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Crazy Amounts Of Energy

NewNicole

By NewNicole
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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NewNicole Apprentice
NewNicole
Posted

When someone asks me what it's like to have celiac disease I tell them it's like being on the wildest roller coaster you could ever imagine. It's been a little over a year now that I have been gluten free. I started out in severe pain, incredibly hungry, massive headaches, every muscle aching, and sleeping 14 hours a day and still feeling like I got ran over by a truck. Now I can say that after the withdrawal symptoms subsided I no longer even want bread. Ok maybe somedays I pine for a small little taste of a nice soft piece of fresh italian bread. But for the most part I don't think twice about it. During this last year I have experienced so many new symptoms while getting rid of the old ones. I traded severe abdominal pain for wierd arm pains that doctors were baffled by. It was here on this forum that I figured out that it was probably a vitamin issue that was causing my problems. Now the crazy new experience I seem to have is this thing called energy. I've never experienced it before. I literally feel like I drank 12 cups of coffee in a row. I haven't figured out how to use this energy yet. I must look like a bug on drugs to people at this point. I just seem to ramble and run around like a chicken with it's head cut off. It used to be that I only had one day a month that I felt good enough to do much of anything. So I still run around doing all the housework and all my chores in one day anticipating that tomorrow I will be dead to the world. I can't tell you how many nights I went to bed before dinner making my husband fend for himself and taking care of all the kids. Now I can actually cook, (which due to the amount of work it takes to make gluten free food I need all this energy), and I can even clean up after. My iron has always been very low and my thyroid levels were high. I learned to function that way. I can't believe this is how normal people live. I don't know if this is actually my thyroid going the opposite way or if this is my new norm, but I figure I better do as much as possible now before my body realizes it needs to turn into that slug again. So although I wouldn't say that I'm 100% and I still have some issues, I am really happy with how much better my life is without gluten. So for all those newly diagnosed people out there I want them to know not to give up. It is a roller coaster, but in the end you too will be able to do laundry, cook, and do the dishes all in one day. lol.

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JNBunnie1 Community Regular
JNBunnie1
Posted

"Bug on drugs" *snort...

Very happy for you!

kittty Contributor
kittty
Posted

I had a similar energy burst about 6 weeks ago, and then got glutened and haven't got it back again yet. It felt good to be so energized, but it was also unnerving because I felt too energetic - almost like a mania. Maybe because normal feels so abnormal after all these years!

luvrdeo Apprentice
luvrdeo
Posted

Thanks for giving me hope!! I've gotten past the massive headaches but a short 2 weeks in and I'm beyond exhausted, all the time! I love hearing that there is something to look forward to :)

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

Always great to hear positive results! Good stories are wonderful.smile.gif

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

You said:

"I can't believe this is how normal people live"

NewNicole, this is YOUR new "normal"!! :)

This is what healing feels like. This is how a body works as it is designed. (I get this part BIG time --because I am starting to feel it myself after a life time of wondering what "normal" felt like, too)

Congrats, honey!!

So happy for you.

Cheers, IH

tctwhite Apprentice
tctwhite
Posted

Its great reading someone's results after a year with the gluten-free life. Im only a month in and Ive had more energy this month than Ive had in YEARS! If it gets any better with time, I might have to take up marathon running! I do still have days where Im exhausted and just need to rest. But I believe that is because Ive been without energy for so long that I wear myself out. Im actually sleeping at night with NO medication. DH wonders why Im so tired at night. I said isn't that how normal people are? Im still bloated so much of the time, but the pains are disappearing as are the quick dashes for the bathroom.

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srall Contributor
srall
Posted

I didn't realize that it was normal to feel good and have energy. It was mind blowing. I went from feeling about 70 years old to feeling 20 (I was 42 when I went gluten free). Keep taking care of yourself and take your vitamins and you should continue to feel great. And to those just starting out, there IS a beautiful light at the end of the tunnel. Stick with it!

NewNicole Apprentice
NewNicole
Posted
  • Author

Kitty, mania is a great way to describe it. It takes me forever to heal after being glutened too. I hope you bounce back soon. Lvrdeo, I'm so glad that I can give you hope. I know that it's hard to think you will ever feel better. But you will reach a point when you realized that you went up the stairs without needing to rest. I actually went up a few nights ago and did a dance of joy when I reached the top. Hey, it was exciting. Tctwhite, I told a friend of mine that next year I want to do a warrior dash marathon with her. I'm thinking I may be overguessing my physical abilities in this one. But the mere fact that I can consider it is huge. Who knows maybe in a couple years I can climb mount Everest....or maybe not. lol. Irishheart, it's great to feel a little human, isn't it? Who knew someone could feel like this? Srall, I have to tell you that up until about a month ago my 74 year old mother out ran me and she needs a walker. lol.

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

I know that it's hard to think you will ever feel better. But you will reach a point when you realized that you went up the stairs without needing to rest. I actually went up a few nights ago and did a dance of joy when I reached the top. Hey, it was exciting.

This is GREAT news!!! I know what you mean. When I was very ill, I could not walk the length of my driveway (160 ft.) without being short of breath, just gasping for air and my whole body was shaking from the strain of this small activity. I was a burning mess of weak muscles and bone pain. I could not lift my arms over my head or dress myself at one point. Everything was painful and tiring.

A few weeks ago, I went kayaking. :)

This summer, for the first time since 2008, I could get in and out my pool (by myself) and swim around a little. I could not do that for 4 summers....a miracle? Nope, just the body "doing what it is made to do".

Continued healing to you and enjoy your "crazy energy"! ;)

Cheers, IH

NewNicole Apprentice
NewNicole
Posted
  • Author

You went kayaking....that's fantastic. That's on my to do list to. And we just put in a pool so I'm hoping by next summer I will be able to enjoy it. It's almost like a kid in a candy store...you want to do it all right now. Good for IrishHeart. I hope you get to make up for lost time.

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

You went kayaking....that's fantastic. That's on my to do list to. And we just put in a pool so I'm hoping by next summer I will be able to enjoy it. It's almost like a kid in a candy store...you want to do it all right now. Good for IrishHeart. I hope you get to make up for lost time.

You too!..go get 'em kiddo. It's all good now. ;)

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      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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