Reintroducing Wheat

[Billygean]

Hi all

Not sure if I'm celiac or not. Blood tests were negative. I had chronic fatigue following mono which was improving before the gluten free diet and continued to improve during. The recovery has sped up but my doctor said this is normal for a chronic fatigue recovery as you get stronger.

Obviously I'd like to know if I can eat wheat. When you reintroduce it - if you are NOT celiac - do you still have to do it slowly, like with dairy, or should I just get a bread bun and eat it!

Billygean

[lizard00]

If you are going to challenge yourself, then you need to eat the equivalent of 1-3 slices of bread, per day, for at least a week. The closer you can get to eating wheat, barley or rye in it's most natural form, the better. If you eat something overly processed, it could be something else you are reacting to.

We don't always have immediate reactions, or even react to an accidental glutening, which is why if you are going to challenge yourself, you need to ingest it daily for a week or two.

Keep us updated!

[Billygean]

So is it fair to say if someone is not celiac they can reintroduce a lot of wheat at once without many/any symptoms?

[gfpaperdoll]

Well, I am gluten intolerant with double DQ1 genes. So I can only speak for myself & maybe the other people that have double DQ1.

I can never eat wheat, rye, oats, or barley again. Unless, I want to kill myself. I have been gluten-free for 4 1/2 years, the best years of my life, so far. I am not going back to half a life. I do not care what any doctor says or thinks, I know what I know. & no, I cannot eat any so called gluten-free oats. I am also allergic to oats. I do not eat soy because I think it is unfit for human consumption. I have strong opinons about what I include in my diet. I do not need confirmation or agreement from anyone else.

I have an extremely difficult time with cross contamination. I also cannot eat grains. A gluten-free grain like corn or rice or the occasional gluten-free home baked treat is a "cheat" for me. I know why, since I recently had the full panel on my mtDNA run.

[aikiducky]

So is it fair to say if someone is not celiac they can reintroduce a lot of wheat at once without many/any symptoms?

I think it depends on what you have been eating to replace it. If your diet has been low on fiber, for example, and you suddenly eat a lot of whole wheat in some form, the increase in fiber might be uncomfortable. And any sudden change in eating habits might give you some digestive symptoms, but I'd think that would pass in a couple days if it's just from changing your diet and not from an actual intolerance. I think.

Pauliina

[lizard00]

I think it depends on what you have been eating to replace it. If your diet has been low on fiber, for example, and you suddenly eat a lot of whole wheat in some form, the increase in fiber might be uncomfortable. And any sudden change in eating habits might give you some digestive symptoms, but I'd think that would pass in a couple days if it's just from changing your diet and not from an actual intolerance. I think.

Pauliina

Yeah, I would agree. If your diet was overall low in fiber, an increase would be uncomfortable. People have varying levels of sensitivity within the world of celiac/gluten intolerance. It greatly depends on your body and your level of sensitivity as to how fast you can determine for sure if gluten is a problem for you or not.

But if you're used to fiber, and you're up for it, get some bulgur and cook it. Eat it like you would rice... wouldn't be much room for doubt with something like that.

I hope you figure it all out!

[Amber M]

Hi all

Not sure if I'm celiac or not. Blood tests were negative. I had chronic fatigue following mono which was improving before the gluten free diet and continued to improve during. The recovery has sped up but my doctor said this is normal for a chronic fatigue recovery as you get stronger.

Obviously I'd like to know if I can eat wheat. When you reintroduce it - if you are NOT celiac - do you still have to do it slowly, like with dairy, or should I just get a bread bun and eat it!

Billygean

Well, were you gluten free when you had the blood test? I was, and it came out negative. Plus I found out I had an outdated test! The challange diet showed me the truth! I got sicker than a dog with many things including neurological symptoms along with digestive. Did you have a endiscope with biopsy? That can come out negative if you have been gluten free too. The "gene and stool test" at Entrolab in Texas I hear is the best. I am awaiting results now. Good luck, you will know soon hopefully. If you are a Celiac, it would be very dangerous to keep eating it. What got you tested to begin with?

[Billygean]

Hi all

Thanks for the advice.

Reason I got tested is I was bedridden for 6 months following mono. A cousin had the same symptoms and was diagnosed celiac. My test (pre gluten free) was negative but I thought I'd give it a go at the time because I was so desperate.

