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How Long Does It Take For The Muscle Weakness/Pain To Go Away?

capit

By capit
in Sports and Fitness

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capit Newbie
capit
Posted

The achy joints and sore muscles are going away. I've been off gluten for two weeks after a gluten trial which really did me in, but I'm impatient!

How long did it take you to get back to normal after ditching gluten? Did any of you end up feeling even stronger than before? (admittedly, that's what I'm hoping--I'd had a gluten-free period before the gluten trial, and it felt so good).

Did your iron levels improve?

And a question for long-distance runners--did the wall become much smaller/later after a while off gluten? I've run 6 or 7 marathons so far and had fueling problems with all of them except for one. I didn't carb load, didn't eat wheat the night before, no breakfast just juice, and had bananas, sports drink, and coffee during the race. No gels. And there was barely any wall, somewhere around mile 22 I felt kind of tired all of a sudden, but it went away after a few minutes. During all the other marathons, I'd hit the wall early and permanently, from mile 11 to 16. I didn't make the carb/wheat connection until recently. Wish I'd known about that earlier. lol

These days, my 'tough' runs are just 40 min jogs, but I'm recovering, I think. My mileage is still under 20 miles/week...used to be 50-60+, but a few weeks ago it was under 10 so I'm getting there slowly and surely. I'm hopeful and curious to know how it's been for other runners.

cheers!

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katinagj Apprentice
katinagj
Posted

I may not be much help. I am not a runner, but have always wanted to be. My joint pains and issues were holding me back most of my life as well as breathing problems that seem to be getting better this past week. I've only been gluten free for about two weeks, and it seems that for the most part my joint pains are gone. I actually feel like I could finally start running! I also do in fact feel A LOT stronger. So it is definitely a possibility for you! Good luck :)

capit Newbie
capit
Posted
  • Author

Thank you, and best wishes for your recovery!

I've had gut/absorption issues for years, and they interfered with running and daily life quite a bit but there were ways around that. I ran in the woods or planned my routes around bathrooms. When things got really unpredictable, I was told I had IBS and was prescribed Bentyl...at any rate, throughout all this, my muscles and joints felt fine. Wheat made me drowsy though so I gradually reduced my intake over the years. Then I had to eat it every day for the blood tests and after a few weeks, those aches started, and they were getting worse and worse. That took me by surprise. I never expected to feel arthritic! I just thought I was going to be pooping more.

I gave up wheat 25 days ago (and have had only one slip up at a restaurant, lol)....already it's made a huge difference. I still have a few sore joints, mainly in my fingers and one in my right foot, but running has become a lot better. I was down to running 15 minutes once or twice a week and it was very painful (worse than any marathon I've run--it felt like I had already run a marathon!), and now I can jog comfortably for 40 minutes, and I even jogged for 1.5 hrs last weekend because it felt so good.

So I really really hope that things go as well for you and that you can take up running. You'll have to start off slowly to avoid injury--there are plenty of learn-to-run programs out there. Most people start off by running intervals--jog 1 minute, walk 2 minutes (or more) and repeat. Eventually the running intervals get longer and the walking intervals get shorter. Let me know if you want more info or links.

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

I am a super sensitive celiac. I was pretty athletic when I was younger, mainly skiing and ballet. I ran to condition for skiing. I got very sick before diagnosis and was unable to do much of anything. It would take me four days just to mow our 1/3 acre.

It took me almost a year to figure out the diet enough, and to heal enough, so that I could exercise like before. It's been two years now and I am training for a mini triathlon. I have a rowing machine and have records of my training times that go back 20 years, and now I am doing better than I was even 20 years ago when I had no idea that I was sick, despite being over 50 now.

One thing I've noticed is that strenuous exercise will really point out deficiencies (trace gluten) in your diet. I have had to be even more careful with what I eat. If I stay rigorously gluten free I have much less trouble with fueling that if not. When even slightly glutened I have all sorts of blood sugar level problems and get lightheaded and dizzy, problems with reflux, no energy, and just a plain inability to push. Rigorously gluten free, I can go and go. I'm sure that a whole marathon would quite another matter. I'm thinking dried fruit?

It is really wonderful to be able to exercise hard again.

  • 2 months later...
sb2178 Enthusiast
sb2178
Posted

That's my question! I've been off running for almost 3 months now-- joint pain, digestive issues/uncertainty-- and am really hoping to be able to get back into it. Vaguely want to do a fall half or full marathon, but unless I can get the energy and feel confident that I won't be banging on someone's door to borrow a stranger's bathroom, it's not going to happen. Biking, meanwhile. Much easier to reach bathrooms ASAP :-).

Just started gluten-free three days ago, and feeling less pain. Not sure that removing gluten is the full diet (lactose, nightshades?) or that my kitchen is fully decontaminated yet, but hopefully will solve problems quickly.

Any general suggestions for distance fuel? I know Clif bar just created a gluten-free bar, and L'Arabar works, but what about Gatorade sorts of things?

tictax707 Apprentice
tictax707
Posted

Gatorade & powerade are gluten free. Gu, gu chomps, and clif bloks are as well. I am really wary of consuming a lot of protein when you are out for long distances (ie - clif or larabars), but that's my personal fear. For longer distance stuff I have used a bite of purefit bar. (literally a bite - like 1/12 of a bar). There is also this stuff called Infinit. You can personalize everything - from the amount of carbs, caffeine, sodium/electrolyes, protein, and the strength of the flavor. it's a pretty cool concept. I think the website is infinit.com or something like that. Hope this helps!!

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