One Week So Far, Not Many Changes.

[Cortney]

Hey everyone, I have been gluten free now for about one week. I was hoping to see some changes, but unfortunately my stomach problems are persisting. I know it has only been one week, but I was hoping the diarrhea (sorry for too much info lol) would at least go away some. I am just wondering if I have leaky gut syndrome. How do you really know? And don't most people with gluten allergy or celiacs have leaky guts? I am still eating dairy, but I suspect that I may have a casein allergy. I am vegetarian though, so I can't imagine what I will eat on a gluten free vegan diet if I have to.

I have been told that I should eliminate dairy from my diet along with gluten, and see if the problems persist. But my protein shake (where I get most of my daily protein from) is made of whey protein. Which is dairy. And I thought maybe I would be okay to only eliminate most dairy and see how I feel. Then again, thats not really an elimination to see if when reintroduced it causes issues. Ugh, what do you all suggest?

[jcronan]

Hey everyone, I have been gluten free now for about one week. I was hoping to see some changes, but unfortunately my stomach problems are persisting. I know it has only been one week, but I was hoping the diarrhea (sorry for too much info lol) would at least go away some. I am just wondering if I have leaky gut syndrome. How do you really know? And don't most people with gluten allergy or celiacs have leaky guts? I am still eating dairy, but I suspect that I may have a casein allergy. I am vegetarian though, so I can't imagine what I will eat on a gluten free vegan diet if I have to.

I have been told that I should eliminate dairy from my diet along with gluten, and see if the problems persist. But my protein shake (where I get most of my daily protein from) is made of whey protein. Which is dairy. And I thought maybe I would be okay to only eliminate most dairy and see how I feel. Then again, thats not really an elimination to see if when reintroduced it causes issues. Ugh, what do you all suggest?

Cortney,

I am in almost the exact same situation. I am only about 5 days in. Rather than feeling better, I would say I have almost felt worse in the past few days. I have been told my some that it is your bodies reaction to the change and that it will go away with the other symptoms. I don't really have suggestions for you since I am new at this as well. I thought I would reach and so you know your not alone. Reading your post made me feel better knowing that my experience is shared.

Good luck

[Metoo]

Hey everyone, I have been gluten free now for about one week. I was hoping to see some changes, but unfortunately my stomach problems are persisting. I know it has only been one week, but I was hoping the diarrhea (sorry for too much info lol) would at least go away some. I am just wondering if I have leaky gut syndrome. How do you really know? And don't most people with gluten allergy or celiacs have leaky guts? I am still eating dairy, but I suspect that I may have a casein allergy. I am vegetarian though, so I can't imagine what I will eat on a gluten free vegan diet if I have to.

I have been told that I should eliminate dairy from my diet along with gluten, and see if the problems persist. But my protein shake (where I get most of my daily protein from) is made of whey protein. Which is dairy. And I thought maybe I would be okay to only eliminate most dairy and see how I feel. Then again, thats not really an elimination to see if when reintroduced it causes issues. Ugh, what do you all suggest?

Nothing changed after only one week for me either. It took 3-4 weeks before I felt better, and for many here it takes longer than that.

Also, cutting out gluten free oats helped me immensly. They were causing a lot of problems for me.

A lot of celiacs have diarrhea.

[Skylark]

If you are celiac, your body has been systematically destroying your intestines for years. These sorts of things don't resolve in just a week.

I would suggest you switch to hard-boiled eggs for protein and see if getting completely away from dairy helps. You could also consider tempeh, but a lot of us have issues with soy too.

[BabsV]

Healing takes time...and unfortunately a week isn't a lot of time. It all depends on how long you've been sick prior to diagnosis, how fast your body heals, how strict you can be on the diet (I was accidentally and unknowingly glutened more than once...the learning curve is steep!) I am more than 5 months in to the process and have only noticed a decrease in my pain issues in the last week. A lot of my other symptoms were fading sooner than the pain issues but still, at times I thought I would never feel better. Also, for the first 2-3 weeks after diagnosis when I cleaned out my kitchen (hello flour dust!) and was going through gluten withdrawal I felt wretched.

I found that dropping dairy made a big difference for me...I've been able to reintroduce cheeses in the last 3 weeks with no problem. Yay! I also stuck to natural foods and skipped all the gluten-free replacement foods for the first 4 months or so after diagnosis. I've only been slowly introducing a few in these last few weeks. Also, I've found taking a probiotic to be absolutely essential for me -- if I skip/miss one dose I go straight back to gut gurgles and other issues and it takes days to sort that all out.

Good luck. Have patience -- this is funny coming from me because I am notorious for not being very patient!

