Second Resurgence Of Hunger

[CGally81]

I'd been having overt symptoms since March 2009, and went "gluten-free" in August 2009. I say that in quotes, because I continued to eat Fudgsicles as a snack, unaware that they had malt powder, and therefore gluten, in them. (I didn't feel glutened after eating them, so I didn't make the connection the way I did with, say, bread)

Well, I went through the "hungry all the time" period, with my hunger getting better, then worse, then better, then worse, seemingly every 1-2 weeks or so. When I decided to cut Fudgsicles out of my diet, my hunger seemed to drop a bit, and I assumed it was related to that.

Last Thursday, I ate rotisserie chicken from an uncommon source (ShopRite; normally I'd have one from Bobby Chez), and less than an hour later, I started to lose the ability to concentrate and became very hungry. However, I didn't feel any gastro symptoms, like I normally would when glutened. I assumed I'd been glutened anyway, since I figured that even though the dinner was small (chicken slices and potatoes), that it should have filled me up longer than a mere hour. I quickly rushed to make a snack and ate a bunch of L-glutamine chewables to prevent further symptoms.

Well, it's been nearly a week, and my hunger has definitely shot up.

Here's the question: do you think this is because I was glutened off the rotisserie chicken? (It's happened to other people, yet at the same time, my hunger had been a bit higher than normal that day, and had been increasing somewhat the past few days)

Or do you think this resurgence in hunger is because I cut out Fudgsicles a week before that? (despite the fact that I noticed a hunger drop after removing the Fudgsicles, mostly in the form of sudden rapid increases in hunger I'd get frequently)

I know people who go gluten-free report being hungry all the time, and I definitely was, but the thing is that I hadn't been totally gluten-free, and was unaware of the problem. Do you think that now that I removed the final gluten source in my diet, my body is trying, again, to recover from that?

[ravenwoodglass]

Do you think that now that I removed the final gluten source in my diet, my body is trying, again, to recover from that?

Yes, your body is craving nutrients IMHO. Feed it good wholesome food and if you are worried about weight gain snack on fresh fruit and veggies to get those nutrient levels up as fast as you can.

[CGally81]

Yes, your body is craving nutrients IMHO. Feed it good wholesome food and if you are worried about weight gain snack on fresh fruit and veggies to get those nutrient levels up as fast as you can.

Darn. I was afraid of that. I guess it's a good thing overall in the end. I can't wait until my hunger goes down to normal levels. Losing weight before developing celiac symptoms hadn't been easy, and had been done while tolerating hunger I didn't care for.

During the first hunger binge, I was gaining muscle rapidly, but not waist. At first. Then I started putting on fat, and I went from size 30 to a tight size 30 to a somewhat loose size 32 (I've been size 34 before, so trust me, it could be worse).

Now I'm hungry a lot again and still have this fat. ALL my foods are healthy. Literally: tuna fish, whole grain popcorn, bananas, apples, yogurt, milk, peanut butter, chicken, turkey, etc. My vegetable oil (not butter) is a mix of fats leaning towards the healthier, unsatured ones. Mostly all natural stuff. (I don't have reactions to casein or soy, thank goodness)

Well, I'll try filling up on more protein and fruit... though those make up a large part of my diet as is. Thanks though. I guess this really is the second "hunger phase", since this is my second going "gluten-free", as the first time, I didn't succeed in going 100% gluten-free.

Back to the bicycle and daily walks soon as it stops raining here, even if it means having to eat more to deal with the calorie burn and the hunger it'll cause.

It makes sense. I go "gluten-free", and my hunger plummets the next few days (I'm talking eating like 2000 calories - abnormally low for the average man - and going for a long bike ride, and still feeling satisfied), only to slowly rise for the next few days, then suddenly rapidly shoot way up.

So I removed Fudgsicles (going, hopefully, gluten-free for real), and my hunger drops considerably, only to begin to rise a few days later, and possibly have its sudden rise coincidentally on the day I had that rotisserie chicken - a full week after cutting out the Fudgsicles.

On the other hand, the fact that the sudden hunger started an hour after eating that rotisserie chicken makes me think that I might have been glutened by it after all, though I am not sure, due to the rise in hunger I'd been experiencing leading up to that day. But still, most of this hunger is probably from removing the last remaining gluteny food from my diet: those Fudgsicles that I had assumed couldn't possibly contain gluten.

