I Suspect I Am Gluten Intolerant. Any Advice?

[pricklypear1971]

I was born and raised in the dirty Duval county (AKA Jacksonville,fl) and I still call this town my home. Yeah we cook our rice in a pot. Ive never even ward of a rice cooker until you mentioned it.

Lots of questions. Any special way you cook rice? What kind of veggies should I mix with my rice? I would love something I can make a bunch of at once.

I'm quitting the kale, banana, strawberry smoothie for now. Nit really sure what I am going to replace breakfast with but lunch with just be plain chicken breast and rice while dinner will be steamed veggies and a baked potato indefinitely. No more lemonade slip ups like today either.

Gonna keep taking my multi vitamin and probiotic daily.

P.s. Louisiana is cool. I love the Swamp People show

I lived in Jax for about 9 years. My parents live in St. Aug now.

You may like a rice cooker, but be warned the "cup" is NOT a cup. Personally, I'd rather clean a pot...

I'd cook veggies seperately - putting them in the rice (unless you have a rice cooker) changes cooking time, etc.

Go to the store and pick out whatever veggies appeal to you and cook them and eat them. For breakfast try eggs with a piece of fruit - NO JUICE!

Next time I'm in town I'm heading to a JJ Grey & Mofro show of they're in town. One of my faves!

[LOWNskater52]

I lived in Jax for about 9 years. My parents live in St. Aug now.

You may like a rice cooker, but be warned the "cup" is NOT a cup. Personally, I'd rather clean a pot...

I'd cook veggies seperately - putting them in the rice (unless you have a rice cooker) changes cooking time, etc.

Go to the store and pick out whatever veggies appeal to you and cook them and eat them. For breakfast try eggs with a piece of fruit - NO JUICE!

Next time I'm in town I'm heading to a JJ Grey & Mofro show of they're in town. One of my faves!

Sweet. What side of town? I am in way southside; St. John's County actually. Go jags. And how do you cook eggs? I know you can't cook eggs on a skillet without some sort of non stick spray but I see alot of those have unhealthy stuff in them.

Anyways, Day 15

I now feel just as bad as I did if not worse than when I started. My esophagus/chest has been going absolutely nuts for a while now. I just have this weird tingling/pressure on the left side of my chest where my esophagus is. It something works its way up to my throat and makes my throat tight. Now don't start freaking out about heart attack stuff. I have had this happen to me off and on now for the past year and a half. The first 10 times this happened I would rush to the hospital convinced I was having a heart attack and every time after all sorts of test they said my heart was fine and reassured me it was just esophageal spasms so I'm not too worried about this. It is just extremely annoying and uncomfortable and happening like 2 or 3 times a day now.

I really hope this is just a withdrawal symtpom. I know I haven't touched any gluten or casein in weeks now. I had an steamed veggies last night for dinner, an apple for breakfast and a chicken breast and baked potato for dinner.

[pricklypear1971]

Use an oil like safflower, olive, etc. in the skillet. Cook as usual.

What causes the spasms? Stress, stomach upset?

You've hot to start filling your stomach with something benign - water, stock, broth, gluten-free soup (look at whole foods). Eating only an apple won't cut it, and is probably contributing to the problem. Eat a well balanced meal, EVERY meal. 3x a day. Snack in between.

You've also got to reference back to your food diary to see when these things happen, what did you eat? What did you do? Is it stress? Did you miss a meal?

You MUST pay attention to your body. When it gives you a negative response, stop what you're doing. When it gives you a positive response, keep it up.

[ravenwoodglass]

I know I haven't touched any gluten or casein in weeks now. I had an steamed veggies last night for dinner, an apple for breakfast and a chicken breast and baked potato for dinner.

If this is all you are eating you are starving yourself. The three things added together make one full meal. You'll feel better if you start eating a protein source either meat, eggs, nut butters, chicken along with a starch like rice, potato, buckwheat etc and a veggie or fruit at each meal.

Eggs are easy to cook. Heat a pan on the medium setting and melt a pat of butter in it. Crack the egg and drop into the pan. When the clear part of the egg turns white flip it over. For scrambled just beat the egg in a cup with a fork and a VERY small amount of water or milk. Pour in skillet and move the egg around until it is done.