[Duhlina]

Patience grasshopper. I was the same as you when I first started and thought I'd feel better immediately. For me, the BIG noticeable changes started at the 3 month mark. In between I had patches of feeling ok and having hope and patches of feeling downright lousy and thinking there MUST be something else wrong with me! Just stick with it, have patience and see what happens.

I'm at 4 months now and I can honestly say I feel like my body has completely changed. I'm no longer bloated, don't get migraines anymore (unless I get glutened), my mind is clearer, I feel stronger, I sleep better, I am not literally EXHAUSTED 24/7 and I've lost 10 pounds! It's been a long road and even at four months I don't think I've seen the best of it yet! I'm hoping to improve even more. I'd LOVE to get rid of the crappy DH on my hands - that is starting to clear up though!

[Cortney]

Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for your replies. I am guessing my body is just getting used to the change. I have had stomach problems my whole life, along with many other health issues. I thought I had IBS. It wasn't until I ran across celiac disease online that I realized I may have food allergies. When I got my blood work done, I had not been eating as much wheat. I am guessing I started cutting back because I felt like it could possibly be the culprit. I came back negative for celiac disease through the blood work. But a high positive for gluten intolerance. I just wonder if perhaps the celiac negative was a false negative. I hear they are common. And I have many symptoms of celiac disease. Here are some of my health issues, aside from gluten intolerance

-Joint pain (especially in knees, lower back..and I am only 20)

-Keratosis Pilaris (skin condition) all over my legs, arms and some on my stomach

-OCD. I have had OCD since birth practically, and in the most severe form. Turbulent childhood as well, so I am not sure if gluten, or my environment growing up caused my anxiety issues. I also have PTSD...and a few more anxiety issues

-PMDD. (Premenstrual disphoric disorder) I am not sure if it could be related to gluten, but I PMS horribly

- Gallbladder issues

- Sometimes I will randomly get ill from eating, and feel like I need to go to the bathroom, but it just doesn't pass through, so I have to vomit. (I wont have a virus)

- Constant Diarrhea, with an occasional stop up and constipation (sorry t.m.i)

-hypoglycemia

-very dry skin

-constantly tired

I am hoping these health issues will improve after being gluten free.

As of right now, my diarrhea is worse, I feel even more tired, I am irritable, I am constantly hungry, and although I am used to constantly being anxious, my OCD is increasing.

So I should give it a few weeks?

And you said I should cut out the dairy while I heal and hopefully be able to reintroduce it into my diet??

[Skylark]

Wow, you poor thing. Yes, you could definitely have issues with gluten.

You need to give the gluten-free trial more like 4-6 MONTHS. You have a lot of issues that can be slow to resolve like the anxiety, joint pain, and ketosis pilaris. Gluten definitely intensifies anxiety issues, though with OCD all your life there may be more going on. Vitamin and nutrient deficiencies from malabsorption also cause anxiety. It takes time for your gut to heal, and your body to make all the enzymes it always wanted but couldn't produce for lack of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.

Some of us have a bit of a withdrawal going off gluten. It sounds like you're having that issue. You might wait until things settle a bit for dairy because it can also trigger withdrawals. Soy is another food that gives a lot of us trouble. Yes, you may be able to reintroduce dairy later.

As far as the OCD and PTSD, I don't know what you've tried, but EMDR is supposed to be helpful for PTSD. EFT is another good method, a mix of EMDR and acupressure. Open Original Shared Link I use EFT when I get anxiety for no reason, which happens if I get glutened.

[Cortney]

Wow, you poor thing. Yes, you could definitely have issues with gluten.

You need to give the gluten-free trial more like 4-6 MONTHS. You have a lot of issues that can be slow to resolve like the anxiety, joint pain, and ketosis pilaris. Gluten definitely intensifies anxiety issues, though with OCD all your life there may be more going on. Vitamin and nutrient deficiencies from malabsorption also cause anxiety. It takes time for your gut to heal, and your body to make all the enzymes it always wanted but couldn't produce for lack of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.

Some of us have a bit of a withdrawal going off gluten. It sounds like you're having that issue. You might wait until things settle a bit for dairy because it can also trigger withdrawals. Soy is another food that gives a lot of us trouble. Yes, you may be able to reintroduce dairy later.

As far as the OCD and PTSD, I don't know what you've tried, but EMDR is supposed to be helpful for PTSD. EFT is another good method, a mix of EMDR and acupressure. Open Original Shared Link I use EFT when I get anxiety for no reason, which happens if I get glutened.