[CGally81]

Well, my hunger levels are definitely what they were, say, a few weeks ago. 2 steps forward, 1 step back. I go "gluten-free" in August and my hunger spikes through the roof, but gradually gets better (and then worse again, then better, then worse, still trending towards better).

But I remove the one food I'd continued to be eating that contained gluten without my knowing, and my hunger spikes again a week later? (It's not nearly as bad as it when it first started, though, when I had well over 5000 calories a day and had to eat nearly full meals every hour)

I'm eating like 4000 calories I day. I have to, in order to feel satisfied, or else I just don't have energy. It's horrible.

Now, those of you who have been through the hunger phase, have you had moments where it just seemed to get worse? Any of you continue to unknowingly eat a glutenous food, and then later remove it, and experience a hunger spike after you did so?

[GFinDC]

Hi Cgally81,

You might be experiencing hunger due to malabsorption of nutrients. Are you taking any vitamins? Some of us take liquid B-12, and Vitamin D. If you do decide to add vitamins, make sure they are gluten-free though.

You may find your hunger decreases after a time. My thinking is that after you go gluten-free, your body has a chance to start healing the intestines and maybe other areas that have been damaged. That could require extra nutrients to get done. I know I ate more for a while after going gluten-free, but didn't really gain much weight. I tend to eat more often now, but not as much. Going gluten-free is quite a change and your body needs time to adjust to it. I wouldn't be too worried about short term changes in hunger really. Just make your meals good healthy food cooked at home. You can only cook so much of the stuff after all.

[CGally81]

Hi Cgally81,

You might be experiencing hunger due to malabsorption of nutrients. Are you taking any vitamins? Some of us take liquid B-12, and Vitamin D. If you do decide to add vitamins, make sure they are gluten-free though.

You may find your hunger decreases after a time. My thinking is that after you go gluten-free, your body has a chance to start healing the intestines and maybe other areas that have been damaged. That could require extra nutrients to get done. I know I ate more for a while after going gluten-free, but didn't really gain much weight. I tend to eat more often now, but not as much. Going gluten-free is quite a change and your body needs time to adjust to it. I wouldn't be too worried about short term changes in hunger really. Just make your meals good healthy food cooked at home. You can only cook so much of the stuff after all.

Yeah, I'd always taken a multivitamin. The first time I went "gluten-free" (before removing the Fudgsicles), I experienced INTENSE hunger, like having to eat a lot every HOUR. That lasted about a week before dropping to less intense, but still really strong, hunger. It was getting considerably better until I removed the Fudgsicles (which were glutening me, causing hunger in their own way. I'd get the inability to concentrate/hunger thing, but not as strong as after a "major glutening" seemingly an hour or two after eating Fudgsicles).

Having now removed them, my hunger went back up again. Not to the horrible "have to eat a lot every HOUR" level, but still definitely up a lot. I still take a multivitamin every day. And the vitamin, from Centrum, is said not to contain gluten.

[JNBunnie1]

Yeah, I'd always taken a multivitamin. The first time I went "gluten-free" (before removing the Fudgsicles), I experienced INTENSE hunger, like having to eat a lot every HOUR. That lasted about a week before dropping to less intense, but still really strong, hunger. It was getting considerably better until I removed the Fudgsicles (which were glutening me, causing hunger in their own way. I'd get the inability to concentrate/hunger thing, but not as strong as after a "major glutening" seemingly an hour or two after eating Fudgsicles).

Having now removed them, my hunger went back up again. Not to the horrible "have to eat a lot every HOUR" level, but still definitely up a lot. I still take a multivitamin every day. And the vitamin, from Centrum, is said not to contain gluten.

A number of people I know who work in the medical field call Centrum vitamins 'pan pills', because your body doesn't absorb them much and they just 'ting' in the pan on the way out. I'd say cod liver oil, a sublingual B complex, a probiotic, and a digestive enzyme (papaya pills) would serve you better. Basically, it doesn't matter what you put in your mouth if your body can't digest it. It's called bioavailability. Centrum doesn't have it. I personally found the hunger problem to get better after doing these things. Now when I'm run down or worn out, I take a papaya chewable with food to give my system a hand, but I don't need it all the time anymore, like I used to.

