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Are These Normal Reactions To Gluten-Free Diet?

dploy

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dploy Newbie
dploy
Posted

My son (13) & I (45) were diagnosed 2 months ago with Gluten Intolerance - not Celiac. The son is doing great - no more mood swings, more energy, better focus etc. However, I am experiencing some unusual side effects and am wondering if they are normal:

  1. Really hungry all the time. May need more protein?
  2. Loose Stools - out of the blue...
  3. Increase in BMs throughout the day - 4-8 times!
  4. Increased Intestinal Gas - both types. Wife annoyed.

For the last ten years we ate mainly low-fat and low-cal. I excersize heavily - sometimes twice a day. I have allways had a very efficient digestive system and have never been constipated - but after this gluten-free start I am REALLY efficient - like overboard!

Are these normal side effects? My doc knows nothing and thinks I'm imagining it all...

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sb2178 Enthusiast
sb2178
Posted

It sounds like you are either getting some gluten contamination-- work or something you eat but your son doens't maybe?-- or else you are having problems with another food. Dairy would be suspect #1. Take it out for a couple of weeks and see how you do. If that doens't help, some deeper thought might be needed to see if you're reacting to eggs, or soy, or nuts, or peanuts, or if you're super-sensitive to miniscule trace amounts.

The other thing to consider is the "lipstick and moisturizers" category: shaving creams, shampoos, sunscreens, etc. Anything you could get on your face or hands can fairly easily end up in your mouth. Pet food. Wall paper glue... play-doh...

Really hungry is pretty typical. I also get really hungry a day or two later if I've been exposed to gluten.

love2travel Mentor
love2travel
Posted

My son (13) & I (45) were diagnosed 2 months ago with Gluten Intolerance - not Celiac. The son is doing great - no more mood swings, more energy, better focus etc. However, I am experiencing some unusual side effects and am wondering if they are normal:

  1. Really hungry all the time. May need more protein?
  2. Loose Stools - out of the blue...
  3. Increase in BMs throughout the day - 4-8 times!
  4. Increased Intestinal Gas - both types. Wife annoyed.

For the last ten years we ate mainly low-fat and low-cal. I excersize heavily - sometimes twice a day. I have allways had a very efficient digestive system and have never been constipated - but after this gluten-free start I am REALLY efficient - like overboard!

Are these normal side effects? My doc knows nothing and thinks I'm imagining it all...

Sounds very similar to my side effects. In fact, when I went off gluten I felt worse than when I was on it (felt good on it). Anyway, I was absolutely famished at all times. For the first time I remember I actually got up to eat in the wee hours of the morning as I could not stand it.

I was so strict with gluten-free that I know my new bowel problems (didn't feel sick from gluten) were not from cross contamination, etc. but found I was lacking fibre. That cleared things up for me very quickly! So, I take Metamucil and ensure I am eating a lot of legumes and other fibre-rich foods.

domesticactivist Collaborator
domesticactivist
Posted

I was famished at first. Eating more fat and getting over sugar withdrawal put an end to that. Eating healthy saturated fats like avacados, fats from pastured & organic meats, coconut oil and ghee can all help take the edge off hunger.

As for the "efficiency" - I had the opposite problem when we went gluten-free! I will say that resolved when I cut out all grains.

modiddly16 Enthusiast
modiddly16
Posted

I've had problems with your third point also since being gluten free, but more so in the last year. Turns out, it was due to a freakishly low level of b12's in my body. I've been on the shots for 5 months and am just starting to feel normal!

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    • knitty kitty
      Still unsure.....

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      If you're more comfortable starting slow, that's fine, but do increase your dose to 500 mg per day as quickly as possible.  The World Health Organization recommends 500 mg thiamine HCl per day when deficiency is suspected.  Dr. Lonsdale had researched high dose thiamine for decades, and he has used higher doses, 1 to 3 grams in some cases.   Like I explained above, it's at that 500 mg level or higher that passive diffusion happens and thiamine can get into cells.  Inside the cells, thiamine turns the mitochondria back on.  Mitochondria produce energy the cells use to function.  I had been taking a multivitamin containing thiamine HCl regularly and still had become deficient.  Malabsorption of celiac disease really affects vitamin absorption.  I bought a bottle of thiamine HCl.  I was skeptical, too. I thought it couldn't be that easy.  I took 500 mg all at once.  I had improvement within minutes.  I couldn't believe the sensation of energy spreading to all parts of my body.  My brain felt like it was lifted out of a sub-sub-basement by an elevator and lights were coming on, floor by floor, of a skyscraper.  It was mental improvement, mental clarity.  Thiamine is needed for nerves to transmit electrical impulses, so the more nerves transmitting electrical impulses, the more my brain started working better.  The better my brain started working, the better I felt physically.  My muscles had more energy.  I wanted to get up and do stuff.   P.S. Questions are welcome.  "there's no poverty like ignorance, no wealth like knowledge". Keep learning!
    • badastronaut
      Still unsure.....