Thank you (: I do know gluten is a problem for my body because my blood work came back highly allergic. So regardless of wether I feel better or not I will stick to the gluten-free diet. I don't want to put my body through anything like that. And thank you for the therapy ideas. I have never heard of EMDR or EFT. I went to therapy over OCD but it did not help me very much. I have tried CBT and ERP. And a lot of self talk. I think my OCD and anxiety is probably a mixture of several factors. My childhood, and my health. Both probably effect it extremely. Do you think maybe my skin could clear up after being gluten free for awhile. I have read stories about others whos skin cleared up. I hope mine can too!

[ravenwoodglass]

Thank you (: I do know gluten is a problem for my body because my blood work came back highly allergic. So regardless of wether I feel better or not I will stick to the gluten-free diet. I don't want to put my body through anything like that. And thank you for the therapy ideas. I have never heard of EMDR or EFT. I went to therapy over OCD but it did not help me very much. I have tried CBT and ERP. And a lot of self talk. I think my OCD and anxiety is probably a mixture of several factors. My childhood, and my health. Both probably effect it extremely. Do you think maybe my skin could clear up after being gluten free for awhile. I have read stories about others whos skin cleared up. I hope mine can too!

Hopefully you will be feeling better soon. I had horrible skin from my teen years on I had both DH and acne. My skin did clear up a couple months into being gluten free. I'll keep my fingers crossed yours does too.

I also saw a great increase in my mental health. No more depression at all and much more even tempered. Some do get relief from anxiety and other issues. Gluten can really be neuro toxic for us. It does take some time though it is hard to be patient when we are feeling crummy.

[Skylark]

Thank you (: I do know gluten is a problem for my body because my blood work came back highly allergic. So regardless of wether I feel better or not I will stick to the gluten-free diet. I don't want to put my body through anything like that. And thank you for the therapy ideas. I have never heard of EMDR or EFT. I went to therapy over OCD but it did not help me very much. I have tried CBT and ERP. And a lot of self talk. I think my OCD and anxiety is probably a mixture of several factors. My childhood, and my health. Both probably effect it extremely. Do you think maybe my skin could clear up after being gluten free for awhile. I have read stories about others whos skin cleared up. I hope mine can too!

Gluten-free can do good things for skin!

I have a psychiatrist friend who says OCD is almost always a result of a trauma that you might have consciously forgotten but is still deeply affecting you. This is particularly true for people with PTSD and OCD together. Behavioral techniques like CBT and ERP focus more on controlling symptoms than clearing underlying trauma. EFT can clear trauma if you learn how to do it. By the way, Gary Craig initially expected EFT to be done by patients and offered it for free. Since he retired, it has gone commercial. This is a link to an older manual and I'd suggest you download a copy and save it before the free materials disappear entirely.

Open Original Shared Link Dr. Mercola also has an intro. Open Original Shared Link

Deficiencies definitely affect our minds. B-vitamins and fish oil help me, though I take a pretty complete vitamin/mineral/trace element supplement so it's hard to be sure what made the difference. Fish oil can help anxiety if you take a few capsules a day. The easiest thing is to take a capsule or two with each meal.

[ciamarie]

Gluten-free can do good things for skin!

I have a psychiatrist friend who says OCD is almost always a result of a trauma that you might have consciously forgotten but is still deeply affecting you. This is particularly true for people with PTSD and OCD together. Behavioral techniques like CBT and ERP focus more on controlling symptoms than clearing underlying trauma. EFT can clear trauma if you learn how to do it. By the way, Gary Craig initially expected EFT to be done by patients and offered it for free. Since he retired, it has gone commercial. This is a link to an older manual and I'd suggest you download a copy and save it before the free materials disappear entirely.

Open Original Shared Link Dr. Mercola also has an intro. Open Original Shared Link .

Thought I'd chime in, since I'm a sometimes EFT practitioner. Just not a great marketer! There are a couple of EFT books by Gary Craig available on Amazon, one being the EFT manual, and the other being EFT for PTSD. I have the 2nd one. I think there's another one for weight loss. I actually spent a few years in therapy for anxiety, and it would have been called PTSD except I hadn't been in combat, just grew up in a really dysfunctional (abusive) home.

Of course part of what sent me to therapy was feeling like I was lacking ambition or energy or something, and I think celiac played a large part in that. 20 years later it's easier to see that... but a little over 10 years ago I discovered EFT and in a lot of ways it helped me much more than the counseling did. Thought I'd add one more endorsement for it.

[Cortney]

Wow you guys have got me very interested in this therapy. You don't have to be in combat to have PTSD. I was diagnosed and I have never been in combat. Just a very turbulent home life with a drug addict father. The daily living did truly traumatize me, but OCD started for me so young. Pre school I remember. And it is quite severe. OCD is actually a mixture of your genetics (if your genetic code makes you susceptible) along with health, as well as trauma. I am just curious though if something more serious could have potentially happened to me to cause me to have so many anxiety and mental wellness issues. When you practice this new therapy, if there was forgotten trauma, does it surface? I mean do you suddenly remember something that could have happened to you as a young child?