[CGally81]

A number of people I know who work in the medical field call Centrum vitamins 'pan pills', because your body doesn't absorb them much and they just 'ting' in the pan on the way out. I'd say cod liver oil, a sublingual B complex, a probiotic, and a digestive enzyme (papaya pills) would serve you better. Basically, it doesn't matter what you put in your mouth if your body can't digest it. It's called bioavailability. Centrum doesn't have it. I personally found the hunger problem to get better after doing these things. Now when I'm run down or worn out, I take a papaya chewable with food to give my system a hand, but I don't need it all the time anymore, like I used to.

If my digestive system gets back to normal, would those multivitamins work again?

Anyway, regarding probiotics and digestive enzymes, I ordered some in the mail that are supposed to be both, and chewable (which is important to me). When do I take those? Before any "questionable" meal? Do I take some in the morning every day?

[GFinDC]

Hi CGally81,

I'd say follow the directions on the bottle for the probiotics and enzymes. I've heard the same thing by the way, that the Centrum are not so great. They sell Pioneer brand vitamins on the site here at celiac.com. I haven't tried them myself but they should definitely be gluten free.

Are you still on dairy? If you are new to gluten free you might want to consider going off dairy for a while. Just to make sure it is not causing any symptoms. I still can't eat dairy without problems, but other people do get to where they can eat it again after awhile. Some people never have a problem with it though. We are all individuals so we have to try things out for ourselves to see what affects us. This whole gluten-free thing is a learning porocess with a lot of trial and error.

[CGally81]

Hi CGally81,

I'd say follow the directions on the bottle for the probiotics and enzymes. I've heard the same thing by the way, that the Centrum are not so great. They sell Pioneer brand vitamins on the site here at celiac.com. I haven't tried them myself but they should definitely be gluten free.

Are you still on dairy? If you are new to gluten free you might want to consider going off dairy for a while. Just to make sure it is not causing any symptoms. I still can't eat dairy without problems, but other people do get to where they can eat it again after awhile. Some people never have a problem with it though. We are all individuals so we have to try things out for ourselves to see what affects us. This whole gluten-free thing is a learning porocess with a lot of trial and error.

I went off dairy for a while, since milk used to give me headaches. But it stopped giving me headaches when I reintroduced it after I first went "gluten-free" (note my sig) for a while. It eat dairy, and I'm fine. No symptoms from it, either on days I have a lot or very little.

I need chewable vitamins. Pioneer aren't chewable, I assume? I can't swallow pills.

[GFinDC]

Hi CGally81,

Actually it seems they do a have a couple chewable products.

Gluten Free Mall Pioneer Chewables

I take a liquid B-12 that is absorbed in the mouth.

Yes, I saw in your sig that you went off dairy for a while and then went back on it. That's fine of course, you know your body better than anyone. I was wondering if you had thought about an elimination diet? Sometimes they an help identify problem foods. Basically you choose 2 or 3 foods that you know are safe for you to eat. Eat those foods only for 3 days to get your system settled down. Then you add 1 new food every other day. If you run into one that causes a problem you eliminate it. So you start from a low number of foods and add to them slowly. Might be something to consider sometime.

[CGally81]

Hi CGally81,

Actually it seems they do a have a couple chewable products.

Gluten Free Mall Pioneer Chewables

I take a liquid B-12 that is absorbed in the mouth.

Yes, I saw in your sig that you went off dairy for a while and then went back on it. That's fine of course, you know your body better than anyone. I was wondering if you had thought about an elimination diet? Sometimes they an help identify problem foods. Basically you choose 2 or 3 foods that you know are safe for you to eat. Eat those foods only for 3 days to get your system settled down. Then you add 1 new food every other day. If you run into one that causes a problem you eliminate it. So you start from a low number of foods and add to them slowly. Might be something to consider sometime.

Good idea. Maybe when my hunger goes back to normal. I can't imagine eating 4000 calories worth of bananas, popcorn and tunafish for 3 days.

And thanks for the info on these vitamins. I just ordered 2 bottles.