Other Intolerances Go Away As Intestines Heal, Or Are Forever?

[ar8]

I am just embarking on the gluten free journey, and am not really sure if I have other intolerances. I know I don't feel 100% yet, but of course am not sure if it's just that the gluten damage takes a long time to go away, of if there are other intolerances at play here. The obvious offenders would be dairy and soy (and I eat both). I know the safe route would be to just say goodbye until symptoms go away and then try to reintroduce the others later....anyway, I just wanted to get some info from those here who have already healed. If you had sensitivities to other proteins when first recovering, did they then later go away after your intestines healed, or do they continue to be a problem for you in the same way gluten is, in that they continue to damage your intestines? I guess this is more of a survey than a "how does the science work" question since I know the answer is, we are all different....I am more trying to figure out the odds. I am hoping I only need to give up gluten, not the whole sch'bang!

[Guest Lore]

I am just embarking on the gluten free journey, and am not really sure if I have other intolerances. I know I don't feel 100% yet, but of course am not sure if it's just that the gluten damage takes a long time to go away, of if there are other intolerances at play here. The obvious offenders would be dairy and soy (and I eat both). I know the safe route would be to just say goodbye until symptoms go away and then try to reintroduce the others later....anyway, I just wanted to get some info from those here who have already healed. If you had sensitivities to other proteins when first recovering, did they then later go away after your intestines healed, or do they continue to be a problem for you in the same way gluten is, in that they continue to damage your intestines? I guess this is more of a survey than a "how does the science work" question since I know the answer is, we are all different....I am more trying to figure out the odds. I am hoping I only need to give up gluten, not the whole sch'bang!

I am only speaking of experience from being on a gluten-free diet since July 2007. Since then, I am sure there are a handful of times that I have been accidentally "glutenized", however, I have definitely developed some other food allergies. Personally, I don't quite understand why the food allergies develop AFTER being gluten-free, however I may have had them all along and am becoming more aware of them once I cut gluten out. Anyway, my point is that since July, I have developed a higher sensitivity to dairy, nuts - especially almonds- and most recently, CORN. I notice that when I keep those things out of my diet, I feel a lot better(basically, my stomach doesn't pop out like I'm 5 months pregnant by the end of the night, which was happening on a regular basis for 2 mos until I finally cut out those three!)

Long story short, I don't know if you can relate to this or not, but I believe that it takes time. As I've read before, Celiac Disease requires LOTS of patience, even more than you think. You have to be willing to meet your body much more than half way and keep on keepin' on even when nothing seem to work. Listen to your body and you will figure it out. Try cutting out dairy and soy for a week or so and see how you feel. Keeping a food diary has really helped me notice when I cut things out how it makes me feel, and also keeps me looking out for other possible alternatives.

Some common allergies that Celiacs develop are dairy, soy, nuts, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, apples, cucumbers... try to imagine your stomach digesting these things, they all seem either very firm and hard to break down, or contain seeds or something... maybe try to stay away from those? I did that for about 2 weeks and ruled out a lot of things.

Good luck, I hope that this helped!!!!

Lore

[ar8]

I am only speaking of experience from being on a gluten-free diet since July 2007. Since then, I am sure there are a handful of times that I have been accidentally "glutenized", however, I have definitely developed some other food allergies. Personally, I don't quite understand why the food allergies develop AFTER being gluten-free, however I may have had them all along and am becoming more aware of them once I cut gluten out. Anyway, my point is that since July, I have developed a higher sensitivity to dairy, nuts - especially almonds- and most recently, CORN. I notice that when I keep those things out of my diet, I feel a lot better(basically, my stomach doesn't pop out like I'm 5 months pregnant by the end of the night, which was happening on a regular basis for 2 mos until I finally cut out those three!)

Long story short, I don't know if you can relate to this or not, but I believe that it takes time. As I've read before, Celiac Disease requires LOTS of patience, even more than you think. You have to be willing to meet your body much more than half way and keep on keepin' on even when nothing seem to work. Listen to your body and you will figure it out. Try cutting out dairy and soy for a week or so and see how you feel. Keeping a food diary has really helped me notice when I cut things out how it makes me feel, and also keeps me looking out for other possible alternatives.

