New Weird Symptoms

[Terbie]

I've been off gluten for several months now and I've been feeling a million times better, but lately I've been getting weird symptoms. I think it might be related to something that I'm eating, but I'm not sure what it is because I can't seem to find the source.

Basically, I will all of a sudden feel nervous, then my palm start itching and then my hands start to tremor slightly. I get anxious, I can't sit still, and I feel paranoid. It will last several hours. If I take Benadryl then it all goes away, so obviously it's related to that in some way.

I don't get these symptoms when I'm glutened. Any thoughts as to what it might be and what I should do about it? Allergy testing perhaps?

[lizard00]

If you think it's an additional intolerance or an allergy, I would first recommend keeping a food journal in detail. What you ate, when you ate, and any kind of reaction or strange feeling. Sometimes the reactions can be the next day rather than immediate, so being able to look back over the course of a week or so will be able to give your a broader perspective and a much clearer answer.

[RiceGuy]

Aside from the fine suggestion given in the previous post, my thoughts are deficiencies or candida.

Many have experienced twitching, restlessness, etc, because of a deficiency in one or more nutrients. I do know that magnesium and methylcobalamin (B12) are very vital to nerve health, so that's where I'd start. They certainly worked for me.

However, the itching sounds sorta like a candida infection, so I wouldn't rule that out either. It's certainly possible that there are multiple issues.

If you can give a general outline of the types of foods you eat, perhaps someone can help shed more light on it.

[Terbie]

I'll do a food journal and see what that says.

I know that I had a pretty bad reaction to when I ate tofu with Thai Kitchen green curry with rice. That's the worse one I've had so far, but I eat tofu and rice all the time and I've never noticed it to be a problem.

Do most allergies or reactions take a day or two to take effect?

[Terbie]

Aside from the fine suggestion given in the previous post, my thoughts are deficiencies or candida.

Many have experienced twitching, restlessness, etc, because of a deficiency in one or more nutrients. I do know that magnesium and methylcobalamin (B12) are very vital to nerve health, so that's where I'd start. They certainly worked for me.

However, the itching sounds sorta like a candida infection, so I wouldn't rule that out either. It's certainly possible that there are multiple issues.

If you can give a general outline of the types of foods you eat, perhaps someone can help shed more light on it.

What is candida? I've never heard of it and I'm having a hard time finding it's symptoms online.

I eat mostly mexican food and eastern asian food now that I don't eat gluten. I think it happens more when I eat asian food, so it might be related to soy or some sort of a asian spice.

How does one figure out if they have a deficiency? Do you just start taking vitamins and see if it helps?

[aprilh]

Could be MSG. Be sure you tell them NO MSG. Msg can be hidden under many other names.

MSG gives me wierd symptoms.

But, I did used to get this way when I had a really bad candida infection. Anything with the slightest amount of sugar would set it off. A lot of Asian food has vinegars and sugars that could cause symptoms.

[lizard00]

I know that I had a pretty bad reaction to when I ate tofu with Thai Kitchen green curry with rice. That's the worse one I've had so far, but I eat tofu and rice all the time and I've never noticed it to be a problem.

Could it be something in the curry?

Reactions can most definitely be delayed. I have a mild egg white allergy, which takes a few hours for me to have a reaction. Took me a while to figure that one out, especially if I wasn't eating eggs but egg whites were a main ingredient in something I didn't realize. And when I get glutened, I might not necessarily feel it right away. Sometimes it's the next day before I get the "lazies" and a throbbing head.

And check out this website for Candida

Open Original Shared Link

[Simply-V]

Basically, I will all of a sudden feel nervous, then my palm start itching and then my hands start to tremor slightly. I get anxious, I can't sit still, and I feel paranoid. It will last several hours. If I take Benadryl then it all goes away, so obviously it's related to that in some way.

What you're describing sounds like an allergic reaction. The anxiety, itchiness, and paranoia.. you probably had an increased heartrate as well. That it went away with Benadryl is also a good sign that it's allergy and not an intolerance, deficientcy, or candida.

