Began gluten-free Diet And Feel Miserable!

[Cath724]

I was officially diagnosed this week with Celiac, and on day 2 of a gluten-free diet, I feel miserable! This came as a surprise, for I figured I'd feel better if anything. Is this normal?? I haven't eaten anything that isn't completely gluten-free, nor anything out of the ordinary for me, besides Plenty-O's cereal. I'm very crampy (stomach) and just feel miserably run-down and weak.

PS- I didn't suffer from the usual IBS-type symptoms and was sort of inadvertently diagnosed, so any abdominal discomfort for me is unusual.

Any suggestions/advice?!

Thanks!

[Ursa Major]

Hi Cath, and welcome to this board. Unfortunately, you may be one of those people who get withdrawal symptoms when starting the gluten-free diet. Gluten is very addictive, and many people will feel like going off illegal drugs when going gluten-free.

It could up to two weeks before you start feeling any better. Also, now that you are off gluten, your body may finally realize it can't tolerate dairy, either. It is advisable to eliminate all dairy and soy for the first few months on the gluten-free diet to allow your body to heal.

[Cath724]

Thanks for the welcome! I'm so grateful for this site and all of the many members. I've been reading up on Celiac for a couple of weeks and this is the first I've heard of any type of "withdrawal," so thanks for the info. I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for over 16 years as well, so suffice to say, gluten has been a major staple in my diet until now, so the withdrawal makes sense. I just didn't expect it so soon!

Removing dairy from my diet would be a double wammy right now with my already-limited diet, so I'm going to try to tough it out for awhile and see if the symptoms subside. A withdrawal never even crossed my mind, so thanks!

[ShayFL]

I felt bad for the first month, but then started feeling better. Things healed that I wasnt aware of that was a problem. So dont be surprised if things like your skin looks better, etc. after awhile. Or you have more energy, but didnt realize you were fatigued before.

I def. went through withdrawal. And had GI symptoms when my main symptoms are neurological.

Hang in there. It gets better.

[irish daveyboy]

Hi Cath724,

Here is something you should read, It's entitled

'Adverse reactions to starting a Gluten Free Diet'.

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After you've read through it will all start to make sense.

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Open Original Shared Link

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Best Regards,

David

[Cath724]

Great info, David, thanks for the link! And here I thought I was well read on Celiac-- I have MUCH more to learn yet. I had read of emotional side effects, but never expected to feel so bad--especially only hours into the gluten-free diet!

I have a race planned in a week and a half, so now I'm thinking I should hold off on the gluten-free diet until afterward-- I've put too much work into getting into shape! The rest of my life can wait 2 weeks, I should hope...

[Cath724]

Well, I stuck it out, and felt better already by the next day! All the worrying for nothing, just 2 days of feeling so bad. Just thought I'd share this in case anyone else has a similar experience!

[AndrewNYC]

  Cath724 said:

Well, I stuck it out, and felt better already by the next day! All the worrying for nothing, just 2 days of feeling so bad. Just thought I'd share this in case anyone else has a similar experience!

One of the lucky ones...

[ericjourney]

Cath--

Withdrawal is common, but it should be short-lived. It varies among individuals to include cramping, gas, headache, fatigue, irratibility, etc.

It's common for folks to turn to comfort food and junk food when they initially start a gluten-free diet. Try to be careful to eat lots of lean meats, and fresh fruits and veggies, before turning to "empty calories" like potato or corn chips, which will only make you feel worse during the withdrawal. And try to remember that you're doing this for your health.

We all seem to have no problem running so hard that we're sore the next day. It makes sense to apply that philosophy to diet, right? "No pain, no gain."

[collyflower]

Hi there,

I was really happy to find this thread. I have just come to India to work (I'm from Australia) and was diagnosed a few weeks ago and have probably been purely gluten free for a 10 days now.

About 3 days ago I started to become so emotional, irritable and angry!! I'm ultra sensitive to everything and am craving chapati's/biscuits etc... like crazy I was glad to see that I might be experiencing withdrawals rather than just being unreasonable.

I'm looking forward to feeling 'normal' again.

Erin.

[tmb]

Is it possible that in eliminating gluten you have also avoided yeast products? Since many baked products and simple carbs are wheat based with yeast, you might also be feeling a candida die-off which is well known. Candida feeds off sugars, simple carbs as well as reacting to yeast itself. Reaction to both yeast and wheat commonly occur together.

[Beth41777]

  Cath724 said:

Thanks for the welcome! I'm so grateful for this site and all of the many members. I've been reading up on Celiac for a couple of weeks and this is the first I've heard of any type of "withdrawal," so thanks for the info. I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for over 16 years as well, so suffice to say, gluten has been a major staple in my diet until now, so the withdrawal makes sense. I just didn't expect it so soon!

Removing dairy from my diet would be a double wammy right now with my already-limited diet, so I'm going to try to tough it out for awhile and see if the symptoms subside. A withdrawal never even crossed my mind, so thanks!

Not to discourage you, (or anyone else who is "waiting" to feel better) but it took about 2-3 months of being gluten free before I felt BETTER. Now this may be because my body takes longer to heal or perhaps I was unknowingly ingesting gluten, which happens from time to time. It does get better, just be careful and don't cheat. The smallest amount of gluten is enough to throw your body into "celiac reaction mode." Has this happened to anyone else? I always hear about people feeling better right away or within a few weeks. But not me, and I am CAREFUL. Beth

[tmb]

  Beth41777 said:

Not to discourage you, (or anyone else who is "waiting" to feel better) but it took about 2-3 months of being gluten free before I felt BETTER. Now this may be because my body takes longer to heal or perhaps I was unknowingly ingesting gluten, which happens from time to time. It does get better, just be careful and don't cheat. The smallest amount of gluten is enough to throw your body into "celiac reaction mode." Has this happened to anyone else? I always hear about people feeling better right away or within a few weeks. But not me, and I am CAREFUL. Beth

I have only recently gone gluten free recently so am new to the impact when I cheat or make mistakes. I am assuming that the rate of recovery varies to the severity and duration of the symptoms. My stomach reacts quickly and seems to recover (at least superficially) within a couple of days, my skin (the dermatitis hetc reaction) seems to take longer. My skin was not that advanced and although not entirelly clear yet after just a few weeks, it has improved and I expect it to be clear within another few weeks (assuming no accidents). Within a couple of weeks my digestion has improved significantly, although I have still to see weight coming back, I have read of others to began gaining weight after a month or so.

What I am not clear about is the real impact of accidents and cheating. I assuming that despite stronger reactions due to higher sensitivity, that occasional accidents do not put you back to the starting point. If the some people need to go on a gluten challenge for several months to see intestine damage, this means that a well healed intestine can tolerate a few accidents better than one that is still being continuallly battered.

I am curious to know about your specific symptoms, how long you have had them for etc.