Is It 'normal' To Have Problems When Reintroducing Gluten?

[norahsmommy]

So for someone who is NOT celiac is it 'normal' and common for someone who has been gluten free for a few months to have problems eating it? I have been wondering about myself. I have been gluten free for at least 3 months because I nurse my daughter who is gluten intolerant. I ate mcdonalds last week and got horrible bm's and bloating like I couldn't believe. I also had the same problem after drinking half my husbands beer a few weeks before that. Then today my oldest daughter made some holiday treats and she wanted me to eat some and I did. I was in the bathroom 30 minutes later and am passing gas that would kill an elephant. Is it just normal to have problems eating gluten after being off it so long or do I have a problem?

[starrytrekchic]

No, it's not normal. However, if you've been eating relatively decently, a trip to McDonald's might make you sick for other reasons (not used to that quality of food.)

Give it a few days and then eat something that's both healthy and gluten loaded (whole-wheat sandwich?) If you feel sick after that, it's probably time to talk to a doctor about it.

[Takala]

Ah, uhm, well.... no.

My spouse switches back and forth (eats gluten free at home, and then also sometimes eats gluten free at restaurants when we go out together) and doesn't have a problem. He might go a whole weekend or several vacation days without it, and then eat a regular lunch out with no result. I, on the other hand, won't intentionally do that, because I do react with neuro symptoms that I dislike very much.

Since you do have a first degree relative with celiac or gluten intolerance... you could be one of us !

[kareng]

Ah, uhm, well.... no.

My spouse switches back and forth (eats gluten free at home, and then also sometimes eats gluten free at restaurants when we go out together) and doesn't have a problem. He might go a whole weekend or several vacation days without it, and then eat a regular lunch out with no result. I, on the other hand, won't intentionally do that, because I do react with neuro symptoms that I dislike very much.

Since you do have a first degree relative with celiac or gluten intolerance... you could be one of us !

My hub is the same.

[norahsmommy]

I asked my mom this same thing and she said it was normal to have problems when reintroducing gluten. Basically everyone I asked said it was normal. However those same people have really limited or no knowledge about gluten intolerance. My mom went gluten free a few years ago to see if her bowel problems and rashes were due to that. She said she had some issues returning to gluten and that it was just a 'shock to the system' and she later found her skin rashes disappeared soon after a meth lab a few doors down from her was shut down. She thinks it was fumes from the lab causing her problems.

[norahsmommy]

My hub is the same.

my husband goes back and forth as well without issue, I just assumed he was weird =)

[Wolicki]

That happened to my older son, who was gluten free to keep the rest of us safe. After 6 months off gluten, he was getting violently ill with gluten. His blood tests were negative, so we are assuming he is gluten intolerant.

[Skylark]

So for someone who is NOT celiac is it 'normal' and common for someone who has been gluten free for a few months to have problems eating it? I have been wondering about myself. I have been gluten free for at least 3 months because I nurse my daughter who is gluten intolerant. I ate mcdonalds last week and got horrible bm's and bloating like I couldn't believe. I also had the same problem after drinking half my husbands beer a few weeks before that. Then today my oldest daughter made some holiday treats and she wanted me to eat some and I did. I was in the bathroom 30 minutes later and am passing gas that would kill an elephant. Is it just normal to have problems eating gluten after being off it so long or do I have a problem?

You are gluten intolerant. What happens is that the "assault" on your immune system stops when you stop eating gluten. If you are intolerant and try to go back to wheat, you get freshly activated T cells that make you quite sick.

Remember, it is not unusual at all to go between foods. Think of something you might not have eaten for a few months, like in-season produce. I only eat asparagus in the spring when the price is good. Suddenly eating asparagus again does not make me sick.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Nope, it sounds like you have a problem with gluten. You could test it with something like cream or wheat or tricuits to make sure it's not something else (greasy food?), but normal people do not have any problem going back to eating gluten.

[FooGirlsMom]

I'm adding my "nope" to the rest. My husband switches back and forth from gluten to gluten free and is fine...no difference whatsoever.

I can tell you this...when I was controlling symptoms by doing gluten free without knowing it (Atkins & another diet) and I would heal for a while, I could go back to eating gluten for weeks or a month at a time. Then I'd start feeling kinda funky eventually or start hating the bloated feeling. Then I'd go back on the diet again, etc. I had no idea of course that it was the gluten not the carbs. I thought I was just insulin resistant and so many other low-carbers (who are really gluten intolerant I bet) had the same issues so I thought it was normal. Until my body broke down from a full year of gluten eating non-stop, I never experienced the full-on autoimmune response. My body reacted based on the damage it had sustained.

If you are getting ill and having GI symptoms, I'm guessing you have gluten problems also. I ditto the trying gluten foods that are lower in fat and better quality. I can have glutened symptoms if I eat a high fat meal like something cooked in oil that's gluten free. I will have bathroom issues. If you eat a pc of whole wheat toast and are fine. Try other foods and see what happens. If you keep getting sick, well, you have your answer.

