Please Help! Glutened For Months... Anyone Else?

[Beth41777]

I was diagnosed with Celiac a year ago. My symptoms are constipation, bloating, gas. (Along with iron def. anemia and who knows what other deficiencies.) I follow the gluten free diet strictly... I am suspect of everything and very careful. It took 2 or 3 months of that for my body to heal. I felt great for awhile, my hemoglobin and iron levels improved quite a bit, just by being on the diet, and my symptoms were greatly improved. (I realize everyone gets a little bloated and gassy now and then regardless of the Celiac.) Anyway I did good for a few months and then back in March we ate out at some restaurants while travelling and I got glutened. I have not felt better since! (4 months!!) I am wondering if it is really taking my body that long to heal and get back to normal or if somewhere along the way I have accidentally ingested more gluten, even though I am extremely careful. This is so frustrating since I feel crummy and want to get pregnant in the next couple of years! Anyone have similar symptoms / experiences? How long did it take for your body to heal? Can you pin point what foods "gluten" you since your symptoms arrive right away and are short lived? (Mine seem to last so long it is very difficult to pin point what I ate that caused the problem.) Any thoughts / ideas? Thanks, Beth

[ShayFL]

Are you eating dairy? Could be that you re-damaged yourself bad enough that the little villi that digests casien arent working. You could try cutting dairy and see if that helps.

[ravenwoodglass]

Add soy to the previous post also. I would eliminate both for a bit and then perhaps challenge after you have been feeling better for a while. I became reactive to both after a severe adverse reaction to an med and after I healed up a bit again dairy issues (casein) became less of a problem. I still avoid soy but may challenge that at a later date. I do get hives from soy now though so I don't think adding that back in is really in my future.

[A-Swiss]

One thing I would check is your pantry. I did even further research on some common things and found out my continued pain was due to a few random items. Land O Lakes butter spread has modified food starch (but not the stick version), and it was in my fruit snacks and mixed nuts (really? why add wheat to mixed nuts?). I was in pain for about 2 weeks and thought I was going crazy (didn't even tell my wife). I cut those out and felt a lot better.

[Beth41777]

Are you eating dairy? Could be that you re-damaged yourself bad enough that the little villi that digests casien arent working. You could try cutting dairy and see if that helps.

Yes, I eat a LOT of dairy acctually. Although I was eating a lot of dairy the first time around. (When I was first diagnosed and went gluten free, and my body did heal while consuming a lot of dairy.) I will consider eliminating dairy, to see if I get any results... I'm just not sure what I will eat!!! Thanks for the advice.

[Beth41777]

One thing I would check is your pantry. I did even further research on some common things and found out my continued pain was due to a few random items. Land O Lakes butter spread has modified food starch (but not the stick version), and it was in my fruit snacks and mixed nuts (really? why add wheat to mixed nuts?). I was in pain for about 2 weeks and thought I was going crazy (didn't even tell my wife). I cut those out and felt a lot better.

Yes, I know what you mean! A month or so ago I discovered that I was eating raw almonds that were "manufactued on equipment that also processes wheat." Grrrr...

[Beth41777]

Add soy to the previous post also. I would eliminate both for a bit and then perhaps challenge after you have been feeling better for a while. I became reactive to both after a severe adverse reaction to an med and after I healed up a bit again dairy issues (casein) became less of a problem. I still avoid soy but may challenge that at a later date. I do get hives from soy now though so I don't think adding that back in is really in my future.

When I first went gluten free the only thing I elminated was gluten (This was 11 months ago when I got diagnosed) and my body healed itself by just eliminating gluten. I wonder if dairy / soy could become a problem now? I suppose anything is possible and I do eat a LOT of dairy, I am just wondering if I cut that and soy out what I will eat!! Seriously, thanks for the advice. I will consider it.

[ravenwoodglass]

When I first went gluten free the only thing I elminated was gluten (This was 11 months ago when I got diagnosed) and my body healed itself by just eliminating gluten. I wonder if dairy / soy could become a problem now? I suppose anything is possible and I do eat a LOT of dairy, I am just wondering if I cut that and soy out what I will eat!! Seriously, thanks for the advice. I will consider it.

There is really a surprising amount of stuff you can still eat, although it may not seem like it at the moment. Fruits and veggies, Bakery on Main makes great granola, rice or hemp milk are good, there are snack foods and stuff although a lot of specialty gluten-free baked goods use soy but Kinnickinnick has some great breads, premade pizza shells that can double as a flat bread and Gluten Free Pantry makes some good cake and bread mixes. There are also meats and chicken and fish, nuts and berries, potatoes, rice. It is daunting at first but if it helps it is worth getting used to.

One more note, you mentioned that you were traveling when you got glutened in some restaurants. Have you taken a stool sample to your doctor? You may not be dealing with a new intolerance but with a bug that you may have picked up in your travels. You may want to make sure your not dealing with a food poisoning or something else that is just hanging on, just to be on the safe side.