Hard boiled eggs make a good snack or part of a meal too. Just put the eggs whole in a pan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a full boil and then cover the pot with a lid and leave it for 20 minutes or so.

Be sure to check out the recipe section and since you will likely be doing much more cooking check out a good basic cookbook. Some will have tips and terms and techniques. It can make things easier and you might find you even enjoy cooking once you learn how.

[Michelle1234]

Anyways I am just gonna list what I have been eating these past couple of days and see if anything pops out to you:

Fruit Veggie Smoothie - 10 Strawberries, 2 Bananas, 2 Cups of Kale, Ice

Baked Chicken Breast with Ketchup - Chicken Breast(baked), sea salt, pepper, Simply Heinz Ketchup(sugar instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup)

Jennie O Turkey Bacon - Says No Gluten on the back but does have a laundry list of crazy looking chemicals

Homemade Chicken Stir Fry - Baked Chicken Breast, Whole grain brown rice, peas, carrots, San-j soy sauce

Bush's Homestyle Baked Beans - Bush's website say all products are now gluten free. No more wheat flour used.

Coconut Water - 100% Natural, says no gluten on back

Carrots - Just plain carrots as a snack

Have you replaced your blender? There is no way to clean all the gluten out of a blender so you need a brand new one.

Gluten hides in crazy places. Eventually I had to replace all my cooking implements that had a seam or scratch in them. This meant all spatulas, spoons, measuring cups etc. Mixer, toaster, blender etc. all had to go despite our trying to clean them really well. Had to get all new shampoo, soap, conditioner, dish soap, lotion, lip balm, etc. Basically we had to go gluten free as a household. Husband had to also. He was terrible about getting crumbs on the refrigerator handle, microwave handle etc.

Good luck! Your system took a long time getting to where it is and it will probably take some time to get it back into good working order.

Edit: Forgot to mention you may want to try avoiding anything with a crazy long list of ingredients or any words on the ingredient list that you don't understand. Chemicals can do weird things and it makes things easier if you can read and understand the entire list. Try to find Applegate Farms for sliced meat and breakfast sausage. Nice short ingredient list.

Michelle

[LOWNskater52]

Day 19,

Well I am miserable. My throat is burnt to a crisp from reflux. My esophagus feels ok but my upper throat area is toast. My pounding heart (caused my constant epinephrine release) continues to contribute to my adrenal fatigue. And I am overall pissed off that I feel this bad. My diet has been impeccable. Couple of apples for breakfast, chicken breast and baked potato for lunch, and steamed veggies and rice for dinner.

I hope you're right Michelle. I just want to feel better someday. I've done everything I can. I give up. I guess I am just gonna feel this bad forever and most likely have a shorter life. Thanks god.

BTW, what do you think about this article stating that GERD is an auto-immune disorder.

Open Original Shared Link

[LOWNskater52]

You do got me thinking there Michelle.

All of the stuff I eat and cook on has been glutened thousands of times over. I am going to get my own pan and only eat of paper plates for a while and see if that helps.

I was also hooking up with this girl yesterday and she bit my upper lip and it hurts so bad today. Damn 19 year olds...

[Lori2]

Day 19,

Couple of apples for breakfast, chicken breast and baked potato for lunch, and steamed veggies and rice for dinner.

Where are the fats in your diet? They are essential.

Apples for breakfast? Where's the protein?

Veggies and rice for dinner? Where's the protein? Where's the fat?

Carbs, protein, fats. You need them all. Just make certain that the fats are good fats, not trans-fats.

[LOWNskater52]

Where is a good place to get essential fats from?

[mushroom]

Olive oil ,avocados, peanut butter, nuts, seed, fish, eggs

[LOWNskater52]

What I need to do is get control of my adrenal fatigue. I have saliva tested with my holistic doctor a couple months ago and I was on the very verge of adrenal fatigue. I am sure I now have full brown adrenal fatigue. This article speaks straight to me with the heart sounds. Open Original Shared Link

I am convinced that gluten sensitivty is the cause of my adrenal fatigue. I actually believe that I have had gluten sensitivity all of my life. I have always carried a little extra pudge around my stomach. I was running miles a day and sprinting on alternating days, I was at the gym 3 or 4 days a week and ate relatively healthy until the day I took Prilosec OTC and almost died.. Had a ripped upper and lower body, but my torso was always a bit pudgy. I am sure that my gluten sensitivity is the cause of my adrenal fatigue. I just hope it can heal because I have been really good on my diet. Not even tempted to cheat.

