Man, I Dont Feel Well!

[Frances03]

I need a new plan. Yesterday I felt okay, better than usual. Now tonight my stomach is stickin WAY out and it's making all this NOISE, and I feel like I need to burp and I can't, and I have gas, my hands are itchin to death, my nose is stuffed up, and I'm sneezing! What ????? I was fine until after dinner. For dinner I had Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage with bell peppers and zucchini and tofu over rice, with a gluten free marinara in a jar. Then later, I had some plain m&m's. Something in that mix is making me feel horrible and bloated and itchy and awful!!! What should I do?? I know I need a plan of things I can eat and not worry about. Otherwise I'll never figure out what's bothering me. Also where do you go to figure out if there are other foods you are sensitive to?? This is so hard!

[mushroom]

The consensus on the forum is that all m&ms are gluten free except the crispy ones, so you should be fine with the plain. Did you check the sausage label carefully? Gluten (and soy) are common additions to sausage.

A lot of us who are gluten intolerant are also intolerant of soy, so you might try ditching the tofu and other soy products for a while and see if that helps. It makes me itch, others it gives gassiness to....Unfortunately, mostly the best way to test yourself for other foods is elimination. Start off with the common allergens like soy, corn, eggs, dairy, and stick with meat, fish, fruit, veggies and rice for a while. I would initially avoid the hard to digest things like the brassica family (cabbage, broccoli, etc.) and peel the skin off apples, pears, etc. Also try taking some digestive enzymes to help your tummy out because it's not very happy right now. I found Gas-Ex helped a lot with the bloating and belching.

[ravenwoodglass]

If you only started the diet 2 days ago you may even still be reacting to the gluten you ate 3 days ago. For right now the simpler you can eat the better. I agree with the other poster who advised staying away from soy for now and you should also try to limit the dairy until you have healed a bit. It can take awhile for us to heal and the less 'stress' you put on your tummy until you heal the faster you will heal. A better choice for dinner might have been fresh chicken or ground beef as the meat in the marinara sauce instead of hot sausage.

[happygirl]

It can take weeks-months to get back on track...give it time, and I hope you feel better.

[Frances03]

Thanks you guys. I'm going to try eating more simply. I think it was either hte chocolate or the sausage that caused last nights reaction, because I felt so bad all the sudden. I know I'm not healed yet or even started. But at least the constant bloating had been somewhat better until after dinner last night. And I didn't sleep well last night and woke up full of air again. I have cut out dairy since I started this, but I will cut out soy too I guess. Thanks for your help.

[angieInCA]

Your body is talking to you. Listen to it. Going gluten free is hard and your body doesn't rid itself of all the toxins over night. It takes weeks to get your body adjusted to the fact it's not going to get poisoned anymore. While your gut is healing you need to give it simple easy to digest foods. It will make it so much easier on your body. Doesn't mean you can't have flavor or variety but don't over do it, especially all in one meal. And you may find you are intollerent to other foods during the healing process which you can add back into your diet later as your digestive system becomes stronger.

[mamaw]

I'm not so sure Johnsonville is gluten-free!!! Around are area it is not....

[Vollaire]

I have RA and my DR and I have been treating symptoms through diet. We found by elimninateing dairy and foods with gluten 80-85% of my pain has been abated. Milk chocolate contains milk and can cause bloating and horrible gas pain. It is like I really need to burp or something but cant most of the time and just suffer until it passes. You might want to check your dairy. Do you have similar pains and discomforts after eating cheese or yogurts?

[psawyer]

I'm not so sure Johnsonville is gluten-free!!! Around are area it is not....

Johnsonville products vary in their gluten-free status. Many are, but some are not. Read the label. I can't comment on the specific one mentioned as I have never seen it.

[CHARBEEGOOD]

Elimination diet may be the best place to start, but don't go it alone make sure to talk with your Doctor so that they can "assist" and give you a good place to start from. I recently had lactose taken out of my diet which helped lessen my "digestive" distress. So this makes me Gluten Free, Soy Free, Lactose intolerant and allergic to onions!! Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.