Take Care,

FooGirlsMom

[hazelbrown10]

My friends and I were talking about that too, and they all thought that if you eliminated a food for a while, and then reintroduced it, you'd feel bad no matter what. I don't think so though. My boyfriend eliminated gluten with me and he wasn't feeling bad at all before, and now 4 months later, he has had gluten twice and felt horrible both times. I don't think that would happen if he eliminated something else he was not intolerant to. Side note, I'm not sure if eliminating meat and then putting it back would make someone sick, but people were saying that too... something about your body getting unused to animal proteins?

[Skylark]

My friends and I were talking about that too, and they all thought that if you eliminated a food for a while, and then reintroduced it, you'd feel bad no matter what. I don't think so though. My boyfriend eliminated gluten with me and he wasn't feeling bad at all before, and now 4 months later, he has had gluten twice and felt horrible both times. I don't think that would happen if he eliminated something else he was not intolerant to. Side note, I'm not sure if eliminating meat and then putting it back would make someone sick, but people were saying that too... something about your body getting unused to animal proteins?

I've heard this too, but my understanding it it's a matter of your body shifting digestive enzymes around. Vegetarians can gradually reintroduce meat, starting with broth or small amounts of it. The digestive enzymes are no different for gluten and non-gluten grains so that's not what's going on. We also can't gradually re-introduce gluten. If you're sensitive, you get sick eating a single cracker, while a vegetarian would not get sick having some broth.

Do you seriously get sick when you decide to buy something different that you haven't eaten for a while at the grocery store for a change? I sure don't. Not the way I get sick from gluten.

[salexander421]

Thank you so much for asking this question, I've been asking myself the same question! I've been gluten free for about 10 months or so due to breastfeeding. The constipation, headaches, mouth ulcers, sleep issues, and brain fog I had struggled with most of my life were gone. I just recently started introducing gluten back into my diet and I have been feeling awful! Mouth ulcers within days, nausea when I eat gluten, I have had a headache everyday now, and the dreadful constipation is back full force! I almost went back on a gluten free diet but if this is not normal and could be signs of celiac then I would like to get tested. So, after reading all your responses I think I will just keep pushing forward so I can get testing done. Both my girls are undergoing gluten challenges so I figure it's a good time for me to do it too, that way we can all get it over with together!

[DandelionH]

Mmm, curious about this as well. Should people who've gone gluten-free in solidarity and now reintroduced it to discover they have 'symptoms' listen to them or persist?
I've heard reports on both fronts. I have a few friends who are 'paleo' and ditched it after about a year, got strange bowl symptoms but kept eating grains and the symptoms went away. That may be different though because they didn't eat ANY grains for a year.
That said... I know a lot of people who reintroduced it and thrived instantly. And as the poster above said, there are many foods you don't eat for years and then do are and are fine. I was vegetarian for 15 years and actually vegan (in an attempt to 'feel better' and also ethical reasons) for 5 and expected to feel awful when I started exploring animal protein (completely different makeup to anything I'd been eating) again and didn't at all!

So really, I have no answer and would like to hear others' thoughts!

[iwillmoveamountain]

On December 22, 2010 at 0:00 PM, hazelbrown10 said:

My friends and I were talking about that too, and they all thought that if you eliminated a food for a while, and then reintroduced it, you'd feel bad no matter what. I don't think so though. My boyfriend eliminated gluten with me and he wasn't feeling bad at all before, and now 4 months later, he has had gluten twice and felt horrible both times. I don't think that would happen if he eliminated something else he was not intolerant to. Side note, I'm not sure if eliminating meat and then putting it back would make someone sick, but people were saying that too... something about your body getting unused to animal proteins?

I know this post is extremely old but I don't think thats true. After being vegan for 3 1/2 years I ate a turkey sandwich...and was totally fine. After being gluten free for two weeks, even a breadcrumb could give me severe depression and leave me extremely lethargic and bloated. 

[Tbetteridge]

my husband has ZERO gluten issues but eats gluten-free as my children and myself have the problems.  He accidentally on purpose ate some pizza at work the other day and had some loose bm and gas issues after.  He thought it was odd.

[Nikos K.]

It's funny how people who have no knowledge on this subject can confidently answer "no" to this question. The answer is YES. You can 1000% have problems reintroducing all sorts of foods back into your diet after cutting them out. Did you know that you can make yourself lactose intolerant by simply cutting dairy out for too long? Did you know that by quitting BEEF, you can make yourself sick by eating it again? You have to SLOWLY introduce some foods again. Even fruits! Same goes for gluten. I cut out onions, garlic, etc because of an IBS scare for one year. First day back on onions and garlic -- i was bloated, gassy, etc. Now I can eat them. Start slow with gluten or whatever else. If it doesn't get better over time, then you should get tested.