that digests lactose (can't think of the word - long parenting day ) is produced by the same villi that get blunted by celiac disease, so lactose intolerance can very often follow celiac disease. According to what I read, though, many people can tolerate lactose again after being on a gluten free diet long enough for their intestines to heal. (Check out Wheat Free, Worry Free by Danna Korn. That's where I read about it.)

Oh, here's another one. I recently heard something about celiac disease causing elevated prolactin levels in some people. During one fertility work up about 8 years ago I had elevated prolactin and my doctor did an MRI to check some gland or something, but everything came out fine. I think I took some kind of medicine for a short time to solve the problem. I honestly can't remember. I never had the prolactin level checked again and I did get pregnant eventually, so I never thought about it again. Anyway, raises another question mark in my head, but elevated prolactin??? Anybody else ever heard of that?