I Really Need Some Advice

[feelingbetter]

I am 45 and have been gluten-free for 2 months and cf for 1 month. I tested positive for both through enterolab. I no longer have the constipation or chronic body pain and that I had on a daily basis. Thank heavens.

My ongoing problem is extreme fatigue, shakiness, weakness, shortness of breath and more headaches and migraines than usual. I seem to be in a constant low sugar state no matter what I eat or drink. I have cut out all sugar , corn, soy as well. I basically eat brown rice, vegs, meat , eggs , almonds and maybe 5 pieces of fruit per week.

The only thing I wonder about is perhaps this is a die-off of candida due to the diet change. I am not able to do the dishes or much of anything anymore. Things seem to get worse for me as time goes on.

I have gone through all cosmetics etc. I do not eat out and our entire house is gluten-free/cf as my husband is also newly diagnosed.

I honestly feel like I am dying. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Brenda

[Aleshia]

I don't know much about this and I could be wrong... but if you have low blood sugar aren't you supposed to drink orange juice or suck on some hard candy or something?

[Nancym]

Two things I recommend you check are your glucose levels and your blood pressure. Low blood pressure can make you feel a bit hypoglycemic, dizzy, lightheaded and stuff. You could conceivably have fine or even highish fasting blood glucose (BG) and feel hypoglycemic. This is called "false hypoglycemia". Basically your body is used to a higher BG and sends out adrenaline when it falls. This isn't a good thing, it goes along with Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes.

You can buy a glucose meter and check it yourself. Or you might want to see your doctor and take a glucose tolerance test.

Here's a great web site for things relating to blood sugar: Open Original Shared Link

Real hypoglycemia generally only happens to people injecting insulin, although there is something called reactive hypoglycemia which has something to do with a malfunctioning organ (I'm sketchy on the details).

For the migraines, you might want to look into Dr. McClearly's book. Here is his blog and the details about his book are there: Open Original Shared Link

Finally, you might just want to go see your doctor and report this list of symptoms.

[feelingbetter]

Thanks for the replies. I have been eating every couple of hours to try and keep the blood sugar steady. I have always had low blood pressure.

I had all of my blood work done 6 weeks ago. Blood sugar was fine I was told. I keep wondering if my liver needs a good detox.

This blood sugar problem sort of comes and goes.

Has anyone had good success with a liver cleanse?

[YoloGx]

Thanks for the replies. I have been eating every couple of hours to try and keep the blood sugar steady. I have always had low blood pressure.

I had all of my blood work done 6 weeks ago. Blood sugar was fine I was told. I keep wondering if my liver needs a good detox.

This blood sugar problem sort of comes and goes.

Has anyone had good success with a liver cleanse?

I certainly have. Your symptoms sound like mine a while ago. Taking co-enzyme B vitamins made a huge difference for me. I like the ones from Country Life best since they have no sorbitol. Best taken away from food on an empty stomach like late at night or first thing in the morning. Helped me with my heart and nerves as well as the low blood pressure. It also helped me to detox better since I could handle more stresses to my system.

Good gentle detox would be to take dandelion root or milk thistle (silymarin) caps. If you can handle it and have no D, you could take either yellow dock or Oregon grape root. You can alternate the herbs every week or so. In addition, if you need to clear you lymphs, cleavers is the best herb around for that. Its easy to use and cheap. I just want to warn you should use it with the dandelion etc. so the toxins passing through your intestines don't weird you out too much.

Drink lots of water, eat lots of cooked vegetables. Eat some meat. Avoid most grains til you are better.

Try also taking marshmallow root and/or slippery elm caps to soothe and heal your intestines.

Try grinding 1 tablespoon flax seed with 1/4 tsp. apple pectin in a coffee grinder, add to glass of water and mix in, drink and then chase with more water. This will also help you detox by pulling out excess toxins and waste matter from the walls of your intestines. It also acts as a good, gentle bulking agent.

You can also buy some healing clay and mix it with water and a little apple cider vinegar (1 to 2 tablespoons) and apply the mud to your hands and feet. It will draw out toxins through your skin.

Saunas also work well--but only after you have licked the low blood pressure problem.

Exercise is essential even if you don't feel up to it, which you probably don't. However it will really help.

If you are still out of it, consider getting your adrenals and thyroid checked. A variety of herbs can help the adrenals--ask back if that is still a concern.

Hope this helps!

