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There Is Nothing Left To Eat.


jackay

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jackay Enthusiast

I am beyond frustrated!

I've been off gluten a couple of years. I had further improvement with my digestion when I started the digestive enzyme Creon about three months ago.

I still don't sleep and feel absolutely wrotten all the time so had food intolerance testing once again. I was hoping with the digestive enzyme that I would show fewer food intolerances and be able to avoid the problem ones. I found out I am intolerant to almost all food including dairy, most meats, lots of seafood, fruits and vegetables. My doctor said he has never seen anyone else with so many intolerances.

I was told to continue to eat the foods that showed up as mild intolerances as I need to eat something.

This poses another problem. I need to take lots of supplements and medication. I make sure all are gluten free but most of my supplements and medications must have corn in them. The Creon contains pork. My multivitamin also contains lemon biflavonoids and soy. Since I never feel good, how do I know if these things are bothering me?

I can't give up the supplements as I need calcium, magnesium and vitamin D for parathyroid issues. I also am low on iron, chromium and zinc. I don't get enough variety of foods so need to take multivitamins and multiminerals.

I also don't think cross contamination of gluten is an issue as I had severe D before I gave up gluten. That isn't the problem anymore. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

A diet free of dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables doesn't leave much left. Wish I could exist on just water.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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Skylark Collaborator

How are you determining your food intolerances? As far as I know, the only reliable way is elimination and challenge. None of the blood or skin tests are reliable, particularly if you tend to be generally reactive to those sorts of tests.

If it's a matter of "feeling crummy" but your digestive issues are mostly gone, I have to wonder if you have problems other than food. Parathyroid problems can make you feel rotten, and do you have any thyroid issues as well?

jackay Enthusiast

How are you determining your food intolerances? As far as I know, the only reliable way is elimination and challenge. None of the blood or skin tests are reliable, particularly if you tend to be generally reactive to those sorts of tests.

If it's a matter of "feeling crummy" but your digestive issues are mostly gone, I have to wonder if you have problems other than food. Parathyroid problems can make you feel rotten, and do you have any thyroid issues as well?

Skylark,

My food intolerance were detected through blood work. The reason I resorted to them is because I cannot isolate what the problem foods are. I faithfully kept a food journal and the only food that really stuck out for causing insomnia was string beans. I often go two nights in a row without any sleep and am not able to sleep during the day. Therefore, I have constant fatigue and brain fog. I am also anxious and depressed.

My thyroid is normal. My parathyroid was normal last time it was checked and my doctor wants to wait another two months to check it again. My calcium level came back normal so that is a good indication that my remaining parathyroid is functioning normally.

love2travel Mentor

Skylark,

My food intolerance were detected through blood work. The reason I resorted to them is because I cannot isolate what the problem foods are. I faithfully kept a food journal and the only food that really stuck out for causing insomnia was string beans. I often go two nights in a row without any sleep and am not able to sleep during the day. Therefore, I have constant fatigue and brain fog. I am also anxious and depressed.

My thyroid is normal. My parathyroid was normal last time it was checked and my doctor wants to wait another two months to check it again. My calcium level came back normal so that is a good indication that my remaining parathyroid is functioning normally.

So sorry to hear of your insomnia. Sleep is a miracle for me as well so I completely understand what you are going through. I recently went through six nights of not falling asleep (I was starting a horrible new med) and I could hardly bear it. Thankfully I do not work (other than teach culinary classes a few times a month) but I cannot sleep during the day, either, due to chronic pain and fibromyalgia. My thyroid is normal, too.

Sorry I cannot help you other than to encourage you to keep on hoping you figure out what is going on. Lack of sleep is horrid and that exhaustion translates into all sorts of resultant issues (i.e. brain fog) so I get that it is difficult to do anything the next day! Sometimes having a shower can seem overwhelming when you are that exhausted. Hang in there! :)

GottaSki Mentor

I've got some similarity to you. I was dx'd celiac two years ago, went gluten free - had some improvement - especially digestive, but muscle/joint pain, brain fog, sleep problems have gotten steadily worse. The past few months I've had about an hour of functional time each day and my digestive problems have returned even though we are 99.999999% gluten-free.

I had tried to remove nightshades, diary and more to no avail. Also tried food combining. Nothing has worked. I've been ready more about lectin intolerance & leaky gut and figured out that my only option was elimination diet geared towards autoimmune / leaky gut. I'm on day 4 - currently eating meat, fruits and vegies only - and already had improvement. This diet is the most extreme, but I think it's the only way to determine which lectin groups are toxic to me.

I don't know much about food intolerance testing - I've only had allergy bloodwork which all came back negative. This elimination diet is extreme, yet part of me regrets not knowing about it earlier as the past few years have been extremely tough on my family and I.

Hope you find some answers - hang in there!

L-C Rookie

I know how you feel. I was/am in a similar situation but am starting to get better now...

