Could I possibly be allergic to gluten?...

You are probably just overeating mixed with some constipation. white bread and cheese can cause constipation if you are eating a diet mainly of that or eating much more than you normally do. 4 or 5 slices of bread with cheese is quite a bit of bread and cheese. Cut back on the bread and cheese and eat some veggies and high fiber things with plenty of fluids.

bloating after eating cheese = Lactose Intolerance

I wondered about some allergies myself, but I always figured that I didn't have any because non of my family members seemed to have any. I wanted some peace of mind, and I got it after I realized that I could order my own tests anytime.

Its crazy, because I didn't know that you don't have to have prescription to order blood tests for Diabetes, Heart conditions, Allergies and a tons of other things. It was so worth it to me. Good luck with your journey! I am pretty new, so I am just starting to enjoy the site!

Like you, I absolutely love fresh-out-the-oven bread... I often used to eat half a loaf it on its own, no toppings, for a meal.

I suffered from various symptoms for years: continous almost hayfever-like symptoms of blocked nose (rhinitis), horrible claggy throat, especially at night which lead to me waking up 20-30 times some nights fighting for breath (sleep apnoea), general sluggish feeling, bad aches in knees and elbows, and various other things.

One day I just got sick of it all and started to read up on allergies, and discovered that most of the above are symptoms of a wheat allergy (as opposed to gluten allergy) - it is a particular protein in the wheat grain that isn't present in oats, barley, and other grains.

I didn't really believe it could be that simple to be honest, but thought it was worth a go, so decided to be very strict for a week and cut oout anything containing wheat...

That proved much harder than I thought - when you study ingedients lists of foods (I'm no cook so I tend to buy pre-prepared... yeh, I know, bad!!) - but the point is that almost everything you buy contaings wheat - because it is a cheap bulker. Things you'd never imagine contain wheat, do!

Anyway, literally within 2 days I felt a lot better, I was shocked by how quickly my symptoms went away, particularly the rhinitis and nasty throat mucus gunge...

I thought it must be coincidence, so after the week I went back to my "normal" diet - and I could literally feel the symptoms coming back within an hour of having a a big wheaty bread meal followed by cake, biscuits etc.

So, I stuck to wheat free - and the symtoms stayed away...

Six months or so later, I again tried going back to wheat, and again the symptoms came right back, and quickly too.

Now, getting on for 3 years later, I've kept away from wheat, and kept all the symptoms away... I have the occassional sandwich or bread or something maybe if out with people, or friends have made a meal or something, so as not to cause too much fuss and inconvenience... I can get away with one wheaty meal perhaps couple of times a week - but more than that and the wheat seems to "build up in the system" and I'm feeling yukky again.

So my advice is this: ignore other people's opinions on the wheat/gluten allergy debate, including your doctor's, and just try it out yourself properly, making sure to check all food for traces of wheat, and log the results objectively... if you feel better after a while, then go back on wheat again and see what happens to check it wasn't just conincidnce... if you have a reaction of some kind to foods containing wheat/gluten, then you ARE allergic to them, regardless of someone else's opinion on the matter!!!

At the end of the day the objective is to make you feel better and maintain a better quality of life - who gives a stuff whether other people think your allergy is "imagined" or not???? Screw them!

Hope that helps!

See a doctor if you suspect you've got an intolerance.

Don't you have your answer? Eating lots of bread and cheese makes you feel sick. Stop eating lots of bread and cheese. I am not trying to be snarky or mean, but it seems pretty simple to me. And you admittedly have a problem with overeating bread, so it is probably something you want to stay away from, no?
Whatever you choose to do, good luck! And get back to that yoga class!

I discovered my sensitivity to wheat by doing a very strict lengthy elimination diet. when it was eliminated from my diet, I had no reflux, and my joint pain was nearly nonexistent.... when I reintroduced it into my diet, the reflux returned and my joints were so bad I could barely walk after working a 7 hour shift on my feet and I couldn't open or close my hands all the way. I don't know if it's the gluten in the wheat or something else about it, but it's DEFINITELY WHEAT that was causing my issues. I should mention that the changes didn't happen right away. The reflux appeared/disappeared quickly when introducing/eliminating wheat, but the joint problems took a few weeks. It's not like I'd eat a piece of bread and suddenly I couldn't walk.. the problem was cumulative. The joint pain would get progressively worse the more wheat products I ate and the longer I ate them.

I have to admit that I was hoping that my issues were not dietary and if they were that it would be maybe from dairy.. I could give up dairy. I was HORRIFIED to learn that my issues were with wheat.

you say you are also eating a lot of cheese - you could also be experiencing lactose intolerance. but bottom line is that your eating is out of control so --- try getting a handle on that (overeating) and see what happens

Sure, some people have gluten sensitivity or allergies. You could also just be thinking you do because it's a fad diet right now and everyone is doing it. Don't jump on the gluten free bandwagon until you get tested. It's expensive and at first you may lose weight but a lot of the gluten free foods out there are less nutrient dense.

It's not expensive. Just don't buy any of the "gluten-free" products. The only thing I still do is I'll make corn tortillas sometimes and have them instead of flour when I want something bread-like other than that I don't eat wheat OR any of the substitutes out there as the substitutes are pretty much just straight up starch with no real nutritive value.

Let's all hope you don't get one of those terminal cancer or heart disease "fads"... cancer and heart disease seem to be affecting a lot of people right now, so they're probably just "trendy fads" too by your logic.

That's a horrible analogy and I'll just leave it that. But consider: less than one percent of the population actually has celiac's but apparently everyone and their mom on MFP has it. So yeah like or not, things like Aspergers, gluten sensitivity, and bipolar disorder quickly become national buzzwords and subsequently maladies of the week. Blame lazy doctors, haphazard diagnostics and people wanting to feel like special snowflakes.