Some common allergies that Celiacs develop are dairy, soy, nuts, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, apples, cucumbers... try to imagine your stomach digesting these things, they all seem either very firm and hard to break down, or contain seeds or something... maybe try to stay away from those? I did that for about 2 weeks and ruled out a lot of things.

Good luck, I hope that this helped!!!!

Lore

Thanks Lore....interesting the way things go-- not sure either why we would develop other intolerances as we heal! maybe we are eating more of those things since we can't eat bread?? Perhaps it would help to rotate our replacement foods more.

Anyone else have any opinions on this?

[Sweetfudge]

after I went gluten-free, I had a hard time digesting dairy. I cut it out of my diet for like 6 months, then slowly brought it back. Was ok for awhile, but now I think I'm starting to react to it again...all I know is lactaid helps, but if I slip up and eat dairy w/out it, I get so sick! Totally annoying!

[silk]

I like what Lore said about the food diary. That makes a lot of sense and although I have seen it here before (I've been gluten-free since mid-November) I have yet to utilize it but I am seriously considering it. I felt really great for a couple of weeks after cutting out all of the gluten, with the exception of a couple of episodes of unexpected gluten sneak attacks. Then I started to notice some of my symptoms were recurring and I knew that I had been meticulously gluten-free so I took the advice from this panel and cut dairy, soy, nuts, tomatoes and peppers, salads and hard fruits like apples and pears, and have felt better than I have for years. I have slowly added back salad and soy which so far I am tolerating. I also added back nuts in the past few days and am noticing some G I problems so back to the drawing board. Keeping track of what goes in and what comes out so that you can look for patterns just makes good sense.

Like you, I am hoping that most of the things can be added back after time. They say that patience is a virtue. ?????? I'm betting that person did not have Celiac's Disease! I am Catholic, and while I am not opening a discussion about religion, when people ask what I've given up for lent, I tell them eating anything that tastes good and that lent will last for the rest of my life!

Lore, you mention problems digesting the firmer veggies and fruits, which I would agree with. Heavy meat like steak seems to be a problem too. I know some people have suggested papaya enzymes to aid digestion. Has anyone here noticed that they helped at all with these harder-to-digest items? I can't say that I really noticed it when I was eating them but since I'm not eating them anymore and not taking the enzymes either, I just wondered if it made a difference for anyone else?

[ar8]

I like what Lore said about the food diary. That makes a lot of sense and although I have seen it here before (I've been gluten-free since mid-November) I have yet to utilize it but I am seriously considering it. I felt really great for a couple of weeks after cutting out all of the gluten, with the exception of a couple of episodes of unexpected gluten sneak attacks. Then I started to notice some of my symptoms were recurring and I knew that I had been meticulously gluten-free so I took the advice from this panel and cut dairy, soy, nuts, tomatoes and peppers, salads and hard fruits like apples and pears, and have felt better than I have for years. I have slowly added back salad and soy which so far I am tolerating. I also added back nuts in the past few days and am noticing some G I problems so back to the drawing board. Keeping track of what goes in and what comes out so that you can look for patterns just makes good sense.

Like you, I am hoping that most of the things can be added back after time. They say that patience is a virtue. ?????? I'm betting that person did not have Celiac's Disease! I am Catholic, and while I am not opening a discussion about religion, when people ask what I've given up for lent, I tell them eating anything that tastes good and that lent will last for the rest of my life!

Lore, you mention problems digesting the firmer veggies and fruits, which I would agree with. Heavy meat like steak seems to be a problem too. I know some people have suggested papaya enzymes to aid digestion. Has anyone here noticed that they helped at all with these harder-to-digest items? I can't say that I really noticed it when I was eating them but since I'm not eating them anymore and not taking the enzymes either, I just wondered if it made a difference for anyone else?

haha--thank god for some nice replacements man has come up with, such as almond milk...gluten-free/cf goodies, etc., but its true that it;s a bummer not to be able to go into a restaurant and order "anything that looks good" even on your birthday!

[itchygirl]

Also, has anybody tried pancreatic digetive enzymes? They are available prescription and over the counter. There are stool tests to show if you are actually digesting meat or fat. Not the most fun test in the world...

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Check for poor absorption of nutrients by the digestive tract (malabsorption syndrome). For this test, all stool is collected over a 72-hour period and then checked for the fat and meat fibers. This test is called a 72-hour stool collection or quantitative fecal fat test.