Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Go Slowly Off Gluten Vs. Cold Turkey?

MKat

Recommended Posts

MKat Explorer
MKat
Posted

I've been reading about gluten withdrawal symptoms (like fatigue and depression). When I did a mostly gluten free test for 3 weeks this spring I was extremely exhausted. I was also having thyroid issues - so it was one or the other or a combination of the 2 but I was a mess. BUT, my stomach was GREAT!! I went back on gluten for about 2 months to be tested and was miserable.

I have tested negative w/blood work and biopsy. My doc might do a genetic test at some point.

Anyway, to avoid the major gluten withdrawl symptoms again, is it possible to slowly go off gluten rather than go cold turkey? I realize this might not work because the longer you're off gluten it seems the more problems you have when you have some.

I also wonder how you tell if you have a gluten intolerance or just a wheat intolerance?? I was really hoping for a positive test result so I wouldn't have to play around w/stuff so much :)

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


runningcrazy Contributor
runningcrazy
Posted

if I were you I would just stop eating it all togejther. The more you eat it the more damage you do..so I would just face the withdrawal knowing you'll be a brand new healthy person soon

runningcrazy Contributor
runningcrazy
Posted

Plus, since you've done it before the switch may be easier because you've already gone tjrouh withdrawal!

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I also think that you should do the cold turkey. One thing that might help with the withdrawl is some sublingual B12. By going off it slowly you are simply keeping the antibodies going until you finally quit. Be gentle with yourself and try to make sure you are doing things that you enjoy during the withdrawl period. The withdrawl should only last a week or so if you are not getting CC'd so make sure you read as much as you can about everything you need to be careful of.

modiddly16 Enthusiast
modiddly16
Posted

cold turkey!!! the longer you let gluten linger in your diet, the longer it will take for your body to heal itself! the sooner you eliminate the stuff from your diet, the sooner you'll start to feel better!! the withdrawal symptoms are nothing compared to the aftermath of a glutening in my opinion

Mskedi Newbie
Mskedi
Posted

I think when quitting anything it's easier to go cold turkey. Otherwise you can keep telling yourself "this is the last one!" indefinitely. Because this is a health issue, it's all the more important to quit right away.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted
I've been reading about gluten withdrawal symptoms (like fatigue and depression). When I did a mostly gluten free test for 3 weeks this spring I was extremely exhausted. I was also having thyroid issues - so it was one or the other or a combination of the 2 but I was a mess. BUT, my stomach was GREAT!! I went back on gluten for about 2 months to be tested and was miserable.

I have tested negative w/blood work and biopsy. My doc might do a genetic test at some point.

Anyway, to avoid the major gluten withdrawl symptoms again, is it possible to slowly go off gluten rather than go cold turkey? I realize this might not work because the longer you're off gluten it seems the more problems you have when you have some.

I also wonder how you tell if you have a gluten intolerance or just a wheat intolerance?? I was really hoping for a positive test result so I wouldn't have to play around w/stuff so much :)

If you have a gluten intolerance or sensitivity, just stop eating gluten....period. It's not heroin you are trying to dump, just gluten. If you suffered from exhaustion, that is not a symptom of stopping gluten as you should start feeling better immediately, if you have truly gone gluten-free. It may take time to heal, but you should feel better in many ways, right away. The exhaustion was most likely from your thyroid problems. I have Hashi's and by the time I was diagnosed, the exhaustion was mind-boggling, it was so extreme. The exhaustion from Celiac paled in comparison to the exhaustion from low thyroid and I was severely anemic with multiple vitamin deficiencies to boot!

Have you treated the thyroid problem? It makes such a profound difference!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

Cold turkey, without question.

richard

cas has MMMhope Newbie
cas has MMMhope
Posted

Ohh I'm going to be the one person to say I slowly went off it. I had read about how some people had crazy reactions to cold turkey, and I just felt better by slowly going off for that reason and others. I felt like everyday I got more comfortable with it. I weened it out for 3 weeks and at the start of the 4 week I was 100% gluten free. In that 3 week time, I set up "my" kitchen, bought gluten-free food, bought the new flour, bought cookbooks, books about celiac disease/gluten-free, found store that carried gluten-free foods, went to a celiac disease chapter meeting in my area ect.. At this point for me there was so much I just couldn't stomach that it was never a "one more" it was time for me to mentally deal with all these changes that were happing.

