New And Needing Some Words Of Wisdom (Or Just Plain Help)

[Omma]

I'm new here, been gluten free since June 2011, undiagnosed but suspect Celiac due to family issues. My question is: is it normal to get more and more sensitive as time goes on? Now even a crumb effects me, I don't eat anything if the word "spices" is on the label,etc.

Also, I'm becoming sensitive to other foods as well. No more sugar for me, not even fruit. I had some blueberry crisp this weekend and now today I feel terrible, so tired and achy. I also think I'm getting sensitive to dairy.

So, I've gone from excited about finally figuring out what's wrong (after about 45 years of feeling sick)to wondering where in the world this is all leading?? I felt so much better at first too. Now, I have some good days, but I really feel fatigued. My Naturopath wants me to test my blood sugar levels for a week and see if that is an issue.

I feel like all I do anymore is complain about how I feel. I try to excercise, but lately haven't had the energy.

I should mention too that I've been trying to gain some weight but instead I seem to be losing it.

Anyone out there have any words of wisdom? I could really use some about now....

[heidi g.]

lactose intolerant of course is very common with celiacs. i would suggest to start healing your gut. diet alone is not enough and it will take longer for you to feel better. imagine your gut inflamed and swollen. now imagine rubbing salt into a wound. if you put acidic foods such as ketchup, salt, refined sugar, carbonating drinks, alcohol, pineapples, etc your going to be in pain and feel sick. i would stay away from spices. you need to heal your gut before you try even gluten free foods because your guts not able to digest well due to it being so damaged and inflamed. leaky gut syndrome is associated with celiacs disease so i would look up the diet for that to help heal your gut. eat bland foods for a week such as plain rice and steamed vegetables. scrambled eggs for protein, rice chex, no milk, no soy milk, no sugar. drink hot herbal teas such as ginger, chamomile. if u need a sweetner add a little bit of honey. sip on warm water between meals and sip on cold water before meals. chew your food 6 times before swallowing and take L -glutamine (amino acid known to heal the gut) once 1 hour before breakfast and 1 hour before dinner. take 3 papaya tablets after meals (its a digestive enzyme) eat only cooked vegetables (raw are too hard to digest) take a child's multivitamin for now until you see progress (healing) in your gut because the iron content in adults vitamins is higher and can constipate you therefore making your stomach feel worse. also take or eat something with fiber. its time to take your life back.

[jswog]

you need to heal your gut before you try even gluten free foods because your guts not able to digest well due to it being so damaged and inflamed.

HUH???? How are you going to heal if you don't go gluten free???? This makes NO SENSE!!!!!

To OP - Please keep eating gluten free! It is the ONLY way you will heal!

[mushroom]

To heidi's excellent advice, I would add a probiotic supplement to help restorer the good flora in your gut and help it heal. If you need milk, hemp and almond are both delicious.

[jswog]

I'm new here, been gluten free since June 2011, undiagnosed but suspect Celiac due to family issues. My question is: is it normal to get more and more sensitive as time goes on? Now even a crumb effects me, I don't eat anything if the word "spices" is on the label,etc.

Also, I'm becoming sensitive to other foods as well. No more sugar for me, not even fruit. I had some blueberry crisp this weekend and now today I feel terrible, so tired and achy. I also think I'm getting sensitive to dairy.

So, I've gone from excited about finally figuring out what's wrong (after about 45 years of feeling sick)to wondering where in the world this is all leading?? I felt so much better at first too. Now, I have some good days, but I really feel fatigued. My Naturopath wants me to test my blood sugar levels for a week and see if that is an issue.

I feel like all I do anymore is complain about how I feel. I try to excercise, but lately haven't had the energy.

I should mention too that I've been trying to gain some weight but instead I seem to be losing it.

Anyone out there have any words of wisdom? I could really use some about now....