Bea

[feelingbetter]

Yolo- Thanks! A couple of questions. I have an organic bowel cleanse from renew life that has flaxseed, marshmello, rhubarb root, slippery elm and some other things. It is a 30 day cleanse. I also bought a liver detox from same company that has milk thistle, phosphatidl choline, dandelion root and lots of other things. Do you think I should cleanse the bowel for 30 days before I do the liver detox.

I am already weak as a kitten and afraid to do anything at this point.

How long did it take for you to feel better while cleansing?

Thanks Brenda

[YoloGx]

Yolo- Thanks! A couple of questions. I have an organic bowel cleanse from renew life that has flaxseed, marshmello, rhubarb root, slippery elm and some other things. It is a 30 day cleanse. I also bought a liver detox from same company that has milk thistle, phosphatidl choline, dandelion root and lots of other things. Do you think I should cleanse the bowel for 30 days before I do the liver detox.

I am already weak as a kitten and afraid to do anything at this point.

How long did it take for you to feel better while cleansing?

Thanks Brenda

Well if it were me I would avoid anything with rhubarb root. It tends to give one D big time. However if you have constipation it might be OK though it can be addicting if taken too often. I also had trouble with complicated formulas given my sensitive system. I found less and gentle is better as long as what I do does the job. Also, as a note, in general its better to have fresh flaxseed if you want the benefit of Omega 3's .

However your body knows best -- so just as an experiment, since you already have the 30 day cleanse, you could try a bit of it and see if it agrees with you or not. You just might luck out and have the perfect remedy.

As far as for me, I have detoxed with herbs etc. on and off for years. I have had problems with my kidneys and liver in part as a result of leaky gut due to celiac. I only found out I really needed the co-enzyme B vitamins 2 years ago. It made a huge difference in my ability to detox using saunas etc. I also didn't know until November that I needed to avoid all trace glutens or even that there were trace glutens in a whole variety of things including shampoos, lotions and lipsticks etc. I was also using herbal tinctures that had grain alcohol in them which again is a no no. I am certain this fact made my recovery take longer than usual with detoxing.

However since I did detox so much (though very gradually) it helped me be less ill and weak than I otherwise would have been. It now helps me not react as heavily to gluten if I get CC'd. It also helps against the great variety of foods etc. that I still react to due to residual leaky gut syndrome. By the way, I found just the other day that taking Gluten-zyme really helps against trace glutens and the occasional mistake--though I wouldn't want to depend on it all the time.

I am hopeful that this whole gluten thing will become less and less of a problem for me as time goes on. With the detox remedies, the marshmallow root etc., and the enzymes including nattokinase (or serrapeptidase) and bromelain/papain (which gets rid of scar tissue), vitamin D and minerals plus a good diet, my health seems to be on a real path upwards despite being 58 years old and having had celiac since I was 4 months old (diagnosed after I was "failing to thrive"--i.e. ill with pneumonia and not getting well or growing--which fact was then ignored after I was 4 years old and reintroduced to gluten and had fragile health since--although I did grow.

It seems the celiac found different pathways to show itself that was harder to recognize. Though you'd think they would have given I used to (even as a child) be able to peel my fingernails, had canker sores and visions, my feet and calves would burn, my hair was always coming out, my skin was terrible and my ability to do math etc. was definitely erratic--not to speak of constant ill health and foul farts and stools and a prominent abdomen despite otherwise being thin. It wasn't until I was rapidly losing my kidneys as a young adult and discovered that antibiotics definitely were messing with my brain that I discovered the healing power of herbs and eventually diet.

I also found taking B complex helped back then though the regular B complex eventually was not enough as I got older to allay a deteriorating nervous system -- my myelin sheath coveirng the nerves was down 50% 3 years ago. As a result my heart was given to rapid heart beats plus the burning in my calves and feet spread to my hands and forearms was becoming intolerable -- all of which fortunately went away upon taking the co-enzyme B's. Though the pain in my elbows etc. didn't entirely go away until I went off all trace glutens. When I get it back I know I have been CC'd.

I think sometimes some of us just have to keep open to discovering more about ourselves and just acquire the ability to have patience with the belief we will get better plus maintain a sense of humor about the human condition. The right answers aren't always immediately apparent. Sometimes it is an easy fix and for others its more complicated. I try to help others since I inherited a practical scientific caste of mind from my parents that observes and is willing to try things out despite being an artist and writer. It certainly has helped me climb out of my box despite it having taken years. My wish is to help other people not have to suffer needlessly as I did.

[gabby]

Hi,

Here's something to check regarding almonds....

