I'm SO glad I found this thread as it gives me hope of not every going through what I've been for the past 4 weeks! I had suspected a problem with wheat for a long time, particularly since I read the blood type diet books as I'm type O (+) and Os should not eat it. At first it was just some water retention, that one became very obvious when I went on the Atkins diet the 2nd time (after years from the first) and my face changed and looked much better after 3 days. Next, it was nasal congestion which eventually was also affected by eating dairy (butter excepted). I knew my father was a celiac but I didn't know it was hereditary until around the year 2000 when I began reading about it onlline, that was the same year I was diagnosed with "hypothyroidism" which I'm sure is really Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
Precisely because it's everywhere and because I didn't seem to react to rye even when I stopped wheat I'd sometimes have rye crackers. Also, when I discovered that during the winter I could eat wheat, cheese, etc. and not get my nasal congestion worse I began eating it but as the years went by I realized I could no longer get away with that. I remember how many times I'd have a "panic attack" and wonder what the heck was wrong with me. Eventually I discovered that mold (and its mycotoxins) was my main enemy and became the reason to stay away also from other things I loved like peanut butter. And sometimes when I indulged I'd almost right away have an "attack" which resembled a hyperthyroid state, so sometimes I wondered if it was my thyroid cycling from hypo to hyper. However, on one occasion a cyber-friend suggested it sounded like "an allergic reaction" and immediately I realized I'd recently eaten ice cream and on another occasion when I'd had a similar reaction it had been cheddar cheese (not just dairy but also aged and full of hidden mycotoxins...). Still, I didn't quite learn and ketp cheating and paying the price because sometimes I could not relate my symptoms, which kept changing to what I'd eaten.
For example, in 2010 after going through some stress I had a bad attack and had to go to the ER because my awful irregular heartbeats would not allow me to sleep day or night, not even after taking a tranquilizer. They, of course, didn't find anything but my b/p high and also my weight had gone up in a rather short time. I believe I abstained after that episode for a good long time but somehow wasn't convinced and after several months, precisely when I felt good, I'd cheat again. And the trick is that at first I would not feel any different, the symptoms would come later... until last year, on two occasions I got bad colics at night that would last for hours, and of course, I'd stop. But unbelievably I repeated the same cycle of "behaving" for months, getting bored with my diet, and precisely at the worst time (after a stressful period) I'd cheat again. Last year around August I began feeling fatigued and depressed and by the time I stopped the cheating they were overwhelming, I also just felt sick/toxic. I'd fallen back into sleeping during the day and when I tried to fix my hours by staying up later every day for like 2 weeks all that stress precipitated an thyroiditis attack, with sweelling that would compress my windpipe when I lay down on either side, also palpitations, etc., but with some home remedies (apple cider vinegar in water and soaking my feet in Epsom Salt for about an hour) my heart calmed down (that was some time after my thyroid's inflammation had began to go down).
You'd think I'd finally learned my lesson because I'd read that celiac, which as the OP said is hereditary, raises antibodies that can attack the thyroid and other organs, so nasal congestion or digestive distrubance was NOT the worst of my problems, but feeble-minded or maybe stubborn human that I am, back in February when I was low in funds I chose to buy whole wheat bread and later cheddar cheese to make sandwiches with it rather than spend 3-4 times as much for gluten-free bread and/or goat cheese. I didn't mean to continue but I'd come up with the twisted idea of taking Claritin when I ate the forbidden foods and most of the time I got away with not getting the aggravated nasal congestion so that gave me the "illusion" that I was safe and by the time I stopped I was already feeling down and more tired than usual. It just kept getting worse and ended in the WORST thyroiditis attack ever! This time I became sure my adrenals and liver were involved and at least 3 times I wondered if I should go to the ER because of how scary the symptoms got, but the memory of them not doing anything for me and then getting stuck with a debt I couldn't pay kept me from going. I chose to go to a free clinic which proved to be mostly useless, the only thing I got from my 2 visits was to confirm it was my thyroid as they found my TSH high, and also that my liver enzymes were still (or again) high.
I got advice here about practicing breathing exercises and the moment I became conscious of my breathing and slowed it down some of my symptoms began to abate and it's been now more than a week since my last "attack", during those I'd get like a colitis pain, especially on my left side, the moment my heart began to pound, then I'd have to have a b/m, and for as long as the attack lasted I'd keep having more, one day up to 5, but the stool was thin which I knew was a sign my colon was "strangled". I also urinated a lot, not really in proportion to the water I drank, sorry if it's too much info but that has freaked me out and now I'm the one wanting to know if anyone else has had similar "attacks". I began having discomfort around my liver area so I began applying castor oil packs, I've concluded I probably have gall bladder stones as one night I began having a very bothersome ache/pain in the liver area while I had the pack on, I left it overnight as I usually do and it took hours for it to go away, then when I woke up I felt better; I'd had a similar ache after heavy meals last year and the packs always made them go away but this was the first time I got one after putting the pack on, I'm guessing I began to pass a stone and it got kind of stuck. I then bought a bottle of milk thistle and I think it's already helping too.
Needless to say that now that I've seen that others have had similar problems thanks to eating gluten I won't be playing the same "game" anymore, this time it's out for good! The fact that this time the attacks have been more, more intense and with new symptoms and that even my thyroid swelling lasted longer is like a last warning for me to lay off or hit a point a point of no return, my recent sufferings and the still lingering depression, anxiety and fatigue have scared me into permanent compliance.
