Another Newbie

[Tigercat17]

Hi,

I'm new to all of this. I just found out I have celiac disease last week & I've been trying to eat gluten free for a week now.

How long does it usually take to feel better? Has anyone had a full feeling to their stomach? It's like I'm hungry, but I can't put anything into my stomach. I'm very skiny & weak. My stomach is very tender, too. I've been taking the Ensure weight gain, but I think it's messing my stomach up. I've also been eating a lot of friut, vegatables & meats & lots of brown rice. My doctor told me not to avoid dairy unless I really can't eat it since I'm so skinny. Does this sound right?

Can anyone relate to all of this?

Thanks!

[ang1e0251]

What are the ingredients on your Ensure?

[ranger]

I've been on the gluten free diet for 8 months, and have only regained 10 of the 25 lbs. I lost. Sometimes it's slow going, just keep doing it. I might drop Dairy for awhile to see if there's any improvement. I also eat 5 times a day, and sometimes have to force myself because I'm just not hungry.

[Penny-M]

When I first started in my gluten-free eating I tried many different pasta sources, brown rice, and corn ended up being the only two that I found that I liked. I wasn't feeling any better though, so recently I thought I would go AI--Let me tell you--A world of difference has occurred. I swear I feel like I have lost about 15 lbs in my stomach, my allergies are so minimal now, I can breathe finally. These results have been over the past 4 days, but I saw improvements after 24 hours. I strongly suggest anyone new to gluten-free diets should give themselves a break by:1) going Dairy free, 2) going anti-Inflammatory, 3) eliminate completely any forms of pasta/ carbs (only eat fruit and vegetables for carbs. 4) watch how Nightshade vegetables affect you. If you can eat nuts and have a blender or food processor blend up some blanched almonds and use that to coat food with, bake with etc. It's wonderful tasting--You can spice it up anyway you want. I truly have found a new love--that is nut flour. I use arrowroot for bread if I make any. Do yourself a favor and try to eliminate the inflammation in your intestines, I truly think that is a key. We have damaged our intestines so much they need a good break.

Good luck to you

[Tigercat17]

  Penny_M said:

When I first started in my gluten-free eating I tried many different pasta sources, brown rice, and corn ended up being the only two that I found that I liked. I wasn't feeling any better though, so recently I thought I would go AI--Let me tell you--A world of difference has occurred. I swear I feel like I have lost about 15 lbs in my stomach, my allergies are so minimal now, I can breathe finally. These results have been over the past 4 days, but I saw improvements after 24 hours. I strongly suggest anyone new to gluten-free diets should give themselves a break by:1) going Dairy free, 2) going anti-Inflammatory, 3) eliminate completely any forms of pasta/ carbs (only eat fruit and vegetables for carbs. 4) watch how Nightshade vegetables affect you. If you can eat nuts and have a blender or food processor blend up some blanched almonds and use that to coat food with, bake with etc. It's wonderful tasting--You can spice it up anyway you want. I truly have found a new love--that is nut flour. I use arrowroot for bread if I make any. Do yourself a favor and try to eliminate the inflammation in your intestines, I truly think that is a key. We have damaged our intestines so much they need a good break.

Good luck to you

Thanks for the tips! I got a few dumb questions though - What do you mean by AI? Going anti- Inflammatory & what are the nightshade vegies? I've been having serious reflux that goes up to my throat, too. AndI'm so skinny & tring to eat five times a day. I just started this diet 8 days ago. And I feel so weak. Any more advice would be great.

Thanks!

[cyoshimit]

  Tigercat17 said:

Thanks for the tips! I got a few dumb questions though - What do you mean by AI? Going anti- Inflammatory & what are the nightshade vegies? I've been having serious reflux that goes up to my throat, too. AndI'm so skinny & tring to eat five times a day. I just started this diet 8 days ago. And I feel so weak. Any more advice would be great.

Thanks!

Eating regularly is key i feel. i am also on the very thin side and cant seem to put on weight, been this way for years, I have been feeling extremely weak and I get a lot of the fog. I found that Protein helps with the fog and weakness. I eat about every two hours. Its mostly things that have protein in them or a protein drink. The protein drink that I use is called "one Step" Quinoa is a great grain that has lost of protein in it as well. I have been doing a lot of steaks too to help with my energy. I really understand about the weakness. I hope that you have some support helping you through this. I am still figureing out my diet have have been asking lots of questions on here and reading and it seems diet, suppliments, patients and time are the remedies for newbie celiacs =) Im working through this right here with ya. =)

[Tigercat17]

  ang1e0251 said:

What are the ingredients on your Ensure?

HI there! Thanks for responding!

The ingredients for the Ensure are : Water, corn maltodextrin, sugar (sucrose), milk protein, canola oil, soy protein, concentrate, corn oil, short-chain fructooligsacchardes, natural and artifical flavors, whey protein concentrate, soy lecithin and carrageenan.

It says it's lactose & gluten -free.

I'm kind of wondering if I'm just digesting food very slowly because of the celiac disease? I'll be seeing the nurtruitist tomorrow. He also has celiac & he sounds like he's going to be a lot of help. I can't wait to meet him! I feel like I'm wasting away. I'm so skinny & my stomach feels full a lot.

