New To Forum And Full Of Questions

[mhope]

Hey everyone!

I have been reading posts on this forum for about a month after looking up celiac due to an offhand comment by a nurse as she sent me for some blood tests. After looking it up, I was amazed. After everything I read, I can say that all of the ailments that I have suffered with for as long as a I can remember (Im 25) are considered to be symptoms of celiac. I was referred to see a GI specialist. I finally had a little hope that there was something that could explain the symptoms that everyone had always brushed off as my being over dramatic. I had been tested for many many many things (thyroid problems, leukemia, etc and nothing ever came back positive). Without getting into too much detail, I have been in the middle of horrible communication between the University Health Services and the GI specialist and have basically been ignored and can't even make an appointment. Anyway, I decided after many many efforts to get things straightened out that I would just try cutting out gluten because if it makes me feel better, I am not super concerned to know if it is celiac or just a gluten sensitivity (my blood test came back negative.. though I dont have any more information than "celiac: negative").

Sorry this is dragging on! -- So I haven't had gluten for 4 days. I wouldnt say I feel great (and I really didnt expect to feel anything yet anyway) but my GI problems have substantially subsided. Maybe its a coincidence, but it is an amazing feeling! I have a couple questions though for anyone that can help! Fatigue.... I honestly don't know what it is like to not be tired. My brain is so foggy and I am always exhausted. I am especially concerned because I am starting a phd program and classes start in a week.... classes will be very tough if I cant think or concentrate at all! If my fatigue is due to gluten, would I feel an immediate change.... or does it take a while? I know it varies for people, but I am hoping that it isnt instantaneous so I dont have to abandon this all inclusive cause for my symptoms, nothing else could possibly fit as well as gluten sensitivity! Same with brain fog?

And I will wrap this up, really, but one other question. After I eat breakfast, it seems like it doesnt matter what it is, I feel sick. It would vary between stomach pains, urgent need to use the bathroom and usually nausea. It only happens in the morning (well aside from my general always feeling sick and having stomach issues..). The last couple days it hasnt been quite as bad, but the nausea at least has persisted. Does this sound gluten related? It didn't really to me, but I feel like neither did most of my other symptoms! Has anyone experienced this and did it go away? Boy I'm sorry this is so long!!

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

[elle's mom]

To give you a short answer, the fatigue takes awhile to go away! I have only been gluten-free for less than 3 months and mine is somewhat better, but not totally.

Are you female, because the whole nausea in the morning thing sounds a bit like early pregnancy

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your PhD!!

[mhope]

Well, I guess I can still have hope about the fatigue!

I am female, but pregnancy at this time isn't a worry! Everyone I know is trying to convince my its morning sickness, but it just isn't possible if you know what I mean!

Thanks for the response

[lizard00]

Ditto on the fatigue, it takes a bit to go away. It gradually got better for me, starting with not waking up exhausted.

As for the morning nausea, I get that, too. I'm pregnant right now , but this has been going on with me for a long time. I find that I just can't eat a lot, or quickly, in the morning. And the heavier it is, the yuckier it seems to make me feel. Try to eat after you've been up a while, eat slowly, and something light. Like some fruit or something.

I go to work at 9, and never eat until after I get there. And then I try to do things in between bites to make me slow down. I really have no idea why, but I've never been able to eat much in the morning, no matter how hungry I feel when I wake up.

Hope that helps!

[mhope]

Ditto on the fatigue, it takes a bit to go away. It gradually got better for me, starting with not waking up exhausted.

As for the morning nausea, I get that, too. I'm pregnant right now , but this has been going on with me for a long time. I find that I just can't eat a lot, or quickly, in the morning. And the heavier it is, the yuckier it seems to make me feel. Try to eat after you've been up a while, eat slowly, and something light. Like some fruit or something.

I go to work at 9, and never eat until after I get there. And then I try to do things in between bites to make me slow down. I really have no idea why, but I've never been able to eat much in the morning, no matter how hungry I feel when I wake up.

Hope that helps!

Congrats on the pregnancy!

Now that you mention it, the later I eat the more ok I am. It's just strange because I have always been a pretty big breakfast person! I will try some fruit and slowing down! Thanks and goodluck!

[The Fluffy Assassin]

Congrats on the pregnancy!

