Hi everyone..for the past few days I have been eating a slice or two of regular bread (i.e. with gluten) and I have found that it eases my nausea enormously.
I am worried however that eating gluten will hurt my body in some way. I have had biopsies for celiac multiple times, and have been on a gluten free diet for months with zero improvement in my health.
Does anyone here eat gluten? Is it totally verboten with lyme, or can I do this? I swear, NOTHING eases my nausea like some bread and some saltines. I am TERRIFIED however that I could be "messing up" in some way and thus prolonging my recovery by eating gluten. Gluten has been made out to be satan for people with lyme, so I freak out that I am doing the wrong thing. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Jess.
Posted by gagamooppop (Member # 34314) on :
I'm not sure what others will say but I was in the same boat you were with the nausea and eating white bread and crackers and even white rice.
They were THE ONLY things I could eat those days. If those are the only things you can stomach I say its better to get some food in then not, but thats just my opinion...not a doctor/just a fellow person trying to get better.
It's a crappy situation to be in b/c sure not the best things to eat but if thats all you can eat AND it helps calm down the nausea why not for now...though I'm sure not something to do everyday...
..also what helped me was boiling ginger in water and sipping on that and pellegrino and alka seltzer gold (got it from amazon)
Hope any of this info helped
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
Gaga-Yes it is definitely a weird situation. I have been so indoctrinated to believe that gluten is horrible for lyme, and it may very well be, but as you said the white bread and crackers and rice are literally THE best things for nausea sometimes, and that is certainly the case with me right now.
I do take alka seltzer gold and I will look into getting some pellegrino. Thank you. Jess.
Posted by Ellen101 (Member # 35432) on :
At this point I think it is more important to eat what helps you get through and not worry if it's gluten free or not.
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
Thanks Ellen...that's actually what my LLMD said just now when I got off the phone with him. He told me to just eat what I can, no restrictions save for the things that I don't digest well (animal protein is the big culprit in my case). Jess.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Jess, you should be eating what works for you right now, no matter what it is (well, you may not want to eat just Halloween candy or gummy bears!). No restrictions except for things that make you sick, that don't digest well. You should not restrict yourself based on others guidelines. That's not been helpful for you.
I guess I thought you threw out the "Lyme diet" a long time ago since you've been so sick...
It's such a restrictive diet that is very hard for someone with severe gastroparesis to follow. It could easily make a person with GI problems drop weight fast, it did me when I tried to follow it early on. My Lyme doc yanked me off it right away. It was not healthy, not good for me.
I still try avoid added sugars and more processed foods when I can. But I have to eat more carbs with my proteins. I also need to have everything cooked really well.
When I tried the "Lyme no carb diet" my blood sugars were always too low. Now they are much better, always in the normal range.
I've also started drinking some Gatorade G2 every day. This has helped keep me well hydrated. I was having problems with electrolyte imbalance. Had tried other replacements but they didn't work. Always had high BUN on labwork that showed dehydration. Now it is better.
So you have to find a diet that works for you. It may be much different than what some others here do but that's OK. You need to eat what keeps you well
I wanted to add that Gluten is not good for everyone. Some people are truly sensitive and allergic to it. Those people really should avoid it for better health.
I was tested thoroughly for any sensitivity and all tests came back negative (sounds like Jess was too). I had biopsies taken on multiple occasions and several blood tests done, including the newest highly sensitive antigen tests: Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) Antibody and the (EMA) Endomysial Antibody tests.
[ 12-09-2012, 10:07 AM: Message edited by: sammy ]
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Why not buy some gluten free bread and GF crackers too?? Any health food store would have them.
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
I do eat the GF bread and crackers but they simply don't ease the nausea like regular bread and crackers do. I have no clue why, but that's simply how my stomach reacts. Jess.
Posted by dal123 (Member # 6313) on :
Sammy is right, I do eat bread, etc containing gluten and Im getting better, not worse!!!
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
Sammy-THANK YOU so much....you are so correct, I think! Jess.
