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. lil-oly
      - lil-oly replied to Jmartes71's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Gluten tester

      Hey there, have you been tested for allergies? You may not only have celiac disease but be allergic. I have celiac disease and am allergic to Barley, wheat and rye.
    2. JudyLou
      - JudyLou replied to JudyLou's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      11

      Seeking advice on potential gluten challenge

      Thanks so much!
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to JudyLou's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      11

      Seeking advice on potential gluten challenge

      I have osteopenia and have cracked three vertebrae. Niacin is connected to osteoporosis! Do talk to your nutritionist and doctor about supplementing with B vitamins. Blood tests don't reveal the amount of vitamins stored inside cells. The blood is a transportation system and can reflect vitamins absorbed from food eaten in the previous twenty-four...
    4. JudyLou
      - JudyLou replied to JudyLou's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      11

      Seeking advice on potential gluten challenge

      Thank you so much for the clarification! Yes to these questions: Have you consulted dietician? Have you been checked for nutritional deficiencies? Osteoporosis? Thyroid? Anemia? Do you take any supplements, or vitamins? I’m within healthy range for nutritional tests, thyroid and am not anemic. I do have osteopenia. I don’t take any medications, and the...
    5. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to JudyLou's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      11

      Seeking advice on potential gluten challenge

      @JudyLou, I have dermatitis herpetiformis, too! And...big drum roll... Niacin improves dermatitis herpetiformis! Niacin is very important to skin health and intestinal health. You're correct. dermatitis herpetiformis usually occurs on extensor muscles, but dermatitis herpetiformis is also pressure sensitive, so blisters can form...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,156
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    mike101020
    Newest Member
    mike101020
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • lil-oly
      Gluten tester

      By lil-oly · Posted

      Hey there, have you been tested for allergies? You may not only have celiac disease but be allergic. I have celiac disease and am allergic to Barley, wheat and rye. 
    • JudyLou
      Seeking advice on potential gluten challenge

      By JudyLou · Posted

      Thanks so much! 
    • knitty kitty
      Seeking advice on potential gluten challenge

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      I have osteopenia and have cracked three vertebrae.  Niacin is connected to osteoporosis! Do talk to your nutritionist and doctor about supplementing with B vitamins.  Blood tests don't reveal the amount of vitamins stored inside cells.  The blood is a transportation system and can reflect vitamins absorbed from food eaten in the previous twenty-four to forty-eight hours.  Those "normal limits" are based on minimum amounts required to prevent disease, not levels for optimal health.   Keep us posted on your progress.   B Vitamins: Functions and Uses in Medicine https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9662251/ Association of dietary niacin intake with osteoporosis in the postmenopausal women in the US: NHANES 2007–2018 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11835798/ Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/   Nutritional Imbalances in Adult Celiac Patients Following a Gluten-Free Diet https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8398893/ Nutritional Consequences of Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free Diet https://www.mdpi.com/2036-7422/15/4/61 Simplifying the B Complex: How Vitamins B6 and B9 Modulate One Carbon Metabolism in Cancer and Beyond https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9609401/
    • JudyLou
      Seeking advice on potential gluten challenge

      By JudyLou · Posted

      Thank you so much for the clarification! Yes to these questions: Have you consulted dietician?  Have you been checked for nutritional deficiencies?  Osteoporosis? Thyroid? Anemia?  Do you take any supplements, or vitamins? I’m within healthy range for nutritional tests, thyroid and am not anemic. I do have osteopenia. I don’t take any medications, and the dietician was actually a nutritionist (not sure if that is the same thing) recommended by my physician at the time to better understand gluten free eating.    I almost wish the gluten exposure had triggered something, so at least I’d know what’s going on. So confusing!    Many thanks! 
    • knitty kitty
      Seeking advice on potential gluten challenge

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @JudyLou,  I have dermatitis herpetiformis, too!  And...big drum roll... Niacin improves dermatitis herpetiformis!   Niacin is very important to skin health and intestinal health.   You're correct.  dermatitis herpetiformis usually occurs on extensor muscles, but dermatitis herpetiformis is also pressure sensitive, so blisters can form where clothing puts pressure on the skin. Elastic waist bands, bulky seams on clothing, watch bands, hats.  Rolled up sleeves or my purse hanging on my arm would make me break out on the insides of my elbows.  I have had a blister on my finger where my pen rested as I write.  Foods high in Iodine can cause an outbreak and exacerbate dermatitis herpetiformis. You've been on the gluten free diet for a long time.  Our gluten free diet can be low in vitamins and minerals, especially if processed gluten free foods are consumed.  Those aren't fortified with vitamins like gluten containing products are.  Have you consulted dietician?  Have you been checked for nutritional deficiencies?  Osteoporosis? Thyroid? Anemia?  Do you take any supplements, medicine, or vitamins? Niacin deficiency is connected to anemia.  Anemia can cause false negatives on tTg IgA tests.  A person can be on that borderline where symptoms wax and wane for years, surviving, but not thriving.  We have a higher metabolic need for more nutrients when we're sick or emotionally stressed which can deplete the small amount of vitamins we can store in our bodies and symptoms reappear.   Exposure to gluten (and casein in those sensitive to it) can cause an increased immune response and inflammation for months afterwards. The immune cells that make tTg IgA antibodies which are triggered today are going to live for about two years. During that time, inflammation is heightened.  Those immune cells only replicate when triggered.  If those immune cells don't get triggered again for about two years, they die without leaving any descendents programmed to trigger on gluten and casein.  The immune system forgets gluten and casein need to be attacked.  The Celiac genes turn off.  This is remission.    Some people in remission report being able to consume gluten again without consequence.   However, another triggering event can turn the Celiac genes on again.   Celiac genes are turned on by a triggering event (physical or emotional stress).  There's some evidence that thiamine insufficiency contributes to the turning on of autoimmune genes.  There is an increased biological need for thiamine when we are physically or emotionally stressed.  Thiamine cannot be stored for more than twenty-one days and may be depleted in as little as three during physical and emotional stresses. Mitochondria without sufficient thiamine become damaged and don't function properly.  This gets relayed to the genes and autoimmune disease genes turn on.  Thiamine and other B vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients are needed to replace the dysfunctional mitochondria and repair the damage to the body.   I recommend getting checked for vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  More than just Vitamin D and B12.  A gluten challenge would definitely be a stressor capable of precipitating further vitamin deficiencies and health consequences.   Best wishes!    
×
×
  • 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.