Woke Today With Headache And Now I'm Bloated - Help!

[sadeew]

Yesterday I ate almond cheese and afterward read the label and found it has casein in it. I have been avoiding dairy since going gluten-free. Yesterday I was doing great - felt like the program was starting to work, had lost a little weight (a good thing), energy improving, mood improving, bm's improving.

Today I had a headache (first one in awhile - used to have them all the time) and by the end of the day my belly was swollen like I was 8 months pregnant.

I have been gluten-free for 2 1/2 weeks.

All I ate today was a green smoothie that I have had every day since going gluten-free and some homemade chili that I made myself. I even soaked the beans all night.

Could this all honetsly be the almond cheese? Is it just part of going gluten-free?

I'm really bummed because last night before bed I was thinking how great things were going and how I seemed to be losing some belly bloat and my energy was climbing...

ANY ideas? I don't know if I'm dairy sensitive but I ate it all the time before going gluten-free. (I'm Norwegian )

I am truly puzzled.

I doubled checked my vitamins. (I just started some high-quality supplements yesterday but they are all gluten-free)

I ate less today than I have in ages and wasn't really hungry - which is really new as I usually eat all the time.

Thoughts?

Thanks everyone.

[mushroom]

Could be the cheese, could be the chili (beans or spices), could be the almonds, could be the supplements. When we first go gluten free our bodies undergo a tremendous adjustment to being rid of the gluten load, which is often masking lots of other things. That is why it is recommended to start simply and add things in one at a time (no, I did not do this because I did not know it either ) I did know that I had tested weakly positive for corn and soy sensitivity from years before and had avoided those to various extents, but after gluten free they made their presence known more forcefully. I would recommend that you cut back to a selection of things you know do not bother you, whether it be (your choice) veggies, fruit, fish, rice, meat, chicken, nuts, seeds. This only applies if you know none of these bother you. It is best to avoid all the known allergens to start with, soy, corn, eggs, peanuts, etc. From then on, add in only one thing at a time, whether it be a food or a supplement. Sometimes even supplements bother us--for instance I broke out in acne from a sublingual B12 which does not seem to bother anyone else.

This way, you build up a repertoire of known safe foods which you can fall back on at any time when you have a reaction to something. You cut that thing out and carry on with your trials. Any food you respond negatively to you eliminate for at least six months until you reach a homeostasis with your digestive system. Dairy is often something that gives celiacs problems; sometimes it is all dairy (a casein intolerance), other times it is just milk, cream, ice cream, etc. (lactose intolerance). The latter is more common because the villi which are damaged by gluten are involved in the digestion of lactose, and once they heal you may be able to tolerate lactose again. People who are only lactose intolerant can usually eat yogurt, hard cheese and some other diary products which have been cultured (the culture consumes almost all the lactose). You will have to experiment for yourself; this would probably be the first one to try since it is such an important one and involves so many things one eats. If you can clear yourself of one or the other, you have made a big start. So try some milk first. If that bothers you, try some yogurt or plain cheddar. If those bother you, eliminate casein. You get the idea. Give it a try and let us know how you are doing.

By the way, if you are not already doing this, you might give your gut some help with some digestive enzymes to help things along. It is only when you start absorbing things properly that your supplements are going to give you a lot of benefit.

[sadeew]

Thanks Neroli.

I gained almost 5 lbs overnight - woke this morning to still being bloated. I'm like the girl in Willy Wonka who turned into a blueberry. I've never experienced anything like this.

What you said about gluten masking other things and how going gluten-free can reveal other sensitivities makes sense. I have eliminated dairy - the almond cheese was a fluke. (Why put dairy in almond cheese??)

I read a bunch of other forums and found out that is is insanely common to experience what I expereinced after going gluten-free. But no one explained it like you did.

So today I am going to basically go low-carb and eat only protein, veggies and my green smoothie that has some low-sugar berries. I seriously feel hideously swollen and I know low-carb works well for me.

I'm also going to back off on the supplements until everything is cleared out of my system then do what you suggest by adding just one thing at a time. (I know my iron sup doesn't bother me so I will continue on that as I am severly iron deficient)

So it's a journey.

Thanks so much for your post and excellent advice.

[ang1e0251]

If you've been casein free then ingested it, that's definately top of the list. I would add that when you look at supplements that you should watch for casein and lactose as they are often in the mix.