Pregnancy induced gluten intolerance ?

[mummof1]

Hello ladies ! Hope everyone is doing well.
So, about 3 weeks ago I had a doctors appointment with my dermatologist who's also a GP. After chatting he randomly suggested I have a gluten sensitivity and honestly when he said it, it made sense to me.
Before this pregnancy I would suffer from bloating , headaches and acne breakouts .. Never any digestion issues though . I always ate gluten and I would notice I would become very bloated after a lot of gluten (ex. Bagel, crackers , chips, pasta).
Anyway , since becoming pregnant I have suddenly become completely gluten intolerant .. it seems!
Now, if I have toast for breakfast I feel sick shortly after then throughout the day if I eat more gluten foods each snack and meal time I will feel SO ill, severe cramps and gas will ensue and then I'll have diarreah!
Today was particulary rough , I had cereal for breakfast then my friend and I were visiting and decided to order in food (nachos , deep fried pickles, the good stuff lol) and an hour later I felt like I was dying ! It was horrible.
So my question is , has anyone ever experienced a gluten intolerance during or after pregnancy ? Did it stay for good ?
I'm so overwhelmed thinking of going gluten free !

 

[magnacarta]

There's a lot of debate right now in the scientific literature about whether there even *is* such a thing as non-celiac gluten intolerance (for a review, see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24026574)

Whether or not gluten intolerance is real (or really about gluten vs. other products), your body goes through substantial digestive changes during pregnancy. Nausea, gas, cramping, diarrhea, constipation, etc... are all totally normal (esp. in early pregnancy). So are changes in skin, hair, nails, etc...and sense of well-being, happiness, etc... this makes diagnosing any diet-based problem very difficult in early pregnancy.

Another way to think about it, though, is that (a) probably your symptoms are just the way your body is dealing with horomones and (b) you may have to make many dietary adjustments to feel better, but these are likely to be temporary. In early pregnancy, I spent weeks eating only carbs, then weeks avoiding carbs...weeks eating only fruit then weeks avoiding it. First trimester can be brutal in that way -- I would suggest that you do what you can in the short-term to make yourself feel better...if you can manage your bad feelings with diet, that's awesome!

Your body is very likely to go *right* back to normal, hopefully sooner rather than later!

 

[mummof1]

Thank you ! I actually just came across an article about that whole debate ! Very interesting , my hubby thinks I should start by just cutting back and see if I feel better , it will be hard because I do love fruits and veggies BUT I'm a huge carb eater lol

 

[orangedaisy]

I don't doubt it. I was lactose intolerant before getting pregnant with my first, not anymore! If pregnancy can remove/fix an issue, I don't see why it can't cause one.

 

[mummof1]

I've heard of that as well !
I guess I'll see as the pregnancy continues and see how I feel if I try and cut back on gluten.

 

[xdxxtx]

I have antibodies in my body caused by gluten intake, so that being said, I've done a lot of research on whether or not gluten intolerance exists. Don't let one study make you turn your nose up at gluten intolerance; stay open minded about it, and definitely do more research. Going gluten free isn't as hard as it seems, and if you do go gluten free and find that, a month later, you're not feeling any better (very unlikely!), then you can just go back to the way you were eating. When I first went gluten free, I kept all of my gluten-filled pantry items and simply put them in a box, stashed away, for a month. When I realized all of my symptoms went away, most after two weeks, almost completely a month later, I gave them away. By the way, all of my symptoms are gone now, and I've been gluten free for almost a year. It takes a month for most gluten to leave the body and a few months or longer for all of your symptoms to be reversed. Good luck!!! It is worth it to not feel like garbage all the time, and if you don't just replace gluten-filled items with gluten free substitutes, you'll find yourself a LOT healthier.

 

[mummof1]

My mom has recently gone gluten free so she's been telling me what I can do and how to slowly start eliminating it from my diet ! I'm just sad , I love bread lol

 

[missbabes]

I don't doubt it. I was lactose intolerant before getting pregnant with my first, not anymore! If pregnancy can remove/fix an issue, I don't see why it can't cause one.

