Could This Be Why

[anerissara]

I was just looking on enterolab's site and found this:

"Sometimes, however, people are so immune suppressed from damage to the intestine and malnutrition that a gluten free diet actually can make the antibody values go up for a time, a reflection of enhanced immune function and response."

Is that why a lot of us seem to feel *worse* for awhile after starting a gluten-free diet? It makes sense, maybe the immune system ramps up after the gluten is gone and just makes you miserable for awhile after you start the diet. I felt so amazingly good for 3 weeks after going gluten-free, but now it seems like I'm up and down so much and when I'm sick I feel sooo sick...it's hard to tell what's causing it because I have to think back several days to identify what I might have eaten! I've actually dug through the trash to locate food lables from a few days before. Never thought I'd be doing *that*!

It's been 4 months and a bit, and overall I guess I do feel better most of the time. Finally, in the last few weeks my bm's seem to be taking a turn for the better. However, right now I am bloated and crampy and really, really grouchy....if only I still felt as good as I did that first month gluten-free!!!

[Matilda]

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[anerissara]

I agree...I am much more sensitive to my body now than I was before going gluten-free. Also, I used to crave food all the time! I especially craved *bread*. Go figure! One thing in retrospect that is interesting is that I had the worst time during holidays...namely Christmas and Thanksgiving. Those happened to be the times when I baked--Stuffing, fresh bread, rolls, sugar cookies and our all time favorite: short bread cookies. The point when I realized that something was really wrong was after Christmas this year, when I was sooo sick. Looking back, I can see that maybe all the extra wheat was to blame--at the time I just blamed it on stress.

Funny thing is, now that I'm gluten-free I *don't* crave bread anymore! In fact just thinking about eating it makes me ill. I do miss beer and a few other things but like you said it's a nostalgia and not a craving.

I also notice that if I've been glutened I will go through cravings again. Not for wheat, but for wierd things...It feels kind of like I have been poisioned and am eating for an antidote, if that makes sense. I wonder if my body is confusing the damage being done due to the gluten with hunger pains?

I also notice that I am much more sensitive to alchohol than I used to be, it was interesting to read that someone else is having similar experiences. I wonder why that is?

[Emme999]

In the book "Dangerous Grains" it talks about how there is an addiction to gluten - maybe that's why we feel lousy for a while after giving it up. Going through withdrawls

Here's the quote:

"There are certain peptides, or protein fragments, found in gluten and in casein, a protein found in milk, that look and act just like the narcotic known as morphine. They are hidden in an inactive state within the gluten and casein protein sequence, and are released by the digestive processes in the stomach and by pancreatic secretions. Once freed from the larger protein structure, they are highly resistant to enzyme digestion in the intestines. There is quite a large body of evidence establishing that these peptides found in gluten and dairy products may also be responsible for the health hazards associated with gluten. Some researchers have suggested that the opioids were the primary attraction for our ancestors who adopted agriculture. The physical, sensual comfort offered by the exorphins encouraged them to relinquish their healthier, less demanding hunter-gatherer lifestyles. Exorphins may be the determining feature of what we now call "comfort foods."'

Anerissara - maybe that's why you don't crave them now that you are gluten free. Maybe you're beyond the addiction stage I've been gluten-free for about a month now, and I'm to the point where I don't really feel like I need a "hit" either

- Michelle

[Bonnie]

Anerissara, I too feel bloated, crampy and so irritable I feel like I'm going to KILL someone today!

Been gluten-free for 9 weeks. Overall feeling a bit better but this bloating is really getting me down.

But I too have the alcohol thing. One glass of wine and I'm really tipsy, start having a hangover while I'm drinking. But my irritability goes sky high when I 'try' and drink now.

Weird huh?

[Guest nini]

I can't even be around alcohol without getting a buzz! I can't drink it at all... Before going gluten-free the last alcohol I remember having was a glass of wine with dinner that I couldn't finish because I was feeling very woozy, then about 4 years ago for Christmas my boss gave me a bottle of Godiva chocolate liquor, I put a small amount on some ice cream and I was literally drunk for a week from it! In my younger days I could "really put one on" as far as drinking went... no drinking for me anymore.

I also remember having pretty major "withdrawl" type symptoms when I first went gluten-free... there is some truth to that.

I read somewhere that wheat has properties that suppress certain brain functions making people more susceptible to suggestion... maybe that's the opioid factor?!

[anerissara]

So I was a wheat junkie! LOL yup, that would explain how messed up my system seems to be now. It seems like I've been gluten-free forever, but I guess 4 months out isn't that long.

I'm not complaining about the alchohol thing, it's kind of nice to be a "cheap drunk"

[jknnej]

I hate these weird symptoms, too. I feel your pain on the nausea, Matiida. I have it, too, and it's the single worst feeling I think humans can experience!

I've been gluten-free for 6 months and it still hasn't improved...

[BamBam]

Regarding the gluten sensitivity. Do you think maybe, giving up gluten and having worse symptoms, is like when we give up pop or something else, we get other problems for a little bit. For example, one summer my brother and I drank Dr. Pepper like it was going out of style. Then when we went on summer vacation for two weeks (Mom never packed pop) we had tremendous head aches from the lack of caffeine. So maybe when we give up gluten, our body has to get used to not having it before it can get better? We have eaten gluten for years and years, and as we all know, it is IN EVERYTHING! So I think that is what our bodies are going through, they are healing and getting used to not having that poison in our body.

What do you think!?

[junevarn]

My doctor said that as the gut heals from villi damage, bacteria or other infectious agents that might have been encapsulated deeper in the gut come out and thats why you might feel sick even if you're off gluten for a time. :

I had three types of infections from lowered immune function, (bacterial,protoza and yeast,) that had to be treated. This doctor treats a lot of gluten sensitive people. He said that other infections might show up over time, so that I shouldn't get discouraged. He said that six was the most infections in one person that occurred with someone with gluten intolerance. I will have to be tested again in a week or two for signs of other infections.

I wish I could show you the drawing of the gut that he showed me. This doctor is a Chiropractor/Clinical nutritionist. He and his wife are both gluten intolerant. There is an MD there who prescribes the prescription meds. He gives out the immune boosting and gut healing vitamins and supplements.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

June

[anerissara]

June, I wish I had your doctor! The explanation he gave sounds very reasonable. How long have you been gluten-free and how long has it taken for you to feel better?

[junevarn]

I have been gluten and dairy free since October, 2004. I felt a little better a month after that.

I have really started to feel like myself again since I finished the meds for the infections.( I had a bacterial infection in my stomach and a protozoa and yeast in the intestines).!

I still get a little bloated when I eat too much starch but my energy is so much better. Last night I went for a walk with my husband and wanted to keep on going and he wanted to bo back! Usually its me who gets tired first. I also am starting to gain a little weight. I am 5'9" and my usual weight is 130. On a cruise to Alaska last August I had bad diarrhea and lost 6 pounds! I was way too skinny at 124.

I was eating 4 times a day too. That was the worst of the celiac disease. I also had three attacks of vomiting and palpitations during the cruise.

Its terrible to be so sick and not know whats wrong. I am so thankful for this diagnosis! And for this site.

Sincerely,

June