Candida gets blamed for a lot of things btw, and there are two camps of view on Candida. One view is that Candida is the instigator, the second view is that Candida is the symptom. I'm of the view that Candida is the symptom. Candida is generally in everyone nearly all the time, the only reason it gets out of control is that something else in the body is wrong causing the body chemistry to change allowing the Candida to grow out of control. Sometimes this is a result of mismanaged or undianosed Celiac, or undiagnosed food allergies, or a thyroid condition. Once the underlying condition is managed properly or cured, then the body returns to its normal chemistry which kills of the Candida naturally.

You can try a Candida diet and see if it helps, but generally this is a temporary solution and you'll find that the "Candida" just keeps coming back. (Or that the diet was of no help at all)

I'd really recommend the food diary, and keep watch out for soy and corn (and milk if you're still eating it) as these seem to be the most problematic allergens associated with Celiac. It could also be MSG as someone mentioned, so you may want to try MSG-Free versions of foods first, then trial one with MSG and see what happens.

Food Allergy testing might also be a good idea, especially if your insurance covers it. As that might help you narrow down some suspects. Skin Prick testing for foods is probably your best bet, as the reaction you described seemed more of a mild allergic reaction so it may not show up on a RAST test yet.

Based your symptoms, a worsening reaction for you may include (things to watch out for): inability to think, speak, respond to stimuli, trouble breathing, full blown panic attack, inability to comprehend accurately, pinkish-red skin that is itchy and turns white when itched to full blown hives, inability to stand/walk (may look like a drunk). Of course, you can never rule out Anaphylaxis.

I'd recommend carrying some liquid benadryl with you or having it handy during/after meals... just in case, until you figure this out.

Good Luck.

[nosoyforme]

I've been off gluten for several months now and I've been feeling a million times better, but lately I've been getting weird symptoms. I think it might be related to something that I'm eating, but I'm not sure what it is because I can't seem to find the source.

Basically, I will all of a sudden feel nervous, then my palm start itching and then my hands start to tremor slightly. I get anxious, I can't sit still, and I feel paranoid. It will last several hours. If I take Benadryl then it all goes away, so obviously it's related to that in some way.

I don't get these symptoms when I'm glutened. Any thoughts as to what it might be and what I should do about it? Allergy testing perhaps?

Hi There,

I would recommend watching your soy intake. I had similar symptoms as you. Anxiety, paranoia, tingling in hands and feet, heart palpitations, etc.etc. And these symptoms just started happening to me over the last 2 years. I used to be able to eat Soy, my family are all vegetarians. One day I decided to do a cleanse to figure out my issue and during the cleanse I was allowed to drink Soy Milk. As soon as I drank the soy milk I had the reactions!! It was then that I realized that I ate so much soy and most without even realizing it in crackers, breads, packaged goods, dressings, chinese food, japanese. I also ate Pad Thai with tofu and just had an immediate reaction - I took one bite and thought I was going to throw up or pass out. I was very dizzy and lightheaded, I couldn't eat another bite. Then the heart palpitations and axiety.

I stopped eating soy and noticed an instant improvement. The symptoms were gone. It took a while to be able to know what to order at restaurants etc. but now I'm a pro.

I also found that my B12 was a little on the low side so started taking a B vitamin.

I had allergy tests and nothing showed. The allergest said with that, that he would have to call it an "intollerance" and not an allergy, meaning that I cannot actually die from it. For me, I'm fine with it. I know if I eat something and then have a reaction, I go back and look at the ingredients and sure enough, there was soy in it.

Anyway, try it out. I had a horrible time trying to figure all of this out on my own so hopefully you will have some instant relief from my trials and tribulations.

Good luck and would love to hear back.

[covsooze]

Terbie, it does sound like an allergic reaction if Benadryl helped, but I just want to sound a note of caution for other readers. There are so many things that these symptoms could be a sign of, so get checked out properly. eg I get these symptoms and my new dr thinks it's because I'm not absorbing my thyroid meds properly.

I hope you manage to get to the bottom of it Terbie.

[AliB]

I have noticed this an awful lot on the forum, that many who have felt better after going gluten free then start to regress and get other alarming symptoms. Nearly every other post seems to be about the same problem!

I keep posting about this but I am determined to get the message out!

Our biggest problem is not just gluten and dairy, but carbohydrates per se.

