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Struggling With Energy

Pawl

By Pawl
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Pawl Newbie
Pawl
Posted

I've been gluten free for 2 years now, I'm a self diagnosed celiac but there is a very strong genetic link in my family. Both my grandpa and father have been diagnosed. Currently I'm suffering from low energy and kinda a feeling in my head that is similar to a low sugar condition after exercise. I find myself fatigued after the end of a general day of work and completely exhausted after a hard day of work or play. I did have a relapse on gluten 2 weeks ago accidently eating a sandwich that was made from wheat bread, could this still be affecting me?

Also I know I'm not getting enough calories during the day, I find it very challenging to get enough calories each day I think I'm currently eating about 1,000-1,500 a day. What I eat is always healthy but I'm finding it hard to get up to 2,400 calories a day eating gluten free. I'm feeling discouraged right now and lonely in my struggle even though I have supportive family it's still my struggle. Perhaps a community like this will be comforting.

Does anyone else just feel dizzy and fatigued, or am I just loosing it!

Fyi I'm 32 male 6' 160#

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ncteacher Newbie
ncteacher
Posted

Yep, I'm very new to this, and I was practically singing cheers that I didn't have the horrible pain in my abdomen and that I was able to make it through a day's work without doubling over in agony. Then, I noticed the lack of energy. I'm a teacher, so I must keep my brain on all the time, which can be tough when that brain decides to run out of steam halfway through.

I'm not eating any processed foods and whole foods never quite seem to satisfy. I've heard from many on these forums that I'm withdrawing from gluten, not getting the complex carbs I used to, and that patience and healing were the order for the next few months. So, I will do my best as I wait for better results. This isn't fun, but it stills beats the alternative. :)

All the best!

PS. 38 male, 6', 210 lbs

Pawl Newbie
Pawl
Posted
  • Author

For the next week or so I'm gonna count calories and see where I'm at I ate more today and felt better. I think I've actually gotten used to eating half the calories i used to and thats not good.

Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

Y'all need to eat what you can digest, but the easiest way to get "staying power" on a lower carbohydrate diet is to increase your consumption of high quality proteins and good fats, such as olive oil, coconut oil or coconut milk, eggs, nuts, hard cheeses if you can tolerate dairy, gluten free dark chocolate, avocados, mayonnaise, etc.

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Takala is right. I have craved protein and fats ever since I went gluten free. I sometimes (like today) just have a bacon and two eggs lunch. Sometimes I will eat a whole avocado with bacon in a BLA samdwocj :( (can't have the "T" :( ) These are the nutrients we have not been absorbing. I generally let my body tell me what it needs (Now whether or not it needs bacon is another story :ph34r: but I love it) :D

dani nero Community Regular
dani nero
Posted

I've been gluten free for 2 years now, I'm a self diagnosed celiac but there is a very strong genetic link in my family. Both my grandpa and father have been diagnosed. Currently I'm suffering from low energy and kinda a feeling in my head that is similar to a low sugar condition after exercise. I find myself fatigued after the end of a general day of work and completely exhausted after a hard day of work or play. I did have a relapse on gluten 2 weeks ago accidently eating a sandwich that was made from wheat bread, could this still be affecting me?

Also I know I'm not getting enough calories during the day, I find it very challenging to get enough calories each day I think I'm currently eating about 1,000-1,500 a day. What I eat is always healthy but I'm finding it hard to get up to 2,400 calories a day eating gluten free. I'm feeling discouraged right now and lonely in my struggle even though I have supportive family it's still my struggle. Perhaps a community like this will be comforting.

Does anyone else just feel dizzy and fatigued, or am I just loosing it!

Fyi I'm 32 male 6' 160#

Since you're self-diagnosed I'm guessing you didn't check your vitamin/ mineral levels or if you might be anemic.. or your kidneys and so on to make sure everything is working?

Last year I was cold day and night.. people would look at me like I'm some kindof loon because I would look like an Eskimo wearing a winter coat in class.. even though I ate so healthy and exercised regularly I was still always tired and cold. It turned out to be anemia.

The amount of calories you consume is not hard to remedy. Lots of healthy foods out there with high energy like nuts, potatoes, or dark chocolate.

Bubba's Mom Enthusiast
Bubba's Mom
Posted

I've been gluten free for 2 years now, I'm a self diagnosed celiac but there is a very strong genetic link in my family. Both my grandpa and father have been diagnosed. Currently I'm suffering from low energy and kinda a feeling in my head that is similar to a low sugar condition after exercise. I find myself fatigued after the end of a general day of work and completely exhausted after a hard day of work or play. I did have a relapse on gluten 2 weeks ago accidently eating a sandwich that was made from wheat bread, could this still be affecting me?

