Anger

[Rachel85]

I was diagnosed with celiac just before christmas and was told to go gluten-free immediately. My doctor didn't mention anything about withdrawals but said he thought I'm highly addicted to gluten, given how much I ate it and the fact that I would regularly crave gluten products. I tried my hardest to go gluten-free but being very new to this and being over the Christmas period I found it really difficult mistakenly ate the wrong things quite a few times. I've been gluten-free for about 6 days now and have been really careful, checking everything.

Anyway yesterday I started feeling full on exhausted and a bit irritable and the indigestion and bloating came back with a vengeance.

Today, all of the above plus shakes and just awful anger. I feel like I want to rip someone's head off and then cry. Or maybe rip someone's head off while crying. And eating a sausage roll and loaf of bread. And I feel really panicky, like I'm on the verge of a major panic attack. I'm getting heart palpitations too which I usually get when I'm stressed through college work. And my mind is all over the place, I can't concentrate on anything,

So two questions really:

1) Has anyone got any ideas of how to shift the indigestion? I already take Omeprazole 40mg a day, but need something a little more fast acting today.

2) Am I experiencing withdrawal from gluten? Is this normal? Have you experienced this?

Thanks

[pricklypear1971]

1) I have no idea, and you may not need as much now that you're gluten-free. Try probiotics and digestive enzymes.

2) Yes. I locked myself in the bathroom at work and kicked the wall. That was after I almost broke the phone. Get a crutch. Mine was Hershey's Kisses and Junior Mints and Talenti Gelato.

And most sausage is gluten-free. Boar's Head is. The bread - well, try Rudi's.

[AJ Leigh]

I'm sorry you had to find that out at such a stressful time . Don't get discouraged- it takes a lot of trial and error to get the hang of it. Don't beat yourself up. I was 100% gluten free for like 2 months, feeling awesome, and then ate soy sauce and messed it all up. I was so disappointed and sick that I pretty much screamed at anyone who talked to me for two days straight!

If I am not feeling well, whether it's from gluten or something else I'm intolerant of (like soy), I get really jittery and paranoid. It's like a weird caffeine high. I don't know if it's normal, but that's just one way some systems cope with the intoxication I guess. I'd say my worst symptom of all is brain fogginess. I'm also in college and sometimes I find it's like pulling teeth to get me to sit still and concentrate long enough. It's like there's a bubble around my head.

1) Indigestion is one of those symptoms that I seem to battle nonstop no matter what I do. My doctor told me to take Zantac twice a day (150 strength I think) and Prilosec (that's basically what Omeprazole is, isn't it?) once a day for a while to soothe the irritation, and top it off with Tums if necessary. It works really well as a bandaid, but it's kind of expensive and obviously doesn't solve the problem :|.

2) You definitely could be experiencing withdrawals. That's a major dietary change. For a while your body is going to be detoxing. You should start to feel a lot better the longer you're on the diet.

[eatmeat4good]

Ah yes. Extreme Anger, sadness, severe depression and anxiety. I lived it everyday until I learned about Celiac. Now it only happens when I get accidental gluten. It's very scary to deal with because it feels like it will never end. But it will. It will go away when your system is completely clean of gluten. I don't know what can help your indigestion other than staying gluten free. I had to take medication for nausea for a while to cope when I was first gluten free. It was awful. The good news is you are absolutely right...it is likely withdrawal symptoms and they should dissipate the longer you are gluten free. Hang in there and believe it will get better. Some recover in a matter of weeks, some longer, but it will get better.

[mommida]

I can't answer your medication question.

Gluten has been proven to have an opiate effect on some individuals. Some individuals will have a withdrawal period.

I think the suggestion for a "crutch" may be the best advice. Gluten free chocolate. Listening to soothing music. A quick mini workout. Apropriate, Non harmful things that can give your brain positive endorphines.

[deltron80]

hahaha hello me, nice to meet you!

[AVR1962]

I was diagnosed with celiac just before christmas and was told to go gluten-free immediately. My doctor didn't mention anything about withdrawals but said he thought I'm highly addicted to gluten, given how much I ate it and the fact that I would regularly crave gluten products. I tried my hardest to go gluten-free but being very new to this and being over the Christmas period I found it really difficult mistakenly ate the wrong things quite a few times. I've been gluten-free for about 6 days now and have been really careful, checking everything.

Anyway yesterday I started feeling full on exhausted and a bit irritable and the indigestion and bloating came back with a vengeance.