I just don't know what else to do...

[Michelle1234]

Day 19,

BTW, what do you think about this article stating that GERD is an auto-immune disorder.

Open Original Shared Link

Very interesting article. I think they just don't know. I was diagnosed 5 years ago. But before being diagnosed for gluten intolerance (I was a couple of points from celiac and had the genetic component) I was diagnosed with GERD. However I refused to accept the GERD diagnosis because they were just guessing and telling me to take the very toxic acid reducing pills. That is what caught my eye about your initial post as I almost when down the path you did. My initial symptom was chest pain that I went to the emergency room for. Then after all the heart tests told me I had a healthy heart they said you must have GERD, here are prescriptions for acid reducing pills. Just take them and see if they work. I went on-line to check out what users were reporting and they had horrible side effects so I went to a holistic Dr. instead. I told the holistic Dr. my symptoms and he ordered all sorts of tests to see what was going on. Turned out to be gluten intolerance, one or two points away from Celiac and a genetic marker. So he said to treat it like Celiac. I went off gluten but it took me over 6 mths to get rid of all the sources and figure out how to order food in a restaurant. He also said the acid reducing pills were the wrong thing to take even if you had GERD because you need the acid to digest your food an by taking the pills you were causing your system to generate more acid (or some such thing - its been along time since I talked to him about this).

I just recently started having non gluten reactions (for me) to what appeared to be random foods so got an allergy panel done by my Dr. Turns out that even with being super careful the occasional accident glutening may have caused me to develop a bunch of food allergies. I know there is some other root for my problem though and recently read about a lady who had a tooth implant removed and had an improvement. I have a metal bridge that has been in my mouth for 20 years and in that time I've developed a ton of metal allergies, the gluten intolerance and now the food allergies. Even though it will cost a fortune I'm going to get the bridge removed. Having this auto immune disorder and now all these allergies indicates that my immune system is being overwhelmed. I've got to find the reason for this and get it fixed. I already had all my metal fillings removed back when I was first diagnosed.

I guess the reason I'm telling you all this is that you may want to look for any thing that might be taxing your immune system, including any prescription drugs. I always try to avoid taking any pills as it seems that they cause more problems than they fix.

Good luck!

Michelle

[LOWNskater52]

Wow Michelle, thank you for your post.

We have a ton in common with our journey from sickness to health. I was I wasn't such a dumbass and went to askapatient.com/prilosec to see all of the horrifying reviews about that poison. The doctors have diagnosed me with GERD as well but I refuse to take allopathic poisons for it. My initial complaint was chest pain too but mine was from taking a ton of stomach eroding asprin. I have had every cardio test in the book (full echo, stress test, ecg, etc.) and all have came back 100% perfect. I have an appointment with my holistic doctor friday and am going to ask for the panel you mentioned to see what I am sensitive to.

How long did it take to start feeling better? I still feel like shiz and the only thing that I have noticed that has changed 100% is that the eczema on my foot is healing, I don't get dizzy anymore, and that I have lost weight.

You might have adrenal fatigue. That what I have and is the cause of my strange new enviromental allergies (my new marijuana allergy after I smoked pot everyday ten times a day for 4 years). Might want to do a saliva test.

Thanks for everything and I really appreciate your input. Please keep it coming

[Michelle1234]

How long did it take to start feeling better? I still feel like shiz and the only thing that I have noticed that has changed 100% is that the eczema on my foot is healing, I don't get dizzy anymore, and that I have lost weight.

When I first went gluten free it took me a long time to ferret out all the hidden sources. And one side effect of going gluten free for me was that I started to get huge reactions to gluten. I didn't even know I had any reaction to it until I got rid of it. Then I started to get diarrhea 20 min. after getting any. Sometimes I get gas or bloating but I'm not so sure now that I'm not reacting to other foods with these symptoms.