Almonds: they could be the culprit. A good way to check: go to a natural food store and buy a couple pounds of raw whole almonds(no shells)in a sealed bag. Not in bulk. Go home, turn on the oven to 370F, spread the almonds in a safe pan (meaning something that has NEVER had gluten on it). Bake for 15 minutes. Check the oven. If the almonds aren't done yet. Bake for another 10 minutes. They are done when you can smell roasted almonds. Take them out of the oven and let them cool completely for a few hours. You will hear them cracking and popping as they cool. They will be soft at first, but after about 3 hours they will be nice and crunchy. These are excellent tasting. Plus no fat, no salt, no sugar, no wheat starch, no mystery vegetable oil. But all the fibre, calcium, vitamins and minerals are left intact.

When you've finished these off, go back to your old source of almonds and see how you feel. Mind you... the home-baked almonds are so good, you might never go back! Once you get the hang of the baking process, you can let them stay a little longer to the point of being on the edge of being burnt...which makes them fantastically tasty and crunchy......just don't try this the first time or you might end up with charred almonds :-)

Hope that helps!

[trcn]

My ongoing problem is extreme fatigue, shakiness, weakness, shortness of breath and more headaches and migraines than usual. I seem to be in a constant low sugar state no matter what I eat or drink. I have cut out all sugar , corn, soy as well. I basically eat brown rice, vegs, meat , eggs , almonds and maybe 5 pieces of fruit per week.

My exact symptoms, plus nausea and severe dizziness and shaking if I tried to exercise... by exercise I mean 3 minutes at a moderate pace of walking. My thyroid was overactive. Long story there, but thyroid dz and celiac seem to go hand in hand.

Tracy

[Nancym]

My exact symptoms, plus nausea and severe dizziness and shaking if I tried to exercise... by exercise I mean 3 minutes at a moderate pace of walking. My thyroid was overactive. Long story there, but thyroid dz and celiac seem to go hand in hand.

Tracy

That's true, some of those symptoms do sound like hyperthyroid. I had the shaking. And it tended to make my blood sugar wonky too. But it was more or less constant shaking. Eating soup wasn't fun, watching the spoon tremble in my hand.

I suspect I could have stabilized my blood sugar better by eating more protein and fat versus eating carbohydrates. That just feeds into the vicious cycle of blood sugar increasing, release insulin to deal with it, get hypo feeling and have to start over again.

[jerseyangel]

Just another thought to add to the others--could you be anemic? I had most of your symptoms when I was severly anemic.

[feelingbetter]

Yolo thanks for all of your feedback and sharing your story with us. I cannot believe how much we have all suffered with gluten and some of us dairy. It certainly helps in that I don't feel so alone in all of this.

I will just continue on cautiously with the bowel cleanse. I am putting in an order to vitacost and so I will try the coenzyme b vitamins.

My naturopath has me on adrenal support, betaine hydrochloride, malic acid, salt solution and b12 shots once a week.

I think this will just take more time. I have been very sick and weak for a long time. I just seem to be sicker now that I am off all gluten and dairy. Maybe this is just a period of withdrawal.

Thanks

Brenda

[feelingbetter]

Gabby I am going to try the toasted almonds. I bought my last bunch in a net at the grocery store. Maybe these are my problem.

Tracy thanks- My thyroid was last checked 2 months ago and it was low normal. I think the TSH was 3.

Jersey my iron levels were also low normal.

It seems I am always low normal with everything. Yet I always feel so weak and exhausted. Guess I will just keep on plugging.

Brenda

[jparsick84]

I was having some of the same symptoms with artificial sweeteners - you said you cut out sugar, but it might be worth a double check that you're cutting out artificial sweeteners too.

[YoloGx]

I do hope your energy starts to grow. It took me quite a while too. Just have faith and keep a food etc. journal to help make sense of it all. Taking your pulse helps too. If its rapid sometimes and slow others its often a sign of additional allergies--assuming you haven't just exercised or gotten upset

I too have low normal blood pressure and poor circulation. Just started taking butchers Broom caps to see if they help the circulation. Its supposed to strengthen the blood vessels. As far as the thyroid goes I seem to need to take a little kelp each day. However for some who have DH that would be harmful due to the iodine...

Also wanted to add that some of us (like for me) can't handle eating any nuts including almonds--although almonds aren't as bad as some nuts. Roasting almonds for me does not help. Soaking them helps the most. I do eat sprouted sunflower and pumpkin seeds however. But am direly allergic to sesame...

We are all so very different! and yet there are enough similarities that makes it so we can help each other. Again its the leaky gut problem that mucks it up. Heal the villi in the intestinal wall and eventually you will have fewer symptoms.

Bea