Woohoo! Hubby going GF for 2 weeks!

[Zizzle]

I can't believe it. My husband, virtually out of nowhere, told me he was going to try the GF diet. His baseball teammate went GF/DF/SF a couple of months ago due to major back injuries and reported he's 100% now and has never felt better. Meanwhile, hubby has annoying allergies, asthma, trouble sleeping, headaches, fatigue, ringing in the ears with hearing loss, occasional GI upset, and he needs to shed a few pounds. His mom is GF and his Dad is almost there, reporting he gets sick after eating bread or regular pasta now. So I'm guessing it's in his genes. As a baby, he was allergic to milk, so I'm guessing dairy may be an issue too, but one thing at a time.

I insisted he try a lo-carb/paleo-like diet for weight loss. He's choosing GF instead for 2 weeks to see how he feels. I can't wait to witness this journey!! Today is day 2. It almost killed him to bake two cookies for the kids and not make one for himself. He's realizing what little self-control he has around food. He often eats a healthy GF dinner prepared by me, only to pig out on chips or ice cream later that night. He wants to stop. I assured him that once he completed gluten withdrawl, his hunger pangs and cravings will decrease dramatically. Was that the same for you? I read that gluten keeps people on an every 2 hour hunger cycle. I remember when I cut it out, I barely cared if I ate or not, and I was a BIG eater previously.

I hope this works for him!!

[Zizzle]

I sent this article to my husband about GF detox symptoms. I had no idea how NSAIDs contribute to leaky gut until now:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/32297 ... z1l3eBOe7E

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs include some of the most common over-the-counter and prescription pain killers commonly used for arthritis and other pain. This group of drugs blocks production of prostaglandins, which repair the intestinal walls. According to Lipski, without prostaglandin production, a "leaky gut" may develop, which allows for undigested food particles to escape into the blood stream resulting in more pain and inflammation, as the immune system attacks the foreign particles. This discomfort may result in the use of more pain killers, which makes for an even "leakier gut" and creates a cycle of pain, inflammation and intestinal permeability.

I wonder how we can increase prostaglandins in the GI tract? But don't they cause pain? I know they are responsible for menstrual cramps.

I also didn't know that bed-wetting (in my 7 yr old) could be caused by gluten sensitivity.

[tex]

Zizzle,

I'm not sure that you really want to increase the number of prostaglandins in the intestines. I suspect that someone is confused - prostaglandins contribute to leaky blood vessels, and so I'm pretty sure that they also contribute to leaky gut.

Our work suggests that aspirin-like drugs suppress inflammatory oedema not by reducing vessel wall permeability but by inhibiting the production of vasodilator mediators (prostaglandins), which results in a reduction in plasma exudation. Thus aspirin-like drugs appear to inhibit inflammatory swelling in the same manner as the traditional method of cooling with an ice-pack--by constricting the dilated blood vessels.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2492079/

Note that inflammation is an essential part of the healing cycle - it's basically the first stage of healing, (when tissue turns red, and swells, from the inflammation). The T-cells that cause the most prominent source of inflammation with MC, are also part of the healing cycle. Unfortunately, though when they continue to infiltrate the tissue, the healing never gets anywhere - it gets stuck in the first part of the cycle, (the inflammatory phase), and never progresses from there. That's why our intestines can't heal, until we withdraw from our diet, the foods and/or drugs that are generating the inflammation.

That's also why some of us react to NSAIDs, because if we are sensitive to them, they cause the production of leukotrienes, which cause additional inflammation. I'm pretty sure that the same thing would happen if you were to induce prostaglandins - they would simply be an additional source of inflammation, where too much inflammation already exists.

