Why Do I Do This To Myself?

[loxleynew]

I was diagnosed gluten intolerant in january. Things went good I stopped eating gluten for 4-5 months and pretty much all my symptoms went away. Sigh of relief yay!

Recently Ive been drinking beer again and eating gluten filled food. Like a lot pasta/pizza ect. I feel like CRAP again. Why do I do this to myself??? My fatigue is back 100x and my acne is back sigh. I get random stomach cramps.

Sorry I just needed to vent! I just went back gluten free hopefully for good this time! I know it will take weeks to get this crap out of my system I just don't know anymore. I'm lost.

[GottaSki]

Don't be too hard on yourself...eating completely gluten-free is tough - especially the eating out part...I've had many cravings for gluten filled items, but resisted because I've been sick for so many years that the thought of becoming more sick scares me into keeping strictly gluten-free.

When those nasty cravings are strong - try to remember how much worse you feel eating gluten. And if you slip, get back on the gluten-free train as quickly as possible.

Replacing items like beer and pizza can help too...look for gluten free options that replicate your favorites, keep them stocked and ready to munch on when the need arises.

Hang in there!

[ravenwoodglass]

I am glad to hear your back off the gluten filled train. Please do as the other poster suggested and keep safe options available. It isn't easy but you know what gluten is doing to you and it just isn't worth it.

[Ahorsesoul]

No reason to give up your beer or pizza/pasta. Just find the gluten free kind. Yes, you may have to order it and it'll cost more. You did this because it's hard to be gluten free. No need to beat yourself up, the gluten already done that. Looking forward to hearing that you are gluten free and feeling better.

[MDRB]

I'm one of those people who has never deliberately cheated with the diet, the only reason for this is that honestly every time I see regular bread or pizza or anything containing gluten, I immediately picture diarrhea, stomach pain etc. I know it sounds kind of twisted, but I think what might help you stick to the diet is to sort of train your brain to find those foods disgusting by remembering how sick you get when you eat them.

[lovegrov]

I'm not endorsing this, but the fact is that the VAST majority of people with celiac have or will cheat. I have not done so in 8 years, but I am no saint.

richard

[CGally81]

Don't be too hard on yourself...eating completely gluten-free is tough - especially the eating out part...I've had many cravings for gluten filled items, but resisted because I've been sick for so many years that the thought of becoming more sick scares me into keeping strictly gluten-free.

When those nasty cravings are strong - try to remember how much worse you feel eating gluten. And if you slip, get back on the gluten-free train as quickly as possible.

Replacing items like beer and pizza can help too...look for gluten free options that replicate your favorites, keep them stocked and ready to munch on when the need arises.

Hang in there!

I too have had cravings for gluten-filled items that I normally haven't eaten in forever! I even thought of having pancakes, despite having not eaten them since I was in elementary school!

Btw, not that I advocate cheating on the diet, but I hear that if you take gluten enzymes - or whatever exactly they're called - enzymes that help your body break down gluten, supposedly you can eaten foods with gluten in them without hurting yourself, since the enzymes will take care of it for you before your body can attack it.

But I don't know if it's 100% safe. I'd read about people taking the enzymes before eating gluten food and feeling just fine. However, one guy who said that he would take the enzymes before eating the food, said that when he decided to stop eating gluten cold turkey (the enzymes were getting too expensive), he suffered powerful withdrawal symptoms such as muscle spams and heartburn and so on. Apparently his body still accepted the gluten to some degree, even if it didn't go to his intestine or get assaulted by his immune system. So I'd say that if you do intend to cheat on your diet by taking the enzymes to prevent the side effects, look into it very carefully and decide if it really is worth it or not.

If you get glutened again and feel the effects, try taking chewable L-glutamine, and eating fish. Those are said to reduce the symptoms, and fish worked really well for me back before I went gluten-free. I noticed no matter how I'd felt other times in the day, I always felt great after eating the fish, but I didn't know why.

[ang1e0251]

Do you really think people purposely cheat? That is a revelation to me. I can't imagine cheating or even wanting that pain and physical illness it would cause me.

If enzymes really prevented an autoimmune response to gluten, the pharm companies would be all over that. Come on, that isn't true. You have to prevent the damage to your gut so it can work properly and protect you from much more insidious disease. If you have science to back up what you've heard about enzymes, please post the link. I would really like to study that.