Gluten Free 5Days- Haven't Seen Anyone With My Symptoms

[glutenjunkie]

I have a family history of Celiac. I asked to be tested and my doctor (old doctor) suggested I just try the diet. That was last year. On Tuesday, I realized I hadn't eaten gluten and decided to give it a try. Today is Saturday and it's been a rough few days- today being the worst. I have some pretty intense cramping/abdominal pain. Gas maybe? IDK. I feel irritable, moody, tired with bouts of feeling really antsy. So far, from various sites and forums, I have found all of my gluten symptoms under withdrawals others have felt- but not the cramping/abdominal pain and I'm slightly concerned. My new doctor is entirely clueless about gluten (I was there yesterday).

Anyone have this as well? or advice? anything?

~L

[okieinalaska]

Are you saying you ate gluten and then got abdominal pain? Or you have been off gluten and having pain?

I get terrible pain (along with gas, bloating, many trips to bathroom), but it was the pain that finally made me go to the doc. I thought it was my gallbladder actually.

[glutenjunkie]

  On 2/19/2011 at 11:04 PM, okieinalaska said:

Are you saying you ate gluten and then got abdominal pain? Or you have been off gluten and having pain?

I get terrible pain (along with gas, bloating, many trips to bathroom), but it was the pain that finally made me go to the doc. I thought it was my gallbladder actually.

I definitely have NOT had any gluten for 5 days. My daughter is gluten free and has been for 3 years, so I know the "rules" of being gluten free. This is pain 5 days into just one day STOPPING any gluten ingestion. Since I posted, I THINK it kind of feels like insane gas. The pain moves around a bit and I've been burping. Not relieving the intestinal cramps though...

[GFinDC]

You are just starting on the gluten-free diet. Your instestinal flora will adjust to gluten-free over time. It wouldn't be a bad idea to take some probiotics though to help with the adjustment.

[glutenjunkie]

  On 2/20/2011 at 2:21 AM, GFinDC said:

You are just starting on the gluten-free diet. Your instestinal flora will adjust to gluten-free over time. It wouldn't be a bad idea to take some probiotics though to help with the adjustment.

I have chewable acidophilus with bifidus tablets that are gluten free, I've just been feeling so awful that I'm scared to death to do anything else. Maybe I'll just suck it up and take one in the morning.

[jerseyangel]

  On 2/19/2011 at 9:52 PM, glutenjunkie said:

I have a family history of Celiac. I asked to be tested and my doctor (old doctor) suggested I just try the diet. That was last year. On Tuesday, I realized I hadn't eaten gluten and decided to give it a try. Today is Saturday and it's been a rough few days- today being the worst. I have some pretty intense cramping/abdominal pain. Gas maybe? IDK. I feel irritable, moody, tired with bouts of feeling really antsy. So far, from various sites and forums, I have found all of my gluten symptoms under withdrawals others have felt- but not the cramping/abdominal pain and I'm slightly concerned. My new doctor is entirely clueless about gluten (I was there yesterday).

Anyone have this as well? or advice? anything?

~L

I remember in my early gluten-free days, I experienced lower abdominal cramping and after eating I could "feel" what I ate moving along my digestive tract.

I also had a lot of fatigue--I would say that your system is adapting. In some of is it takes a bit longer.

[T.H.]

  On 2/19/2011 at 9:52 PM, glutenjunkie said:

Today is Saturday and it's been a rough few days- today being the worst. I have some pretty intense cramping/abdominal pain. Gas maybe? IDK. I feel irritable, moody, tired with bouts of feeling really antsy...Anyone have this as well? or advice? anything?

My father was celiac before me, and when I was diagnosed, I was kind of in the same boat as you. Felt like I had at least some idea about what to do, what I could eat, what it would be like, you know?

2 days into the diet, wow did I feel sick! Lots of gastro pain, yeah. tired, icky, grouchy...all sorts of fun stuff.

For me, it turned out to be two things.

1) I turned out to have mild food allergies/intolerances that I had never realized. I didn't get hives, but it DID give me the stomach issues. I never had stomach issues like that at ALL when I was eating gluten. Not entirely sure why it worked this way, but ever since going gluten free, these mild allergies (I was tested for them) get me very sick in the gut, tired, dizzy, all sorts of fun stuff.

