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Over the last few weeks, I’ve been diligent about ensuring gluten is far away from my diet. We go out to eat less frequently and when we do go out, I’m sure to pick a place that is educated on gluten and Celiac. I think that is so important and that’s why I am blogging about all the different restaurants we go to even while on vacation.

You never know when you might be in Hilton Head, SC!

During I trip, I realized after eating sour cream on a baked potato without paying any attention that is was actually a diary product that I need to pay attention to more than just gluten. Recently, something crept up on me like a cat from behind the couch… a lactose intolerance. I literally can’t stomach it anymore. At first I thought it was just milk, so I switched to rice milk and then it moved to yogurt and ice cream making me sick. Greek yogurt is pretty much my favorite thing in the universe so to have to cut it out of my diet, makes me very sad.

Please remember, I write these posts out of my own experiences and research and am not a doctor or nutritionist. I simply am a Pretty Little Celiac struggling with my own journey and see the need to help others in this predicament.

What’s the difference between being lactose intolerant and having a gluten allergy?

Lactose intolerance is when your body is unable to digest lactase, a sugar in milk and milk related products. The body has a deficiency of lactose, which is an enzyme produced by the cells in the small intestine. Once it gets there, it’s then broken down further into glucose and galactose to be absorbed into the blood stream.

Lactose intolerance can be a primary problem and brought on from an early age. From what I’ve read, it typically sneaks up on adolescents and early adults. It is actually a very common problem.

Researchers found that lactose intolerance can also be a secondary problem among people suffering from intestinal damage diseases like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease or even Chemotherapy. Basically because you’re stomach lining and intestines are already damaged, the cells just aren’t there to break down the lactase, thus making you sick. Dr. Aukerman told me during one of my appointments, that typically once you get rid of the main problem such as gluten – there will be other food intolerances that pop up over time.

A gluten or wheat allergy is where your body is allergic to gluten, not intolerant. There are people that have an intolerance to gluten and can handle it sometimes or in small amounts but for those of us with Celiac, gluten can’t be absorbed at all. Another difference between the two is that Celiac disease is an auto-immune disease – not an allergy and I will explain in a different post.

So, what is gluten anyway? Gluten is a protein found in foods made from wheat and grains including barley and rye. Gluten helps dough rise and gives it that yummy doughy consistency that we all know and love. Unfortunately, for us because gluten is similar to a glue product, it can also be found in many cosmetics and other beauty products.

There is a glycoprotein found in gluten called gliadin that attacks the small intestines. The villi (the little finger looking things in your intestines that move food through) eventually break down and your intestines can’t move the food through as they are intended. Then your body doesn’t absorb nutrients and vitamins from the food, often causing severe deficiencies in the blood.

The symptoms of both lactose intolerance and gluten allergy are very similar but gluten triggers some very different responses. Again, these are based on my individual experiences – if you’ve had others please feel free to comment!

Lactose Intolerance Symptoms: Bloating, stomach pain, gas out of both ends, indigestion, diarrhea, nausea which occur within 30 minutes to an hour of consuming lactose. Usually, after the lactose has cleared your system, there are no other problems and cutting out dairy will resolve the problems.

Gluten Allergy (Celiac) Symptoms: Bloating, stomach pain, acne, migraines, hair loss, dry skin, oily stool, odd smelling stool, eczema, rhinitis, asthma symptoms, join pain, brain fog, exhaustion and mood swings. It can take a few hours for these symptoms to start, but they stick around for days and weeks on end.

There is a significant different between being “intolerant” and “allergic.” A true food allergy requires the presence of Immunoglobin E (IgE) antibodies against the food, and a food intolerance does not.

Regardless of if you are intolerant or allergic to a food, you should probably avoid it all together. I’m learning more and more about the long term consequences of these problems and it’s better for us with problems to stay far away from these sickening culprits.

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you saw that I went through some depression and anxiety earlier this year. Well, I tried to manage it myself and it didn’t work. Let me tell you what happened…

One day I went to workout at Hoover Dam to run the stairs and try to clear my thoughts. It was a cloudy day and drizzling a bit but by the time I got to Hoover Park, it stopped. Just like any other time, I put on my headphones, tied my key to my shoe, grabbed my water bottle and hit the stairs. My goal – to complete 15 sets of stairs. It started out just fine. Physically my body felt good but mentally I was exhausted. My mind was racing as I went up and down the stairs.

I continued to think about how I wasn’t sleeping, my business, my marriage, my family, my finances, my body and anything else that would come to mind. At that point, I found myself having a mental fight over if I should just leave and go home or keep doing the stairs to complete my goal. Internal struggle at its finest. The celiac kept coming into my mind. I’m mad that my body hasn’t responded to my workouts and eating changes like it had in the past. This is frustrating beyond belief for me, it’s something I can’t control and I didn’t like it.