You likely have intestinal dysbiosis (imbalanced flora)... I'd recommend getting a stool test for bacteria, yeast, and parasites (such as the (Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned) Microbial Ecology stool test, available at www.directlabs.com). Treating the imbalances in your gut flora should help heal leaky gut and reduce your reactions to foods.

Once your gut is in better shape, you might benefit from some type of allergy treatment. There's NAET (www.naet.com), which is like acupuncture without needles. And there's something called Low Dose Allergen therapy, or LDA, which is shots. I had some success with NAET, but will be starting LDA soon -- it seems to have a higher success rate.

L-C Rookie

Oh, one more thing. Some people think that oxalic acid/oxalates in the diet can cause or contribute to leaky gut. I have been doing the Low Oxalate Diet for a few months now, and I think that is one reason my food allergies are becoming less severe. See Open Original Shared Link


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Skylark Collaborator

Skylark,

My food intolerance were detected through blood work. The reason I resorted to them is because I cannot isolate what the problem foods are. I faithfully kept a food journal and the only food that really stuck out for causing insomnia was string beans. I often go two nights in a row without any sleep and am not able to sleep during the day. Therefore, I have constant fatigue and brain fog. I am also anxious and depressed.

I understand how awful the insomnia is. What, exactly, was your "normal" thyroid test result? There are some high TSH reference ranges floating around and if your TSH was above 2.5 it could account for the insomnia, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, and depression. That is pretty much my list of mild hypothyroid symptoms, plus memory loss, concentration problems, and lack of motivation. My mental symptoms are the last to resolve when my thyroid is "treated correctly" and I have to push on my doctors to treat the mental problems with thyroid hormone and not antidepressants.

Your doctor should have explained that the intolerance bloodwork can only identify potential problem foods, not determine which foods you must avoid. If it was RAST, the test is not even very well validated. IgG4 is problematic; IgG and IgE are a little more useful but definitely nowhere near diagnostic. What allergists recommend is that you eliminate all your blood positives, then reintroduce them one by one. Foods that don't provoke a reaction are OK to eat.

As LC says, a lot of antibodies and food reactions can be a sign of dysbiosis and leaky gut.

eatmeat4good Enthusiast

I am 11 months gluten free and due to a continuing skin rash/hives, I am now on a Low Histamine diet...I also am senstive to Salicylates. If this is your problem, then high histamine foods may be making you feel awful. It seems to be working for me. But I've only just learned about the Histamine content of foods, and the hives can be auto-immune OR Allergic...so I'm trying to figure it out too. I felt like I was allergic to everything. When I look at the list of histamine containing foods, I now know why....many "healthy" fruits and vegetables are high in salicylates and/or histamine. I limit those now. Read about it and see what you think It is worth a try to feel better.

jackay Enthusiast

I understand how awful the insomnia is. What, exactly, was your "normal" thyroid test result? There are some high TSH reference ranges floating around and if your TSH was above 2.5 it could account for the insomnia, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, and depression. That is pretty much my list of mild hypothyroid symptoms, plus memory loss, concentration problems, and lack of motivation. My mental symptoms are the last to resolve when my thyroid is "treated correctly" and I have to push on my doctors to treat the mental problems with thyroid hormone and not antidepressants.

Skylark,

My TSH was 2.2. A while back I had a full thyroid panel and everything was in the normal limits. A few years before this, I was hypothyroid and taking medication. I didn't feel any better when on medication nor when I no longer needed it. Going gluten free obviously improved both my thyroid and parathyroid. However, I had parathyroid surgery not knowing that a gluten free diet may have corrected it. I'll always wonder if I could have avoided the surgery by being gluten free for a longer time.

jackay Enthusiast

If I could get some sleep and concentrate better, I could possibly handle trying a histamine, salicylate, nightshade, oxalate and lectin free diet (along with the candida diet).

What would the safe foods be for all of that? Right now I have such brain fog that I can't put it all together.

If there is any validity in my food intolerance tests, I would like to avoid the worst offenders which are carrots, dairy, eggs, grapes, bananas, lemon, lentils, peahces, radishes, soybeans and turkey.

L-C Rookie

If I could get some sleep and concentrate better, I could possibly handle trying a histamine, salicylate, nightshade, oxalate and lectin free diet (along with the candida diet).

What would the safe foods be for all of that? Right now I have such brain fog that I can't put it all together.

If there is any validity in my food intolerance tests, I would like to avoid the worst offenders which are carrots, dairy, eggs, grapes, bananas, lemon, lentils, peahces, radishes, soybeans and turkey.

Well, that's a lot to eliminate all at once, but I guess on that diet you could eat...

chicken, beef, lamb (preferably organic or hormone/antibiotic-free)

white rice (may not be the best for a yeast overgrowth, but... one step at a time)

celery, iceberg lettuce

possibly goat milk products (yogurt, butter, cheese)

This is very limited, but you could start with something like this, then add back one group of foods at a time (such as higher salicylate vegetables) to see if they are problematic for you. This is assuming you would start to feel better on the limited diet.