I did have some digestive problems before the diet but they've pretty much remained. As I said, chronic fatigue is fading slowly but that's common after mono anyway.

I'm going to try a slice of bread later today when my dad gets home from work for moral support, I'll keep you all posted!

BG

[Mom2Twins]

I tested positive on my bloodwork in May, went gluten free for two months, and then did a gluten challenge for two months prior to my endoscopy.

Everyone is different, but I can say in my case, I don't respond immediately to gluten. It took me about a week of eating gluten every day to respond with gastro symptoms. In fact (silly me) I started to question whether I was *really* celiac since I have read a lot of horror stories about glutenings.

My point is that if you do have issues with gluten, it may take a week or even more to start reacting. Also, some of my reactions are not gastro. I get depressed and have severe PMS when I eat gluten. My PMS magically disapeared when I went back to gluten free. I also get a horrible eczema-type rash on my arms, which has also cleared up. My sinuses get very congested on gluten. I get migraines. I mention this, because I had NO IDEA these symptoms were due to gluten, until I went gluten free, challenged myself, and then went gluten free again.

Also, be warned. If you ARE gluten sensitive, and have been gluten free, you may respond more severely to gluten than you did before. Sorry if TMI, but I was so ill after two months on gluten, I was in the bathroom over 30 times on the day of my biopsy.

Please keep us posted.

[Billygean]

Thanks for all the info.

I suppose the big thing for me is that there is no evidence I'm celiac. Chronic fatigue following a bout of mono is pretty common, which was pretty much my only symptom.

So far I've had two slices of bread and a burger and I feel fine. I did get a headache and some wind but I think I was sort of on high alert looking for my symptoms.

I will continue for a while and if I get sick I will reassess!

BG

[Billygean]

Well - I reintroduced wheat.

I was bedridden for a month after that slice of bread and a burger.

I think we have our answer.

I went to doctor and told him this as a celiac family member of mine told me he should diagnose. He's ordered a blood test and biopsy even though I'm gluten free and unwilling to eat gluten for the sake of a diagnosis! Siiiigh!

[Hardeep]

I was wondering about this exact thing. I will be having a gastroscopy in early march and wanted to go back on eating gluten (been gluten free since start of dec 08). I found that even eating a small piece of wheat (a shreddies cereal piece) would cause pain a few minutes after on the right side of my body, beneath the ribcage. The pain would then move to the left side eventually. I ate single pieces of shreddies for a few days, then increased to more wheat slowly. The pain has gone away (though I have a general feeling of unwellness now).

I didn't know whether experiencing this type of pain upon suddenly introducing wheat was normal or if maybe it was because of some intolerance (or celiac).

[ravenwoodglass]

I was wondering about this exact thing. I will be having a gastroscopy in early march and wanted to go back on eating gluten (been gluten free since start of dec 08). I found that even eating a small piece of wheat (a shreddies cereal piece) would cause pain a few minutes after on the right side of my body, beneath the ribcage. The pain would then move to the left side eventually. I ate single pieces of shreddies for a few days, then increased to more wheat slowly. The pain has gone away (though I have a general feeling of unwellness now).

I didn't know whether experiencing this type of pain upon suddenly introducing wheat was normal or if maybe it was because of some intolerance (or celiac).

I can't say anything for sure about you of course, but I get a pain similar to that when I get glutened. How long have you been doing the challenge?

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Unless the doctor has good reason to suspect something OTHER than celiac to look for in an endoscopy, there is no need for an endoscopy, unless you feel like padding his bank account. As you said, you have your answer.

The endoscopy/biopsy was deemed the "gold standard" of celiac diagnosis 50 years ago, before the blood tests used today were developed. I believe that the reason doctors are still using it as the so-called "gold standard" is pure and simple: $$$.

They don't make a penny if you change your diet.

That said, I do have a friend who is a GI doc, who uses the biopsy as the "gold standard" of diagnosis because he believes that "a lifelong gluten-free diet is too difficult to adhere to if not strictly necessary." Needless to say, I strongly disagree with him, but have failed to convince him of my viewpoint!

So I guess you could say that either doctors are greedy or ignorant, but either way, they just don't get that most of us are happy simply to be relieved of symptoms, and happily adhere to a strict gluten-free diet.

[Hardeep]

Raven: I've been doing the challenge for little over a week now. That pain that I described went away after slowly increasing gluten intake. Now I just feel generally unwell after meals containing wheat (or those that are particularly oily).