Posted by Kudzuslipper (Member # 31915) on :
Jess. Enjoy! If it's working it can't be bad. Obviously the Lyme diet was not helping you. If you can eat it , eat it. And if it's helping your nausea, and getting you to be able to eat... That must make you feel so good.
When I was going through my recent UC flair and had to do low residue, I discovered newmans own spelt pretzels. Its still basically a wheat, but I figure maybe spelt hasn't had a chance to be genetically modified...they were the only things that didn't go through me. I bet they would help your nausea too.
Posted by PatriotM (Member # 38493) on :
I eat gluten and am getting better. I'm not at all convinced that eating gluten free is beneficial for lyme. Obviously, you're doing better eating gluten and I would continue doing so.
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
Thanks Kudzu and Patriot. yes the one thing I can say with utter certainty is that the lyme did definitively did not work for me. This vegan diet that I am now including gluten with is helping my stomach a lot.
My stomach is still a hot mess ha, but I can keep food down and that is MAJOR. Jess.
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
I agree with Patriot. I lost so much weight and came to the conclusion that I had an imbalance going on in my digestive tract. I broke down one day and had 3 pieces of pizza. It was so delicious! I really thought I would have massive yeast, but to my surprise, no. No more than usual. Maybe this is because I'm off abx (dunno).
My stomach immediately became satiated. Not full and bloated, just a comfortable that I haven't felt in a really long time. Maybe I'm kidding myself, maybe it's just inflammation. All I can tell you is that I felt better and started gaining weight from that point on.
I also noticed that I needed less food than I had when I was only gluten free. I eat gluten free 6 days a week, sometimes for 10 days, but then it's pizza time for me.
I think we have to do whatever works.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
IF you are gluten intolerant, it is a VERY bad thing to do. I believe that the majority of Lyme patients are gluten intolerant.
But you may be an exception.
Posted by RC1 (Member # 31923) on :
Lyme and or mold illness will, or can cause a high TGF-B1 if you have that you shouldn't have gluten because your body is making antibodies against it.
Not all people have this elevated marker. I hope you feel better Jess, I think that you should eat anything that you can at this point. I think it's more important to eat, than what you eat right now.
Take care
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
Catgirl, I agree fully...I am actually so much LESS bloated since eating gluten that its not even funny.
I think gluten just might be my friend ha..In all seriousness, my stomach feels a bit better since I have added back some gluten and eliminated all soy and animal proteins. jess.
Posted by cozynana (Member # 34270) on :
What about eating a paleo bread made with almond flour, flax seed, and coconut flour instead of wheat flour.
It is good and I can post the recipe if you want it.
It is more dense like banana bread, but taste alot like a heavy wheat bread.
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
Cozy-sure, post the recipe! Thanks, jess
Posted by cozynana (Member # 34270) on :
Paleo Bread
1 1/2 c almond flour
2 T coconut flour
1/4 c ground flax seed
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
5 eggs
1/4 c melted coconut oil
1 T honey
1 T apple cider vinegar
In one bowl mix dry. In another bowl mix wet ingredients.
Add wet to dry and stir well. Pour into small loaf pan
(about 7.3x3.5" can be a little bigger, mine is) and bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
This makes a heavy bread. It is good, even my meat and potato hubby likes it.
Lots of protien in it.
Posted by Healing in Santa Cruz (Member # 7798) on :
Does ginger tea help you?
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
Thanks Cozy!!! And healing, yes ginger helps a little. Jess.
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
Really happy you have found a diet that is working for you! Doesn't matter what you're eating, as long as you are able to get all the nutrition you need -- and KEEP it in you!!! -- then that is the most important thing.
So if you are unable to get enough protein, there is a product called Seitan that is made from gluten and is a meat substitute.
And you will probably need to supplement L-Lysine, because most vegetarian diets are low in Lysine.
I take 2 L-Lysine capsules (total of 1000mg) daily for this reason...and the benefit is that L-Lysine is good for preventing viral infections too!
Yes, I also feel better not eating meat or fish. I do ok with dairy now, but didn't used to be able to tolerate it (except I've always been good with butter except for a brief time when I had gallstones).
Glad also that the ginger helps...it is wonderful stuff...
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
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