Anyone had Gluten Detox symptoms?

Wisewoman888

Hi all,

started on my new life of Gluten free today!

And guess what? I feel like crap!:sad:

Got a horrific headache, stomach grumbles, really hungry yet I've eaten......not happy!

Anyone else had these symptoms? How long will they last?

Any help with getting my head around this would be great!

Thanks,

Melissa

Flab2fitfi

Have you eaten gluten in the last few days. If you do have a reaction to it this maybe the cause. I'm a coeliac and although the stomach symptoms clear up after a few days headaches etc. can last up to six weeks afterwards. If yesterday was your last days this could be problems to so with eating the gluten rather than the detox.

If you do have coeliac it can take up to six months to really feel the full benefit.

Wisewoman888

Hi Fionazora35,

Thanks for your reply. I'm not coeliac, just gluten sensitive. Yesterday was my last day on gluten, hopefully for good!.My stomach seems to have settled down and I took painkillers for the headache so by this evening I can cope! woohoo!
I don't know if it will happen again by tomorrow, but we'll see. I was in contact with a woman who iis also going GF and hers iis also gluten sensitive but her reaction only lasted a week, so here's hoping!!!
I read that gluten is like an opiod and people become addicted and when you go off it it can be just like a drug withdrawal, so I'm hoping I get off lightly.
We'll see how I go!
Thanks again!

TripMom

When I went GF, I felt like I was literally dying for about a week and a half! I really didn't think it was not eating the gluten that was making me so sick. I felt like I was in a fog, severe headaches, I couldn't think or make decisions, I had NO energy, I was depressed. Then one Saturday, it was like I woke up and I felt so good! I could believe how much better I felt. Took me a few days to figure out it was the gluten!
Good luck and hang in there!
TripMom

islandnutshel

Going Gluten free is hard. You feel like crap, you have huge cravings, brain fog, and are not satisfied with a decent GF meal.
Then you feel better.
Two weeks and you will notice a difference.
Be sure not to slow you progress by going part way. Watch the soy sauce productes. Soups, graveys.
It's worth it. Honestly. If it doesn't go away, look me up and ask me why.

gemiwing

I'm replying with my story because there might be others like me who read this thread and think 'I didn't have withdrawal therefore I must not have a problem'. Unfortunately, OP, it's not going to be helpful for you

I didn't have any withdrawal symptoms- I had two days of bowl movements that still contained wheat/gluten so those were rough. Beyond that- I immediately felt better. No more headaches, no more stomach aches and no more diarrhea or bloating.

OP- if today is your first day then you can still have gluten-containing products in your digestive tract. Give it a few days and rest yourself.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I never gotten this from being gluten free, but I have gotten this from having too low carbs.

pdworkman

A few weeks for me.

SyntonicGarden

It sounds like it might be similar to a Herxheimer reaction / healing crisis. Basically, that's where the body detoxes and all of the bad stuff in your body dies off. The dying off process releases toxins, which cause the icky symptoms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herxheimer_reaction

kaetmarie

I'm replying with my story because there might be others like me who read this thread and think 'I didn't have withdrawal therefore I must not have a problem'. Unfortunately, OP, it's not going to be helpful for you

I didn't have any withdrawal symptoms- I had two days of bowl movements that still contained wheat/gluten so those were rough. Beyond that- I immediately felt better. No more headaches, no more stomach aches and no more diarrhea or bloating.

OP- if today is your first day then you can still have gluten-containing products in your digestive tract. Give it a few days and rest yourself.

This is my story too, almost exactly. After the second day, I felt so much better ... give the last of the gluten time to work itself out of your system. Welcome to the GF life!!

Wisewoman888

Wow.... Didn't know it affected me so badly. Like the bowel movements, I felt the opposite! Like I was giving birth!!!(sorry for too much info!!!LOL:blushing: )
But I did all of a sudden feel great by the weekend then last night I had to have a stew cooked up that had no (or I thought) gluten in it as it had vegetarian sausages in a tomato/bean/chilli style sauce with rice and BAM! I didn't even eat the sausages! Just the sauce with rice! And OMG..:noway: ...I had grumbles, diarrhoea, cramps with major gas:grumble: .... awful! But today, apart from feeling a bit sludgy, I feel quite good.

Thanks for the tips you guys, it really helps. :flowerforyou:

mooglysmom

Oooh, careful with the vegetarian 'meats' - a LOT of them contain gluten, and so do canned beans. That's cross-contamination for you. I was lucky when I went gluten free - I already had a very good grasp of cross contamination and label reading practice as my oldest has had a severe dairy allergy since he was 1.
My gluten detox took almost 2 weeks (incidentally, when I get glutened, it takes 2 more weeks to get out of my system again!). Then one day I woke up feeling amazing. I think it really depends on your metabolism and how quickly your body processes its food.

Wenchilada

Everything you described pretty much rings true for me. I have been trying to keep GF since 2010 (I tested negative for celiac, but I definitely have sensitivity issues, which when I was 29 threw me over into full-blown UC) and I've had occasional slip-ups, along with a few very intentional benders in the last few months. I'm not proud of that, and that's largely why I signed up for this site in the first place. But most of the time, while on those benders, I know I'm going to feel 10 times worse when I quit cold turkey. It usually takes about 3-7 days (for me) for the sluggishness, stuffy head, depressed mood, and achy joints (not to mention the angry tummy) to subside. That's not including the time period when I was actually eating gluten, when those symptoms are there but not necessarily in my face. But the detox period is usually worse, the longer I have been eating gluten or the larger the quantity I ate. I recently bought some activated charcoal, as I'd heard it can help absorb the junk in your body, but I was worried that it might absorb more than that (e.g. my prescription medicines) so I haven't taken any yet. I've been fully GF again for nearly a week now, and for the most part, I am feeling better.

