Withdrawal Symptoms

[Octoberme]

Hello all, another newbie here. Long story short after MUCH frusteration with doctors and such, I decided to start doing some research and trial and error on my own to help and make my HORRIBLY stomach upsets and BM's disappear. I was missing work all the time, having constant loose stools, horrible gas and stomach pains, etc. etc. It was awkward and embarassing and depressing......all of it. I tried a diet suitable for IBS, yet still had issues ( it basically said to eat a lot of white bread, pasta's etc ). So, then I decided to try and go gluten free. It has only been four days and already i am amazed at how mcuh better I feel. For the first time in a long time I ate dinner....and went right out after. No worries about having to run to the washroom or having horrible stomach pains or anything.

My only complaint however is that since starting this I am having SOME more " annoying " symptoms. I am getting dizzy from time to time, and just generally feel " lethargic ". I am tired most of the time and have little energy, though I do try and push myself. My mood is okay in the sense that I am extatic that I am feeling better, however I am just so " blah " and tired all the time and " foggy headed ".

I am 26 now and back when I was about 18 my doctor did tell me I was lactose intolerant so I have cut dairy from my diet a long time ago. I do have soy milk and the likes now, howver I am told that is okay for gluten free diets? I am a very healthy girl in my opinion, I am a healthy weight, I take caltrate with vitamin D to mak eup for whatever calcium I may not be getting along with a One A Day Weight Smart pill which I am told both of those are gluten free. I work out every morning, I don't smoke, I have an occasional drink ( however am drinking POTATO vodka now ). I am also sticking to complately gluten free.

So, I am not sure why I am having these " symptoms ". Could they be withdrawal? Also, and this may get graphic ( sorry ), before sutting gluten I would always have loose and frequesnt stools. Now, I seem to be more on the constipated side as I have to strain to releive? Is this from cutting gluten? Another more strange new thing that has developed is .....a milky white thick vaginal disharge ( sorry for the graphic )....again I am not sure if this is from cuttin gluten as well?

Any insight from anyone regarding this or withdrawal symptoms they have had woudl be helpful.

Also, I should ask, should someone sutting out gluten maybe try having protein powder ( if they have one that is gluten free ) to curb hunger and help with energy?? Also, does anyone know if WHITE VINAGER or just VINAGER, if on a label, is safe?

Thank you for reading and thank you for this site and these forums. I have had SO much help through reading these!

[loco-ladi]

Dietary response would indicate you should get tested for celiac disease immediately...

if you continue to eat gluten-free the blood test and biopsy will be false negatives, if you dont care to get a positive diagnoses continue to eat gluten-free and enjoy life in general.

also be aware depending on your level of damage to your intestines you may also need to eliminate other foods at least for a short time (6-12 months) such as dairy.

[MELINE]

My only complaint however is that since starting this I am having SOME more " annoying " symptoms. I am getting dizzy from time to time, and just generally feel " lethargic ". I am tired most of the time and have little energy, though I do try and push myself. My mood is okay in the sense that I am extatic that I am feeling better, however I am just so " blah " and tired all the time and " foggy headed ".

Yes I've had that thing when I stopped gluten and I guess it was because my intestine was so so so damaged that I could not get the essential vitamins from the food I was taking. It took me exactly 3 weeks to get my energy back but at the time I started eating HUGE amounts of food and losing wait. Strange things started happening when I quited gluten. But after 3 weeks everything went back to normal. Think that quiting gluten is a great shock for your system and it is trying very hard to get used to the new condition.

As far as the change you noticed in your toilet habits yes it is a fact that gluten may cause you loose stool and when you go gluten-free this changes. For the other questions I have no answer....A! About vinegar I thing you should avoid it but I do not remember why.....(I never liked vinegar) . Someone in the forum has started a topic about vinegar.....you should check it out. (balsamico is for sure a no - no because of the caramel colour which has gluten).

Please be very careful cause in the beggining you may be glutened without noticing. Check your toothpaste, your shampoo, your comsetics and any hidden gluten in food. There is a list with all the ingredients you should avoid, if you want it ask me to post it.

I hope you feel better soon.

Meline

[AliB]

Getting weird symptoms for a while after starting gluten-free is quite common. Gluten is a very addictive neurotoxin so it is common to get withdrawal symptoms. You will also experience detox too.

The 'discharge' suggests to me that you also have a problem with bacterial overgrowth (candida). Because the bacteria feed on the undigested carbs and sugars you eat they will proliferate and cause other problems within the body. I would suggest that you avoid fermented foods for the time being until you can get the bacteria under control and that would include vinegar.

The best and quickest way to get your body back to health is to try and eat as simply as possible. Stick to plain unprocessed meat, fish and poultry with no additives, fresh fruit and vegetables, and a little honey and nuts if you can tolerate them, although it is best if you buy nut in their shells and crack them as shelled nuts can sometimes have molds on them which will encourage the yeast bacteria. You may find it prudent to take some good probiotics or plain good quality probiotic yogurt to replenish the good bacteria (you can have it with fruit and I sometimes sweeten it with a little honey - don't be tempted to eat the flavored 'probiotic' yogurts that are full of sugar and extremely counter-productive - sugar feeds the 'bad' bacteria!).