Do you by any chance have silver (mercury) fillings in your teeth?

Skylark Collaborator

Skylark,

My TSH was 2.2. A while back I had a full thyroid panel and everything was in the normal limits. A few years before this, I was hypothyroid and taking medication. I didn't feel any better when on medication nor when I no longer needed it. Going gluten free obviously improved both my thyroid and parathyroid. However, I had parathyroid surgery not knowing that a gluten free diet may have corrected it. I'll always wonder if I could have avoided the surgery by being gluten free for a longer time.

Funny, my TSH was 2.2 this spring and I had awful thyroid symptoms. Sounds like you don't have the same sort of brain reaction to low-normal thyroid that I do, which is good. I was soooo messed up this spring.

I hope you can sort out the food intolerances better. I really feel for you with the insomnia. I had it for years and at one point went a week with hardly any sleep during a manic episode. My doctor finally gave me Seroquel, which knocked me out for three days. :lol: Thank heavens I'm past those days. One thing that helps me is fish oil. I take one purified triple-strength capsule a day and it makes a lot of difference in how well I sleep. If I slack on my supplements or fish oil, the insomnia creeps back.

I also used to take a little tryptophan if I had gone a few nights sleeping poorly. Tryptophan works great if I take it once, the second night less well, and by the third night it has no effect for me. Because of the fast tolerance I used to use it maybe once a week as a last resort. Other things I've used with some success are passion flower herb capsules and an alcohol valerian tincture. (Careful with valerian as it's not good for your liver taken long-term.) Maybe these will help while you're figuring things out.

jackay Enthusiast

Well, that's a lot to eliminate all at once, but I guess on that diet you could eat...

chicken, beef, lamb (preferably organic or hormone/antibiotic-free)

white rice (may not be the best for a yeast overgrowth, but... one step at a time)

celery, iceberg lettuce

possibly goat milk products (yogurt, butter, cheese)

This is very limited, but you could start with something like this, then add back one group of foods at a time (such as higher salicylate vegetables) to see if they are problematic for you. This is assuming you would start to feel better on the limited diet.

Do you by any chance have silver (mercury) fillings in your teeth?

Yes I have silver (mercury) fillings and figure they may be a problem. However, I have a whole mouth full of them and can't afford to have them replaced. I often wonder if I have to live in this agony for the rest of my life because of them.

jackay Enthusiast

Funny, my TSH was 2.2 this spring and I had awful thyroid symptoms. Sounds like you don't have the same sort of brain reaction to low-normal thyroid that I do, which is good. I was soooo messed up this spring.

I hope you can sort out the food intolerances better. I really feel for you with the insomnia. I had it for years and at one point went a week with hardly any sleep during a manic episode. My doctor finally gave me Seroquel, which knocked me out for three days. :lol: Thank heavens I'm past those days. One thing that helps me is fish oil. I take one purified triple-strength capsule a day and it makes a lot of difference in how well I sleep. If I slack on my supplements or fish oil, the insomnia creeps back.

I also used to take a little tryptophan if I had gone a few nights sleeping poorly. Tryptophan works great if I take it once, the second night less well, and by the third night it has no effect for me. Because of the fast tolerance I used to use it maybe once a week as a last resort. Other things I've used with some success are passion flower herb capsules and an alcohol valerian tincture. (Careful with valerian as it's not good for your liver taken long-term.) Maybe these will help while you're figuring things out.

Seroquel made me feel like my whole body was on fire. That was the most horrible experience.

Passion flower herb capsules provided no sleep.

I haven't tried tryptophan. Melatonin doesn't help. My doctor have me samples of a new supplement called Glysom. That didn't help.

Last night I did get some sleep. I always get sleep the third night if I haven't sleeped the two previous ones. Last night it was only my second night. Every once in a while I get some sleep for several nights in a row. I feel I'm on the right track and then it's back to irregularity.

I feel fish may be a culprit but may need to try fish oil again and see if I do any better.

Bubba's Mom Enthusiast

I think you could eat pork fried rice..made with brown rice and pork, bacon or ham? Don't add the scrambled egg at the end and look for gluten free soy sauce.

Baked kale chips for snacks

Open Original Shared Link

Swiss chard

Open Original Shared Link

Jicama salad

Open Original Shared Link

Snack on Yellow Delicious apples.

I think all of these are on the lentin restricted, low oxylate diet plan?

Anybody else have more idea?

GottaSki Mentor

Just wanted to mention something - Since removing gluten I've tried removing varies food items, both singularly and in groups until I was very frustrated and had little to no improvement. The elimination diet I'm on seemed very difficult, but with the improvements I've had in the past five days I wish I would have known to try it years ago! Right now I'm eating meat, vegies and fruit - definitely looking forward to the challenge period when I get to add some things back...yet if I had to choose the way I felt last week over the way I feel today, I'd choose to stay on what I'm eating right now :)

That being said...I've lived with the fuzzy brain that lack of sleep and pain brings....you must first be good to yourself, taking only the steps you are ready for!

