Still sick after Going Gluten Free

Many people will go about 6 or so months to up to 2 years of being gluten free and then start getting worse again.  They will get the issues with bowel, back pain, leg cramps, stomach cramps ECT. 

There can be many reasons for this to occur, lactose intolerance, leaky gut syndrome, Cross contamination and pancreatic Enzymes issues.  

Lactose intolerance seems to go hand in hand with celiac.  If you hav3e not already gone lactose intolerant it is probably only a matter of time.  Most people with celiac end up with some form of lactose intolerance.  This can be fixed by taking pills or by eliminating lactose from your diet.  I am not talking about cheese and butter, but things like milk and ice cream.  Anytime the lactose is in full unaltered form.  If you are reacting to cheese and butter than you might have a milk allergy which is very different. 

Leaky Gut Syndrome occurs when the damaged intestinal lining as small holes in it.  This makes it so that proteins and fats that are normally absorbed make leak out of the intestinal linking and back into the blood stream.  This can trigger an immune reaction and lead to issues such as food sensitivities, joint pain, skin rashes, fatigue, gas and cramps.  With this type of issue you need to cut gluten, lactose, and excess fats as well as add probiotics to your diet. 

I have talked a lot about Cross Contamination in prior posts and how gluten can be added to beauty products.  Make sure that you are not sharing sauces or a toaster.  Not having new pans, or even our shampoo, makeup or hairspray.  Even the place in the fridge is important when dealing with gluten free foods.  Make sure that you are not being cross contaminated.  If you have questions please check my posts on this. 

Pancreatic Enzymes issues:  This is when a person with celiac cannot break down protein, carbs and fats.  This is because the enzymes created in the pancreas are low.  This can case malabsorption, fatique, diarrhea, ECT. 

Still Healing: Everyone expects to be done healing after 6 or so months, the truth is that this can take years.  If your body is still healing than you might have a malabsorption issue. 

Also if you are on any daily stomach medications, you might want to talk to your doctor about coming down off the medications.  They work by inhibiting the production of stomach acid.  This is great when you have excess.  However, as you heal you will start to fix this issue as well.  If you no longer need the medications they can start causing issues. 

There is no reason to suffer, it can be any of the issue listed above, there are also other reasons that this can occur.  However, if you are not getting better you should see a doctor who deals with celiac.  Once they find the issue you can get back onto the road of healing.  You should never have to suffer.  So many people with Celiac go through one or more of these issues on the road to healing.