Try to avoid as much as you can in the way of starches, grain products and particularly sugar. I have been gluten-free for 2 months. As I still had issues with even non-gluten foods particularly carbs, I started to follow the Specific Carbohydrate diet which is based on simple foods as above and within those 2 months I am beginning to feel a lot better. You have to be patient. You will not get better overnight. whilst some issues can resolve quite quickly, others will take longer.

I too had strange things happen after gluten-free - a constant headache for 2 weeks, numb hands and feet, lots of catarrgh and mucous although I was dairy free, stages of different stool types - like you, going from diarrhea to almost constipation, then when I started the SCD very pale and floaty, but they are now settling down into a 'normal' level. I was also very tired and fatigued, but those things have resolved and I am beginning to get my energy back - even at this level it is still tons better than it has been for a long time.

As you start to get the bacteria under control you may also experience die-off and that can also give you some brief unpleasant side-effects - I suspect that is what may have been affecting my stools. The fact that you are getting a discharge now may also be to do with die-off of the bacteria.

I don't worry about protein powder - it is yet another processed food that probably contains chemicals. I would rather just have some protein!

[Octoberme]

Thank you everyone for your replies. This site has been so helpful to me and everyone is so nice here.

I woudl have liked to wait to get tested / a biopsy before going on the gluten free diet however I just could not live with the pain / uncomfort that I was in anymore. I was missing so much work that I was going to get fired, my boyfriend and I were nothe verge of breakup as I was moody and frusterated as to what was going on with me, I was becoming depressed because I was so sick I did nto leave my house and also because I was scared and worried ....

So, I did just have to do something. I am " awaiting " a specialists call for them to set up an appointment for me - in abotu two months :-(

But yes, I also have cut out dairy, actually I have not had dairy for the most part in about 8 years as my doctor told me then I was lactose intolerant. So I am good there.

And as for all other advice / suggestions - THANK YOU. I will for sure be doing my best to follow everything I can and ....lol......be patient :-)

Thanks.

[AliB]

I was in the same place as you when I went gluten-free.

My stomach had been getting worse for some time but in the end I was in so much pain - swallowing antacids by the bucketful and I didn't know what to do with myself. It wasn't until my digestion finally collapsed and I was running with diarrhea that I ended up in the hospital, but although they did an Ultrasound and blood tests, they could find nothing wrong.

Back to the drawing-board I went and after researching on the net came across Celiac. A light-bulb went on as just before she died my Mum had been put on a gluten-free diet in the hospital so her doc obviously suspected it and as I learnt more about it I became sure that she was Celiac.

I went straight down and got blood taken for the test and started gluten-free immediately because I was in so much pain. Within 5 hours the pain had gone, never to be 'seen' again! Like you I could not have waited for a biopsy.

My test was negative. I know that is not definitive but to be quite honest I don't really care - I may be celiac, I may not. Whatever the case I will not be eating gluten again and will be a lot better for it. Unfortunately these days, due to the modification of the wheat and the damage it is doing to all of us, Celiacs do not have the monopoly on health benefits from avoiding gluten.

[tired47]

Yes I've had that thing when I stopped gluten and I guess it was because my intestine was so so so damaged that I could not get the essential vitamins from the food I was taking. It took me exactly 3 weeks to get my energy back but at the time I started eating HUGE amounts of food and losing wait. Strange things started happening when I quited gluten. But after 3 weeks everything went back to normal. Think that quiting gluten is a great shock for your system and it is trying very hard to get used to the new condition.

As far as the change you noticed in your toilet habits yes it is a fact that gluten may cause you loose stool and when you go gluten-free this changes. For the other questions I have no answer....A! About vinegar I thing you should avoid it but I do not remember why.....(I never liked vinegar) . Someone in the forum has started a topic about vinegar.....you should check it out. (balsamico is for sure a no - no because of the caramel colour which has gluten).

Please be very careful cause in the beggining you may be glutened without noticing. Check your toothpaste, your shampoo, your comsetics and any hidden gluten in food. There is a list with all the ingredients you should avoid, if you want it ask me to post it.

I hope you feel better soon.

Meline

Meline,

Please post the list of all ingredients to avoid. This is all a bit confusing to me yet and I am trying hard to stick to a strict gluten free diet ( as well as soy, dairy, no red meat)to see improvement as soon as

possible. And what about the vinegar... the nutritionist told me bragg's apple cider vinegar was okay and actually good for me???

[jmcbride4291]

I told this to other mebers so this may fit.

Open Original Shared Link

Basically from intestinal damge your gut can leak food and beverage particles. This toxify's your body and cuases your immune system to go bizurk because of the foreign bodies and you will feel lousy. Look up on the link I enclosed. Good Luck!