It does sound to me like maybe you've developed some additional intolerance: dairy, soy, corn, etc., though many people DO report becoming more and more sensetive the longer they are gluten free. And I'm sure keeping an eye on your blood sugar cannot hurt anything, so what harm is it? Even if it does no good and leads you to nothing, IMHO it would be worth trying to see. Good luck in finding out what's gong on!

[Marilyn R]

Hi Omma,

Welcome to the forum and good luck. It isn't uncommon to develop other food intolerances, and dairy is one of the first offenders. You may need to give up dairy for awhile. There are plenty of substitutes, (almond, rice, hemp milk, my personal favorite became canned coconut milk from an oriental or Indian store that didn't contain soy additives. Because soy can become a problem, as can corn, nightshade vegetables (didn't happen to me, but occurs, and the fructose issue like you described isn't uncommon.

It took me quite awhile to heal. It was 18 months before I was willing to challenge dairy again, but I can now tolerate it in all shapes and forms. I haven't had the desire to challenge soy or corn.

If you want to look into this more, there is a good search engine on the forum.

In the meantime, there are so many things to eat, but you need to cook like your grandmother did, by scratch. Most processed foods contain wheat or soy or corn.

I don't think that herbs can hurt you, unless you're allergic to them or if you double dipped measuring spoons into them when you weren't gluten-free.

Allergy testing helped me too.

Good luck, hope this helps!

[heidi g.]

i never said to not eat gluten free- i cant seem to find where ive said that. you need to start eating foods to heal your gut. all the foods ive mentioned are gluten free and apart of the leaky gut diet (which is gluten free- ive combined 3 diets into one- the candida diet, the gluten free diet, and the leaky gut diet) everyhing is gluten free, and it will heal your gut. to feel better you start small and then add more foods like raw vegetables, etc. eating simple is the key to feeling better faster.

[jswog]

i never said to not eat gluten free- i cant seem to find where ive said that.

That was an exact quote from you to which I responded. You said to not try gluten free foods!

[heidi g.]

oh i meant heal the gut before indulging in all the gluten free foods because even alot of gluten free foods can still be irritating to the stomach. my diet is completely gluten free. i apologize for not phrasing it correctly

[Jestgar]

That was an exact quote from you to which I responded. You said to not try gluten free foods!

I think she meant to say the substitutes, as an prepackaged things. Stick to whole foods.

[Takala]

There is almost nothing worse than grabbing a commercially made gluten free manufactured food when you're hungry, and then the thing sits in your stomach like a rock or worse, because you can't tolerate one of the other ingredients.

Not only does the thing usually cost a fortune, but you now feel awful, and could have felt better if you had just gone for the non- specialty item that tastes better, and is coincidently gluten free anyway!

In general, it is not uncommon to find one's self becoming more sensitive to cross contamination as time progresses, I think part of this is that the overall inflammation is down and the immune system is not in constant hyperdrive anymore, so you notice things more easily, like driving a smooth road and then hitting a big pothole instead of driving on a rippled road all the time.

The typical "Western" high carb high grain diet doesn't work well for alot of us older folk, the more protein, good fats, and vegetables we eat, and the less carbs, the better off we tend to do. Try to avoid "modified food starches" as they are very difficult to digest for anybody. Good fats can be found in coconut products such as coconut milk, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, nuts, eggs, plain chocolate.

[heidi g.]

i have found avocados, chocolate, coconut milk, and nuts to be irritating to the gut aswell. going gluten free stops more inflammation my goal to get across is you need to heal the inflammation. going gluten free is a step but its part of the solution. you need to heal your gut before you can digest and really feel better.

[Omma]

Thankyou everyone for all the info. After reading everyones responses, I think maybe my problem is I'm eating gluten free, whole foods, but maybe the wrong kinds...too hard on my digestion. I've been eating a lot of avocadoes this last week, they taste so good and I thought they would be good for me, but maybe that's one of the reasons I don't feel well..that and the chili I made the other night. My naturopath hasn't said anything about eating easy to digest foods. Just stay away from gluten and sugars. I don't drink milk, I use almond milk and I'm eating goat cheese, but I probably consume more dairy than I should.