      By badastronaut · Posted

      Thanks! I think I'll start slow. See what happens. Should I notice the thiamine working almost straight away if I'm really deficient? What kinda of difference did you notice? More mental? Of also physical in the sense of more energy?    Sorry for all the questions! 
    • knitty kitty
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      Absolutely no danger of overdosing on the stuff.  Thiamine is nontoxic, and safe.  I had gotten to 1000 mg of Thiamine HCl a day at one point.   Do continue taking the multivitamin with the other B vitamins.  You may want to add a magnesium supplement because magnesium and thiamine make enzymes together.  I like Magnesium l-Threonate (Neuro-Mag by life extension).  You may want to add a B Complex in addition to the multivitamin (take them at different times).  All the B vitamins are water soluble.   With Thiamine HCl, there's a "magic moment" about 500 mg, where sufficient thiamine can get into the cells by passive diffusion, and the difference is amazing.  In thiamine insufficiency, the thiamine transporters (special gates into the cell) shut down.  Thiamine cannot get into the cells until there's a higher concentration outside of the cell.  Once that happens, the  thiamine can get through and go to work inside the cells.   If you're brave, start with 300 mg at one meal and 200 mg at the next meal.  Increase as you feel comfortable.  You may want to stay at one amount for a few days before increasing again.  Just keep adding another 100 mg as long as you keep feeling improvement.  If you feel uncomfortable, skip the next dose.  Thiamine HCL is water soluble and excess is easily excreted.  Don't take thiamine close to bedtime because you may feel too energized to sleep.   Thiamine HCl may feel like riding in the back of a pick up truck on a gravel road.  Benfotiamine feels like you're in a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce.  TTFD feels like you're driving a Lamborghini.  You'll get there no matter what kind of thiamine is taking you there.  Just keep taking it.  The health improvements can be very subtle, but you'll notice in the long run.   I started with 500 mg of Thiamine HCl, to see what would happen and had amazing improvement within an hour.  I took 300 mg with each of two meals and 100 mg with snacks.  I eventually added in Benfotiamine (250 mg  a couple of times a day) and reduced the thiamine HCl.  Later I added in TTFD (50 mg) several times a day.  Just experiment and see what feels right for you. Everyone is different and has a different level of deficiency.   I kept having additional improvement with each type of thiamine.  I've taken thiamine for almost fifteen years now.  I still take all three kinds on maintenance doses.  You have to experiment and see which ones work best for you in which combination.   I'm right here if you need anything.   You'll be fine.
    • badastronaut
      Still unsure.....

      By badastronaut · Posted

      Thanks so much for your replies! no danger of overdosing on the stuff? or having the other B levels going out of whack? I do take a multivitamin with all te other B vitamins at the RDA level. I have bought the HCL version of Thiamine. How long do you need to use the Thiamine? a short periode on high levels and then back to a maintenance dosage?
    • knitty kitty
      Still unsure.....

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Kudos for trying thiamine! On the ingredients label it should say if it's thiamine hydrochloride (thiamine HCl) or thiamine mononitrate or something else.   Thiamine mononitrate is shelf stable and not easily utilized in the body.   Yes, go ahead and try a whole 100 mg tablet.   Take with a meal.  Don't take close to bedtime.  Tomorrow take a 100 mg tablet with two meals. The next day take two 100mg tablets at one meal and 100 mg at second meal.  Keep increasing in this manner as long as you notice improvement.   When I first started with thiamine hydrochloride, I felt like the lights in my head were being turned on floor by floor like in a tall skyscraper.  It's just the brain working properly with sufficient thiamine.  I worked up to 1000 mg a day.  Lots if tablets.  Benfotiamine and TTFD are stronger and are utilized easier, so not as many milligrams ate needed.   I'm happy to answer any further questions!  
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