2) I ended up being more sensitive to gluten than my father is. Gluten free products that he can eat just fine actually give me glutening symptoms. Since then, my daughter and brother have been diagnosed as well. My brother can eat everything my father can. My daughter can't. She, too, gets sick on less gluten than my father does. She can have more than I can, though. The whole family dynamic, with all of us together and STILL having different foods that are safe, has really opened my eyes to what a variation there can be in gluten free food and gluten free sensitivity to it, as well.

If that's the case for you? Dropping most processed foods for plain veggies, fruits, meats, etc... might help a little bit.

Although to be honest, there are often people who get symptoms that don't correspond to what the official lists of symptoms are in the medical comunity. Perhaps some of the folks here have had gluten withdrawal that corresponds to yours, too?

[glutenjunkie]

  On 2/20/2011 at 3:03 AM, jerseyangel said:

I remember in my early gluten-free days, I experienced lower abdominal cramping and after eating I could "feel" what I ate moving along my digestive tract.

I also had a lot of fatigue--I would say that your system is adapting. In some of is it takes a bit longer.

Thank you. I NEEDED to hear that so badly. This evening I had very little appetite, ate half a pork chop, a small potato and some green beans and I've drank 48oz of water in the last 2 hours. The cramps have eased up. I am also strongly considering taking the probiotics I bought for my daughter (gluten free for 3 years, age 5) but I'm on a lot of medication for anxiety and am slightly worried about interactions. I don't know if a pharmacist will or can vouch for the safety of probitics and meds....

I wish I lived somewhere where access to knowledgeable medical personnel was more readily available. Boo Maine lol.

[glutenjunkie]

  On 2/20/2011 at 4:06 AM, T.H. said:

My father was celiac before me, and when I was diagnosed, I was kind of in the same boat as you. Felt like I had at least some idea about what to do, what I could eat, what it would be like, you know?

2 days into the diet, wow did I feel sick! Lots of gastro pain, yeah. tired, icky, grouchy...all sorts of fun stuff.

For me, it turned out to be two things.

1) I turned out to have mild food allergies/intolerances that I had never realized. I didn't get hives, but it DID give me the stomach issues. I never had stomach issues like that at ALL when I was eating gluten. Not entirely sure why it worked this way, but ever since going gluten free, these mild allergies (I was tested for them) get me very sick in the gut, tired, dizzy, all sorts of fun stuff.

2) I ended up being more sensitive to gluten than my father is. Gluten free products that he can eat just fine actually give me glutening symptoms. Since then, my daughter and brother have been diagnosed as well. My brother can eat everything my father can. My daughter can't. She, too, gets sick on less gluten than my father does. She can have more than I can, though. The whole family dynamic, with all of us together and STILL having different foods that are safe, has really opened my eyes to what a variation there can be in gluten free food and gluten free sensitivity to it, as well.

If that's the case for you? Dropping most processed foods for plain veggies, fruits, meats, etc... might help a little bit.

Although to be honest, there are often people who get symptoms that don't correspond to what the official lists of symptoms are in the medical comunity. Perhaps some of the folks here have had gluten withdrawal that corresponds to yours, too?

I joined here with high hopes that I would find others like me, so far so good. I joined a couple forums before this one, but they were fairly inactive and vague. I have found this forum to be very helpful and I only joined this afternoon.

My daughter was also never tested for Celiacs. She was diagnoses with Autism just before age 2 and her ped at the time suggested I try the gluten free diet with her. I threw everything gluten out that day and replaced with gluten-free products. Now, 3 years later, when she does have a gluten infraction, we KNOW. Even if it's prolonged skin exposure (band aides, the day she filled the sink with cat food *laced with gluten* and flooded the bathroom and was covered in it). With her, when she's had gluten, I give her a small dose of activated charcoal and it absorbs most of it. I'm on a lot of meds throughout the day and that's not an option for me. I am, however, VERY careful about gluten being anywhere near either of us.

My parents- while I love them and they are AMAZING with my daughter, have accidentally glutened her several times over the last couple years and mostly before we discovered activated charcoal. She ate a slice of bread at their house one day and for an entire month, she was in agony. She screamed and hurt herself. It was horrible.

Looking back at that and how I feel right now, just 5 days in... I can't help but think- gluten is evil. It doesn't seem right to me that a FOOD could cause a person such distress or that stopping the food could make one so sick. I've quit smoking- nothing like this. I've quit caffeine, again, nothing like this. The cravings were stronger for smoking and caffeine but not the physical symptoms. The last 5 days have been fairly horrible and I know I still have a fair amount of time to rid my body of old gluten. Any tips on speeding up the gluten detox process?