Gi Symptoms & Behavior

[Carpe227]

Hello! I'm brand new to the gluten free world and have been looking for answers. I went and got tested today (6 vials of blood!) from my family doctor and in a few weeks the results will come back, then the allergist, blah blah blah and etc. After reading a couple of posts, I'm glad I'm not alone with my weird mood swings and no longer feel like a hypochondriac! My roommate and friends believe that I am one since I have a headache every day and my stomach hurts after every meal. Nice support system eh? Haha.

So my symptoms, and I by no means have it as bad as some other people, but answers are comforting and help my confused mind.

When I eat a ton of bread I go through these very weird mood swings. I'll be best friends with everyone, feeling good etc, and then within a 5 minute turnaround, I turn into this straight up witch. This usually lasts for a couple of days (and it's mainly aimed at my roommate and the only adjective I can describe is loathing). Bloating happens in there and then the uncontrollable and never ceasing urge to pass wind. It's quite embarrassing. And then I go back to normal, until I have more gluten-rich meals. I'd say this happens at least once every two weeks.

Aside from that emotional rollercoaster, Sidenote, I literally went and got an epi pen when I found out that I'm HIGHLY allergic to peanuts. Like, go down the peanut aisle and my eyes start to water and my stomach starts to...burn? It feels like a feral cat was let loose and is scratching its way out...unsuccessfully. So recently, I've started to notice that I break out in hives and get the feral cat stomach after eating foods. Bananas, grape soda, gardetto's original mix, tortillas, mac and cheese, and more that I cannot think of at this moment. I love Buffalo Wild Wings and usually order the honey bbq crispy chicken wrap, and then suffer the acid reflux consequence a few hours later. Last week I took part in this and it triggered a migraine along with the FC stomach, hives, and a long night of being in serious discomfort.

Like I've mentioned, I am seen as a hypochondriac. It's extremely frustrating to have no one believe me, except for the quirky nurse today who finally found someone (moi) who has the same issues as herself.

Also, randomly, my left leg goes numb from time to time. I can be sitting cross legged, and only my left foot is numb - not my right. I don't have diabetes (was already tested) and just find it peculiar that this happens.

Sorry if this is a long post, like I've mentioned previously, just looking for answers/others who have similar symptoms.

[Kamma]

Hi Carpe...

My symptoms are mostly neurological but I seen your post and wanted to bump it up. Perhaps others with more similar symptoms will see it and respond.

You must have felt great after talking to the nurse and getting validation for your symptoms.

Welcome to the forum.

[UKGail]

Hi Carpe

I've only just seen your post. Your symptoms are fairly similar to mine. I wouldn't have said that major mood swings was my number one symptom, but it was definitely part of the mix. I rather find mood swings are worse now if I get glutened, rather than before I went gluten free. My major symptoms were migraine and chronic joint and muscle pain. Reflux, abdominal pain, gas and bloating were all there, and chronic, but never at the level where when I grumbled to a doctor, they always found some other cause (ovarian cysts, consitipation, appendicitis - the latter was a misdiagnosis, the others were problems secondary to gluten intolerance).

After suffering these chronic problems my whole adult life, things started to escalate about 3 years ago. The stomach issues got worse, the migraines got worse, and I suffered more frequent episodes of major migraine with vomiting and D, plus huge back and hip pain. Whilst I had always suffered from chronic fatigue, I managed it. This now got worse, and I started to feel really ill.

When it started to get worse, I had a frozen shoulder which took about a year of steriod injections, anti-inflammatories and physiotherapy to recover. Then after another year, the other shoulder went. This time it did not respond to treatment, and that led by a circuitous route to my "diagnosis" which is presumed rather than confirmed because I am sero-negative to the antibodies and my doc asked me to trial a gluten free diet rather than send me for biopsy....During this time I would wake up and my arms would be numb. My shoulders are now recovered, and the numbness did go too, but I am still a bit creaky and these problems do flare up again quickly if i get glutened.

A few months before I went gluten free I developed chronic sinus pain (after having had a drippy nose for a couple of years). Then I suddenly started getting a photosensitive rash, then a burning rash on my face, then hives. The hives continued for a little while after going gluten free, and I noticed a reaction to either tomatoes or, more likely, nuts. This reaction to these foods did not last, and I no longer get hives or photosensitive rashes. The burning face comes and goes, and seems to vary with trace gluten exposure. The sinus pain and drippy nose has lessened but is still there after 6 months gluten-free. I have found that anti-histamines help with this. It is possible, even common, for celiac to go hand in hand with allergies. Sometimes the allergies will settle down once your system calms down once it has been on the gluten free diet for a while. IrishHeart has posted elequently on this issue on a number of occasions.

Whilst I wouldn't wish celiac on anyone, I do hope that you find the triggers for your symptoms and can successfully eliminate them.

[LauraB0927]

I definitely had a lot of neurological symptoms before my diagnosis and they seemed to have gotten worse after going gluten free and accidentally being exposed. I had tingling in my hands and would get terrible cases of sciatica and would even faint - the doctors diagnosed me with syncope. All these random symptoms didnt make sense until I was diagnosed with Celiac. Now, when I get exposed to gluten, I become a raging b**** and my family just knows to clear out of the way. My fiance, bless his heart, has been very good about it and just understands that its going to happen - he runs, hides, and starts playing video games with his headset on.

No, you're not a hypochondriac and I think its pretty clear that you have issues with gluten which would definitely explain everything you're describing. Do your symptoms subside when you're not eating gluten? I think you have your answer right here! Welcome to the forum!!!