How Do You Know?

[still-fat]

Hi, i'm new to this forum so if this isn't the right place any suggestions of other sites would be helpful.

Last Fall I went to my doctor because I was suddenly gaining weight and experiencing symptoms that seemed like hormones were all of the sudden wacko. I had my thyroid checked and regular blood work done and everything looked normal. She also checked hormone levels - they're in the "Normal" range - but unless we test over and over, she couldn't tell if they're normal for ME (that's what she said anyway) So then I went to a nutritionalist (this was October and I'd gained 12 pounds in 2 weeks and had to wax my lip after just 4 days!!! I'm 30!!! Moods were OOC too - but that could just be b/c my clothes were too tight no matter how little i ate) Anyway - nutritionalist suggested a wheat allergy. I did some web research and I didn't see anything that pointed Wheat to these sorts of symptoms?

So since the fall I've been logging everything i eat, running like crazy (i even ran a 1/2 marathon), and averaging net calories of 1200 - 1600 calories a day. I haven't lost any weight. NONE! I finally decided to try to cut out wheat (following the nutritionalists advise) but it seems like there is hidden wheat in everything - my worry is, how do i know if i'm eating wheat & if my symptoms don't go away - how can i be sure it's not b/c I'm accidentally eating wheat? How long does it take to see symptoms subside once you stop eating wheat? Thanks for any help! This is so frustrating!

[kpyoung24]

hi! and welcome! im pretty new here as well, but i can tell you that the people here are very supportive and knowledgeable!!! as far as the question of hidden wheat/gluten in products, im learning that this stuff is everywhere, and often "disguised" as something else! i don't want to give you mis information so I'll let someone else give more info on that, just be patient and someone WILL chime in. as for the weight gain, i started struggling with the same thing after i had my first child, inability to lose a substantial amount of weight(despite the 1200 calorie diet and 45 mins a day of cardio i was doing), and the onset of hair growth on my chin, lip etc... to say nothing of the moodiness!! finally when i was trying to become pregnant with my second child, and needing assistance, my obgyn did an ultra sound and diagnosed me with PCOS(POLICYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME), symptoms of which include but are not limited to.... sudden and unexplained weight gain, inability to lose weight, mood swings, facial hair growth, infertility, the list goes on. i don't know if you've been checked for this but i just thought i would put it out there. its an EXTREMELY common issue, and just like with celiac, despite the fact that its very common, very few doctors are knowledgeable about it, in fact my regular doctor looked at me and said "what is that " when i put it on my medical history paper. anyway, hope this helps!! good luck to you!!!

[missy'smom]

Welcome.

It's important to learn the difference between a wheat allergy and problems with gluten like celiac disease or gluten intolerance and be tested so you know which one you have. Some people have both. Those with celiac disease have to eliminate wheat, barley,rye and oats. Oats because of cross-contamination and the fact that some don't tolerate them because of a similarity to the gluten protein. Here is a link to a checklist of symptoms for Celiac Disease. Open Original Shared Link

Wheat is require by law to be listed on the label. If it is not listed, there is none in the product. Do read labels carefully to learn about possible cross-contamination. Not all companies will have info. about this on the package but many will. Oats in raw form or as an ingredient in a product that are not certified gluten-free are considered to be contaminated with wheat.

Hidden wheat is not a problem. For Celiacs, hidden gluten is because barley is not required by law to be listed. Here is a list of forbidden ingredients for those on a gluten-free diet. Sometimes we need to contact the manufacturer to ask about the ingedients that could potentially contain barley.

https://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsaf...ents/Page1.html

[AliB]

Yes, I too would add my voice to the possibility of PCOS. The symptoms you are describing sound fairly classic of the syndrome. Mind you, I am pretty sure that PCOS can also be helped by avoiding wheat and even gluten too although it is not the same as Celiac.