As for an update on how I am feeling gluten free, I have good news! The diarrhea (sorry I know I know, tmi) is starting to go away and I am more "regular" I should say. My skin looks the same but I am hopeful. This acne and keratosis pilaris just has to go away!

[Skylark]

I'm glad the diet is helping!

I spoke to my neuropsychiatrist friend on your behalf because your story made me sad. I met someone with severe OCD so I have seen how devastating it can be.

You won't be surprised to hear that she snorted and said CBT and ERP don't work. (She is the one who introduced me to EFT.) She said that transient oxygen deprivation at birth can contribute to early childhood OCD. She said the area of your brain that tends to be affected is the hippocampus, which handles language and memory. Then, of course, the daily trauma made it all worse. This will sound odd, but she said as well as using EFT you should work to strengthen your memory to help your hippocampus work more normally. Adults can grow new neural connections; it just takes a little time. She suggested memory games for short-term and learning something new that requires some memorization for long-term.

She also said to make sure you're eating healthy fats and omega-3s because your brain is mostly fat and it needs fat to repair itself. Brain foods are foods that are naturally fatty like nuts, flax seed or freshly ground flax meal, eggs, avocado, oily fish like sardines (or fish oil), cheese, butter, and grass-fed meat. Try to avoid processed vegetable oils. Cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil is OK but the rest are not so good for you.

Yes, forgotten trauma can surface with EFT. It is easier to get it to surface with an experienced practitioner helping, but you can do it alone if you work at it. You tap on whatever is bothering you at the moment, and often a new thought will come up. Tap on that and another might surface and sometimes you can gradually regress.

[heidi g.]

I been gluten free since October and I completely still feel like crap. I keep getting gastritis. I thought I'd at least be able to go back to school by now but some days I still can't move. I think stress and my anxiety disorder is not allowing my stomach to heal fully (that's what my nutritionist said) I think I have leaky gut too :\ I don't know what's wrong with me half the time. Just be hopeful. Think positive. Everyone's body is different.

[Cortney]

Wow, I can not thank you enough for actually taking the time out to talk to the neuropsychiatrist for me! That is very kind. Apparently many different things can cause early childhood OCD. Strep throat can actually cause it in some vulnerable people. environmental issues, health of course, and what you said.

Its interesting how she says to try and strengthen my memory, as I have a stellar memory. I remember being in my crib, stroller, sitting in a high chair on my first birthday in front of my pink cake and digging in, yeah its a little freakish how good my memory is lol. But I do enjoy strengthening my memory further. I am in college right now, so actively memorizing is an every day thing, maybe that could help too? Part of me is afraid of what could surface if I have indeed experienced something as a small child and suppressed it. I stay on my nutrition pretty well, although I could improve it further. But I don't eat meat. And I wont eat meat. I have been vegetarian for over 2 years now and I love it. I feel better too. But all of that is great advice. I am really going to look into this. OCD truly is a devastating thing to live with ever, but especially when it is severe like mine. Again thank you so much for asking for me!

And heidi...maybe you have another food allergy. Have you tried cutting out casein or dairy in general or anything else? I am sorry you are not improving. I was discouraged when it took several weeks. I am not fully regular, and my body still has a long way to go, but I am just so happy to see some change! What anxiety disorder have you been diagnosed with if you don't mind me asking? I could probably help you. nearly 20 years of OCD, I have done some reading lol

[biancanera]

I've been gluten free myself for over a month now, and I'm still being patient too. In the first week, I had felt really good at first. My biggest symptoms were muscle pain that they thought was all sorts of different things since I was a little kid, my whole gi system being "slow" like they say in the activia commercials (haha), and chronic migraines as well as constant pain after I ate. I think I've gone undiagnosed since as far back as 10 years old because these problems have been consistent and untreatable even by the doctors giving me different reasons for them every visit. In the first week, the pain in my muscles went away almost completely, and after three weeks my gi system was finely tuned! I haven't had a single migraine since either. However, this week I've been having hunger pains after eating even though I actually have a system where I eat the exact same things every day at the same time every day to make sure I'm getting the most nutrition possible. Apparently I'm not actually starving but it's just part of the healing process. So what all this rambling means is that I've only been gluten free a month and I'm still healing up! I'd give it half a year before I anticipate being at my 100% best. And you should check what you're eating too - a lot of packaged foods could still be contaminated anyways. I've found early on that if I stick to cooking everything myself it takes away that risk of contamination and I'm at my greatest chance to be completely gluten-free.