Over the last 5 years I've had times I felt pretty good. The chest pain seemed to go away pretty quick but I can't remember how long it took. The holistic Dr. had me taking a bunch of other stomach healing supplements which might still be lurking in my cabinets if I go looking for them.

There were times when I went so long between reactions that I wondered if I was healed. Then somewhere, some how I would get a cross contamination reaction and it makes me feel like my whole system is poisoned. Tired, worn out and it seemed to me to be more likely to be glutened again.

In general I've been pretty fatigued over the last 5 years. Early in the summer I started to react to peanut butter, eggs and soft cheese. I just recently got tested and am now allergic to a bunch of things. I have stomach pain, bloating, gas and tightness in the chest making it feel like it is hard to breath. So I'm on the hunt again as to why, why, why do I have these health problems. I'm zeroing in on a metal bridge that I have in my mouth that I've had for 20 years. Maybe it is poisoning my system with toxic metals?

The two tests I've had were the Cliffords Materials Test

Open Original Shared Link

and the Meridian Valley Labs food allergy test

Open Original Shared Link

But these two things are only telling my how overwhelmed my immune system is. I have to figure out what is overwhelming it. I'm pretty good at buying healthy/organic foods. I check my personal products with the environmental working group.

Open Original Shared Link

Michelle

P.S. Thanks for reminding me about Open Original Shared Link I had used them to check the acid reducers but couldn't find the web site when replying to your post. I book marked it just in case I need it again.

[LOWNskater52]

Day 21:

So it has been 3 weeks since I officially began my journey to go gluten free and take my life back. So far it a lot of things have gotten better and a lot of things haven't changed.

The eczema on my foot and hand is 85% better but it has been stuck at a point. I still have a little rash on my achilles and a very tiny rash on my right hand that won't go away. I still have anxiety problems going on with the heavy breathing. Having some joint pains and chest unfortableness (don't worry got the heart checked, its fine).

I started another thread that had asked about the relation between adrenal fatigue and gluten. A community veteran Skylark posted something that really got me thinking, is this a thyroid problem? My hypothesis now is that the gluten was attacking my thyroid which in turn causes my adrenals to try and make up for the lack of production, causing them to work overtime and get depleted. It takes about three months of being 100% gluten free for the anti-bodies that attack your thyroid to disappear so here is my game plan now. First of all I'm going to the doctor Thursday to get my T3 and T4 tested. After that I am going strick gluten free for three months (forever really), this should let my thyroid heal, which will let my adrenals recharge. I'm hoping this should bring me back to health.

I also got a call from my doctor's nurse with my celiac blood test. She said that I tested negative for celiacs. I'm going to check the results on Thursday when I go to the doctor but I guess I don't have Celiacs...

[Michelle1234]

Take a look at the results yourself. My holistic Dr. showed me my results. I was one or two points from being a Celiac but was at the high end of the intolerance range. He said it had to be treated like Celiac so I went completely gluten free. From which I learned I was highly sensitive to it and just the smallest amount gives me diarrhea. If your Dr. isn't as knowledgeable then they may not interpret the results right. He said it would take about 6 months to a year for my gut to heal and put me on several supplements including Glutagenics. I got retested at 6 mths and showed I still had gluten problems. However it takes about 6 months to figure out how to get rid of all the gluten. I was like every body else, not understanding cross contamination, getting rid of all gluten products in the home, changing out my cookware etc. In hind sight I kind of think he told me six months to give me hope while really believing it would take a year. I do think I had improvement in my chest pain at about 6 months (maybe a little less).

I think I didn't test as a Celiac because I got diagnosed within a couple of months of my first symptom of chest pain. I felt lucky that I didn't have enough damage and figured I would be able to head off the worst of it. Your young and recently started symptoms so maybe it is the same for you. However 5 years later and despite following a strict gluten free diet I'm starting to develop alot of the problems that I read about on this forum that others have <sigh>.

Edit: Here is a good article that discusses intolerance and celiac.

