Hi!
Made a post, oh, probably a couple months ago now about some health concerns I had. I was experiencing dizziness, drastic changes in heart rate, sweating (minor), numbness and some jitters. For about a month now, I have FINALLY been feeling pretty good again. However, this past week I have been experiencing the same dizziness and heart problems (though a little less debilitating). If anyone remembers from my last post, I have seen a doctor and had a full examination: the hospital couldn’t find anything wrong. I have doing some research, and am beginning to wonder if these symptoms could have something to do with my diet. I have noticed on occasion that after I eat white bread or cookies in particular, I’ve become a bit dizzy and also unusually grumpy. If anyone has had any experience with gluten intolerance or knows anything about this, I would really appreciate a second opinion before I make any final conclusions. Cutting bread out of my diet would be a MAJOR change for me, and I’d actually prefer not to. On the other hand, I am only 17 and would wish my health to be better than it is right now.
If this is in anyway helpful, here is some personal info that may help a diagnosis:
Female
5’1"
122lbs
Moderately active
I have had a lifetime problem where if I get up in the middle of the night and eat certain foods it puts me in a state of sleep that is more like I am drugged than sleeping. Takes about 15 minutes to pull out of it when I get up in the morning. Certain wheat cereals and a few types of cookies seem to be the biggest offenders. I think I have traced it to malt sugars but my Dr says it is not likely. If I eat these same foods while wide awake and moving around it only has a slight affect of relaxing me.
If it’s any reassurance, it’s probably not the gluten. The symptoms of celiac disease are completely different–think the other end, not your head. Other than that, you got me.
Gluten seems to be the go-to baddie of the moment. Even my wife, normally a sensible, scientific person, was insisting yesterday that nobody can digest it at all. Utter nonsense; if it were indigestible by humans we’d all fart a whole lot more because something in our guts WOULD digest it and produce a LOT of gas because most of us eat so much of it.
And THAT is the symptom a lot of people with an intolerance - but not celiac - have. They are gassy - and very gassy when they eat wheat (although FODMAPS may be a more complete set of culprits - wheat happens to be part of the FODMAP set).
I know a lot of people who have given up either gluten or wheat as part of FODMAP - either because of celiac or because they feel lousy. None of them got dizzy or grumpy - unless they were hypoglycemic. How’s your blood sugar?
A full-blown panic attack includes a combination of the following signs and symptoms:
•Shortness of breath or hyperventilation.
•Heart palpitations or a racing heart.
•Chest pain or discomfort.
•Trembling or shaking.
•Choking feeling.
•Feeling unreal or detached from your surroundings.
•Sweating.
•Nausea or upset stomach.
It could had been a panic attack ?
Around 2010, I started getting panic attacks, but I also get low-grade ones (usually so) that sound a lot like what you describe. I attribute it to overstimulation of the vagus nerve. I have found a lot of relief from the antihistamine chlorpheniramine maleate. It’s an anticholinergic that reduces nerve activity. It’s a very safe medicine and available in any drugstore over the counter. I recommend CVS’s house brands. I use, as necessary, either the cheaper 4-hour pills or the more expensive but very good 12-hour pills. It’s a very safe medicine that’s been around since the 1950s, so it might be worth a try. If not, talk to your doc about panic attacks.
Perhaps not by coincidence, I stopped eating wheat in late 2012. I have found that wheat can, in fact, give me that rapid heart feeling and bring on attacks. It also causes me to blow up like a balloon (literally, my stomach gets huge). So I wouldn’t rule it out. I’m of the opinion in general that quitting wheat is a good move in a health regime.
I’m gluten intolerant, and I get dizzy when I eat gluten.
However, if this was your problem you would probably be dizzy every day. When I was still eating gluten, I felt sick and dizzy every time I ate. You felt good for a month, and you probably ate a lot of gluten during that month.
Have you been checked for hypoglycemia, as Dangerosa mentioned? White bread and cookies could trigger that.
You might also have some other food allergy. What did you eat with the bread? You might want to start a food journal, where you write down exactly what you eat and how you feel after.
And I do remember you posting before, and I’m sorry you haven’t found an answer yet. I want to encourage you to keep trying. I have problems with neurally mediated hypotension (low blood pressure), and it took years to find a doctor who realized what was wrong. But I did finally find that doctor, and it made a huge difference in my life. Your answer is out there!
Blood sugar? I feel very dizzy if I’ve been lying, or even crouching down and then stand up. Does that mean low blood sugar? (I’m not really sure as you can see…)
That could be a lot of things - including your blood pressure.
There is a test for celiac - but not one for gluten intolerance. You can get tested for celiac - although those aren’t the prevalent celiac symptoms
If you suspect food issues, try an elimination diet, they are a pain to do, but you might find the culprit. Its unlikely a doctor will dig into food to the extent you can with a food diary and a plan
But its as likely to be something else - blood pressure, blood sugar, anxiety, panic attacks, anemia, a host of other things - which only a doctor will be able to diagnose. And even then, they may not ever find a cause - medicine is as much art as science.
If *it *is blood sugar related GiJoe007, it could explain your love for bread. If cutting out bread is a “MAJOR change…and one (you’d) actually prefer not to” then it sounds like a high carbohydrate diet, which is often the ‘loop’ of unbalanced blood sugar levels.
Twenty years ago a sports nutritionist told me that any food you absolutely love and cannot imagine life without, you’re probably allergic to. I’ve found that to be true.
So at this dart board of diagnosis, I stand behind the oche line and my chip-oiled fingers throw… “Unbalanced Blood Sugar” and shout Dangerosa a beer.
IANAD, but your symptoms sound like low blood pressure to me. Gluten intolerance is not celiac disease, which you don’t want to know about. Gluten intolerance is not an allergy. AFAIK, the only way to test for it is to stop eating anything that contains gluten for a month and see if the symptoms go away. If it is hypoglycemia try eating only whole wheat products, totally avoid refined sugar and anything containing it and see if that helps.
Which isn’t nearly as hard as you think it will be (pizza is usually tough) especially now that there are plenty of gluten free alternatives. Keep a diary and decide in a month if you feel better enough to make giving up bread, cookies, cakes, pizza, etc. worth it. If you have an intolerance (rather than celiac) giving up 99% of it will probably be adequate to know if you feel better - you likely will know without worrying about thickeners in soups. It can’t hurt to try - but honestly, I think you are shotgunning in the dark and there are things you should look at first.
I’ve been gluten lite for ten years, and it isn’t worth it enough to go gluten free for me - but it isn’t worth it to chow down on two slices of deep dish pizza and have bread pudding for dessert either.