I Can't Eat Anything Anymore! I Give Up :(

[Kimbalou]

I am so tired of feeling crappy. Usually what happens to me is I feel ok throughout the day. Then, when I wake up the next morning it hits me. Yesterday I ate completely gluten-free, but I know that doesn't always mean the food will agree with me. Can popcorn and peanuts cause diarrhea and glutened-like symptoms? What about tuna? I also ate grapes. It seems like I can't eat anything but gluten-free hot cereals, Rice Chex, rice, potatoes and chicken. Forget beans, broccoli, onions....and now it seems like I should stay away from corn and peanuts too. the other night I had a melt-down over the fact I can no longer eat Cheeze It's and Wheat Thins with my glass of wine!

I have found some comfort foods at a gluten-free bakery, but they are expensive! I love their pumpkin bread. Anyway, I am going to stop buying gluten-free sandwich bread. The price is crazy!! I've decided to eat corn tortillas and use them as sandwich bread instead of gluten-free bread.

Also, I take Lomitil but it sure makes me tired. It really helps with the abdominal pains and diarrhea.

Oh well, I need a nap now...hoping to feel better. I'm thankful to be able to come to this forum and know that people here will understand!

thanks for listening.

[songwrtr54]

Dear I give up,

I know how you feel, but there are all kinds of alternatives to this new way of life. For me personally, I can eat beans, but not from a can. I cook them myself. Corn tortillas is what I use to substitute bread. Cheese is okay for me but I'm not lactose intollerant. Maybe you have that also. An eating journal is the best way to track what you ate and what is making you feel bad.

I'm lucky. It hits me within 10 minutes. You may not be feeling the ill affects for days later. That is where the journal comes in handy.

Take care,

Don

[RachelisFacebook]

Don't give up!! You have a LOT of support here. We all feel your pain, and I promise you, it will get better! You'll be glad you stuck to the diet when you feel well again.

[Takala]

"Yesterday I ate completely gluten free..."

what about the day before ?

Whether or not a food causes symptoms depends on whether or not it contains gluten. Finding out which brands are cross contaminated or not is a learning curve.

You may also be reacting to soy, which is frequently found in canned tuna. Try to find a brand without it.

Once you are cleaned up and healed up, the ability to digest many foods comes back. In the meantime, try to eat as many whole unprocessed foods as possible, as opposed to manufactured ones.

[cahill]

I am so tired of feeling crappy. Usually what happens to me is I feel ok throughout the day. Then, when I wake up the next morning it hits me. Yesterday I ate completely gluten-free, but I know that doesn't always mean the food will agree with me. Can popcorn and peanuts cause diarrhea and glutened-like symptoms? What about tuna? I also ate grapes. It seems like I can't eat anything but gluten-free hot cereals, Rice Chex, rice, potatoes and chicken. Forget beans, broccoli, onions....and now it seems like I should stay away from corn and peanuts too. the other night I had a melt-down over the fact I can no longer eat Cheeze It's and Wheat Thins with my glass of wine!

I have found some comfort foods at a gluten-free bakery, but they are expensive! I love their pumpkin bread. Anyway, I am going to stop buying gluten-free sandwich bread. The price is crazy!! I've decided to eat corn tortillas and use them as sandwich bread instead of gluten-free bread.

Also, I take Lomitil but it sure makes me tired. It really helps with the abdominal pains and diarrhea.

Oh well, I need a nap now...hoping to feel better. I'm thankful to be able to come to this forum and know that people here will understand!

thanks for listening.

I just had a meltdown (tears and yelling and all) over the fact I cant eat mustard, ,,MUSTARD of all things

Hope you feel better after your nap , me I am going to take a long walk

Feel better ((HUGS))

[Kimbalou]

"Yesterday I ate completely gluten free..."

what about the day before ?

Whether or not a food causes symptoms depends on whether or not it contains gluten. Finding out which brands are cross contaminated or not is a learning curve.

You may also be reacting to soy, which is frequently found in canned tuna. Try to find a brand without it.

Once you are cleaned up and healed up, the ability to digest many foods comes back. In the meantime, try to eat as many whole unprocessed foods as possible, as opposed to manufactured ones.

I should have said I always eat gluten-free...if I get anything processed I examine the label. The tuna I buy doesn't list soy on it. I've never heard of soy in tuna. I just know I am sensitive to everything...! Even if it's gluten-free, the food can give me problems, like onions, broccoli, and now probably corn and nuts. I'm not eating out much at all anymore either, if I do I usually eat chicken, salad and corn tortillas.

