Feel Like A Yo-yo

[KathiSharpe]

I'd previously been gluten-free for several years until the GI doc told me I absolutely, positively, was NOT celiac. So I went back to eating gluten and (some quickly and some over time) my overt symptoms went completely away... especially the odd feeling I always got in my mouth after eating gluten (it felt like my mouth was burned by hot hot coffee).

However I did have occasional tummy trouble and fatty poops, alternating d/c (but not BAD), HUGE weight gain, and my hormones are out of control. The docs I've seen in the interim dismissed it all as "normal" or me being flighty or an assortment of other illnesses (none of which bore out, in spite of tens of thousands of dollars in testing)

So - due to research related to the thyroid and female hormone issues, I decided about 10 or 12 days ago to go gluten-free again, "just to see".

My body's response was pretty incredible - I've lost nearly 13lbs and feel felt great. It was like someone flipped a switch, the difference is that dramatic. The skin rash on my chest is was almost gone, my foot is clearing up, and so are my fingers now (none of which actually looks like pics of DH, so I'm not sure).

BUT - a couple days ago, not thinking, I tossed the hambone (left over in the freezer from my pre-gluten-free days) into a pot of beans. I knew immediately after eating that I'd made a mistake... my mouth felt burned! The next morning my belly was huge and rumbly, and I've spent the last couple days with outrageous and painful diarrhea. In fact yesterday I travelled with a friend on business and had to keep close tabs on the nearest bathroom. And the rash on my chest is back!

Needless to say I'm tightening up on my diet and carefully sorting through my frozen meat to be sure I don't get glutened again!

So here's my question - how could I go for several years, eating gluten every day, and not be overtly affected... then stop eating it entirely and WHAM my "glutened" symptoms are so incredibly severe?

[ravenwoodglass]

There is something that doctors call the 'honeymoon' effect and was the reason why doctors thought that children could outgrow celiac. I think after you have healed and your body had been cleared of the antibodies it can take some time for them to reappear to the extent where symptoms are severe again. Your antibodies did build up though and your body was really happy when you stopped eating gluten. It is now trying to let you know just how much it doesn't want to be poisoned anymore and is showing you through the strength of your reactions.

[KathiSharpe]

OH!

Now that makes sense. Thank you!

[Tabasco]

Kathi,

Can you share your research on hormones and thyroid issues? I believe that my weight and gluten issues are also connected to hormones. After watching something on TLC about the science of obesity I think it as all more connected than we realize. (ie I didn't realize it was hormones that tell your brain that you're hungry.) I also didn't know that Cushings Disease is a pituitary problem.

It just seems that the older I get the harder it is to lose but it sure is easy to gain!

Also...when I gain weight, my libido decreases. I realize that this can be psychcological as well but hormones seem to be the answer to most everything!

I think that we get worse after abstaining for a while is like what we see in the nedical field as a rebound effect.

Rebound effect is the tendency of a medication, when discontinued, to cause a return of the symptoms being treated more severe than before.

We also see this in repeated exposures to allergens such as latex. (Which I am allergic to.) You are exposed on a regualr basis then all of a sudden, one day...BAM! You break out in a rash and can't breathe.

[Lynayah]

Kathi,

Can you share your research on hormones and thyroid issues? I believe that my weight and gluten issues are also connected to hormones. After watching something on TLC about the science of obesity I think it as all more connected than we realize. (ie I didn't realize it was hormones that tell your brain that you're hungry.) I also didn't know that Cushings Disease is a pituitary problem.

It just seems that the older I get the harder it is to lose but it sure is easy to gain!

Also...when I gain weight, my libido decreases. I realize that this can be psychcological as well but hormones seem to be the answer to most everything!

I think that we get worse after abstaining for a while is like what we see in the nedical field as a rebound effect.

Rebound effect is the tendency of a medication, when discontinued, to cause a return of the symptoms being treated more severe than before.

We also see this in repeated exposures to allergens such as latex. (Which I am allergic to.) You are exposed on a regualr basis then all of a sudden, one day...BAM! You break out in a rash and can't breathe.

Tobasco,

You might enjoy reading Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body. It addresses some of the issues you mention.