Please Help

[BabyMadison]

Hi, My name is Madison. I'm 18 years old and I've been Type 1 diabetic since I was 12 months old. I was also diagnosed with Celiac disease when I was 12. I don't take very good care of my diabetes (I'm just plain lazy) and I don't follow my diet well at all. I go on gluten "binges" and just until recently I've been gaining a TON of weight. Every time I eat OR drink ANYTHING I feel completely bloated and I can't stop eating almost all day. I snack and snack and eat meals and then I'm still hungry. I desperately need help and it's really effecting everything in my life.

I don't understand the weight gain because I've been doing this kind of thing for years and now it's affecting me? Honestly, how do I lose the weight easily? I've tried not eating very much, working out, and other bad things that go along with dieting and it's still not working. I'm always tired, and I can't concentrate. Things are getting bad, I need help.

Anyone?

[ravenwoodglass]

You need to get strict with that gluten free diet. You have to your life depends on it. One reason why you are constantly hungrey is your body is being prevented from absorbing nutrients from your food because of the gluten damage. Some of us do gain weight as the disease progresses so that may be why you are not losing weight. You also need to keep your diabetes under control and being gluten free may help a bit with that as long as you watch the gluten free carbs. The diabetes can damage organs, as can the celiac, and you want to prevent that. Some things with diabetes can go wrong without you knowing it till it is too late to do anything like kidney impact and damage to your vision. We have some very knowledgeable folks that have both diabetes and celiac so hopefully they will see your post and be able to give you some guidance. One thing you can do today is to get a book or look up on line info on glycemic index for foods. You want to be eating foods that are low on that index to keep your BS as stable as possible. I know it is hard to follow both diet but it can be done. You have found a great place for support and information. I hope you get strictly gluten free as it will change your life for the better.

[Jestgar]

I don't take very good care of my diabetes (I'm just plain lazy) and I don't follow my diet well at all.

Honestly, how do I lose the weight easily?

I'm always tired, and I can't concentrate.

Do you mean you want to find something other than eat the way you should? 'cause I don't think there's a better answer than that......

[Aimeesue]

have you had your thyroid function (TSH) checked lately? Diabetes, Celiac and thyroid disease are all genetically linked and can occur together.

I'm also a Type i diabetic, with thyroid disease and was having symptoms (trouble concentrating, joint pain, weight gain) that I THOUGHT was caused by my thyroid meds being off. Really, it was the gluten allergy that was causing my symptoms.

See your doc.

[psawyer]

Hi, Madison,

I have type 1 diabetes (late onset) and have been insulin dependent for 25 years. I have been diagnosed with celiac disease for almost 11 years. I am 56 years old.

Managing both conditions presents a few additional challenges, but the one thing that you must understand is that when there is a conflict, the gluten-free diet must take priority and win.

Since thyroid problems are common with celiac disease (my thyroid is fine), that should be checked. But as others have said, your symptoms, including weight gain, are consistent with untreated celiac disease. At 18, you have your whole life ahead of you. You need to stop eating gluten, or that life will not be a healthy one.

My celiac disease symptoms ramped up in 1995, and by the time of my diagnosis I was very sick. There are people here who are afraid to be told that they have celiac disease. I was looking for an answer, and while the diagnosis was life-changing, it was a good thing. I was happy that I finally knew what was wrong, and that I could fix it.

As your body heals on a gluten-free diet, expect to need changes to your insulin dosage.

This is a wonderful place to find support. Welcome to our community.

[BabyMadison]

Hi, My name is Madison. I'm 18 years old and I've been Type 1 diabetic since I was 12 months old. I was also diagnosed with Celiac disease when I was 12. I don't take very good care of my diabetes (I'm just plain lazy) and I don't follow my diet well at all. I go on gluten "binges" and just until recently I've been gaining a TON of weight. Every time I eat OR drink ANYTHING I feel completely bloated and I can't stop eating almost all day. I snack and snack and eat meals and then I'm still hungry. I desperately need help and it's really effecting everything in my life.