SyntonicGarden

Oooh, careful with the vegetarian 'meats' - a LOT of them contain gluten, and so do canned beans. That's cross-contamination for you. I was lucky when I went gluten free - I already had a very good grasp of cross contamination and label reading practice as my oldest has had a severe dairy allergy since he was 1.

Trying to be veg and GF is pretty taxing and not that easy if you live with and have to feed other people. OP above is spot on. Many of the veg mock meats are laden with wheat. Just about anything from Morningstar Farms is out. Something called Quorn is out. Tofurkey? Out. The only things that I've found so far that are ok for me are Tofu Pups brand mock hotdogs, TVP that's specifically labeled gluten-free, and plain old tofu (firm and fried).

(I sucked up and went back to eating poultry because I'm incredibly thankful anytime I come home and my hubby has been kind enough to have a meal waiting. As "ethically irresponsible" as it may sound to some, we simply aren't at a point in our lives where we have the time or access to the ingredients for veg and GF dining.)

pdworkman

When we were in the US, we found quite a bit of GF vegetarian meats. Several brands of burgers and soy meats, some veg/gf/dairy free pizzas, pastas, etc. Here there are no tofu pups, and only one kind of gf veggie burger.

But there's lots you can do with beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu, tempeh, quinoa, etc So much to cook so little time!

Oooh, careful with the vegetarian 'meats' - a LOT of them contain gluten, and so do canned beans. That's cross-contamination for you. I was lucky when I went gluten free - I already had a very good grasp of cross contamination and label reading practice as my oldest has had a severe dairy allergy since he was 1.

Trying to be veg and GF is pretty taxing and not that easy if you live with and have to feed other people. OP above is spot on. Many of the veg mock meats are laden with wheat. Just about anything from Morningstar Farms is out. Something called Quorn is out. Tofurkey? Out. The only things that I've found so far that are ok for me are Tofu Pups brand mock hotdogs, TVP that's specifically labeled gluten-free, and plain old tofu (firm and fried).

Hudd5412

Melissa - how have you been doing? I just joined the group and your post got my attention.

Before I decided to try GF - I was in a slow downward spiral for months and months; suffering from frequent headaches, EXTREME fatigue, nausea, and a general feeling of malaise. Not to mention, after a meal I would become so bloated that I looked 5 months pregnant, the pain was terrible. I was tested for mono, the flu, pregnancy, anemia, all came back negative. My general doctor basically told me "congratulations, you're healthy!" Which was infuriating as I obviously felt worse than I had in my whole life. When I went GF, I felt dramatically better right away, it was like night and day.

About your situation, I was thinking about related allergies. A lot of people that are gluten/wheat intolerant are sensitive to other foods too i.e. soy, dairy, eggs. Some people add more of these types of things to their diet than they would normally when they are trying GF (to compensate). Have you tried an elimination test? I tried this at home and it seemed to work pretty well, basically you pare your diet down to things you know for sure won't bother you like vegetables and lean protein, and add one food item in at a time for about a week. So maybe week one you add eggs but still avoid soy and dairy. See how you feel after that week, if all is well, then you proceed adding the next food item until you identify other things you are sensitive to, if any.

Thank for letting me share, I hope you have been doing well!

Flab2fitfi

Melissa - how have you been doing? I just joined the group and your post got my attention.

Before I decided to try GF - I was in a slow downward spiral for months and months; suffering from frequent headaches, EXTREME fatigue, nausea, and a general feeling of malaise. Not to mention, after a meal I would become so bloated that I looked 5 months pregnant, the pain was terrible. I was tested for mono, the flu, pregnancy, anemia, all came back negative. My general doctor basically told me "congratulations, you're healthy!" Which was infuriating as I obviously felt worse than I had in my whole life. When I went GF, I felt dramatically better right away, it was like night and day.

About your situation, I was thinking about related allergies. A lot of people that are gluten/wheat intolerant are sensitive to other foods too i.e. soy, dairy, eggs. Some people add more of these types of things to their diet than they would normally when they are trying GF (to compensate). Have you tried an elimination test? I tried this at home and it seemed to work pretty well, basically you pare your diet down to things you know for sure won't bother you like vegetables and lean protein, and add one food item in at a time for about a week. So maybe week one you add eggs but still avoid soy and dairy. See how you feel after that week, if all is well, then you proceed adding the next food item until you identify other things you are sensitive to, if any.

Thank for letting me share, I hope you have been doing well!

Quite often dairy can be a culprit until the gut has a chance to settle. Unfortunately in my case my intolerances have appeared years after I got diagnosed and will be with me for life now.

damecaite42

I am really glad to read that this was not unusual and was not in my head. I just went gluten free, beginning last Friday, and I've definitely been experiencing what I would call detox symptoms- fatigue, headache, and my gut is still grumbling occasionally. I was beginning to wonder if maybe I was actually sick, but from what people have written, it sounds like my symptoms are consistent with what some other people have experienced after going gluten free. I guess I'll just have to see how long it will last.

dhencel

I had no problems when I went gluten free. I was diagnosed with Ceilac disease in the hospital and immediately went gluten free.. It probably will take a couple days for all the gluten to get out of your system.

returntorural

Thank you all so much for posting your experiences. I have no official diagnosis but through a process of elimination have reason to believe that gluten and I don't get along. I was concerned about a detox period but now that I know what to (perhaps) expect, I feel like I can handle it better.

Thank you!