Skylark Collaborator

Skylark,

My TSH was 2.2. A while back I had a full thyroid panel and everything was in the normal limits. A few years before this, I was hypothyroid and taking medication. I didn't feel any better when on medication nor when I no longer needed it. Going gluten free obviously improved both my thyroid and parathyroid. However, I had parathyroid surgery not knowing that a gluten free diet may have corrected it. I'll always wonder if I could have avoided the surgery by being gluten free for a longer time.

Funny, my TSH was 2.2 this spring and I had awful thyroid symptoms. Sounds like you don't have the same sort of brain reaction to low-normal thyroid that I do, which is good. I was soooo messed up this spring.

I hope you can sort out the food intolerances better. I really feel for you with the insomnia. I had it for years and at one point went a week with hardly any sleep during a manic episode. My doctor finally gave me Seroquel, which knocked me out for three days. :lol: Thank heavens I'm past those days. One thing that helps me is fish oil. I take one purified triple-strength capsule a day and it makes a lot of difference in how well I sleep. If I slack on my supplements or fish oil, the insomnia creeps back.

I also used to take a little tryptophan if I had gone a few nights sleeping poorly. Tryptophan works great if I take it once, the second night less well, and by the third night it has no effect for me. Because of the fast tolerance I used to use it maybe once a week as a last resort. Other things I've used with some success are passion flower herb capsules and an alcohol valerian tincture. (Careful with valerian as it's not good for your liver taken long-term.) Maybe these will help while you're figuring things out.

As far as diet, what is your very short "safe" list? Do you have a safe meat, grain (or potatoes), and some sort of veggie? I went down to rice, lamb, and lettuce for two weeks to find out if food was the source of my GI problems (it was) and then added things back a few days apart.

jackay Enthusiast

As far as diet, what is your very short "safe" list? Do you have a safe meat, grain (or potatoes), and some sort of veggie? I went down to rice, lamb, and lettuce for two weeks to find out if food was the source of my GI problems (it was) and then added things back a few days apart.

Skylark,

Safe meats are lamb, beef liver, pheasant, quail and venison. I cannot stand the taste of lamb. I question beef liver since beef showed up as an intolerance. I tried venison and got D from that so figured that got CC from the butchering. Pheasant and quail aren't available. I question seafood since so many kinds showed up as intolerances. My doctor advised me to avoid it because of that. White potatoes are supposedly acceptable but I've been avoiding them because of candida. Green beans area acceptable but I really think they cause insomnia. Same with blueberries. Quinoa is acceptable but last time I ate that it was a problem.

For now I'm hoping the Nystatin will bring me some relief. I'll try to stick as close to the candida diet as possible. My main problem is finding enough calories to keep me from losing weight. I managed to gain about 10 pounds but that has dropped because of limiting my food choices again.

I've been eating brown rice as a filler. I gave that up for a while about a year ago and didn't feel any better when I brought it back into my diet. I'm still eating chicken and not sure if that a problem as it is on my mild intolerance list.

It is really a struggle trying to find foods that are affordable. We have a huge garden and it is so frustrating giving the food away because I'm not sure if I'm reacting to it. Right now we have cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, green beans, zucchini and potatoes. I've was eating all of them until I got the results of my past food sensitivity test.

Eggs, dairy (casein) and soy all seem to be problems. I was eating mayonaise for a while and it was so delicious. I actually crave it!

jackay Enthusiast

Oh, one more thing. Some people think that oxalic acid/oxalates in the diet can cause or contribute to leaky gut. I have been doing the Low Oxalate Diet for a few months now, and I think that is one reason my food allergies are becoming less severe. See Open Original Shared Link

L_C

I have been checking so many different diets and got oxalates mixed up with histamines. It has been suggested that histamines may be a problem, too.

Am I correct that I can still eat walnuts on the oxylate diet? How about sunflower seeds? I tried doing a spreadsheet of different diets-histamine, oxylate, salycilates and lectins. I may have gotten some of the foods into the wrong columns.

jackay Enthusiast

Oh, one more thing. Some people think that oxalic acid/oxalates in the diet can cause or contribute to leaky gut. I have been doing the Low Oxalate Diet for a few months now, and I think that is one reason my food allergies are becoming less severe. See Open Original Shared Link

L_C

How long did it take you to feel better after starting the Low Oxalate Diet? A couple foods stuck out that I should be avoiding. Green beans seem to cause insomnia. I also question blueberries. These are two foods that tested safe. I started eating peanut butter and almonds almost every day for the calories. If I cut out those four foods, I'll be oxalate free.