Today, all of the above plus shakes and just awful anger. I feel like I want to rip someone's head off and then cry. Or maybe rip someone's head off while crying. And eating a sausage roll and loaf of bread. And I feel really panicky, like I'm on the verge of a major panic attack. I'm getting heart palpitations too which I usually get when I'm stressed through college work. And my mind is all over the place, I can't concentrate on anything,

So two questions really:

1) Has anyone got any ideas of how to shift the indigestion? I already take Omeprazole 40mg a day, but need something a little more fast acting today.

2) Am I experiencing withdrawal from gluten? Is this normal? Have you experienced this?

Thanks

The emotions and the changes your body is making is normal. You wouldn't think the body would be effected by gluten to the point you'd go thru a detox stage but it is. Hang in there!!

About the indigestion....my gut was really tore up so I was taking Nexium twice a day plus shots of Pepto in between. I stayed away from all acidic foods, caffiene, soda, alcohol, dairy, and I had to take smaller than usual portions of protein for awhile. There are certian parts of the gut that process various fods and when the gut is wrecked these do not function properly so you have to be careful and allow time for healing. I found chicken broth to be a great help, actual boiled up chicken and then I would use the broth for my veggies and potatoes. There is something about chicken broth.

Another suggestion is to stay away from the gluten-free cakes, cookies and breads for now. Reason being is they have other additives in them that sometimes our digestive system is troubled by in the beginning while you are in the healing process and it is hard to tell what is causing the upset in the stomach when you are already having issues.

[Jewels50]

The emotions and the changes your body is making is normal. You wouldn't think the body would be effected by gluten to the point you'd go thru a detox stage but it is. Hang in there!!

About the indigestion....my gut was really tore up so I was taking Nexium twice a day plus shots of Pepto in between. I stayed away from all acidic foods, caffiene, soda, alcohol, dairy, and I had to take smaller than usual portions of protein for awhile. There are certian parts of the gut that process various fods and when the gut is wrecked these do not function properly so you have to be careful and allow time for healing. I found chicken broth to be a great help, actual boiled up chicken and then I would use the broth for my veggies and potatoes. There is something about chicken broth.

Another suggestion is to stay away from the gluten-free cakes, cookies and breads for now. Reason being is they have other additives in them that sometimes our digestive system is troubled by in the beginning while you are in the healing process and it is hard to tell what is causing the upset in the stomach when you are already having issues.

No one told me about the withdrawal! But boy, I did have it. And as a crutch, I ate gluten free chocolate chp cookies only to have a sugar crash later.

It has been about 3 months since finding out that I have Celiac disease. I am 50 so relearning how to eat has been difficult for me. I had a voracious appetite and overate to compensate. And yet, I'd lose weight. I have lost even more weight now and am too skinny for my height and age (118 bs., 5'8"). I am going to see a dietician next week for some education on what I can do.

And I am angry. I complained to my regular Dr. for over 3 years about the weight loss, the abdominal pain, the diarrhea. Her best medical advice to me was not to complain because I was thin and she wanted to be thin like me. (Insert swear words here.)

It wasn't until I was getting a routine colonoscopy that the GI Dr. Recommended strongly that I be tested for Celiac. The blood test came back positive, so a biopsy was done and also came back positive for Celiac. I have had the symptoms my entire life. The infertility, miscarriages, a full term stillborn son, migraines, horrific periods, anemia, depression, the awful skin rashes, diarrhea, onstipation, terrible abdominal cramping...and the best te doctors could tell me was that I had IBS, let myself get too stressed out, and that it was all in my head. So yes, I am dealing with some anger. I now this is a process and this too shall pass.

Thanks for letting me vent. I am diligent about being 100% gluten free and this site has been extremely helpful! A big thanks to all of you!

Julie

[Bubba's Mom]

Some people go through a difficult withdrawl period. I'm reading a book right now called "Wheat Belly", which I got from the library. It explains why wheat is so different from what it was originally, (genetic engineering) and why it causes bad reactions in people. It explains how people get addicted to wheat and the withdrawl many go through.

Just know that it will get better. Drink lots of water to help flush your system.

Many of us also experience anger/depression at being forced to adopt a new way of eating...and maybe a bit of bitterness at not being DXed sooner?

[Takala]

1) Has anyone got any ideas of how to shift the indigestion? I already take Omeprazole 40mg a day, but need something a little more fast acting today.

2) Am I experiencing withdrawal from gluten? Is this normal? Have you experienced this?

Try fresh ginger root or powdered ginger in tea.

You're experiencing a combination of things, and you have very likely been cross contaminated with gluten, either from food or something in your physical environment. This can be from your food being prepared on a contaminated porous surface such as an old cutting board, or from old tupperware, for example.

