New Symptoms Post Gf?

[shimma]

Hi everyone,

I've been on a gluten-free diet since last June, and some of my symptoms have alleviated, but in the last three months I've had this new symptom show up that I've never had before. I get this weird combination headache/stomache that makes me feel really nauseated and makes it hard to concentrate on anything, especially reading or typing. It seems to get somewhat better right after I eat, but then comes back again. Pain medication doesn't help, and the headache seems to come and go--I'll be fine for a week, and then I'll have it again. It must be tied to something I'm eating, but I don't know why this is showing up now AFTER I've cut out gluten. Any ideas? I'm absolutely useless when I feel this way! I'll keep a food diary, I guess, but I was wondering if anyone else has experience with this particular symptom.

Thanks!

[Guest LisaB]

Hi, I have always had this same problem, I feel for you, I wasn't good for anything either! You just can't think, to be in physical pain is one thing, but this effects EVERYTHING and it is so miserable! Alka Seltzer used to help me (not sure if that is gluten-free, I used that before I knew about Celiac) and now I am having even better luck with GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) that I get at the health food store, I drop it into empty capsules (also from the health food store) and take one or two capsules full, takes effect in about 15 minutes, it just works great for me!

Hope you can get some relief!

[judy04]

Hi,

I get this" Brain fog" thing after I eat anything dairy.

I can't concentrate very well or read. It feels like you

are walking in a cloud. I have stopped all dairy, if I

absolutely have to use milk, it would be goats milk.

[brendygirl]

I get that too. Bad nausea to the point where I wish I could throw up and get it over with.

I even have dry heaved before when it got really bad.

Also, I get that thing where my hand just drops something I'm holding for no reason.

It's scary to me.

I just keep taking my vitamins and now I'm trying harder to incorporate more of the gluten-free breads, since I guess they are fortified with iron and i'm always on the low end with iron, despite supplements. Plus I need ENERGY when I don't eat enuff carbs! I try to avoid processed foods, but I guess the gluten-free bread is something I need. It bloats me...guess it's the tapioca flour. So I eat small amounts at a time.

The nausea is scary because it made me feel scared to eat and I realized why anorexia can be a very real side effect of celiac. I make myself eat.

Take care.

[Ursa Major]

Shimma, you may be having migraines. And yes, they could be caused by food intolerances. Why would they show up now? Your intestines were very damaged before going gluten-free, and were unable to absorb a lot of nutrients, including other things you were intolerant to. Now you're absorbing them again, and you find out about other intolerances. It happened to me three months into the gluten-free diet.

I am afraid you may have to do an elimination diet. A food diary is a pain in the neck, but a great idea.

Lisa, you may have the same problem (not necessarily the same intolerance, though).

Brendygirl, getting iron by eating more fortified bread is not the best way of doing it. Why not get it from the best sources, which are red meat and liver?

[Shalia]

I'm empathizing. *Something* I'm eating is giving me a stuffy nose and making my throat feel tight every time I eat it. But I can't figure out what it is. I *thought* it might be milk, but a glass of milk doesn't do it. I *thought* it might be soy, but I can't handle tofu alone, and everything I eat w/ soy has a billion other ingredients in it.

And it's driving me crazy.

I'm not looking forward to elimination diets.

Why do things have to get more complicated once you already eliminate gluten? </whine>