Thanks for your reply, seeing that you had most of my symptoms and thinking they are all related to the same thing makes me feel better in the hope that as time goes by I'll improve.
I really want to encourage you to stay gluten free because the reactions get worse each time we cheat, the last two thyroiditis attacks I've had happened weeks after being off of it, and the adrenal "rebellion" this time was stronger and scarier, I still feel pretty awful most of the time but as long as I'm not having a "panic attack" I'm thankful for that. Since I had a bad experience at the clinic I went to and won't be taking any of the meds they prescribed, I will just try going to Mental Health to see if they give me a prescription for a sleeping pill so I can reverse my sleep hours to night time. I also just ordered several supplements which include raw thyroid and liver support and will keep hoping that in time the awful depression and fatigue will go away. I even lost my job early this month, and even though I was getting very few hours it was the only income I had, so I need to feel somewhat "human" very soon so I can go back to work ASAP.
First, for sticking with my mile-long post in which I made several mistakes... Second, for sharing about your own experience with wheat's "pull", you've no idea how much I've beaten myself down for my "selective memory", stubborness and/or weakness so I feel less bad seeing I'm not the only one behaving in a way that doesn't seem to make sense. Social situations are a trap indeed, I once was a party and got hungry after a lot of dancing and except for potato and corn chips everything else had wheat and since I needed something more filling I ate several mini-sandwiches, then ended up eating a cookie and some cake. And if wheat were the only thing to avoid I'm sure I could've made it but it gets to be too much at times having to avoid dairy (love yogurt and cheeses!) and sugar, to me it has felt as if all the enjoyment out of eaten had been taken out. But I NEVER again want to have the horrid attacks that I was having so I don't think I will be forgetting again!
So far it's been 11 days since my last attack and I got only tolerably stressed while driving when I ran some errands last Tuesday, so I feel greatly encouraged in believing I won't have another one. The swelling in my thyroid has finally gone down and for several nights I've been able to sleep on my side, also the stress-induced total nasal congestion hasn't been an issue for several days as well, and today I was able to sleep with just the help of 2 tryptophan caps, B-12 & a chewable calcium tab (250 mg.). I'm still sleeping during the day, have no energy/motivation and I'm depressed but less than yesterday (I'd taken an OTC sleeping pill and those leave me depressed) but I guess it's one step at a time for me.
Your hierarchy makes sense and it's probably the way I've done things in the past, but for a long time I haven't worked myself to low-carb, which is how I lose weight faster and feel better, in fact, I've been aware and pretty bothered mentally of how carb-dependent I'd become, but I'm sure I have lingering Candida issues. But lately I don't crave sweets or huge amounts of starches every day and have had several low-carb meals that were pretty satisfying, so I'm hoping to keep working myself there. Also, for reasons of economy I need to use the grains/legumes I already have, but I'm already thinking that without dairy it's going to be extremely difficult for me to stick with it, frankly, I'm even doubting I can do it at all because in the past I depended a lot on cheeses for variety. But maybe with the gluten gone I may be able to have some raw milk cheese on occasion, I once read that gluten is really the main culprit and once it's removed dairy is less of a problem for some, and I even noticed it myself years ago while on Atkins, not even the lactose on some fresh cheeses bothered me as they would when on a "normal" diet.
I'm glad to see someone else doing Yoga, I'm not yet doing it but I'd wondered what kind of exercise would be gentle enough on my adrenals and remembered how calming Yoga was when I was having panic attacks many years ago while having a bad reaction to Armour thyroid, so I told my daughter about because she had VHS tapes that she's probably not using anymore and I have a VCR but she said she's going to send me a DVD, in the meantime I've gone back to my old "Bodyflex", the "weird" breathing on it helps to clear my brain fast and the stretches feel good so I think it helps.
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I know you're on to something because for many years I've known about the relationship between Candida & mercury, I also recently read that Candida may be responsible for gluten intolerance, at least in some cases, my father had celiac but he didn't have any symptoms of Candida, but I believe he did contract sprue which is an infectious type of celiac.
In my case, well, I had a "mouthfull" of amalgam fillings until 2003 but all I did was take selenium and later on large amounts of iodine for a short time. Chelations can be very expensive, I once contacted a doctor who did it in FL and it was way out of my league, and if anything my financial situation is now worse so, needless to say, I have not done anything about it so I could bet my ongoing problems with Candida are due to the remaining mercury in my tissues. Sometimes I feel resigned to continue to live with it as I'm not getting any younger and someday we'll die of something, I just hate the thought that my life could've been better if all that metal had NOT been put in my mouth in the first place! To think that I've gone through SO much missery like depression, anxiety, sleep and hormonal problems caused or related to hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, etc., not because of anything careless that I did to myself but because I trusted what was being done to me, is a bitter pill to take.
I remember well that when I was 14 or 15 my best friend got composite fillings in her mouth, true they were not very good then, and even today I read they might contain other harmful or suspicious substances but my point is that they existed but I think it cost more, however, I don't ever remember a dentist giving me a choice, they just went to work and that was it. Oh, and during the early 90s I went to a dental clinic where I got my last amalgam filling, also no input whatsoever given, at that point for aestethic reasons I didn't want any more of those. Oh, and in probably '97 or '98 I went to a dentist in FL who I think replaced a filling or two with the very same thing. Fast forward just 2-3 years later when I got my own computer and then I started reading about how bad amalgams were, if anything I was the one begind in the knowledge of how bad this could be!
I appreciate your recommendations and will keep them in mind, I've been having problems with my liver so I need to be careful, with anything I do, so I would have to research this thoroughly first.
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