When the gut is ready to heal, it will produce it's own prostaglandins to do the job:

After intestinal injury, both the number and type of intestinal epithelial cells must be restored. Intestinal stem cells, located at the base of the intestinal crypt, repopulate the depleted crypt in a process known as compensatory proliferation. In this issue of the JCI, Brown et al. describe a new mechanism by which this process is regulated (see the related article beginning on page 258). Surprisingly, they find that a subset of stromal cells present within the intestinal tissue and expressing the proliferative factor prostaglandin-endoperoxidase synthase 2 (Ptgs2) is repositioned next to the intestinal stem cell compartment where local production of PGE(2) controls injury-induced epithelial cell proliferation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17200710

Consequently, IMO, introducing prostaglandins by any exogenous means would be counterproductive, as far as healing the gut, (or anything else, for that matter), is concerned. (But that's just my opinion, of course.)


By the way, good luck to your hubby, with his food trial.

Tex

[Zizzle]

Thanks Tex!!

[Stanz]

Zizzle, your husband sounds virtually identical to mine, with two siblings who are GF. He's been GF for about a month now and feels as if he has much more energy and I've noticed that his "snacking" has diminished. It's really difficult for both of us to avoid gluten, as we are both freelancers in the film industry and work long days. I'm the breakfast and dinner cook when I'm working, so I can control that, but lunch is brought in by caterers and often delivered by someone who didn't cook it, so most of the time that we get glutened it's in a sauce.

You said he baked cookies for your kids - are they gluten free? I'm just wondering, as both my girls and all 3 of their kids are GF, and all of them have my 501 gene. Both my girls had disgestive issues beginning in their teens and had difficulty with bloating. 2 of my grandkids showed problems virtually in infancy. My oldest daughter went GF first after talking about her health issues with a friend who was on the Paleo diet and felt better, so she's been GF for almost 5 years now. She didn't connect it with having a genetic link until I had my Enterolab tests done.

[Zizzle]

The cookies were the Pillsbury ready made dough ones - not GF. Buying them was hubby's idea, pre-diet. I only allow them in the house because there is no loose flour involved. I have made Betty Crocker GF cookies that the kids liked just as much, so I think I need to start baking more. My kids are only 7 and 4 and don't show signs of gluten sensitivity yet, just lactose so far. We'll need more obvious signs to put them on a GF diet, since they get luch served at school, etc. But when they are home they are very low gluten. I'm finally doing the Enterolab gene swabs on my son this week to see if he has my DQ2. If he does, I'll probably request celiac bloodwork if both of them continue on the slow growth trajectory they are on.

[Zizzle]

Stanz,
Did your hubby experience uncomfortable gluten withdrawl symptoms?

Mine just called me from a sushi restaurant, out with co-workers. They didn't have GF soy sauce (duh!), so he's eating it plain! Yuck!

[Stanz]

Zizzle,

My granddaughter who is almost 5, has instinctively avoided gluten in the form of bread for most of her life. Give her a meat and cheese "sandwich" on a lettuce leaf, or just roll up the meat and cheese and she loves it. She showed no signs of GS. Both my grandsons had bowel issues in the form of D. My oldest, who is now almost 9, had problems with bowel control most of his life until he went GF and he's grown like crazy since then. When he was a baby they had to put him on Goats milk formula because he had problems with cows milk formula. My other grandson who is 2, was the first to be tested at Enterolab - at my insistence. He was dx/w/Crohns at 10 Mos. - and has been GF since then, seemed to be growing normally, but he'd had constant D and a lack of interest in food, probably because eating made him sick. He will now eat pretty much anything. None of the "Dad's" here are GF.

[Stanz]

No, my husband hasn't had any withdrawal symptoms. However, the one thing that he did notice immediately is that he was always too hot and couldn't tolerate temps much above 62 degrees in the house. Summertime was miserable, he was always happy when Fall came. He always slept with just a sheet and now he's sleeping with a sheet and the bedspread and a shirt. His Dad, whose health issues my DH inherited, was notorious for walking around practically naked, probably because he was too hot. My DH wasn't "notorious" for this - YET - but he is definitely wearing more clothes now because he is feeling cold more often. I am almost always too cold and have had a problem with peripheral neuropathy where my hands literally turn white and stiff if they are cold. I sleep with fleece jammies as well as an added wool blanket.