I have been doing a lot of research about this since my digestion collapsed and have figured out why. I stopped gluten and dairy, and although I got immediate relief from the awful stomach pain, I still had other issues - my problems were due to more than just gluten and dairy. I was still getting problems even with gluten-free flours and products and I knew it wasn't to do with hidden gluten. I was determined to get to the bottom of this, as I could not continue the way I was going.

I have always been aware that I had a problem with carbohydrates - I just didn't know what to do about it until now. It took the collapse of my stomach to really focus my mind on to the solution.

We ingest a huge amount of carbohydrates - continuously, and it is killing us.

What I have discovered and just started is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It eliminates all di-saccharides (sugar and dairy) and poly-saccharides (grains and starches) which our bodies cannot process properly due to over-consumption and the consequent damage to our intestines.

It focuses instead on simple carbs (mono-saccharides) - honey, very well fermented yogurt (over 24 hours which ensures that the lactose and casein is completely broken down and also provides a much higher concentration of good bacteria), fresh fruit, nuts and most vegetables (except potatoes and other root vegetables - carrots are fine) and proteins, fish, fowl and meat. Honey can be used for sweetening although it and fruits should be limited for a while until bacterial over-growth is under control.

I know there are one or two foods that would not come into this category that I also have problems with, like eggs, but I also am aware that this is due to the damage to my gut. I will have to avoid those items for a while until my gut starts to heal and then I should be able to tolerate them. I could not cope with meat for a while but am managing to do that now.

Moving on to a gluten and/or dairy-free diet will help for a while and the gut may even start to improve because some of the antagonistic carbohydrate has been removed. But many then start to replace the gluten with other less common forms of carbohydrate and things will jolly along for a while until those carbohydrates also start to become antagonistic.

The cycle goes on and on - every time someone develops yet another problem with a carbohydrate they change again to different ones, until there aren't any left - which is where they should have been in the first place - avoiding all carbs so that the gut can heal properly. By that time, the gut is so badly damaged, there is little left for them to eat, including non-carbohydrates, because the gut cannot cope with hardly anything!

Most find when they have been on this diet for a while that they can eventually cope with some more complex carbohydrates - unbelievably some who are Celiac have even been able to tolerate a limited amount of gluten-based foods. (This may sound controversial, but there is a school of thought that suggests that whilst gluten is a major factor in Celiac disease, the problem may be more to do with general carbohydrate intolerance of which gluten is only one aspect. That could explain why some who are diagnosed with Celiac do not develop the disease. Perhaps their bodies have either an in-built ability to cope with the carbohydrates, or they consume a diet that naturally limits carbohydrate consumption including gluten, so they are not developing damage to their intestines. It could quite logically also explain why so many Celiacs also have major problems with so many other foods - many of them either carbohydrates or foods that would be bacterial antagonists or support, like yeasts)

The trick, once healed, is not to go back to constant ingestion of these foods. They should be in their proper place as an occasional indulgence, not an all-day, every-day consumption. The sad thing is that many people are oblivious to the damage they are doing to their bodies. They would not know what a carbohydrate was even if it hit them in the face! They just carry on stuffing it in, and blow the consequences! Look at any community that does not consume a high-carbohydrate, high-sugar diet - they do not get anything like the sicknesses and diseases that we do.

Terbie, although it may appear to be an allergic-type reaction, it is possible that your symptoms are due to a toxic reaction from bacterial overgrowth (candida or other invasive bacteria). The toxins can build up until a histamine response is triggered. Ultimately though it is far more likely to be due to carbohydrates. We are just not designed to eat anything like the amount that we do in our 'Western' diet.

Interestingly, many who have done, or are on this diet have found that the first things to improve are nerve and brain problems - brain fog, confusion, anxiety, depression, paranoia, even cases of schizophrenia have been vastly improved or even 'cured'! Great success is being achieved with stomach and bowel disorders including Celiac and also with Autism and ASD. Into the bargain people are finding that all sorts of other illnesses and problems are sorting themselves out, too - arthritis and other joint problems, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, migraines, etc., etc. Even the Medical Profession is starting to sit up and take notice and many doctors are now recommending this diet to their patients.

I have been trawling through the 188 different reviews of Elaine Gottschall's book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle and it is amazing to see all the people who have found such incredible improvement on this. I just want to tell everyone!!!