[theloula]

Hi Folks

I have been mostly wheat, sugar, yeast, marinated foods free since March of this year (elimination diet), and have found that my body is working so much better. I have very mild psoriasis, and was recently diagnosed with ibs-d after going for allergy testing for food reactions (I am not allergic to anything). In the spring, two weeks of non-stop itching with the psoriasis is what triggered me to start eating healthy after reading about a possible connection between psoriasis and external yeast growth. 90% of the psoriasis cleared up within a week and, overall, my body has been processing food better. Other side benefits have been clear skin, emotional stability, and weight loss.

I was reading last week about soluble and non-soluble fibre, and the article was saying that white wheat should be okay to eat. I decided to eat wheat on Saturday as a trial and, although the food stayed in my system, had a major body reaction to it with a huge belly ache and lots of gas. Monday evening, I wound up with wheat again when being in the position of having dinner purchased for me by my friends father, and pizza being the only thing offered; there was no polite way to get out of it. Again, my body reacted strongly and, even though the food stayed in, my stomach was boiling. Then, on Tuesday, there was an ice cream cake at work for someones birthday, so I had a tiny piece of it - having both sugar and a smidgen of wheat. My body rejected the food almost right away. I have eaten small amounts of sugar (the odd teaspoon in greek coffee and twice had some dessert), and small amounts of wheat (thickener in chinese food, some dusted on fish once, the odd piece of calamari dusted with flour), and normally do not show a reaction beyond my body rapidly rejecting the food most times. I should also add in here that food has mostly been staying in me since about last Fri/Sat apart from being rejected on Tuesday and again last night. Prior to that, the ibs-d has been acting up and food has been leaving my system within about an hour of eating it. Almost nothing had been staying in for a good two or three weeks. I was feeling stressed, and it is normal for my body to reject food when I get like that.

On Wednesday, I noticed a two pound weight increase. At first I thought it may be a reaction to the wheat with possible fluid retention going on as I stayed within range for calories apart from Monday. Today, Friday, the weight gain is still showing. As well, I have mild itching and am showing a few hives on my arm again - the same reactions from when I first went off of wheat. The itching and hives I know are related to the wheat and sugar leaving my body again. In the past, when shifting from a period of my body rejecting food to retaining food, I have not noticed a weight gain. This weight gain seems to be new. Does anyone know if weight gain can be caused in folks with ibs eating full portions of wheat or another trigger food? There is a possibility that I have gained in the past after a period of rejecting food, and simply have not noticed it before. I am just wondering what other folks experiences have been with this, and am open to all input.

Thank-you!


Lou

[camoflauge]

This post is an older one, but I'm posting in hopes that this will help someone. I have suffered from wheat/gluten intolerance symptoms. Weight gain, upset/gurgly tummy, diarrhea, itchiness, and a bad mood are all signs I have ingested wheat. Once wheat/gluten was completely out of my system (and I mean completely-because it is hidden in soy sauce, bbq sauces, chips, gravies, wine coolers, and all sorts of other things) I noticed I had a dairy intolerance too. I have not been diagnosed with celiac-didn't have $$ at the time, but celiacs tend to have dairy intolerances on top of wheat-because the villi that process the dairy have been damaged. After avoiding wheat for some time, many people can go back to eating dairy products, and some can't. I can handle a little dairy but not a lot. I can't handle any wheat, which really makes eating out a pain in the butt!! But, I've learned to bring food along wherever we go so that I'm prepared. Calorie wise that's a good thing since eating out usually doubles if not tripples your calorie intake.

So, to answer this posters question, I do gain weight if I ingest wheat of any kind and it usually disappears in a few days-depending on how much I ingested. Lately I haven't had any at all so I'm feeling the best I've felt in years.

[Itstime]

I'm surprised that your allergy tests didn't show it, given the hives and such.

I'm allergic to wheat (diagnosed through blood test) and, yes, it does cause many of the symptoms you describe. I rarely get hives, just itching past a certain threshold. What I have read (and not sure if this is accurate) is that for those allergic/ intolerant, once you cut it out completely, when you reintroduce it you are actually even less tolerant to it. This might be what you are experiencing.

[meowee]

I too agree that what you are describing could well be symptoms of Celiac Disease and it is often seen linked with IBS -- perhaps you should discuss testing with your doctor.