With celiac damage, you have vitamin and mineral deficiencies which can change how nutrients are processed, and those in term affect mood. It helps to take a gluten free vitamin B complex, a multivitamin, and a calcium supplement with vitamin D and some magnesium, emphasis all gluten free. Calcium citrate is better (if you can find a gluten free version) that calcium from calcium carbonate, if you are already popping a lot of tums for heartburn, because too much carbonate does something else not desirable to your kidneys processing calcium levels. Tricalcium phosphate (posture D brand says gluten free right on the label) is also good. This stuff also helps with heartburn. Some people are so vitamin B deficient that they have to take a sub lingual form that is absorbed under the tongue to find relief.

Besides the ginger, supplements, drinking lots of water and physical exercise are ways to burn off the reaction, as well as recognizing it is a reaction. I do a combination of physical therapy, yoga, walking, (swimming in summer) pet exercising, barn work all the time because the endorphins released by exercise can act as a pain and stress reliever, and it clears my head. Also, high carbohydrate refined starches in any large quantity don't work for me, and a higher protein and (good) fats diet version does. I also, as others have said already, make sure there is something really good around to eat that a normal person would consider too indulgent - chocolate, for example, or some good quality hard cheese, or a gluten-free nut/bean pancake with gluten-free chocolate chips. I don't eat breakfast cereal and seldom eat gluten-free "bread" (my version would be extra high seed and nutmeal anyway) for lunch, so my attitude is, spare me the indignity of qvetching if I want to have something like that because I ate yet another ***** salad twice already today.

[AVR1962]

No one told me about the withdrawal! But boy, I did have it. And as a crutch, I ate gluten free chocolate chp cookies only to have a sugar crash later.

It has been about 3 months since finding out that I have Celiac disease. I am 50 so relearning how to eat has been difficult for me. I had a voracious appetite and overate to compensate. And yet, I'd lose weight. I have lost even more weight now and am too skinny for my height and age (118 bs., 5'8"). I am going to see a dietician next week for some education on what I can do.

And I am angry. I complained to my regular Dr. for over 3 years about the weight loss, the abdominal pain, the diarrhea. Her best medical advice to me was not to complain because I was thin and she wanted to be thin like me. (Insert swear words here.)

It wasn't until I was getting a routine colonoscopy that the GI Dr. Recommended strongly that I be tested for Celiac. The blood test came back positive, so a biopsy was done and also came back positive for Celiac. I have had the symptoms my entire life. The infertility, miscarriages, a full term stillborn son, migraines, horrific periods, anemia, depression, the awful skin rashes, diarrhea, onstipation, terrible abdominal cramping...and the best te doctors could tell me was that I had IBS, let myself get too stressed out, and that it was all in my head. So yes, I am dealing with some anger. I now this is a process and this too shall pass.

Thanks for letting me vent. I am diligent about being 100% gluten free and this site has been extremely helpful! A big thanks to all of you!

Julie

I do understand, I am 49, and it sounds like you and I have been thru alot of the same. I do hope the dietician can help you with your diet.

[Cathey]

I wish I could help more, but less then 3 months gluten-free all I can say his hang there. You will feel better.

I was on over 10 different Gerd medications the past 3 years. Since the last 9 months I've had 5 different. I didn't find out they weren't helping till I had to stop them 6 weeks ago to have a Fasting Serum Gastrin blood work. GERD medication made no difference in how I feel everyday. Being gluten-free has changed my life for the better. I have my good days and bad. I am blood and biopsy confirmed, have had small bowel series, 8 blood tests and just yesterday a capsule endoscopy. All results this coming Tuesday.

My first couple of weeks gluten-free I basically ate nothing.

Please read these boards and suggestions and everyday life will become easier. This site has been my daily go-to. I have to tell you I did not feel better for several weeks. I made our home gluten-free, cleaned out the pantry, new fry pans, new toaster, new cutting boards and many trial and errors @ the food store and did not eat out for 6 weeks and then it was a certified gluten-free pizza bistro (yum).

I still have the abdominal pain, emotional roller coaster everyday, brain fog, loss of concentration, rip ya head off b%$@#iness (so bad my boss mentioned it). It does get better and I don't blame it on hormones since being 6 years post menopausal.

Take one day @ a time and life will be better don't forget to check here daily and read of all the experienced view of others. Heck I'll probably be posting Wednesday about my results.

[GlutenFreeNewB]

I really didn't eat much gluten, but I still suffered through "withdrawals." I was shaky and dizzy and crabby. It didn't last long. I've been gluten free for two months now and it's gotten so much easier. You read a lot of labels at first, but now I know which brands to buy. Sure I wish I could go to a restaurant and order a big juicy burger and a beer, but I don't get mad about it now. I carry a packet of gluten-free salad dressing around in my purse and I know I can always order a salad. I feel so much better that it's been well worth the sacrifices.