Now that you mention it, the later I eat the more ok I am. It's just strange because I have always been a pretty big breakfast person! I will try some fruit and slowing down! Thanks and goodluck!

Well I'm male, so I think I can rule out pregnancy even more emphatically, but I always had this problem, too. I echo lizard00's comments (and join you in congratulating her on her pregnancy); I always found that if I went out for breakfast (added time before eating for showering, dressing, driving, waiting on food) I could eat a ton without feeling nauseous, but if I ate at home, the best I could do was bran flakes in milk. (This, obviously, was back in the day.) Could be a blood sugar problem. You might try making sure that every meal contains protein, a carb and fats. Getting the three balanced is the hard part. (I'm still not doing a jam-up job at this myself.)

[mhope]

Could be a blood sugar problem. You might try making sure that every meal contains protein, a carb and fats. Getting the three balanced is the hard part. (I'm still not doing a jam-up job at this myself.)

I never thought of that. I have struggled with hypoglycemia so it would make sense! I don't think I do a super good job of balancing my breakfast either... I'm usually in a rush and just making sure I eat something is all I usually focus on! Since I had never experienced this particular problem (the morning food illness) until this year, would it be likely to be attributed to a newly developed health issue, or could it just be a new symptom of an old ongoing problem? Thanks for the advice! Oh, and you said you 'had' the same problem, did it resolve itself or has it improved because you changed your breakfast eating habits??

[The Fluffy Assassin]

I never thought of that. I have struggled with hypoglycemia so it would make sense! I don't think I do a super good job of balancing my breakfast either... I'm usually in a rush and just making sure I eat something is all I usually focus on! Since I had never experienced this particular problem (the morning food illness) until this year, would it be likely to be attributed to a newly developed health issue, or could it just be a new symptom of an old ongoing problem? Thanks for the advice! Oh, and you said you 'had' the same problem, did it resolve itself or has it improved because you changed your breakfast eating habits??

At the time I went gluten free, I was highly lactose intolerant. I could take Lactaid and it worked fine, but somehow it just didn't seem worth wasting a pill for a cup worth of milk. (Cheese or ice cream, sure.) So I had the (where's that darn sarcasm smilie) brilliant idea to start eating my cereal (by then, puffed millet) in apple juice. Fixed my nausea and made me happy all morning long, especially as I often had a glass of orange juice, too. Don't do this! I think I fritzed my liver, or anyway its ability to process fructose. Or maybe I was always a fructose malabsorber and am just a very slow learner, I don't know.

These days I'm off dairy again due to casein and Asperger's concerns, and sugar of all kinds in hopes of getting the fructose thing fixed. (Once a week, drink some juice, run to the bathroom; not fixed yet.) So I'm still not the best example to follow. But what I'm trying these days is yellow corn grits with a teaspoon of peanut butter, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, cinnamon and pistachios, and two eggs scrambled up with kale sauteed in olive oil to make an omelet of sorts. I'm not sure if it's balanced, I'm not sure if it's helping the hypoglycemia (still feel funny most of the time), but I don't generally feel nauseous after eating anymore.

In general, the old "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" axiom seems to apply doubly for hypoglycemics. You might want to try to take out some extra time to eat a more filling breakfast. But if you're pressed, peanut butter or hummus on rice cakes fits the protein + fat + carb bill. Is it balanced? I don't know that either, but it's becoming my goto snack.

Edit: not to brag further about what an idiot I used to be, but that fruity breakfast also included strawberries and banana on the cereal. Did I mention "don't do this"?

[lizard00]

Thanks to you both!

I do find that the less carbs I can do, or the more balanced I can make it, the easier breakfast is on my system. Peanut butter and apple is my go to food, and keeps me full longer than I expect. I eat cereal occasionally, but it usually sits not so well. It's either because the ratio is still too carb heavy, or because I eat it too fast. I'm not sure yet...

[darlindeb25]

Me too. Apple and peanut butter every morning. I think yellow delicious is the best, plus gala's. My peanut butter is Skippy Natural, only 4 ingredients.

Now that you mention it, the later I eat the more ok I am. It's just strange because I have always been a pretty big breakfast person!

For years after I went gluten free, I could not eat before work. I have been gluten free for 9 years, and have ate breakfast before work for probably 5 of those years. All my life, we sat down at the kitchen table and had breakfast, something my kids always did too. Except for my daughter, she has never been much of a morning person!!! I never ate when I got to work though, I didn't eat until lunch. Not good, I know. I think we tend to develop bad habits when we have chronic problems.

