Heart Palpitations...

[Elizabeth5220]

I've been gluten-free--essentially with a few potential CC incidents--for almost 5 weeks. The first 10 days or so I felt better--overall, but this past week has been awful; heart palpitations, fatigue, chills, brain fog, depression.

Anyone feel worse before they felt better?

[Marilyn R]

I'm so sorry you're going through all of that Elizabeth, and welcome to the forum.

My experience could be totally different than your's, but I had many similar reactions. It turned out that I couldn't tolerate some "safe" grains (quinoa, certified gluten-free oats), dairy or soy on top of gluten. Then corn hurt me. It took awhile for me to figure that out, and I went through surgery (parathyroid) that I'm pretty sure wouldn't have been necessary, but the doctors told me it would stop the heart palpitations (aka tacycardia) and high calcium levels.

My recommendation is to go very basic with your diet, like root vegatables (especially ones you've never eaten before), meat and fresh fruits or vegetables. Avoid gluten-free processed food for now. I had a problem with nitrates for awhile, avoided wines and preserved meats for several months.

I promise it get's better. For awhile it seemed like all I could eat was certain vegetables and meat and fruit, but there's a world of recipes to whip them up in different ways. Good luck to you, please let us know how it goes.

[Macbre]

I can relate to the heart palpations, however I did start taking a multi-vitamin about 3 weeks ago and I have to say that I haven't had any heart related issues. It took me a full 10 months to start having more good days than bad days. It takes a while to heal and you will find that there are going to be foods that you can't tolerate for a while that will give you the same symptoms as gluten foods. I had an issue with nightshades early on, but can tolerate them now. I've been gluten-free 1 year.

I did find I was getting cc by my perfume, spray in hair conditioner, hand sanitizer and pet food. Most people don't think about these things, but they can make you just as sick as eating food with gluten.

I'm feeling much better now and I know you will to. It takes time and patience. You might have to cut other things out in the beginning so your insides can heal and then slowly add them back in.

Good luck!

[AVR1962]

Elizabeth, have you had all your vit levels checked? It took awhile for my high blood pressure to go back into normal range and for my heart palpitations to go away. My calcium went back to normal almost immediately as soon as I took gluten out of my diet. It wasn't until I got my vits straightened out that the rest followed. Did your calcium levels go down? I tried to send you the info linking hypercalcemia and celiac but wasn't sure it went thru. I put a post in this section, "Coping" if you were still interested, you'd have to scroll down a bit.

[momofmadeleine]

It's very likely a magnesium deficiency. Some 88% of the US population is magnesium deficient; it's worse in Celiacs because we don't absorb magnesium as well. Buy any kind of magnesium that ends with "-ate" (chelate, citrate, aspartate, etc.). Do not buy magnesium oxide because it absorbs poorly -- it's best used for treating constipation. Also do not buy a combination of calcium and magnesium because calcium blocks the absorption of magnesium (they combine them because magnesium assists the absorption of calcium). Start by taking one. If it doesn't give you diarrhea, take two the next day. If two don't give you D, take three the next day. Take the highest dose that does not give you D. You don't need to worry about overdosing because your body will just expel what it doesn't need; it's not toxic.