Hello, I'm Dairy And Soy Intolerant, And Now Gluten Too?

[Mom of Boys]

Hi. I'm Tammie and new to the forums. I'm here to meet people that may be able to help me work through this since my doctors think I'm a loon and have no desire at all to help me with these food in-tolerances. In fact I've gotten the whole speech "oh you HAVE to eat some yogurt at least, for healthy bones!" from my primary care doctor. OMG SHUT UP. You don't GET IT lady. And it highly angers me that the medical profession has been brainwashed to proliferate this whole notion that as red-blooded Americans, we must consume our weight in dairy products every day.

For years I have been dairy free. I was born with the problem but didn't figure it out until in my early 30's. I'm now 42. I also have Hashimotos (autoimmune) hypothyroidism. My oldest son has been dairy free since he was 6. He was born with the problem too but it took us awhile to admit it. We recently discovered that he cannot tolerate butter so we cut all dairy, including fats, out of our diet a few weeks back. (We've discovered Smart Balance light and it has saved the day! It's really good! ... fyi, blue bonnet light tastes awful but it is also dairy free.)

About 6 weeks ago, I developed back ache, abdominal pain (not cramps, pain), constipation, bloating, and an overall fatigue. The fatigue was so bad that unless there was something pressing that I HAD to do, I just sat around and did nothing. I started thinking my friend who has gluten intolerance is right and that I need to try the gluten free diet to see if it helps my symptoms.

Over the past week or so I have been trying hard not to eat any gluten. After two days, I noticed I felt better. No more abdominal pain, back pain better, no numbness or tingling in toes and fingers... until I accidentally poured a condiment with gluten in it (forgot to check the ingredients) ON my gluten free meal! Ugggh! I felt horrible just a couple hours after. Diarrhea, nausea, major back and abdominal pain, and I slept for the majority of the day and then again all night last night. This morning I started trying to find what the heck I could have eaten and found my favorite chinese stir fry sauce has wheat in it.

Is it possible that when you accidentally ingest just a small amount of gluten, after having gone gluten free for only a couple of days, that you will have a reaction to it? I've read it can take months for your body to heal, so why does just a little gluten set off such a huge reaction?

Thanks for any help out there!

[heatherjane]

Gluten may very well be your culprit. Are you going to see about getting a celiac diagnosis? If so, you need to be eating gluten for the tests to be accurate. If your doctor is not knowledgeable about the disease, try to get in with a GI who will test you.

Everyone responds differently to gluten and has varying symptoms. The body also heals at different rates depending on the person. You may be one of those who are extremely sensitive.

Also, you may find, if you are celiac, that the dairy intolerance clears up after a while at gluten free. Dairy/lactose intolerance is a symptom of celiac that can improve once the body has healed.

[mushroom]

Two days is a short time gluten free, but if you had noticed you were feeling better it means that your body was relieved to be free of the gluten, so was probably really upset when it came back Yes, this heightened sensitivity does happen although that is the quickest I believe I have heard it happen. Your body makes antibodies to the gluten, and when they are no longer needed they go away. But when gluten reappears they are called back on duty (sometimes in renewed numbers and strength) and this makes your reaction worse.

I hope you didn't mean you have cut ALL fats from your diet as your body needs fat in the diet. Things like avocado, nuts, nut butters, eggs. Earth Balance spreads are also good, and if you have a soy problem they make one that is soy free also. In the absence of dairy you do have to make sure that you are getting enough calcium in the diet, from leafy greens, etc., and I would take a supplement also.

By the way, welcolme to the board and feel free to pose any questions that come to mind.

[Mom of Boys]

Mushroom, no I don't concern myself with how much fats I get, as long as they are dairy free fats from now on.We get plenty of dietary fat in one form or other. Thanks though, for caring! How sweet!

I don't know if it's gluten or not. All I know is I had a bad 24 hours right after consuming gluten, and I've only been trying for a week or so. And I've had two Ooopsies, lol! It's REALLY hard to avoid gluten completely!

Two days is a short time gluten free, but if you had noticed you were feeling better it means that your body was relieved to be free of the gluten, so was probably really upset when it came back Yes, this heightened sensitivity does happen although that is the quickest I believe I have heard it happen. Your body makes antibodies to the gluten, and when they are no longer needed they go away. But when gluten reappears they are called back on duty (sometimes in renewed numbers and strength) and this makes your reaction worse.

I hope you didn't mean you have cut ALL fats from your diet as your body needs fat in the diet. Things like avocado, nuts, nut butters, eggs. Earth Balance spreads are also good, and if you have a soy problem they make one that is soy free also. In the absence of dairy you do have to make sure that you are getting enough calcium in the diet, from leafy greens, etc., and I would take a supplement also.

By the way, welcolme to the board and feel free to pose any questions that come to mind.

[Mom of Boys]

HeatherJane, I went to my primary who sent me to a GI specialist. It took some doing, but I did convince the GI to do a celiac test, whatever that means. I am waiting for the results of that bloodwork. I was only gluten free for two days when I took it, and I know I accidentally ingested a little on one of those days, so maybe the results will show? It doesn't really matter though because I've read that it's really common to get a false positive. I guess it would help me to become committed if I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that gluten is the reason for my symptoms. But the autoimmune disease that I'm already diagnosed with kind of tips me in that direction anyway. Thank you for responding to a newbie! I really appreciate your help.

Gluten may very well be your culprit. Are you going to see about getting a celiac diagnosis? If so, you need to be eating gluten for the tests to be accurate. If your doctor is not knowledgeable about the disease, try to get in with a GI who will test you.

Everyone responds differently to gluten and has varying symptoms. The body also heals at different rates depending on the person. You may be one of those who are extremely sensitive.

Also, you may find, if you are celiac, that the dairy intolerance clears up after a while at gluten free. Dairy/lactose intolerance is a symptom of celiac that can improve once the body has healed.

[Skylark]

Two days without gluten will not change your test. I hope you continue to feel better gluten-free!