I'm not sure what or if there is the right way or best way to do this, I just know that I eased into and I have felt 100% better.

darlindeb25 Collaborator
darlindeb25
Posted

Cold turkey, absolutely. Even if you feel bad for another week or two, you will soon feel so much better, you will wonder what took you so long!

Northern Celiac Newbie
Northern Celiac
Posted

Cold Turkey, I was so sick that before I had my biopsy I was told don't worry about eating a gluten-free diet. So I was eating gluten-free without a problem.

Best of luck

mysecretcurse Contributor
mysecretcurse
Posted

Definitely cold turkey, but there is such a learning curve with figuring out what does and doesnt have gluten in it in the beginning that most likely it will take awhile to be 100% free anyway (at least for me thats how it was).

:)

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Jhona's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      35

      Does anyone here also have Afib

      If black seed oil is working for his Afib, stick to it, but if not, I can say that ablation therapy is no big deal--my mother was out of the procedure in about 1 hour and went home that evening, and had zero negative effects from the treatment. PS - I would recommend that your husband get an Apple watch to monitor his Afib--there is an app and it will...
    2. Jacki Espo
      - Jacki Espo replied to CDFAMILY's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      5

      Covid caused reoccurrence of DH without eating gluten

      This happened to me as well. What’s weirder is that within a couple hours of taking paxlovid it subsided. I thought maybe I got glutened but after reading your post not so sure.
    3. Mari
      - Mari replied to tiffanygosci's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      1

      New Celiac Mama in My 30s

      Hi Tiffany. Thank you for writing your dituation and circumstancesin such detail and so well writte, too. I particularly noticed what you wrote about brain for and feeling like your brain is swelling and I know from my own experiences that's how it feel and your brain really does swell and you get migraines. Way back when I was in my 2...
    4. Mari
      - Mari replied to Jmartes71's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      2

      My only proof

      Hi Jmartes71 That is so much like my story! You probably know where Laytonville is and that's where I was living just before my 60th birthday when the new Dr. suggested I could have Celiacs. I didn't go on a gluten challange diet before having the Celiac panel blood test drawn. The results came back as equivical as one antibody level was very high but...
    5. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Jhona's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      35

      Does anyone here also have Afib

      Fascinating.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,953
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    ramonaja
    Newest Member
    ramonaja
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Does anyone here also have Afib

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      If black seed oil is working for his Afib, stick to it, but if not, I can say that ablation therapy is no big deal--my mother was out of the procedure in about 1 hour and went home that evening, and had zero negative effects from the treatment. PS - I would recommend that your husband get an Apple watch to monitor his Afib--there is an app and it will take readings 24/7 and give reports on how much of the time he's in it. Actual data like this should be what should guide his treatment.
    • Jacki Espo
      Covid caused reoccurrence of DH without eating gluten

      By Jacki Espo · Posted

      This happened to me as well. What’s weirder is that within a couple hours of taking paxlovid it subsided. I thought maybe I got glutened but after reading your post not so sure. 
    • Mari
      New Celiac Mama in My 30s