It's probably going to be difficult to identify any new symptoms he may have right now as being related to being GF, as 2 weeks ago he went on 2 new meds. One to control his high blood pressure (a beta blocker) and another that is for his sinus problems. He has very narrow sinuses as well as an allergy to dust mites. He used to be allergic to pretty much everything until he started getting shots about 15 years ago. His BP has gone down dramatically and I'm sure he must feel better because of that.

Connie

[Zizzle]

Connie,
Both my kids usually avoid bread, cakes and cupcakes. They like their cold cuts and cheese rolled up. But my daughter loves regular pasta and Special K cereal (wheat and oats). They are both small, but so were my husband and I. They both eat more than any other kids their age (quantity and variety), which makes their small size surprising. They have periodic loose stool, but rarely more than once a day, and rarely any bloating or stomach discomfort. So for now we watch and wait, hoping none of this turns into an IBD someday.

[Stanz]

Zizzle,
Interesting that your kids don't seem to like breads. I'm just so grateful that we could be tested and that my littlest grandson found out so young that he was GS and also DS. Have you considered having the Enterolab tests done on your kids? I've had zero success getting any of my siblings to be tested. My DH said he would be tested after he met with his new PCP whether or not she would request it. She, her mom and 2 daughters have all had the Enterolab tests done and none of them were paid by insurance, nor has she ever had a patient whose ins. would cover it, so she felt it was pointless to even try. Now he's about to go onto another insurance in a month so he says he'll wait until then. I think he's just afraid to find out, frankly.

Considering the multitude of illnesses caused by food intolerances, you'd think that insurance companies would make it a mandate at least to have the genetic testing done, and then if symptoms match a genetic link to their symptoms, would order further testing but that would just make too much sense and probably would hurt their bottom line and we know these guys aren't going broke.

[Zizzle]

Yes, I've considered Enterolab testing for them (I'm doing the gene test on my son right now). I've hesitated with the stool tests because up until now, I was afraid my husband would not allow me to adjust their diets, even with a positive Enterolab result. He'd want a doctor to tell us we have to before "labeling" them. So until their symptoms are more worrisome (and I have the extra $ to pay for it), I'm holding off. But if their growth curve continues to slip, they may be headed for celiac bloodwork (covered by insurance) first.

[Stanz]

I don't know what the odds are that they both inherited your celiac gene, but maybe he'll relent if he feels better being GF. Have to say it's been lovely having a GF house for the last month.

I hope your son isn't positive. but it certainly could explain a slow growth curve.

[Martha]

Zizzle, how great that your husband decided on his own to try going gluten-free. I hope he sees some clear benefits from it.

[MBombardier]

Zizzle, this is great!! Whoo-hoo!

Quick update on my hubby: After that one weekend, he thought he was fine--no gluten problems. The next Monday (after he consumed gluten on Sunday as usual) he laid around, but that's typical on Monday, especially since he's been unemployed, because he can kinda forget about it over the weekend but come Monday and the job search, it hits him all over again. I kept quiet. I still wasn't sure myself if he has gluten sensitivity, and I'm still not, but I suspect so.

This Sunday, there were a bunch of desserts left over, and my husband ate a couple of extra pieces of cake. Within minutes he was complaining that he ate too much, and complained the rest of the evening. On Monday, he took four naps and even remarked on how he just couldn't seem to shake his tiredness. I told him that his "ate too much" was classic bloating, and his tiredness was also a sign of gluten sensitivity. He said that he thought I would say that.

So the seed is planted. It will be interesting to see how long it takes him to do his own test, i.e., not consume gluten on a Sunday at our church's shared meal. Since we've had a GF house for months, that's the only time he gets gluten.