[Kimbalou]

I just had a meltdown (tears and yelling and all) over the fact I cant eat mustard, ,,MUSTARD of all things

Hope you feel better after your nap , me I am going to take a long walk

Feel better ((HUGS))

Mustard? I usually don't eat it, but isn't it gluten-free? Guess not, but why? Crazy. Sorry to hear that!

[Kimbalou]

Don't give up!! You have a LOT of support here. We all feel your pain, and I promise you, it will get better! You'll be glad you stuck to the diet when you feel well again.

Thanks! I see you have corn intolerance? That's what I think I have now too.

[cahill]

Mustard? I usually don't eat it, but isn't it gluten-free? Guess not, but why? Crazy. Sorry to hear that!

It is gluten free but I am soooooo crazy sensitive to nightshades( paprika ) that i dont dare tempted it

[Louisa54]

If you want to find out more about what you're reacting to, the MRT test & accompanying LEAP diet would probably help a lot. Many celiacs have co-existing sensitivities that prolong symptoms even if you're eating gluten-free. Although further restrictions might be frustrating, sensitivities can diminish with avoidance and rotation. So adding a LEAP elimination diet to your gluten-free diet could get you feeling a lot better, and then with time you can likely add certain foods back.

[Jaymie Jaymz]

I am so tired of feeling crappy. Usually what happens to me is I feel ok throughout the day. Then, when I wake up the next morning it hits me. Yesterday I ate completely gluten-free, but I know that doesn't always mean the food will agree with me. Can popcorn and peanuts cause diarrhea and glutened-like symptoms? What about tuna? I also ate grapes.

This may or may not be an issue for you, but if I eat grapes, especially the purple/red ones, I am usually on the floor with cramps the next morning with diarrhea to follow (my sister has the same issue). This also happens with raw spinach.

Like you, I also have to avoid beans, broccoli, onions and tomatoes. It does get old, I agree. I'm not a big meat eater, so that makes it even harder.

I can't imagine giving up corn as well. Hopefully it's something else bothering you.

[seashele2]

I should have said I always eat gluten-free...if I get anything processed I examine the label. The tuna I buy doesn't list soy on it. I've never heard of soy in tuna. I just know I am sensitive to everything...! Even if it's gluten-free, the food can give me problems, like onions, broccoli, and now probably corn and nuts. I'm not eating out much at all anymore either, if I do I usually eat chicken, salad and corn tortillas.

Most standard brands of tuna contain soy, whether they are in oil or water. If it mentions "vegetable broth" in the ingredients, it almost always contains soy. I searched a long time to find some that didn't. The only can of tuna I have now in our pantry that is soy-free cost me almost $2 a can.

I understand your frustration you mentioned in your original post. I am dealing with that too. I have been gluten-free for over 6 years and as time goes on, I can eat less and less. Before my celiac diagnosis, I never had an allergic reaction to any food. Since then, the gluten-free diet has healed my digestive tract so now things that didn't ever bother me, do. I now can't eat dairy, soy and MSG. Corn is causing me problems, although I don't consume it often because my daughter is allergic to corn and most things in our house are free of corn and corn-derivatives. I was tremendously ill before diagnosis, so weak and tired I could often times not get out of bed for extended periods. At first, I got a lot better eating gluten-free, but now I am napping numerous times a day in addition to nausea, diarrhea, rashes (if I eat dairy or soy), headaches, body aches and such. Some days I wonder why I am bothering eating gluten-free if I am going to feel like I did when food was cheaper and going out to eat was easier.

[CarolinaKip]

I am so tired of feeling crappy. Usually what happens to me is I feel ok throughout the day. Then, when I wake up the next morning it hits me. Yesterday I ate completely gluten-free, but I know that doesn't always mean the food will agree with me. Can popcorn and peanuts cause diarrhea and glutened-like symptoms? What about tuna? I also ate grapes. It seems like I can't eat anything but gluten-free hot cereals, Rice Chex, rice, potatoes and chicken. Forget beans, broccoli, onions....and now it seems like I should stay away from corn and peanuts too. the other night I had a melt-down over the fact I can no longer eat Cheeze It's and Wheat Thins with my glass of wine!

I have found some comfort foods at a gluten-free bakery, but they are expensive! I love their pumpkin bread. Anyway, I am going to stop buying gluten-free sandwich bread. The price is crazy!! I've decided to eat corn tortillas and use them as sandwich bread instead of gluten-free bread.

Also, I take Lomitil but it sure makes me tired. It really helps with the abdominal pains and diarrhea.

