Symptoms Returning After Initial Cure

[dws]

When I first went on a gluten-free diet, my symptoms disappeared almost immediately. Because of bad advice from the diagnosing physician, I did cheat on the diet. Still, I felt great for almost 2 years and then symptoms started coming back. I got wiser and tightened up my diet, but am still having problems with diarrhea and bloating. Does gluten sensitivity become more severe with time? I have read about some of the drastic measures some people have to take. My family is not gluten free, so I guess cc might be an issue. I just can't figure out why the miracle cure went away. I am also off of dairy.

[Heidi S.]

When I first went on a gluten-free diet, my symptoms disappeared almost immediately. Because of bad advice from the diagnosing physician, I did cheat on the diet. Still, I felt great for almost 2 years and then symptoms started coming back. I got wiser and tightened up my diet, but am still having problems with diarrhea and bloating. Does gluten sensitivity become more severe with time? I have read about some of the drastic measures some people have to take. My family is not gluten free, so I guess cc might be an issue. I just can't figure out why the miracle cure went away. I am also off of dairy.

From my experience you become MORE INTOLERANT the longer you are away from gluten. When I am contaminated I get diarrhea and bloating, when I am glutened I am TERRIBLE like food poisoning. I was able to eat gluten for 25 years now I can even stand a few crumbs... My doctor told me it was because I am now healed or healthier so the exposer is more dramatic and damaging a healthy system. The only other things is another food allergy, we build up intolerance with damage, you may be eating something your body can't handle as well. But I would tighten up your diet, check labeling, did ingredients change on some packaging? and be more diligent of CC. Then try some allergy testing if all else fails. Eggs were causing me horrible bloating that I didn't know I had developed an allergy to them!

[cassP]

also look at corn and soy... they can be problematic or contaminated..

its true- your reactions do get stronger.. and vary.. i actually got a little itchy the other day eating Diamond Pecan Nut thins.. its measured as <20ppm..

annoying I KNOW.. years ago when i went on Atkins- with occasional wheat cheats- i felt FANTASTIC... but also- we cant always equate our reactions to what exactly is happening inside our bodies. last year- i was still eating gluten.. very light... felt fine for the most part.. occasional cramping.. but i saw things when i went to the bathroom that i just simply cannot describe on here.. sorry tmi

[T.H.]

but i saw things when i went to the bathroom that i just simply cannot describe on here.. sorry tmi

:D

Heh - I think the gluten community could easily make a horror movie with what we've seen.

Terror in the Bathroom - it's beyond description.

[ravenwoodglass]

You say your family is not gluten free. Have you gotten your own dedicated toaster, cutting boards and do you use great care to make sure you are not sharing stuff like nut butters, condiments etc that can have been double dipped by someone eating gluten? Your reactions are getting more severe because because when you are getting glutened the antibodies are flaring and your body is reacting to the reactivation of those antibodies.

[GFinDC]

... I just can't figure out why the miracle cure went away. I am also off of dairy.

There is no cure for celiac disease. When ya got it, ya got it.

Lots of us seem to get more sensitive after going gluten-free, reacting to tiny amounts of cc. When you get rid of all gluten and gluten cross-contamination, you will most likely feel better. There are also other food intolerances that crop up for some of us though, like soy, nightshades, dairy etc... So you may be reacting to some other food also.

[dws]

From my experience you become MORE INTOLERANT the longer you are away from gluten. When I am contaminated I get diarrhea and bloating, when I am glutened I am TERRIBLE like food poisoning. I was able to eat gluten for 25 years now I can even stand a few crumbs... My doctor told me it was because I am now healed or healthier so the exposer is more dramatic and damaging a healthy system. The only other things is another food allergy, we build up intolerance with damage, you may be eating something your body can't handle as well. But I would tighten up your diet, check labeling, did ingredients change on some packaging? and be more diligent of CC. Then try some allergy testing if all else fails. Eggs were causing me horrible bloating that I didn't know I had developed an allergy to them!

Funny you would mention eggs! I have had to stop eating eggs as an entree. I seem to do ok if egg is a minor ingredient in a baked good and I take it easy. It seems to be egg whites in particular that bother me. Thanks for the input.

[dws]

You say your family is not gluten free. Have you gotten your own dedicated toaster, cutting boards and do you use great care to make sure you are not sharing stuff like nut butters, condiments etc that can have been double dipped by someone eating gluten? Your reactions are getting more severe because because when you are getting glutened the antibodies are flaring and your body is reacting to the reactivation of those antibodies.

Yeah, I have been working on eliminating cc, especially since reading a lot of you guy's posts before joining the forum. I don't know if it was a coincidence, but I went camping for a couple of days recently and felt a lot better. Got away from my kitchen (we're slobs-crumbs, noodles and wheat flour sometimes all over the place) and ate out of paper plates and only brought gluten free food. I thought that going gluten-free was really difficult when first diagnosed, but fine tuning this thing is really going to take some diligence and some cooperation from my family. As far as being allergic to other things, its hard to say. I remember that before my initial diagnosis, I thought I was sensitive to a lot of things like tomatoes and greasy food. After I went gluten free, I had this iron gut and could eat anything as long as I basically stayed away from gluten. Now that I am having trouble again, I too am suspecting other sensitivities. But once again, maybe if I fully eliminate cc, other food problems will start to disappear again. I think an irritated system has a lot of trouble digesting things it wouldn't have trouble with normally. As humans, we eat such a variety of foods including things like tomatoes and nutmeg that because of their chemistry can be somewhat toxic. They just don't normally cross that threshold of causing major problems unless something else is bothering your system.