I don't understand the weight gain because I've been doing this kind of thing for years and now it's affecting me? Honestly, how do I lose the weight easily? I've tried not eating very much, working out, and other bad things that go along with dieting and it's still not working. I'm always tired, and I can't concentrate. Things are getting bad, I need help.

Anyone?

Thank you so much. Any reply is helpful, especially if you're taking the time to hear me out and give me your thoughts. I mostly posted this because for so long I've been given the "it's bad for you" speech, and the "you need to take care of yourself" speech, always adding the part where they know "it's hard to be a diabetic with celiac disease and to be a teenager." I've always had to learn the hard way and with this situation, that will be death. So, I thought I'd come on here and try to get support and help from people who know FIRST hand. It's SO hard for me to not go to glutenous foods, they're SO tempting even though I know it's killing my body every time I eat that brownie or cookie. Do you have any suggestions?

[ravenwoodglass]

Thank you so much. Any reply is helpful, especially if you're taking the time to hear me out and give me your thoughts. I mostly posted this because for so long I've been given the "it's bad for you" speech, and the "you need to take care of yourself" speech, always adding the part where they know "it's hard to be a diabetic with celiac disease and to be a teenager." I've always had to learn the hard way and with this situation, that will be death. So, I thought I'd come on here and try to get support and help from people who know FIRST hand. It's SO hard for me to not go to glutenous foods, they're SO tempting even though I know it's killing my body every time I eat that brownie or cookie. Do you have any suggestions?

Keep safe, gluten free 'treats' on hand at all times for when you are tempted. That may help a bit. You could try a gluten-free trail mix sort of thing with safe nuts, dark chocolate, a few pretzels etc that you can carry with you. Make some gluten free brownies, Betty Crocker has a mix, and portion them into a size that would be allowed for your BS issues and wrap them seperately and freeze. Then when the gluten brownies are tempting you can grab one and nuke it. By portioning them it will help you to not eat more than you should. It may help to make an appointment with a diabetes educator, and if you can find one who deals with celiac also that would be great. They may have some hints for you. Get that book on the glycemic index of foods and note down ones you like and can have that have the lowest glycemic index and keep those on hand. Also keep in mind that for some of us gluten is actually addictive, literally. By giving in to the desire for it you are going to keep any 'withdrawl' going. Many of us find the cravings resolve after we have been strict with the diet for a while. If you have favorite items that you particularly like let us know and perhaps someone can give you a good gluten free replacement for them.

It is hard but it is something you have to do. It would be a shame to lose you to kidney failure or to have you go blind or even lose baby after baby when you decide you want to be a mother. We are here to help, just let us know how we best can.

[missy'smom]

Hi Madison,

I have a casein allergy and diabetes. Recently got my type 2 changed to type 1(1.5 LADA). I am not on insulin yet. I know, how can I be a T1 and not be on insulin ? I manage with a low carbohydrate diet. It works SO well so that combined with the amount of insulin I still produce and I don't need to inject yet and can have stable, healthy BG. I have allergies that raise my blood sugar too so avoiding them helps keep my BG lower. I won't try and convince you low-carb is the way to go but check it out as another option. The more you know about how your body works and what options are available, the better prepared you will be to set up something that makes you feel good. I follow Dr. Richard Bernstein's advice and like I said it works SO well that I am motivated to keep it up. He is T1 and a doctor. Here's his story Open Original Shared Link There is a forum for support of those who follow his methods.

Insulin is the fat building hormone. If you are eating tons of carbs and covering them with tons of insulin, that's a recipe for weight gain. I won't repeat what's already been said about other factors that can contribute to your problem. Body out of balance causes those cravings.

It is constant daily hard work! Really stinks sometimes! I just don't keep stuff in the house that I can't eat. I'm a mom and my son is gluten-free, so we do have gluten-free carbs that are off limits for me but most have things that I'm allergic to so if I ate them, I would wind up with high blood sugar AND an allergic reaction. I really don't want to deal with that. They're not that good! I have a few things that I do like that are safe and enjoy them.

I'm no sure how helpful what I've shared is, but as you can see, there are a number of us with similar challenges who are reaching out and care enough to want to see you happy and healthy, however that may play out.