This will be my first try before eliminating histamines, lectins or salycilates. I can incorporate that into my diet low in foods that breed candida.

organicmama Contributor

On the mayonnaise issue, Earth's Balance Mindful Mayo and follow Your Heart Vegenaise Soy Free are both gluten, soy, dairy, and egg free. I think they both taste good personally, but require refrigeration, so it's hard to stock up.

jackay Enthusiast

On the mayonnaise issue, Earth's Balance Mindful Mayo and follow Your Heart Vegenaise Soy Free are both gluten, soy, dairy, and egg free. I think they both taste good personally, but require refrigeration, so it's hard to stock up.

I didn't think any mayonaise was egg free. I'll have to check this out.

organicmama Contributor

There is also an online mayo recipe by Cybele Pascale based on rice milk. It uses xanthan gum to thicken. I didn't care for it, but it's worth a shot. You could use any milk alternative. For me, the garlic should have been omitted and the salt halved, which are easily fixable. There are lots of other vegan mayo alternatives, but they are nut-based, which seemed like a ton of work.

T.H. Community Regular

My own experience had some similarities - not necessarily the same, obviously, because this sort of thing can be from so many things, but for what it's worth...

I turned out to have:

- a few food allergies

- a hypersensitivity to gluten

- problems with a few pesticides

I was keeping a food journal too, but it only found a few connections. I was still sick with pretty much everything I ate. Lots of brain fog, vertigo, insomnia and light sleeping, loads of fun stuff. Eliminating some foods made my D go away (which turned out to be from food allergies, rather than gluten, actually).

But it wasn't until I started REALLY investigating my food supply that I finally started to get better. I react to low enough levels of gluten (and a couple allergies, I'm beginning to suspect) that if there are gluten grains in a compost or mulch for my veggies, I can react. I reacted to the corn derived product in all iodized salt (it stabilizes the iodine). I reacted to a contamination on the line that made my oil. I reacted to coatings and sprays used on my fruits and veggies. Reacted to gluten cc of animal meat at the butcher shop or during processing.

I reacted to so much, all the time, that it was impossible to pin down for a long time.

Now, however, I buy food from a farmer's market. I interview all my farmers to check if they use pesticides, if they use sprays or coatings, if they wash the produce with soap(the good answer is NO). If they have gluten based feed for animals that are allowed to walk around the produce. If they cover any produce with gluten contaminated straw (common with strawberries and mushrooms).

When I find food that is as clean as I can find it, and then wash it myself with gluten-free soap, I can usually eat it now. Almost all the foods I reacted to every single time have turned out to be a coating or spray that is commonly used on these, instead. Or a pesticide, or a soap, that sort of thing.

One way to check if this might be an issue for you, as opposed to a histamine-type issue, would be to grow some of this yourself. If you grow it without any fertilizer/manure/pesticides, and you get sick, you'll know that it's something inherent to the food itself - whether that's something like a histamine or the plant's protein. If you grow it at home and can eat it just fine, then you'll know that you are reacting to something contaminating it, like a pesticide or allergen or gluten.

It's been a good way for me to double check a few of my big reaction foods, like strawberries. Home grown strawberries are perfectly fine for me. But store bought strawberries make me really, really sick, organic and conventional both. There is a pesticide used with them that makes me sick and headachy with conventional ones, and the organic ones that more often seem to use straw, I get the gluten reaction.

I know this is not a short term fix idea, but it might be worth checking on. For me, my headaches and brain fog go away when I'm very careful like this. I was unable to take supplements and medication too, for corn reasons. I tried for a few days, but it makes me so sick now I can't take it. So I am certain I am vitamin deficient a bit now, still working toward a nutritionally complete diet with the help of a nutritionist. But right now, that's better than how bad I felt with all the vitamins and bad foods, honestly.

Oh, and have you checked your water supply? I've met a few people who have had issues with ingredients in their filters, and a couple more who ended up having issues with bleach, of all things. They have to get special water where no bleach is added.