      By Mari · Posted

      Hi Tiffany. Thank you for writing your dituation and  circumstancesin such detail and so well writte, too. I particularly noticed what you wrote about brain for and feeling like your brain is swelling and I know from my own experiences that's how it feel and your brain really does swell and you get migraines.    Way back when I was in my 20s I read a book by 2 MD allergist and they described their patient who came in complaining that her brain, inside her cranium, was swelling  and it happened when she smelled a certain chemical she used in her home. She kept coming back and insisting her brain actually swelled in her head. The Drs couldn't explain this problem so they, with her permission, performed an operation where they made a small opening through her cranium, exposed her to the chemical then watched as she brain did swell into the opening. The DRs were amazed but then were able to advise her to avoid chemicals that made her brain swell. I remember that because I occasionally had brain fog then but it was not a serious problem. I also realized that I was becoming more sensitive to chemicals I used in my work in medical laboratories. By my mid forties the brain fog and chemicals forced me to leave my  profession and move to a rural area with little pollution. I did not have migraines. I was told a little later that I had a more porous blood brain barrier than other people. Chemicals in the air would go up into my sinused and leak through the blood brain barrier into my brain. We have 2 arteries  in our neck that carry blood with the nutrients and oxygen into the brain. To remove the fluids and used blood from the brain there are only capillaries and no large veins to carry it away so all those fluids ooze out much more slowly than they came in and since the small capillaries can't take care of extra fluid it results in swelling in the face, especially around the eyes. My blood flow into my brain is different from most other people as I have an arterial ischema, adefectiveartery on one side.   I have to go forward about 20 or more years when I learned that I had glaucoma, an eye problem that causes blindness and more years until I learned I had celiac disease.  The eye Dr described my glaucoma as a very slow loss of vision that I wouldn't  notice until had noticeable loss of sight.  I could have my eye pressure checked regularly or it would be best to have the cataracts removed from both eyes. I kept putting off the surgery then just overnight lost most of the vision in my left eye. I thought at the I had been exposed to some chemical and found out a little later the person who livedbehind me was using some chemicals to build kayaks in a shed behind my house. I did not realize the signifance  of this until I started having appointments with a Dr. in a new building. New buildings give me brain fog, loss of balance and other problems I know about this time I experienced visual disturbances very similar to those experienced by people with migraines. I looked further online and read that people with glaucoma can suffer rapid loss of sight if they have silent migraines (no headache). The remedy for migraines is to identify and avoid the triggers. I already know most of my triggers - aromatic chemicals, some cleaning materials, gasoline and exhaust and mold toxins. I am very careful about using cleaning agents using mostly borax and baking powder. Anything that has any fragrance or smell I avoid. There is one brand of dishwashing detergent that I can use and several brands of  scouring powder. I hope you find some of this helpful and useful. I have not seen any evidence that Celiac Disease is involved with migraines or glaucoma. Please come back if you have questions or if what I wrote doesn't make senseto you. We sometimes haveto learn by experience and finding out why we have some problems. Take care.       The report did not mention migraines. 
    • Mari
      My only proof

      By Mari · Posted

      Hi Jmartes71 That is so much like my story! You probably know where Laytonville is and that's where I was living just before my 60th birthday when the new Dr. suggested I could have Celiacs. I didn't go on a gluten challange diet before having the Celiac panel blood test drawn. The results came back as equivical as one antibody level was very high but another, tissue transaminasewas normal. Itdid show I was  allergic to cows milk and I think hot peppers. I immediately went gluten free but did not go in for an endoscopy. I found an online lab online that would do the test to show if I had a main celiac gene (enterolab.com). The report came back that I had inherited a main celiac gene, DQ8, from one parent and a D!6 from the other parent. That combination is knows to sym[tons of celiac worse than just inheriting one main celiac gene. With my version of celiac disease I was mostly constipated but after going gluten-free I would have diarrhea the few times I was glutened either by cross contamination or eating some food containing gluten. I have stayed gluten-free for almost 20 years now and knew within a few days that it was right for me although my recovery has been slow.   When I go to see a  medical provide and tell them I have celiacs they don't believe me. The same when I tell them that I carry a main celiac gene, the DQ8. It is only when I tell them that I get diarrhea after eating gluten that they realize that I might have celiac disease. Then they will order th Vitamin B12 and D3 that I need to monitor as my B12 levels can go down very fast if I'm not taking enough of it. Medical providers haven't been much help in my recovery. They are not well trained in this problem. I really hope this helps ypu. Take care.      
    • knitty kitty
      Does anyone here also have Afib

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Fascinating.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.