Oh well, I need a nap now...hoping to feel better. I'm thankful to be able to come to this forum and know that people here will understand!

thanks for listening.

I went grain free and that really helped me. Corn makes me hurt almost as much as being glutened without the headache. I noticed brown rice bothered me first, then gluten-free breads etc.

[Kelly777]

I totally feel your pain. I went gluten free since 09/25/10. I was 150% better within 24 hours but once I got off gluten and hidden gluten I'm finding the same thing as you with the AM thing and it is making me crazy. I have horrible insurance but I broke down and saw an internist who did tests for malasorption, liver & pancreas. The results were "perfect". I feel like I had this for so long, thinking this was a bilary dump from my cholecystectomy in 1979, that I might have developed overgrowth and I actually thought it was c diff when I got really really bad in February. I would be in the bathroom up to 12-15 times a day. I don't do that anymore but I still have a bile dump every once and awhile but the AM business with the mucus and blood drives me up a wall. It is interfering with my every day life so I broke down and went to a GI. Of course, he believes me but wants to do an endoscopy because of my GERD and he wants to get some biopsies of the small bowel. It isn't going to do squat except for make the pathology lab richer but maybe if there is still damage he can see it. I know I'm better. I just want that AM business taken care of. I didn't have a problem this AM because yesterday all I had was vegies, salsa (I can eat it hot too), baked chicken and potatoes. Oh, and these great chips that don't have soy and are made with good oils. I think I have a problem with fats but isn't that what this disease attacks first...the ability to deal with fats? I also have a problem with canola oil and you might want to look that up too. Whatever, it's baby steps but you just cannot help but feel frustrated and defeated when you work so hard to make your body well and it seems like nothing is working. I just wish I knew what to expect in regards to healing and when a reasonable expectation would be for these symptoms to disappear so I could see a glimmer of hope.

[gf-soph]

when I wake up the next morning it hits me. Yesterday I ate completely gluten-free, but I know that doesn't always mean the food will agree with me. Can popcorn and peanuts cause diarrhea and glutened-like symptoms? What about tuna? I also ate grapes. It seems like I can't eat anything but gluten-free hot cereals, Rice Chex, rice, potatoes and chicken. Forget beans, broccoli, onions.....

It sounds like you are a good candidate for an elimination diet, your list of safe foods sounds like the basis of one anyway. If you eat just those foods for a few days and you feel better, you could try adding in one food at a time and see if you react. It might start to make sense of what you are reacting to. A food diary is a very good idea if you are trying to pin down problem foods.

Beans, grapes, broccoli and onion ring bells for me, have a look into the FODMAP diet, there are quite a few posts about it here. It could be that you have a problems with fructose and fructans. I also think I have a problem with corn, so I can commiserate.

The thing to keep in mind is that you haven't been gluten free that long, so your body is probably still healing. If you can find a diet that works for you now there is a good chance that you can expand it over time as you heal. I really do know how hard and frustrating it is, but you have a great resource here, with a lot of people who have been through the same process.

I really do recommend an elimination diet if you can manage it, it will cut out a lot of the guess work for you and can help give you some control over your symptoms. Good luck

[jlee2]

I experience many of the same problems as you but what stuck out to me was POPCORN -- If I eat that I would be in the bathroom for days. However I can have corn which is in anything else. I guess I just can't digest the kernels.

[missy'smom]

I experience many of the same problems as you but what stuck out to me was POPCORN -- If I eat that I would be in the bathroom for days. However I can have corn which is in anything else. I guess I just can't digest the kernels.

Popcorn and fresh corn kernels are hard to digest. I have a relative with diverticulitis who can't have it.

[missy'smom]

... I cant eat mustard, ,,MUSTARD of all things

No mustard for me either. Tested pos. 2 years in a row. I found a mayo that is mustard free but VERY pricey(gourmet). Do you know of any others?

I read your other reply and didn't know about the paprika in mustard. My allergist mentioned it but I never see it listed on the label. I have found that I am allergic to many of the nightshades, eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, cayenne pepper. Haven't tried re-introducing cayenne to see what happens yet. Paprika tests negative for me but I don't understand that. I should do an elimination/challenge with it to see.

[dilettantesteph]

You may not be eating gluten free, but only "gluten lite". Some celiacs like me react to allowed levels in gluten free foods. Maybe try a whole foods diet for a few days and see if that helps.