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      This may make you feel better about cross-contamination: https://nationalceliac.org/celiac-disease-questions/do-i-need-new-designated-pans-plates-and-utensils/ https://theceliacscene.com/rethinking-cross-contamination-no-need-to-be-so-careful/ I use Tom's of Maine or a toothpaste that states it's gluten free.  I have allergic reactions to some toothpastes so some of the toothpastes in health food stores are usually safer for me. They're typically gluten free as well. Spices can contain cross-contamination from gluten.  There are a few lists online of spices that are safe for celiacs.  I also grow my own herbs and use them in place of store bought when I can.  I think Badia lists their spices as gluten free and Spice Lab has some gluten free too. Knitty Kitty has a great point about nutritional deficiencies and B vitamins.  I got a lot of aches and pains when I got off gluten.  I tried to replace wheat with other healthy grains like teff, buckwheat and sorghum.  Limiting one's diet too much and not getting enough vitamins, can make someone feel worse.  A lot of the gluten free foods in the stores are made with lower quality ingredients than the wheat varieties.  I try to replace all my foods with homemade options.  Then I know the quality of the ingredients and which vitamins I may be high or low in.  Probiotics or prebiotics can help with bathroom issues.  Better to get them in foods if possible and not pill form.  My doctors keep recommending magnesium too.  It's not supposed to be taken alone, but they don't seem to care about that.  It's easy for vitamin D to be low too.  That was another thing doctors told me to take.  Unfortunately, they didn't monitor it and it went too high.  Again, better from natural sources like food and sunlight.  However, supplementing can help if you're not getting enough.  Some sources say to take D with K2.  You may want to have iodine levels checked.  If you add iodine, make sure to get sufficient selenium for thyroid.  You can get iodine naturally in most seaweed.  Nori may also be one of the few non-animal sources for B12.  Brazil nuts are a good source of selenium and you only need a few a day to meet RDA.  Some brands of nuts specifically say gluten free.  Unfortunately, there are issues with Brazil nut production and they're much harder to find this year. The more you can vary your diet the better.  One study said aim for at least 30 different foods in a week.  You might want to try kiwi fruit.  There were some studies that said eating kiwi improved mood.  It also has a covering which most people don't eat, so that should protect what's inside from contamination. I've limited my diet quite a bit over the years because of migraines, so I know how uncomfortable it can be finding safe foods.  However, I'm afraid limiting diets like that may actually be causing more harm than good.  It's something I'm trying to work on.  I keep trying to expand the number of foods I eat and my recipe repertoire.  I made a list of brands of foods that I've found that are gluten free so I have a guide when I'm shopping.  
    • knitty kitty
      Hello, @Dora77, I agree with you that your doctors aren't very knowledgeable about Celiac Disease.  My doctors didn't recognize nutritional deficiencies either.  I became very deficient in vitamins before I was diagnosed, so having experienced similar, I understand what a difficult time you're having.   Poor absorption of essential nutrients is caused by the damage done to the intestines by Celiac Disease.  The gluten free diet can be low in essential nutrients, so supplementing to boost your absorption is beneficial.  New symptoms can develop or worsen as one becomes more and more deficient.   There's eight essential B vitamins that our bodies cannot make, so they must come from our food and supplements.  These eight B vitamins work together, like instruments in an orchestra.  They need to be supplemented together with essential minerals like magnesium.   Deficiencies in the B vitamins can have overlapping symptoms.  Some symptoms can be traced to specific B vitamins.  OCD can be traced to low Pyridoxine Vitamin B 6.  Yes, I had OCD and washed my hands until my skin cracked and bled.  ADHD symptoms can be traced to low Thiamine Vitamin B 1.  ADHD is something one is born with.  People who are born with ADHD have a metabolic problem with getting sufficient thiamine into their brain cells.  People who develop symptoms of ADHD later in life are more likely to be low in Thiamine.  The same symptoms appear if one is not getting sufficient thiamine from the diet.  Yes, I developed symptoms of ADHD.  These symptoms improved and disappeared after supplementing with Thiamine and the other essential nutrients. I was diagnosed with Type Two Diabetes.  99% of diabetics of both types are deficient in Thiamine because our kidneys don't re-absorb thiamine properly.  Thiamine is needed to make insulin and digestive enzymes in the pancreas.  Poor digestion (floating, undigested stools) can result with insufficient pancreatic enzymes.  The gall bladder (upper right quadrant) needs thiamine to make and release bile which also helps with digestion.  Constipation is also a symptom of Thiamine and magnesium deficiencies.  The thyroid is another organ that uses lots of Thiamine, too.  Low thyroid hormones can be due to insufficient thiamine, selenium, iron, and iodine.  Swelling of hands, face and feet are also symptoms of thiamine insufficiency.   Our bodies use thiamine to make energy so organs and tissues can function.  Thiamine cannot be stored longer than three weeks.  If our stores are not replenished every day, we can run out of Thiamine quickly.  If we do get some thiamine from our diet, symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously, because a twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent improvement in brain function and symptoms.  Thiamine interacts with all the other vitamins in some way.  Many other vitamins and their metabolic processes won't work without thiamine.  