Wife's Weird Reaction

[jmrogers31]

I wonder if anyone can explain this? I have been gluten free for 2 months and now my wife decided to go gluten free to help avoid CC. She started on Friday, so today is day 4 for her. Well, I started to feel an improvement with the gas, bloating, and cramping about 3 days into the diet. Last night, she was complaigning that she was extremely gassy and her stomach hurt. I don't think this is a withdrawal symptom for two reasons. One is because she isn't gluten intolerent and two because my experience with withdrawal was that my stomach felt better but I had horrible headaches, shortness of breath, and brain fog for about 2-3 weeks with my withdrawals. Why would she be more gassy off gluten? Seems backwards. I have such a great wife and am so thrilled she is going to do this to help me, but am worried she will get discouraged if this keeps up.

[kareng]

Maybe she's eating more fiber or veggies than before? Or less fiber? Something she rarely ate or only in small amounts & is eating more of? A change in diet can do that to you.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Is she eating more dairy? Perhaps she is lactose intolerant? Also she could be gluten intolerant and not know it. Some people have no reactions until they remove gluten. Often people will have another food allergy/intolerance that shows up when they go gluten free. Just because her reactions are different than yours doesn't mean it CAN'T be a gluten reaction. There are around 300 different symptoms (see here: Open Original Shared Link

[krystynycole]

More veggies or raw fruit will definitely bring on gas and bloating!

Another thought is advil...if she has taken any for of advil (other meds can certainly do it too) can make your stomach feel all sorts of weird feelings.

[CR5442]

The nature of gluten... sticky and coating... may be why she is now experiencing issues. Whilst anyone eats gluten your gut is lined with it. When you take it out of the diet, lots of other things start being absorbed through the gut wall. Your wife may well be sensitive to something she is eating but not had the symptoms before because the gluten was in effect protecting her from it. BTW according to my chiropractor most people have a sensitivity to gluten, celiac or not, so she may well be experiencing a withdrawal of sorts.

[jmrogers31]

Thanks for the info everyone. We have had a weird twist to this story as well. Last night after work she said she couldn't focus at work all day and is just out of it. She also had horrible headaches last night. I told her that she has brain fog and headaches and that was gluten withdrawal. It was so bad I finally told her to go to bed early and I would get the kids ready for bed. Interesting, maybe she does have an intolerance. I told her give it a week or two and it should get better. This has motivated her even more to get our house completely gluten free which will help me so much. It is so great to be supported by those who love you.

[Takala]

If she is eating gluten free foods, she may also have a problem with one of the ingredients common to them, especially in the commercial baked goods.

Can you tell us what she is eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks?

[jmrogers31]

If she is eating gluten free foods, she may also have a problem with one of the ingredients common to them, especially in the commercial baked goods.

Can you tell us what she is eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks?

Breakfast is a banana and an enjoy life breakfast bar, lunch is usually a peanut butter or almond butter sandwich on Udi's and all natural Lay's chips, and supper has been spaghetti with rice pasta, hamburgers with udi's hamburger buns, or grilled cheese with udi's bread. Maybe something in here is getting to her. It is a big adjustment to her diet so I am hoping it resolves quickly.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Breakfast is a banana and an enjoy life breakfast bar, lunch is usually a peanut butter or almond butter sandwich on Udi's and all natural Lay's chips, and supper has been spaghetti with rice pasta, hamburgers with udi's hamburger buns, or grilled cheese with udi's bread. Maybe something in here is getting to her. It is a big adjustment to her diet so I am hoping it resolves quickly.

There's very little fiber in that diet. How about adding some more fruits and veggies? Try cutting out all the gluten-free replacement foods and eating meals that are naturally gluten-free instead. With that much processed food anyone could feel bad.

[cap6]

way too much processed foods. More fruits and veggies. Also, does she drink enough water?

[glutenfreeinminnesota]

My boyfriend is not gluten-free, but since I am the chef of the house, he is forced to eat anything I make He happily does it, but in the beginning he did say it made him feel weird. Never went farther than "weird", but now he never complains...maybe it's just introducing something different? I dunno..according to Dr. OZ 99% of us have some kind of gluten intolerance.

