Can Glutening Symptoms Actually Be Psychosomatic?

[jasonD2]

I still dont really have definitive symptoms when I ingest gluten...only thing I notice every once and a while is tingling/numbness in my legs and arms, but im not sure if its gluten causing that or something else. I tend to drive myself crazy every time i eat out..as soon as the meal is over i start paying very close attention to my legs to see if they start tingling. sometimes they do & sometimes they don't and i never know what causes it.

Tonite I ate at legal Seafoods and ordered off the gluten-free menu & also gave the waiter one of my allergy cards to give to the chef. took a long time but my meal was delivered by the manager and it was perfect. of course after the meal i started focusing on my legs and they feel like they are tingling...then again i was on my feet all day in dress shoes and walking long distances. bottom line i just never know when i get glutened which is both a blessing & a curse i suppose.

How do you guys deal with the psychological component or am i the only one who is neurotic?

[hannahp57]

i know after i first went gluten free and for months and months afterward, every time i ate i focused so hard on what was going on in my stomach because i was so scared i was going to be sick. it seemed like everything was making me sick because i focused so much on it that every little stomach gurgle or cramp felt magnified... so yes it is very easy for us to be so afraid of having symptoms that we stress our bodies into thinking that something is wrong

[T.H.]

I think it's possible, but honestly? I think it's even easier for us to feel like we can't trust ourselves, because most of us have had vague symptoms for so long, with often a lot of doctors/people treating us like we're a bit psychosomatic. :-P

that said, my GI was saying this to me: celiac sufferers are VERY likely to have other food issues. Allergies and intolerances, sensitivities to dyes and additives, even problems with genetically modified foods sometimes.

For me, I had BAD trouble with foods within days of going gluten free. And none of them were the typical 'allergy' response. ear pain, tingling in arms or legs, numbness, my shoulders and arms feeling heavy, my head feeling light or hollow. My GI had allergy testing done, and turns out that I AM allergic to lots of things. I get no hives, no itching, just pain or numbness or tingling.

Keeping a food log helped a LOT! I eat a food, and then record how I feel- mood, pain, whatever - 5 min. after the food, 15 min. after the food, and 30 min. after the food. I started to see a definite pattern after a week. If you start to see a pattern, you probably have a winner. could be gluten, could be something else, but...you're not the only one whose had tingling, if that helps. :-)

I still dont really have definitive symptoms when I ingest gluten...only thing I notice every once and a while is tingling/numbness in my legs and arms, but im not sure if its gluten causing that or something else. I tend to drive myself crazy every time i eat out..as soon as the meal is over i start paying very close attention to my legs to see if they start tingling. sometimes they do & sometimes they don't and i never know what causes it.

Tonite I ate at legal Seafoods and ordered off the gluten-free menu & also gave the waiter one of my allergy cards to give to the chef. took a long time but my meal was delivered by the manager and it was perfect. of course after the meal i started focusing on my legs and they feel like they are tingling...then again i was on my feet all day in dress shoes and walking long distances. bottom line i just never know when i get glutened which is both a blessing & a curse i suppose.

How do you guys deal with the psychological component or am i the only one who is neurotic?

[jasonD2]

gotcha! Yeah I do have multiple sensitivities

Do most of the sensitivities clear up after going gluten free? Im on a heavy course of probiotics now and might have to take antibiotics and anti fungals to get rid of some candida & C.difficile. I do find that using digestive enzymes & probiotics minimizes my sensitivities a little.

for dinner last night I had a seafood bouillabaise type of dish...loaded with shell fish. Maybe it was something in the shell fish that caused the tingling? there was a lobster claw and the meat had a slight ammonia scent indicating that it wasnt very fresh..maybe it was that

Anyway I find that there is a correlation between my anxiety and any symptoms i experience with the type of restaurant I dine at and the demeanor of the staff. for lunch yesterday I ate at a cafe who's owner has a family member with celiac. he was kind, patient and seems very informed about preparing gluten-free food. I felt fine after the lunch. If I ate at a place with a waiter who was no knowledgeable about celiac and made no out of the ordinary effort to cater to me, then i would be a bit more nervous and more likely to obsess over symptoms after the meal

[T.H.]

Actually, my doctor was just discussing the sensitivities and healing after going gluten free yesterday! His answer? Maybe yes, but with a BIG caveat. Basically, he said that if you are ingesting foods you react to, your body isn't actually healing much yet. And it won't until you get off of what you react to. he was saying our bodies have the resources to try and protect you from your 'bad' food, or to heal you, but usually it doesn't have the resources to do both very well. So you react, and you don't heal, bleh.

He's actually tested me a few times in the 8 weeks since I went off gluten, and said that I haven't healed at all, even though we KNOW I'm not getting gluten. Said that's really common to see in people who are reacting to other stuff, especially as it means I'm still not absorbing the nutrients and such that i need in order to heal, as well.

But, after i cut everything out, and heal up (which takes about 2 years for an adult, sometimes) then I can start trying to reintroduce some of this stuff and i may be okay.

Oh! For the anti-fugals - I had to be on those, and mine ended up having gluten- made me SO sick until I realized. Urgh.

And actually, with the anxiety thing? While there may be a correlation between your anxiety and the symptoms, I wonder if it's a case of 'just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.' ;-) Because, really...if you are in a place where they are aware of your needs, and knowledgable, then yes, you'll feel calmer. BUT it's also much more likely that they WILL get it right and you'll get no gluten. If you are in a place where they aren't as knowledgable, or don't listen...what are the odds they're going to screw up and you'll get gluten?

Just a thought. :-)

gotcha! Yeah I do have multiple sensitivities

Do most of the sensitivities clear up after going gluten free? Im on a heavy course of probiotics now and might have to take antibiotics and anti fungals to get rid of some candida & C.difficile. I do find that using digestive enzymes & probiotics minimizes my sensitivities a little.

for dinner last night I had a seafood bouillabaise type of dish...loaded with shell fish. Maybe it was something in the shell fish that caused the tingling? there was a lobster claw and the meat had a slight ammonia scent indicating that it wasnt very fresh..maybe it was that

Anyway I find that there is a correlation between my anxiety and any symptoms i experience with the type of restaurant I dine at and the demeanor of the staff. for lunch yesterday I ate at a cafe who's owner has a family member with celiac. he was kind, patient and seems very informed about preparing gluten-free food. I felt fine after the lunch. If I ate at a place with a waiter who was no knowledgeable about celiac and made no out of the ordinary effort to cater to me, then i would be a bit more nervous and more likely to obsess over symptoms after the meal