Too Early To Give Up?

[mattwilliams85]

So I have been having awful, constant fatigue problems ever since I moved to Texas. I went to an allergist and showed negative for allergies, went to a psychiatrist and showed negative for thyroid problems, so finally I went to get some blood work and it turns out my cell count for gluten sensitivity showed positive. I was surprised, and my doctor told me to go on a gluten free diet for 30 days. Well it's been a whole month now of being 100% gluten free and now I feel worse than before. Especially when I try to workout, I feel like I'm going to fall asleep!

The only good change I've noticed is (and sorry if i gross anyone out) that my bowel movements are much more regular in frequency and consistency now, and I'm like hungry all the time, but that's really it. Is 30 days enough time to call it quits?

Any advice or comments are appreciated, thanks!

-Matthew (25yr, Austin TX)

[ravenwoodglass]

You have noticed that your BMs have been more regular and consistant and that you are always hungry. You are showing progress on the diet and should stick with it. The constant hunger is because your intestines are healing and are better able to now absorb nutrients and that is what is triggering the constant hunger. The first month many of us also go through withdrawl which can make us tired and irritable or even depressed. That will pass in a bit along with the constant hunger.

Do make sure that you are checking any meds or supplements that you take to make sure they are gluten free. If you are not taking supplements you may want to add some to your day. Sublingual B12 may help with the fatigue and have your doctor check and make sure you don't need to supplement others like Vitamin D, Calcium, iron etc.

You had a positive blood test and you are very fortunate in that this was discovered before you developed other conditions as an offshoot of undiagnosed celiac. Hang in there and hopefully you will be feeling more energetic soon.

[ndw3363]

Well it depends - when you took gluten out of your diet, did you replace it with a lot of processed gluten free foods? I have found that I can't tolerate most of that stuff. I have to eat mostly freshly prepared foods with the occasional "treat" - but even then I just end up feeling heavy so it's not really a treat. I stay away from most gluten free breads and only have pasta a couple times per month. For the most part, I'm eating meat, rice/potatoes and vegetables...fruit for dessert (sometimes with ice cream or cool whip). Whenever I deviate from this, I pay the price. This past week I've been eating out a lot and I feel terrible. I don't think I've been severely glutened, but my system is just not happy with all the junk. Try to eat as healthy as possible for a full week and see how you feel. Then you can re-evaluate. Hope you feel better soon!

[dilettantesteph]

It can take awhile to heal. I took me quite while to track down all the gluten sources around me. If you are eating a lot of the gluten free processed foods you might want to cut down. A whole foods diet is more healthy in general.

[bartfull]

And save the fruit and sugary veggies (sweet potatoes, yams, carrots) for late in the day. I know I have mentioned this on several threads, but I was having lots of trouble with fatigue at first. When my friend told me the sweets were making my sugar spike then plummet, I decided to eat fruit after supper only. Now I feel GREAT!