A Bit Irritated

[Hulda]

Hi all.

I wrote in the beginning af april with duodenal ulcer, miscarriages, depression etc. and that stop eating gluten solved almost all my problems (together with stopping eggs and milk).

Now I have been gluten free for let

[ravenwoodglass]

Yea it is pretty normal to have the kind of reactions you had after we stop eating gluten and then get some. You did a kind of gluten challenge and since you reacted you know for sure now that you are doing the right thing being gluten free.

Some of us have issues with other ingredients that can be included in gluten free products. For example for me soy and bean or lupine flour make me feel awful but not quite the same as eating gluten does. You may want to compare labels on the bread and the products that you don't tolerate and see if you can see an ingredient that is in them that is not in the bread.

[Edo]

Glad you're starting to feel better!

Allergy testing is not always accurate, and celiac disease is not an allergy to begin with, so testing for wheat/rye/barley allergies doesn't diagnose celiac. You'd need to start with the celiac panel for that, and as you mentioned, you need to be eating gluten much more than once a week or you will likely get a false negative. I never got an official diagnosis, but I'm sure I have celiac. My enterolab results and dramatic response to the diet are enough evidence for me.

Sensitivities to additional foods like dairy and eggs are common, especially while healing. I'm sensitive to dairy, eggs, soy, grains, and refined carbs/sugars. Regardless of allergy tests, if you know a certain food makes you feel bad, then listen to your body and avoid it. Sometimes this is temporary. It's possible you'll be able to reintroduce these foods into your diet once your intestines heal enough, as your damaged gut is probably not able to make the necessary enzymes to digest them properly right now. But everyone's different, so there's a lot of trial and error involved. Some people can eat dairy after a few months for example, but I've been gluten/dairy free almost 16 months and still can't tolerate dairy (and maybe never will).

As for vitamin deficiencies, just taking a regular multivitamin won't correct a deficiency. Multivitamins are typically designed more for maintenance, and aren't going to be enough to get your levels up quickly. A D supplement in addition to the multi would be a lot more effective. Low D is common in celiac. You'll probably feel much better with normal D levels-- and normal everything else levels.

And yes, it's common to become more sensitive to gluten after removing it from your diet. You mentioned getting reactions from gluten-free things... are you sure they're really gluten free? When you say Wasa, do you mean similar to Wasa, or actually Wasa? I didn't know any Wasa products were gluten free. As far as I know, all of them have some combination of wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Anyhow, it is possible that the processed foods you're eating were contaminated with gluten somewhere along the line, even if the ingredients don't contain any forms of gluten. It is also possible you're reacting to some other ingredient you didn't realize you were sensitive to. Keeping a food journal with what you eat and any symptoms you experience can help pinpoint the problem ingredients. But it is usually best to avoid processed foods and stick to simple whole foods in the beginning. It's better for your body and also makes it easier to figure out what you can and can't tolerate. Plus, if you're frequently getting contaminated with little bits of gluten from hidden sources, antibodies will remain in your system and your body will not be able to heal properly.

You seem to be off to a good start and it's great you're improving. Stick with it and keep learning! These forums are awesome for that.

[IrishHeart]

I think that Raven and Edo said everything I would have offered, but I would also add...often, B-12 and low folate are the reason for anemia in people with celiac and just supplementing with iron pills will do nothing more than make for some pretty hard stools and constipation. These levels should be tested. They are often the culprit in depression and fatigue and feeling irritable.

Your positive response to the gluten free diet is the key! Stay with it and be well!

and, NO...I do not think WASA crackers are gluten-free!!

[Hulda]

Thanks for the answers

THe Wasa was a special type...both gluten and lactose free.

The other crackers were also marked gluten free.

It is a great idea with a food journal