I do take a good probiotic. So basically I need to eat more like I'm recovering from the flu or something?

[Omma]

lactose intolerant of course is very common with celiacs. i would suggest to start healing your gut. diet alone is not enough and it will take longer for you to feel better. imagine your gut inflamed and swollen. now imagine rubbing salt into a wound. if you put acidic foods such as ketchup, salt, refined sugar, carbonating drinks, alcohol, pineapples, etc your going to be in pain and feel sick. i would stay away from spices. you need to heal your gut before you try even gluten free foods because your guts not able to digest well due to it being so damaged and inflamed. leaky gut syndrome is associated with celiacs disease so i would look up the diet for that to help heal your gut. eat bland foods for a week such as plain rice and steamed vegetables. scrambled eggs for protein, rice chex, no milk, no soy milk, no sugar. drink hot herbal teas such as ginger, chamomile. if u need a sweetner add a little bit of honey. sip on warm water between meals and sip on cold water before meals. chew your food 6 times before swallowing and take L -glutamine (amino acid known to heal the gut) once 1 hour before breakfast and 1 hour before dinner. take 3 papaya tablets after meals (its a digestive enzyme) eat only cooked vegetables (raw are too hard to digest) take a child's multivitamin for now until you see progress (healing) in your gut because the iron content in adults vitamins is higher and can constipate you therefore making your stomach feel worse. also take or eat something with fiber. its time to take your life back.

Thanks so much! I'll try your suggestions. Guess I was just eating too much too soon.

[Omma]

i have found avocados, chocolate, coconut milk, and nuts to be irritating to the gut aswell. going gluten free stops more inflammation my goal to get across is you need to heal the inflammation. going gluten free is a step but its part of the solution. you need to heal your gut before you can digest and really feel better.

Wow, I eat a lot of nuts... this is getting a bit overwhelming. I'm supposed to be gaining weight, but with all these restrictions and not feeling well it's sure hard. Hmmm maybe more soups...

[mushroom]

Soups and stews are good. But everyone's experience is different. Avocados were a life-saver for me, not a problem at all. You will have to explore your way through foods because everyone's reactions are different, and keeping a food and symptom diary is the best way to do this. Don't forget that sometimes the symptoms can be delayed - that is why the diary, so you can pick up a pattern.

Almonds are generally considered to be a safe nut, but again, triall them, don't just blindly accept them as being good for YOU.

[Omma]

Soups and stews are good. But everyone's experience is different. Avocados were a life-saver for me, not a problem at all. You will have to explore your way through foods because everyone's reactions are different, and keeping a food and symptom diary is the best way to do this. Don't forget that sometimes the symptoms can be delayed - that is why the diary, so you can pick up a pattern.

Almonds are generally considered to be a safe nut, but again, triall them, don't just blindly accept them as being good for YOU.

I've been advised to keep a food diary, seems like such a pain, but I'm rethinking that. I can see it would be a real help right about now. It's hard to remember what I ate 2-3 days ago or how I felt a week ago when I ate something. So I think I'll start doing that, thanks for the advice!

[heidi g.]

trust me its a pain in the butt. try eating rice and steamed vegetables. eat boiled eggs (for protein) eat spinach (they have a natural anti inflammatory product in them, forgive me i forgot what it's called but it starts with a eat salads with no dressing you could possible put a lil bit of salt and olive oil and make your own dressing for a little flavor. eat alot of rice. it's easy to digest and you will usually start to feel better after 3 days. watch out for the soups, especially in cans, because they have wheat in the broth! and Bolivian cubes have wheat in them too. you could be eating hidden wheat. stick to fresh foods. bananas coat your stomach/intestines. hot ginger tea works wonder too. feel better the diet really stinks and tastes bad but the better you follow the diet the better you start to feel faster. i felt 60% better within a week!