In Celiac Disease you are apt to be low in all the essential nutrients, not just thiamine, but thiamine deficiency symptoms may appear first. Talk to your dietician about eating a nutritionally dense gluten free diet.  Keep in mind that processed gluten free foods do not contain sufficient vitamins to be useful.  Processed gluten free foods are filled with saturated fats and excess fiber (that could explain your constipation).  Dairy products, milk and cheese can cause problems because Casein, the protein in dairy, causes the same autoimmune reaction that gluten does in some.  Your current restricted diet is dangerous to your health.  I followed the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (Dr. Sarah Ballantyne).  It's a Paleo diet that promotes intestinal healing.   Discuss with your doctors about correcting nutritional deficiencies as soon as possible.   Interesting reading... https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34165060/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21816221/#:~:text=Lipid-soluble thiamin precursors can,and attention deficit%2Fhyperactivity disorder.
    • max it
    • cristiana
      My chest pain has been caused by costochondritis, as well as times when iron supplements has given me such bad bloating it has put pressure on my back and chest, and reflux can do the same. Also, along the lines of Wheatwacked's suggestion above, is it possible you had an injury to your chest/ribs way back that is being set off by either some sort of gastrointestinal bloating/discomfort? I distinctly remember really hurting a rib over forty years ago when I misjudged a wall and thought it was just behind me but in fact it wasn't.  I fell badly against the wall and I think I cracked a rib then.  For some strange reason I didn't tell anyone but I think had I gone to hospital an X-ray would have revealed a fracture. I think that rib has not been right since and I am sure that bloating makes it worse, as well as heavy lifting.
    • Dora77
      Sorry for the long post. I’m 18, and I was diagnosed with celiac disease and type 1 diabetes (T1D). My transglutaminase IgA was >128 U/mL, EMA IgA positive twice, and I’m HLA-DQ2 and DQ8 positive. I’ve been completely asymptomatic since diagnosis, even when I cheated with gluten sometimes in the past and used to eat out(2-5 years ago) I don’t get the typical celiac reactions, which makes it really hard to know when (or if) I’ve been glutened. But for the past year, I’ve been the most strict with my diet, and that’s also when a bunch of new issues started. I eat completely glutenfree, never eat out, dont eat food that says „may contain gluten“.   Current Health Problems • Floating, undigested stools for over a year now. Dont think its related to celiac as it was like this since im 17 and not 13-16( i got diagnosed at 13). • Chronic back pain started gradually, worsens with movement, lots of cracking/popping sounds. Been ongoing for a year now. First noticed in the gym. • Abdominal bulge on the right side, not painful but seems to be getting slightly bigger. Doctor didn’t find a hernia on ultrasound, but it was done lying down (I’ve read those can miss hernias). Noticed it like 6 months ago, couldve been there longer. • extremely dry and mildly swollen hands (this started before I started excessive hand-washing), and bloated face. • Signs of inattentive ADHD (noticed over the past 3 years), now combined with severe OCD focused on contamination and cross-contact. • Growth/puberty seemed to started after going gluten-free. Before that I was not developing. Dont know if any of these are because of celiac as my dad doesnt have those and he is a lot less strict gluten-free then me. I also had pancreatic elastase tested four times: values were 46 (very low), 236, 158, and 306 (normal). Gastroenterologist said one normal value is enough and I don’t have EPI. Family doctor prescribed Kreon anyway (after I pushed for it), and I just started taking 1 capsule (10,000 units) with meals 2 days ago, but couldn‘t see effects yet because I’ve been constipated the last few days. Maybe because of thyroid. I don’t have Hashimoto’s. No thyroid antibodies. But I took levothyroxine for slightly low FT4 levels. My thyroid levels fluctuated between borderline low and low-normal. And recently lowered my dose so that may have caused the constipating. I probably didn’t need it in the first place, and am thinking about stopping it soon.   Current Diet Right now, I only eat a very limited set of “safe” foods I prepare myself: • Gluten-free bread with tuna or cheese • Milk and cornflakes • gluten-free cookies/snacks • Bananas (the only fruit I trust right now) I rarely eat other fruits or vegetables, because I’m scared of contamination. My dad, who also has celiac but doesn’t care about CC, buys fruits, and he might’ve picked them up right after handling gluten bread. That makes me feel unsafe eating them. Even fruit at stores or markets feels risky because so many people with gluten on their hands touch them.   My Home Situation (Shared Kitchen) We’re a family of 5. Only my dad and I have celiac. He eats glutenfree but doesn’t care about CC and sometimes (but rarely) cheats. My mom and siblings eat gluten bread at every meal. My mom is honest (so if i ask her to be cautious, she most likely would try to), but doesn’t seem to understand how serious celiac is. She: • Stopped using gluten flour • only cooks gluten-free meals (but they still heat up gluten bread and also cook gluten noodles) • Keeps separate butter/jam/jars for me • Bought me a stainless steel pan Bu we didn’t replace old wooden utensils, cutting boards, or other pans. The new they bought me pan was even carried home in a shopping bag with gluten bread in it, which triggered my OCD. It also has a rubber handle and I’m scared it might still hold onto gluten. Even if it’s washed well, it’s stored next to other pans that were used for gluten food/bread. Our kitchen table is used for eating gluten bread daily. My mom wipes it but not with soap. I’m scared tiny particles remain. If she made gluten-free bread dough on a board at the table, I’d still worry about cross contmaination contamination even with something under the dough and on the table as at one point the dough would probably touch the table. So I stopped eating anything she makes.   