[mhope]

At the time I went gluten free, I was highly lactose intolerant. I could take Lactaid and it worked fine, but somehow it just didn't seem worth wasting a pill for a cup worth of milk. (Cheese or ice cream, sure.) So I had the (where's that darn sarcasm smilie) brilliant idea to start eating my cereal (by then, puffed millet) in apple juice. Fixed my nausea and made me happy all morning long, especially as I often had a glass of orange juice, too. Don't do this! I think I fritzed my liver, or anyway its ability to process fructose. Or maybe I was always a fructose malabsorber and am just a very slow learner, I don't know.

These days I'm off dairy again due to casein and Asperger's concerns, and sugar of all kinds in hopes of getting the fructose thing fixed. (Once a week, drink some juice, run to the bathroom; not fixed yet.) So I'm still not the best example to follow. But what I'm trying these days is yellow corn grits with a teaspoon of peanut butter, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, cinnamon and pistachios, and two eggs scrambled up with kale sauteed in olive oil to make an omelet of sorts. I'm not sure if it's balanced, I'm not sure if it's helping the hypoglycemia (still feel funny most of the time), but I don't generally feel nauseous after eating anymore.

In general, the old "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" axiom seems to apply doubly for hypoglycemics. You might want to try to take out some extra time to eat a more filling breakfast. But if you're pressed, peanut butter or hummus on rice cakes fits the protein + fat + carb bill. Is it balanced? I don't know that either, but it's becoming my goto snack.

Edit: not to brag further about what an idiot I used to be, but that fruity breakfast also included strawberries and banana on the cereal. Did I mention "don't do this"?

Apple juice in your cereal... sounds interesting! I am also interested to try kale sauteed, I have really only used it for juicing. This morning I tried to get up extra early so I could wait to eat a bit longer (after waking up), it wasn't the worst morning, but I still felt icky. I think that just waking up extra early might not do it on its own, but I will also try some peanut butter on rice cakes! That sounds great and easy to grab on the go (if that ends up happening despite my efforts!) Your fruity breakfast really was fruity, sounds like you squished all your fruits for the day in the first meal! Thanks again for all the advice, even if you aren't sure that you have it down yet!

[mhope]

Thanks to you both!

I do find that the less carbs I can do, or the more balanced I can make it, the easier breakfast is on my system. Peanut butter and apple is my go to food, and keeps me full longer than I expect. I eat cereal occasionally, but it usually sits not so well. It's either because the ratio is still too carb heavy, or because I eat it too fast. I'm not sure yet...

mmm apples and peanut butter. I must say this is one of my favorite snacks. For some reason I never thought of eating it for breakfast! another good idea! I was really upset because my favorite peanut butter that I could have lived on, has gluten in it. It was a sad day when I found that out! Between what you and the Fluffy Assassin have said, I think balancing my breakfast should be my next try. I think I really usually am primarily on the carbs. I go through phases with eggs, and I just haven't been in an eggy mood lately... maybe i will try again!

[mhope]

Me too. Apple and peanut butter every morning. I think yellow delicious is the best, plus gala's. My peanut butter is Skippy Natural, only 4 ingredients.

For years after I went gluten free, I could not eat before work. I have been gluten free for 9 years, and have ate breakfast before work for probably 5 of those years. All my life, we sat down at the kitchen table and had breakfast, something my kids always did too. Except for my daughter, she has never been much of a morning person!!! I never ate when I got to work though, I didn't eat until lunch. Not good, I know. I think we tend to develop bad habits when we have chronic problems.

Yum gala's. My ex-peanut butter was Naturally Organic (I think thats what it was called...) and it had flax seed in it, but I guess there was something derived from wheat in it too. I am on the search for a good natural peanut butter...!

Not eating till lunch is no good! I don't think that I would survive. I honestly think that is why this morning inability to eat is getting to me so much. If I don't eat before I go to work, I don't seem to have any time to eat until lunch... and I literally may collapse in that situation (on most days).

I am not glad that you all have or do experience this issue, but I am glad to know I am not crazy... it seemed completely illogical to me (well... not being pregnant and all!).

Thanks for all the suggestions and everything!