Open Original Shared Link

Good luck

Michelle

[LOWNskater52]

I also wanted to mention that my indigestion is much much better. I used to be burping up food that I had eaten up hours upon hours ago. It still happens just now a lot less. I've also lost 12 pounds in three weeks. I'm sure part of this is from shifting to a healthy diet (my diet used to be a fruit smoothie in the morning, 8 or 9 dollars worth of fast food for lunch, and some pasta for dinner).

I am going to my holistic doctor friday and I am going to ask for a test to see what I am intolerant to.

I figured I have screwed up a bunch in the first 11 days of going gluten free so I am having my start day be November 1st and I am hoping that around February 1st my symtptoms start depleting rapidly.

[LOWNskater52]

Also, does anybody get dandruff with gluten exposure? I have just awful dandruff. It looks like it is snowing when I rub my head

[jmrogers31]

I used to get dandruff really bad. I was always embarrased because my barber would try to figure it out for me. He had me using baby shampoo instead of regular shampoo. He had me not using shampoo as much. He couldn't figure it out because he could tell my scalp and hair was clean. I switched to a gluten free shampoo as well. It did get better gluten free and that is one thing I never even thought about. I wonder why gluten affects dandruff?

[LOWNskater52]

Just had a large order of green beans from the Publix deli and now my stomach is gurgling and feeling weird. Damn it I am a dumbass.

Jmrogers, what kind of shampoo do you use? I use head an shoulders. I hope it's not full of gluten. I have a shaved head do I am prob gonna stop shampooing amyways

[LOWNskater52]

Well I've definitely gluted myself. Stomach is upset. Terrible gas. Damn it

[Debbypete]

How were your test results?

The smelly stools can be a symptom.

With the taco place - watch corn, can affect me.

[ravenwoodglass]

Just had a large order of green beans from the Publix deli and now my stomach is gurgling and feeling weird. Damn it I am a dumbass.

Jmrogers, what kind of shampoo do you use? I use head an shoulders. I hope it's not full of gluten. I have a shaved head do I am prob gonna stop shampooing amyways

As hard as I know it is you really need to be leaving the precooked deli food alone for a while. The chance of CC is just too high. Get some fresh or frozen and cook them up at home.

[LOWNskater52]

Day 23

Today is feeling like a better day. Anxiety is managable, chest is a little less tight, little shoulder pain, eczema looks better. Still nowhere near 100% but I feel ok today. It is sort of like a flickering light bulb trying to come back on. I have days where I feel good and days when I feel like shiz. I hope I keep improving.

Don't know if I mentioned it but I got the blood test results back for Celiac and they came back negative. Very confused because I really feel like the gluten is my problems. Either way I am going gluten-free indefinitely. She is going to email me the results and I will post them on here when I get them.

Also got my thyroid tested (T3, T4, and TSH) and they all came back in the normal range. I really thought this could be my problem but another negative test for me.

I also just realized it is the holiday season and that I am going to miss out on ALOT of my grandmothers delicious home cooked meals. This bums me out incredibly.

Ugh. I just wanna get high and eat Taco Bell. Lets this happen.

[LOWNskater52]

Day 31

So it has officially been a month of trying to go gluten free. I definitely slipped up during the first couple of weeks so I am really counting my recovery from November 1st.

I got to be honest; I don't feel that much better. I know it takes 3 months to have the real healing process begin but I really did expect more after one month of attempting to go gluten free. My eczema is much better (but not gone), my lymph nodes are pain free and not swollen anymore, I'm not burping up/regurgitating food as much, and the red patches on my scalp are getting better. I still wanted some more improvement though. I am still waking up with my throat singed from acid reflux, still have heat intolerance (cannot stand a hot shower), and still have esophageal spasms and chest pain.

My meals everyday are:

Breakfast - 1 or 2 Apples

Lunch - 1 Chicken Breast and a Baked Potato

Dinner - Steamed Veggies and rice/beans

I'm also preparing my food on things that have never been touched by gluten. I put tin foil down when I cook, bought a new steamer, put paper towels on my plates, and eat with plastic silverware.

I have lost a lot of weight though which is a good thing. I'm 5'10 and I was 190, I'm now 173.5. I know a lot of toxins that your body can't process is stored in fat so I hope I feel bad just cause I am burning through those toxins.

Gonna write some more tomorrow about some other symptyoms