[GlutenFreeManna]

If you are still suspecting gluten I would look at the popcorn or peanuts from your original list. I have yet to find any peanuts without a disclaimer that they were "processed on the same equipment as wheat" or "may contain wheat". I eat them anyway and I'm really sesitive, I just really love nuts. I understand however when I eat nuts it's like playing Russian Roulette. As for the popcorn, was it microwave popcorn or homemade on the stove or an air-popper? If microwave, what brand? I have read some people here found out the hard way Target brand microwave popcorn has some hidden from of gluten.

As to the tuna having soy, many types of tuna do have soy added. If you see "vegetable broth" in the ingredient list it is likely soy. About a year ago, I was shocked to discover that one of the main brands (bumblebee or starkist) still had packages of tuna in stores that did not comply with labeling laws to clearly label soy. I got sick from eating some tuna. When I went to their website I saw under FAQ's that the vegetable broth had soy in it. But it did not say soy or "contains soy" anywhere on the package. Either the amount of soy is so small that they don't have to label it or their packages have not caught up with current laws (given that tuna usually has an expiration date of a couple years out). I'm not sure which it is, but you might want to contact the manufacturer or at least check their website to see if they have any disclaimers about soy. That is of course assuming you are sensitive to soy as well as gluten.

[Nor-TX]

When you listed the foods you ate that although they are indeed gluten free, but make you ill, my body twinged. I definitely would be rolling on the floor if I ate what you do. I cannot eat onions, broccoli, cheese, popcorn, peanuts. It is a very good idea to keep a journal and track how you feel after eating everything you put in your mouth. I am still finding things I can't eat.

Many of my diagnosis came after my endoscopy.

I struggle everyday to figure out what to eat. I understand what you are going through. So many of us go through what you are feeling. I wish I could give you better advice other than you are probably facing more than just needing a gluten free diet.

[Financialman]

I agree with trying the elimination diet. You mentioned you ate grapes and you also drank wine. Maybe the alcohol has something to do with it or another autoimmune problem like primary biliary cirrohsis. Sounds like you need to talk to a good nutritionist and set up an elimination diet.

Don't give up. You have lots of support on this forum and sooner or later you or someone will figure it out.

[domesticactivist]

My son is in the same boat, we were planning on starting GAPS to heal our guts and figure out our individual sensitivities. Now I'm going to look into the other elimination diets as well before we commit to one.

[Karl Otto]

I am so tired of feeling crappy. Usually what happens to me is I feel ok throughout the day. Then, when I wake up the next morning it hits me. Yesterday I ate completely gluten-free, but I know that doesn't always mean the food will agree with me. Can popcorn and peanuts cause diarrhea and glutened-like symptoms? What about tuna? I also ate grapes. It seems like I can't eat anything but gluten-free hot cereals, Rice Chex, rice, potatoes and chicken. Forget beans, broccoli, onions....and now it seems like I should stay away from corn and peanuts too. the other night I had a melt-down over the fact I can no longer eat Cheeze It's and Wheat Thins with my glass of wine!

I have found some comfort foods at a gluten-free bakery, but they are expensive! I love their pumpkin bread. Anyway, I am going to stop buying gluten-free sandwich bread. The price is crazy!! I've decided to eat corn tortillas and use them as sandwich bread instead of gluten-free bread.

Also, I take Lomitil but it sure makes me tired. It really helps with the abdominal pains and diarrhea.

Oh well, I need a nap now...hoping to feel better. I'm thankful to be able to come to this forum and know that people here will understand!

thanks for listening.

I feel for you about not having anything good to eat anymore. I too had to cross that bridge about 5 years ago or maybe a bit longer. I discovered that I could no longer eat the foods I used to eat daily. It made me frustrated and sick to my stomach knowing that I would never beabled to have those foods again. I really do miss bread, pastas, soups, salads, etc...... and also I miss foods with spice in the other than iodine salt. Every time, I go by the stove and smell other people's cooking it makes my mouth water and longing for that stuff cooking on the range. When, I start thinking again, I know down deep that I will never be able to eat normal food again, the rest of my natural life. My diet is bland other than a dash of iodine salt put into my small meals which, I have to eat 6 times a day. No, I do not gain pounds because, I eat that much. People with Diabetes Mellitus, Hypoglycemia, and Celiac Disease are very limited in what we can eat. Since, I have to eat the very same meal every day 7 days a week, six times a day. Nothing different just the very same foods over and over again. What is normal foods anyways now days for me ? (???????)

[jenngolightly]

I'm on an elimination diet called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet - it's very hard to follow and very restrictive, but I feel 100's times better than before the diet when I was only gluten-free. Check my profile for more info about SCD.