Does anyone else have these symptoms?

Thanks!

[mysecretcurse]

Ensure is nasty. Get some good organic food that isn't filled with crap!

[Tigercat17]

  mysecretcurse said:

Ensure is nasty. Get some good organic food that isn't filled with crap!

Do you know of anything that would be a good weight gainer & that's gluten free?

Thanks!

[brigala]

Nuts and avocados are very calorie-dense and dairy free. Peanut butter on a warm corn tortilla is a great snack. Try picking up a nut-based milk substitute, like almond milk. Pacific brand is gluten-free. I think Almond Breeze is, too?

Do you have a Trader Joe's nearby? I just picked up a new thing there called a "Sesame Crepe." It's basically sesame seeds, nuts, sugar, and rice flour. I ate one crepe as a snack (there are two to a package) before I realized that each crepe is 500 calories!! It was delicious but I now myself to a 1/2 crepe serving and make it a meal (like breakfast), not a snack after that. ;-) (I really need to drop about 30-40 lbs). They're high in both protein and fat, two things you probably need if you're trying to nourish yourself.

Try adding some agave nectar to your foods (like to that peanut-butter corn-tortilla sandwich) to add sweetness and carbohydrates. It is a form of sugar, and as such has calories just like regular sugar, but doesn't mess with your blood sugar levels as much. Add olive oil and herbs to your vegetables when you eat them -- don't fill up on veggies without adding calories!

I found that while my gut was in bad shape I had a really hard time with digesting animal fats (including milkfat -- skim milk was bad enough, but I couldn't drink whole milk for years). You might want to stick with vegetable fats until you start feeling better, and keep your meats lean, cooking them in plenty of your favorite vegetable oil. In short, experiment a little with different sources of calories until you find what you personally can tolerate well.

I can understand your doctor's desire for you to keep dairy in your diet because it's a good, dense source of calories. But it's hard to digest and it may be counterproductive for you. If it keeps you from absorbing nutrients and calories, it's not doing its job. There are other sources out there to turn to. Once you heal, you will probably be able to re-introduce dairy.

Some pink bismuth might help relieve your GI symptoms temporarily, but watch out because it can also cause constipation.

If you don't start feeling better soon, you might need to do a full elimination diet. In that case you really should work with a registered dietician. Since you're already underweight this could be a rough experiment for you.

[ang1e0251]

The ingredients for the Ensure are : Water, corn maltodextrin, sugar (sucrose), milk protein, canola oil, soy protein, concentrate, corn oil, short-chain fructooligsacchardes, natural and artifical flavors, whey protein concentrate, soy lecithin and carrageenan.

It says it's lactose & gluten -free.

This might be lactose free but it still has casein, milk protein. The items in italics are going to have casein and some are allergic to that. If you are allergic, then that could seriously be causing you problems along with the other milk products you're ingesting.

Good weight gainers are going to be the good dietary fats that others have mentioned. The almond milk is a good addition to replace dairy. Get coconut milk and add some every time you have any milk. Buy coconut oil and have some about 4 times a day. You can cook with it, add it to food and mix it with peanut butter. It has some of the same fats that are in breast milk. We need these fats but they are hard to get in our diet.

I would say your digestion is probably slowing because something you are still eating (casein) is causing you problems. I don't think that is necesarily because of celiac disease.

[runningcrazy]

I know this may not be a big help, but i agree, cut out the casein!!

I am 13, and when i was sick before going gluten free i got down to exactly 80lbs, and im a little under 5'5. i was very underweight even according to childrens bmi calculator.

I went casein and gluten free, and within less than a couple months, i am up to 103 lbs or something. I eat lots of gluten free sandwiches with avacado spread, i also eat almost every day a big salad in my lunch, i eat lots of quinoa and flax, and lots of nuts...Peanut butter makes me soooooo sick so i use sunbutter, from sunflower seeds. its SO good and it has more nutrients than peanut butter so you might consider that, to restore the lost nutrients.

also take a multivitamin and avoid junk gluten free food. right now is not a good time to eat nutrient-devoid cookies and cakes, even if theyre gluten free, because you need the most nourishing foods possible!

good luck and feel better!

and it does have ups and downs. ive been gluten-free-cf for about 2 months, and i go a few days feeling so good, and then i feel bad for a day or two, and sometimes i get really bloated for no good reason, and others im not. i've read it can take somewhere between 3 months and a year to get well healed. and also, ive read that even gluten free foods can upset the stomach, as your stomach is so messed up right now! do you take enzymes and probiotics? those help too!

[mommida]

Hi,

The key words everyone jumped on was WHEY and milk protein for casien.

I agree it might be best to avoid casein right now.

Keep a food journal to help you determine if you have missed gluten on a label or to determine if you have other food sensitivities. It will save you a lot of frustration of trying to remember why you are getting symptoms. It showed me I had to go through my make-up. A very expensive lip gloss (I loved) was making me sick ~ not anything I ate intentionally.

It's overwhelming at first, but it will become habit soon. The board is here to help.