Also I know I'm not getting enough calories during the day, I find it very challenging to get enough calories each day I think I'm currently eating about 1,000-1,500 a day. What I eat is always healthy but I'm finding it hard to get up to 2,400 calories a day eating gluten free. I'm feeling discouraged right now and lonely in my struggle even though I have supportive family it's still my struggle. Perhaps a community like this will be comforting.

Does anyone else just feel dizzy and fatigued, or am I just loosing it!

Fyi I'm 32 male 6' 160#

It's possible you are still reacting to the gluten episode. If your reaction includes dizzyness, that means some of your reaction is neurological, and that takes longer to heal.

Dizzyness can also be linked to B vitamin deficiencies, or anemia so a supplement is a good idea. Have you had your vitamin/mineral levels checked? It won't hurt you to supplement with B vitamins, but you should only use iron if you're anemic.

I was eating a mostly meats, non-starchy veggies,and fruits and found that getting enough calories was hard. I had to add fat (coconut oil)potatoes, brown rice and some grain..in the form of cereal. It's still hard for me to get in the 1800 calories I'm aiming for, so I understand your problem.

If you can have dairy that helps add calories too.

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    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Blood tests for thiamine are unreliable.  The nutrients from your food get absorbed into the bloodstream and travel around the body.  So, a steak dinner can falsely raise thiamine blood levels in the following days.  Besides, thiamine is utilized inside cells where stores of thiamine are impossible to measure. A better test to ask for is the Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test.  But even that test has been questioned as to accuracy.  It is expensive and takes time to do.   Because of the discrepancies with thiamine tests and urgency with correcting thiamine deficiency, the World Health Organization recommends giving thiamine for several weeks and looking for health improvement.  Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   Many doctors are not given sufficient education in nutrition and deficiency symptoms, and may not be familiar with how often they occur in Celiac disease.  B12 and Vitamin D can be stored for as long as a year in the liver, so not having deficiencies in these two vitamins is not a good indicator of the status of the other seven water soluble B vitamins.  It is possible to have deficiency symptoms BEFORE there's changes in the blood levels.   Ask your doctor about Benfotiamine, a form of thiamine that is better absorbed than Thiamine Mononitrate.  Thiamine Mononitrate is used in many vitamins because it is shelf-stable, a form of thiamine that won't break down sitting around on a store shelf.  This form is difficult for the body to turn into a usable form.  Only thirty percent is absorbed in the intestine, and less is actually used.   Thiamine interacts with all of the other B vitamins, so they should all be supplemented together.  Magnesium is needed to make life sustaining enzymes with thiamine, so a magnesium supplement should be added if magnesium levels are low.   Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  There's no harm in trying.
    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

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      Neither of them were anemic 6 months after the Celiac diagnosis. His other vitamin levels (d, B12) were never low. My daughters levels were normal after the first 6 months. Is the thiamine test just called thiamine? 
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      Yes, I do think they need a Thiamine supplement at least. Especially since they eat red meat only occasionally. Most fruits and vegetables are not good sources of Thiamine.  Legumes (beans) do contain thiamine.  Fruits and veggies do have some of the other B vitamins, but thiamine B 1 and  Cobalamine B12 are mostly found in meats.  Meat, especially organ meats like liver, are the best sources of Thiamine, B12, and the six other B vitamins and important minerals like iron.   Thiamine has antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Thiamine is important to our immune systems.  We need more thiamine when we're physically ill or injured, when we're under stress emotionally, and when we exercise, especially outside in hot weather.  We need thiamine and other B vitamins like Niacin B 3 to keep our gastrointestinal tract healthy.  We can't store thiamine for very long.  We can get low in thiamine within three days.  Symptoms can appear suddenly when a high carbohydrate diet is consumed.  (Rice and beans are high in carbohydrates.)  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so symptoms can wax and wane depending on what one eats.  The earliest symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are easily contributed to other things or life events and dismissed.   Correcting nutritional deficiencies needs to be done quickly, especially in children, so their growth isn't stunted.  Nutritional deficiencies can affect intelligence.  Vitamin D deficiency can cause short stature and poor bone formation.   Is your son taking anything for the anemia?  Is the anemia caused by B12 or iron deficiency?  
    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
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      Anti-endomysial Antibody (EMA) Testing

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      That is interesting, and it's the first time I heard about the umbilical cord beings used for that test. Thanks for sharing!
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