How long will gluten & dairy withdrawal symptoms last?

Question

Im 7 days into going gluten / dairy / corn / nuts free diet as I found out I was intolerant... I have had a sudden onset of depression, fatigue, irritable, apathetic... and I have actually GAINED weight this week when I thought I would lose. Has anyone been through this, any idea how long it will last? Help please

Answer 1

I remember going through this. lol I became lactose intolerant when I was 23. That's being set very much in my dietary ways for that long. I loooooooved cheese. The first thing I wanted to do was rebel and try to make my body be able to digest it (in a way). All I craved was cheese, milk (which I never really craved anyway), pizza, alfredo sauce, mac and cheese, etc. I was annoyed because I couldn't eat any of my favorite foods anymore. I don't believe I had depression though. I also hoped I would dramatically lose weight, but didn't. Eventually I lost a little, but not much. I felt like my family was being mean by eating all these things I couldn't eat in front of me (my sister still does) on purpose and waving it in front of my face. I just kept hoping that it would go away too.

These feelings all slowly went away. Eventually. lol I just had to accept that this was going to be a part of my life now. Plus, just being intolerant, I can use a digestive aid to sometimes eat dairy foods or I find small ways to sneak it in once in a while. I sometimes still pout for a few seconds about the fact that I can't eat "real" ice cream, but it sure beats feeling so sick afterwards. I tried to convince myself some foods were worth the stomach ache. They're really not. lol

Give yourself some time to adjust. There's always alternative foods. Some taste better than others (I personally think some of the cheese substitutes are nasty). If there's not a big medical reason (the previous person suggested celiac), then don't worry. It could take as much as a few months to really get beyond what's almost like a grieving process. I'm still learning and making adjustments, but I'm not angry about it anymore. It took me at least a month to really be ok with it.

Answer 2

Hi, are you a celiac (gluten intolerance, the autoimmune reaction)? and lactose intolerant? And then allergies to corn and nuts?

Wow. Poor thing! I am assuming you were diagnosed by a gastroenterologist and an allergist with this answer, btw)

If you are a celiac (which is intolerant, not allergic), the good news is that once your villi heal there is a good chance that you might start producing lactase again (it is produced at the tips of the villi) and you may tolerate some dairy in about 8 months.

Anyway, it is probably the lifestyle change. You body has been running in high gear between the antibody reaction and the histamine reaction.You are gaining weight because you are finally eating food that you can digest and absorb. You need to watch calories and increase your exercise now (the downside, no more eating like a pig and being skinny as a stick! lol! We ALL go through the shock of that, btw!)

It took me over a year to heal and feel better, sorry for the bad news! Just hang in there and seek support from a local celiac group or from online communities such as Yahoo groups or celiac.com forums. It will get better, I promise!