[jmrogers31]

Intersting replies. I guess I never considered bread to be a processed food. We have been eating a lot more fruits and veggies lately which is good advice for anyone with any medical condition. We had spinach with our chicken and rice last night and we now eat two bananas for breakfast instead of one and a bar. We also have been eating more grapes and grean beans (the only veggie our kids will eat without coaxing). I will heed your advice about foods that our inherently gluten free instead of replacement breads, hamburger buns, and breakfast bars. I ate pretty healthy for the most part before this. I think the processed food kick was just me dealing with the thought of not being able to have a hamburger or a grilled cheese and making sure I could still eat them from time to time (as well as the gluten free pizza we made the other night). It is reassuring to know I can still have almost anything I want if I take the time to prepare it. Also the fact I have lost 30 pounds in a short amount of time and need to gain a few back. We have cleaned up the diet and both of us feel even better now. Thanks again for the advice everyone.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Intersting replies. I guess I never considered bread to be a processed food. We have been eating a lot more fruits and veggies lately which is good advice for anyone with any medical condition. We had spinach with our chicken and rice last night and we now eat two bananas for breakfast instead of one and a bar. We also have been eating more grapes and grean beans (the only veggie our kids will eat without coaxing). I will heed your advice about foods that our inherently gluten free instead of replacement breads, hamburger buns, and breakfast bars. I ate pretty healthy for the most part before this. I think the processed food kick was just me dealing with the thought of not being able to have a hamburger or a grilled cheese and making sure I could still eat them from time to time (as well as the gluten free pizza we made the other night). It is reassuring to know I can still have almost anything I want if I take the time to prepare it. Also the fact I have lost 30 pounds in a short amount of time and need to gain a few back. We have cleaned up the diet and both of us feel even better now. Thanks again for the advice everyone.

Way to go on the weight loss! It's understandable that you would want to make all those favorites, of course. gluten-free bread is higher in carbs and sugar usually and not very high on fiber. So for someone who is used to eating wheat products and may not need the gluten-free diet (like your wife) all that sugar and very little fiber can cause constipation and stomach aches. I'm glad she is feeling better with a few adjustments.

Okay some ideas for "natural" gluten-free meals:

Chili, soups and stews (very easy to make yourself)

Salads--all kinds: Green salads, potato salad, coleslaw, etc.

Mexican--many different things that are easy to make gluten-free by using corn tortillas

-tacos

-fajitas

-enchiladas (watch out for wheat in the enchilada sauce)

-nachos (okay so that's more of snack but so many combinations)

Asian food--

Stir fries and most things can be made gluten-free with gluten-free soy sauce

Look for rice paper wrappers to make spring rolls

Check out this bloog for some awesome recipes: Open Original Shared Link

I linked you to her Asian recipes but everythign on the blog is gluten-free.

Many other Ethnic foods have things that are naturally gluten-free.

If you are feeling adventurous delve into Indian or Ethiopian cooking.

Rice--Made SO many ways see this thread for ideas:

Potatoes--again so many ideas! Look here:

Finally, check out what the members on the board here are eating everyday:

There is so much variety you are sure to find some ideas for things you like.

[viviendoparajesus]

Lot of good points from those who already posted. In particular, I would suspect she has a problem with gluten regardless of what her tests may say. If you have kids and both go gluten-free it will be great for them. I wish I had never had gluten and casein if I had not I would not know what I was missing in regards to taste. I have found I crave and miss casein not so much gluten. Especially since I feel better. Someone suggested since I felt better then worse maybe I have the wrong diagnosis, but in spite of the downward direction of my health I know I cannot go back to gluten I know going gluten-free helped. The gluten masked other intolerances, allergies, and problems I had. So that could be part of what your wife is experiencing. I hope you let her know you appreciate her going gluten-free. It seems like in the long term it will be better for both of you. But gluten is like an addiction it can be hard to go gluten-free since she does not "have" to do it. I have heard and read gluten and dairy problems can go together. Could be she has a problem with dairy. Also, I was told for blood sugar stability and hence ideal health breakfast should be protein focused not carbs. Blood sugar issues can cause stomach distress especially in the mornings - the doctors have told me this but I have also had first hand experience with this. The diet you describe is heavily processed/packaged/unnatural. I have heard if we just eat the same and substitute gluten-free for wheat we can still have problems for this reason. I noticed when I had a predominately fruit and vegetable diet to a high grain/processed/packaged one - I felt different - a fuller and heaviness.

The best naturally gluten-free foods seem to be fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, seeds, fish, and meat. For some grains rice may be a good bet since it tends not to cause allergies. Quinoa is a good source of protein and a fairly ancient grain. I have heard negative things about corn I would explain it but I do not understand it. I do not have a lot of experience with millet, amaranth, and sorghum to talk about them. I think sorghum might be prone to going bad - molds I think. I think that is an issue with most grains. Along with their needing to be processed and refined to be usable. They also need to be cooked which is harder on the digestive system than raw foods. I have read to have a largely raw foods diet with cooked foods making a smaller percentage and grains and beans fall into the smaller category and nuts and seeds should be sprouted (Dr Bateson-Koch's book). I have not heard people having issues with Udi brand but I have heard Bob's Red Mill, so perhaps your wife has an issue with something they cook with. I would recommend digestive enzymes other than going gluten-free it was the other big thing that really helped me.

Best wishes!! Yay for supportive loved ones!