I know OCD is making it worse, but I can’t tell how much of my fear is real and how much is anxiety. Examples: • I wash my hands 20–30 times a day — before eating, after touching anything at home or outside, after using my phone/laptop. • I don’t let others touch my phone, and I’m scared to use my laptop because friends at school or my brother (who eat gluten) have touched it. And it annoys me a lot when others touch my stuff and feels like it got contaminated and is unsafe instantly. • I stopped eating while using my phone or laptop, afraid of invisible gluten being on them. • I wash my hands after opening food packaging (since it was on store cashier belts where gluten food is placed). • I avoid sitting anywhere except my bed or one clean chair. • I won’t shake hands with anyone or walk past people eating gluten. • At school, when switching classes, I wash my hands before getting out my laptop, again before opening it, etc. • I open door knobs with my elbows instead my hands   Job Concerns (Powder Coating, Sandblasting, Etc.) I’m working a temporary job right now that involves: • Powder coating • Sandblasting • Wet spray painting • Anodizing There’s also a laboratory. I don’t need this job, and my OCD makes me believe that dust or air particles there might contain gluten somehow. Should I quit?   Doctors Haven’t Helped My family doctor told me: “Asymptomatic celiac isn’t serious, if you have no symptoms, your intestines won’t get damaged, so you don’t need a gluten-free diet.” I knew that was wrong, but he wasn’t open to listening. I just nodded and didn‘t argue. My gastroenterologist (who’s also a dietitian) said: „If your antibodies are negative, there’s no damage. It might even be okay to try small amounts of gluten later if antibodies stay negative.“ Also said, pepper that says “may contain gluten” is fine if it only contains pepper. She was more informed than my family doctor but didn’t seem to fully understand celiac either.   Questions I Need Help With 1. Is it realistically safe to eat food my mom cooks, if we get separate pans/ and boards even if gluten is still used in the same kitchen? There will always be low risk of cc chances like that she will still touch stuff that was touched by her and my siblings after they ate gluten. And as there are gluten eaters in the house and she also prepares and eats gluten. So would opening the fridge then getting the food and touching the food be okay? So basically what i am doing, washing my hands multiple times while preparing food, she would only wash it once before, then touch anything else (for example water tap or handles) that were touched with gluteny hands, then also touch the food. I dont know if I ever could feel safe, I could try telling her how important cc really is. And I trust her so she wouldnt lie to me then be careless about cc, but idk how safe it really can be if she and everyone else keeps eating gluten and touching stuff in the house after eating. 2. Do I need to worry about touching doorknobs, fridge handles, light switches, etc. that family members touched after eating gluten? What about public places like bus handles or school desks? Or like if i went to the gym, I would be touching stuff all the time, so there will be small amounts of gluten and those would get transferred on my phone if I touch my phone while in the gym. But I want to knos if it would be enough to do damage. 3. Is an endoscopy (without biopsy) enough to tell if my intestines are healed? I’d pay privately if it could help and if i dont get a refferal. Or do i need a biopsy? 4. Could my job (powder coating, sandblasting, etc.) expose me to gluten or damage my intestines through air/dust? 5. Do I need certified gluten-free toothpaste, hand soap, shampoo, or moisturizer? (For example: Vaseline and Colgate don’t contain gluten ingredients but say they can’t guarantee it’s gluten-free.) 6. Is spices like pepper with “may contain traces of gluten” safe if no gluten ingredients are listed? Or does everything need to be labeled gluten-free?  7. Is continuing to only eat my own food the better choice, or could I eventually go back to eating what my mom cooks if she’s careful? 8. is cutlery from dishwasher safe if there are stains? Stuff like knives is used for cutting gluten bread or fork for noodles etc. I often see stains which i dont know if its gluten or something else but our dish washer doesnt seem to make it completely clean. 9. I wash my hands multiple times while preparing food. Do i need to do the same when touching my phone. Like if i touch the fridge handle, I wash my hands then touch the phone. I dont eat while using my phone but i leave it on my bed and pillow and my face could come in contact with where it was.  10. Do i need to clean my phone or laptop if theyve been used by people who eat gluten? Even if no crumbs fall onto my keybaord, i mean because of invisible gluten on their fingers. 11. Does medication/supplements have to be strictly glutenfree? One company said they couldn‘t guarantee if their probiotics don’t contain traces of gluten.  12. I had bought supplements in the past, some of them say glutenfree and some of them dont(like the brand „NOW“ from iherb). I bought them and used them when i wasnt washing my hands so often, are they still safe? As I touched and opened them after touching door knobs, water taps etc. It was like a year ago when i bought those and even though i was eating gluten-free, I never worried about what i touch etc. I know this post is long. I’m just extremely overwhelmed. I’m trying to protect myself from long-term health damage, but the OCD is destroying my quality of life, and I honestly don’t know what’s a reasonable level of caution anymore. Thanks for reading.
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