At one point during the workout, I found myself crying while working out. Tears just poured down my face. That was it, I found my breaking point. To top off this traumatic workout, it started to pour down rain from a little tiny cloud right over the part of the park where I was working out. The sun shined bright all around me – even creating a little rainbow over the stream, yet right over me was this dark cloud with rain. I finished the workout and went to my car and cried some more. What was wrong with me?

Maybe this was a sign or I looked too far into this situation but I knew I hit rock bottom. I needed help. I couldn’t manage this on my own. I didn’t even recognize myself.

That night I found a therapist and made an appointment for that week.

I also made an appointment to go back to Dr. Aukerman to have all my blood levels drawn again to see if I continued to have an imbalance or still had gluten in my system.

My first appointment with the therapist seemed like it ended in the blink of an eye. I had so much to say, how would I fit it all in to one hour? Could I come back every day for the next week? This is what I really wanted to ask her.

2 weeks later I had my updated appointment with Dr. Aukerman after having all my blood levels drawn again. My thyroid was up and there was still gluten in my system. Something I was eating or products I used had gluten in them and I needed to be much more careful about what I put in and on my body. I started buying some new gluten free beauty products that I’m going to review after I use them for a few weeks! He updated and changed my supplement regimen to help my body adjust and help in the areas I was depleted like Magnesium and Vitamin D.

Dr. Auckerman also prescribed me a low dose of Buspar for Anxiety and a low dose of Ambien to help me fall asleep. I wish I would have gone on these medications sooner. I fought it for months but since I’ve been taking them for the past 6 weeks, I’ve never felt better. I’m sleeping at night and the edge of my moods is gone. I’ve finally reclaimed my life. I don’t sweat the small stuff and I’m able to clearly focus on all the things I need to do without feeling overwhelmed. A part of me is sad I couldn’t manage it on my own. I didn’t control it with food or supplements or some other natural way. But I recognized if I kept going the way I was feeling, I wasn’t going to get anywhere and things would continue to go downhill.

If you are struggling with these same symptoms, I would encourage you to do the same and find a reputable doctor who is knowledgeable and educated on celiac disease, get a complete mark up of your blood done and find a therapist you like to help get through these issues. You aren’t the only one struggling with this. You are not alone.

Rebecca

I’m not a doctor and not saying you should run out an get a prescription for these drugs. I’m simply sharing my story about what my problems were and how I chose to get help. I would recommend anyone struggling with this to get professional help from a medical doctor for the celiac and mental health professional for the depression/anxiety that comes with having celiac disease.

Comments

1. patti says:

   September 14, 2012 at 2:10 am

   thank you for sharing your personal info. it helped me. i’ve been gluten free for about 3 yrs. and lately i’ve noticed changes in myself and had no explanation for them. i wish you the best.

   • PrettyLittleCeliac says:

     September 14, 2012 at 9:03 am

     Hi Patti-

     It’s such an secret topic that many people are hesitant to discuss in public. It’s still seem as shameful or embarrassing. I wanted to tell the world so other people could understand they aren’t alone. Celiac caused an uproar in my life at a time when I least needed it and it consumed my life. It makes me feel so good you commented and enjoyed my blog. Please let me know if you need anything or have any topics you think I should blog about.

     Rebecca
2. celiacandallergyadventures says:

   September 30, 2012 at 1:47 pm

   I have struggled with similar things – the depression, the anxiety, the irritability. It is hard to talk about and make public knowing that anyone can read it! Since going gluten-free, I have noticed an improvement in those symptoms. I still get stressed, I still can’t anxious, but they’re more just … feelings, like anything else. They don’t consume my body the way I used to.
3. barbara says:

   December 15, 2012 at 5:14 pm

   Gluten free for 2 weeks. Anxiety only once in a while before,now seems on a daily basis. I take a half mg of adivan and it goes away. I guess I’ll have to do that for a while and see if it improves.

   • Rebecca says:

     December 18, 2012 at 10:13 pm

     I think the anxiety always sticks with us and comes out at the worst times! I’m glad you found something you can work with to help you through it!
4. Electra says:

   January 13, 2013 at 8:44 pm

   Thanks for talking about this. While my health is pretty good, I still have trouble accepting my new self. I am now a Celiac and Alopecia patient. Both which hit me at age 40. Talk about a mid-life crisis. I have a great family and life but I struggle once in awhile.
5. bonnie cozart says:

   January 13, 2013 at 9:08 pm

   had celiac for almost 4and one half years now.. i had to go on mers. for depression and sleep.. doing better but i still have my days.. knowing jesus has helped me alot too.. i asked why me to but know in my heart someday they have a real cure for it besides a diet. god bless..