Has anyone successfully reintroduced gluten if they’re intolerant and how?

[BabbleBee]

I’ve been GF for just over a year. It was suggested by my GP to overcome fatigue, abdo pain and chronic diarrhoea. Bloods were done, I do not have coeliac disease.

Initially it was fine being GF but then I had covid which has gone on into long covid. While I was covid positive I got constipated which resulted in a nasty anal fissure. I've had the fissure for 11 months and it is agony. GP has said I need to essentially give myself diarrhoea with laxatives / diet while it heals with long term analgesia and PR ointment.

Being GF seems entirely pointless and I am fed up of the restrictive diet on top of living with chronic pain and fatigue. I seem to be even more sensitive to gluten since eradicating it from my diet. I’ve lost loads of weight that I couldn’t afford to do and I’m fed up. Basically I want to stuff my face with doughnuts and comfort eat.

Has anyone successfully reintroduced gluten if they’re intolerant and how?

No sorry, the longer I've been gf the worse it has been when I've tried to reintroduce

@MaverickGooseGoose I’m not surprised based on my own experience. I really regret going GF!

Have you tried removing lactose from your diet? Many people who are gluten intolerant are also lactose intolerant too. My daughter was advised to do this by her consultant and it made a huge difference.

It's not dairy free, just the lactose. It might help.

Also did you go GF before or after the bloods for coeliac? As you have to be eating gluten for the tests to show anything.

@ginsparkles I gluten loaded before the bloods - I had to eat at least 3 portions of high gluten foods for a couple of weeks before the bloods were done. I don’t have a high dairy intake anyway, I don’t like milk or cheese and never have.

You’ll be more sensitive now than before. You could try and reintroduce it slowly but ultimately I don’t think it’s worth it. ultimately if you didn’t have an intolerance though, going GF wouldn’t have made a difference and you wouldn’t react now. It’s not like when you quit dairy and make yourself lactose intolerant.

there are so many good GF options; what are you specifically missing?

tesco do the best biscuits, schar have some awesome Pringles, M&S do a delicious chocolate cake and the best bread. Plenty of take aways offer GF now including some Chinese and Thai.

DD was told by the specialist that even 6 weeks of gluten loading is not always enough to show it properly on the blood test. An endoscopy is definitive but once again, once you stop eating gluten the intestine starts to heal and so wouldn’t show anything for you.

I’m coeliac and DD is gluten intolerant (her coeliac blood test showed negative) but I suspect we are actually both coeliac as we both reacted very similarly- were both extremely unwell on gluten. She sadly can’t reintroduce even traces without being very unwell.

You probably will get more sensitive to it when you eradicate it, sadly. Where we’ve been running a gf household for five years (because I was so very unwell at diagnosis, in hospital for a month), DH has started to get sensitive to it as well. But by not eradicating it you can give yourself dreadful long term health issues. It’s annoying to live with (and my goodness, expensive) but I suspect you’ve done the right thing.

Annoyingly, as said above, gluten intolerance/ coeliac often comes with a whole host of other issues. My digestion is often still dodgy and I’m most definitely a coeliac who has cut out all gluten. Lactose, even if you only eat tiny amounts (it’s in so much stuff) can cause issues. Even gluten free oats can cause issues. You probably need a good dietician to do a proper elimination/ low fodmap diet with you in the short term and then gradually introduce foods one at a time.

I’m sorry, it sucks.

I have but only when pregnant or breastfeeding it seems the additional antibodies suppresses my immune response to gluten.
As soon as I stop or feeds drop below 2 a day it comes back unfortunately despite having 2 years eating gluten without issues.

You could try some experiments it might be your intolerant to wheat rather then some of the ancient grains/rye etc. A small amount of rye bread test might help narrow it down.
I have a friend who is intolerant to modern wheat but fine with rye and spelt.

It is difficult. Many of the blood tests bring back a false negative for coeliac. DD is having two specific gene tests done to avoid her having to have the endoscopy.

I think once it's out of your diet it is hard to reintroduce. DH and DD are both intolerant but I deliberately keep some gluten in my diet.

Have you looked at FODMAP? There may well be things there that cause the upset. We have made swaps based on that to make DH and DD more comfortable

@SleepyMathematician you’re right, it sucks. I had a coffee sachet thing the other day that had oats in and even that set symptoms off - at least that’s the only thing I’d had that was definitely new. I probably have done the right thing and had it not been for long covid I may be seeing the benefits, but I’m grumpy, tired, fed up and would quite like a Krispy Kreme doughnut right now!

@SnakeOiler I’ve managed to find most of the goodies, but I’m missing pastries / doughnuts - the stuff I used to have as a treat.

@Scottishskifun It’s definitely wheat, but there’s something else I either haven’t found yet or I have to now avoid the ‘May contain’ items too.

Dammit. Name change fail. Ah well…

I can tolerate proper wholegrain bread/ pasta if I don't go overboard and properly made sourdoughs, but can't tolerate white pasta/ bread.

It’s worth looking into SIBO, this is where bad bacteria take over in the small intestine. The bacteria can cause symptoms on their own, but also are thought to cause food sensitivities which increases symptoms. I can’t eat gluten due to long standing sibo, but treatment of the bacterial overgrowth and cutting out gluten mean I’m symptom free. I’m hoping with continued probiotics, my gut will heal and I can eventually eat proper pizza and toast 😋

Why do you regret it if you feel better GF? It's so easy now - GF pizza, pasta, bread, GF menus in restaurants etc.

OP the oat thing was probably due to the milling/production method as highly likely it shared the same equipment as wheat.

Personally I would start with prebiotics, add in good gut foods like kimchi, kafir etc it might help as you increase the level of gut bacteria.

I can’t eat may contain either. A freddo triggered me! I am extremely sensitive to gluten.

Have you tried making your own? Becky excel has some amazing recipes.