I had a similar intolerance, but only involving cheese. Had it for years, but haven't suffered since being pregnant with DS

Have to agree with you there on it possibly causing issues

 

[MichCuc]

Omg!!! Yes!! Me! I can't believe someone else has this too. I thought I was the only one. And I feel like people think it's bs, but it isn't. I normally don't have issues with gluten, though I don't eat a whole lot of carbs (and gluten) normally as part of my diet. But with my daughter, who is 2, I got the worst bloating and stomach aches when I was preg with her and ate gluten. I bought some gluten free stuff, and felt better the rest of the pregnancy. And now I'm 11 weeks and the same thing!! The worst stomach aches, diarrhea, and bloat if I eat it. I know it's gluten bc I've gone without, tried it, had issues, gone without, tried it again, and again issues. My stomach is so sensitive when preg! You're def not alone.

 

[IchigoMewMew]

My mom has recently gone gluten free so she's been telling me what I can do and how to slowly start eliminating it from my diet ! I'm just sad , I love bread lol

I can't see where you are but if you are in the UK Tescos have recently improved their gluten free bread recipe. My husband managed to eat some without complaining!

 

[mummof1]

Omg!!! Yes!! Me! I can't believe someone else has this too. I thought I was the only one. And I feel like people think it's bs, but it isn't. I normally don't have issues with gluten, though I don't eat a whole lot of carbs (and gluten) normally as part of my diet. But with my daughter, who is 2, I got the worst bloating and stomach aches when I was preg with her and ate gluten. I bought some gluten free stuff, and felt better the rest of the pregnancy. And now I'm 11 weeks and the same thing!! The worst stomach aches, diarrhea, and bloat if I eat it. I know it's gluten bc I've gone without, tried it, had issues, gone without, tried it again, and again issues. My stomach is so sensitive when preg! You're def not alone.

Alright so I'm not crazy lol!!! I've been cutting back and it's been much better already !

 

[mummof1]

My mom has recently gone gluten free so she's been telling me what I can do and how to slowly start eliminating it from my diet ! I'm just sad , I love bread lol

I can't see where you are but if you are in the UK Tescos have recently improved their gluten free bread recipe. My husband managed to eat some without complaining!

I'm in Canada but my in laws always travel to the states for groceries so I'll ask them to grab me some, thank you !

 

[mummof1]

Wait I just realized you said UK I thought you said US lol
I wonder if the states has something .. I'll look into places around here too though ! I think Costco has a wide variety of gluten free products

 

[DaisyAnne]

I think it's possible. I didn't used to have problems with dairy until I got pregnant with my son- I was lactose intolerant through the 1st trimester, but it eased up after that. It was worst if I ate dairy in the morning on an empty stomach, so that sounds familiar to me! When I asked my doctor about it, she said that sometimes if your body is prone to becoming intolerant to something it could do that during pregnancy... I have no doubt pregnancy can do all kinds of things to our bodies! My tastes have changed a lot since my first pregnancy, too.

For us, it's kind of interesting... I was lactose intolerant during the 1st tri with my son, and then it turns out that he was diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy basically as soon as he started having solid foods after having some severe reactions to dairy. Then while I had gone back to drinking milk and stuff after my first trimester, I gradually developed lactose intolerance in full years later. My doctor just said that a lot of people are prone to it and develop it as they get older. The pregnancy lactose intolerance was likely an indicator that would happen to me eventually- and somewhat curious if it was any indicator of his allergy to come, or had something to do with it? Probably not, but weird!

P.S. I will say if you ever suspect a sensitivity or allergy in your children, have them seen by a pediatric allergist before trying to diagnose and eliminating foods in their diet. Many people needlessly eliminate important foods from a child's diet, and it has way more effect on young kids than on us adults!

 

[MichCuc]

I try not to buy too much GF stuff - carbs!! But when I do, glutino brand has some really good stuff! I also tried a bread recently that tasted so much like wheat bread! I totally indulged in cream cheese and jelly sandwiches all week if I find it again I'll let you know the brand. Also, Udi's and Enjoy Life are good brands too!

Ps I'm in the states, so maybe your parents will see these if you don't have them in Canada

 

[Skrattles]

I try not to buy too much GF stuff - carbs!! But when I do, glutino brand has some really good stuff! I also tried a bread recently that tasted so much like wheat bread! I totally indulged in cream cheese and jelly sandwiches all week if I find it again I'll let you know the brand. Also, Udi's and Enjoy Life are good brands too!

Ps I'm in the states, so maybe your parents will see these if you don't have them in Canada

I don’t know if you are still on here but I’m experiencing similar symptoms. I’d love to know more about your experience.

 

[Bevziibubble]

The original poster hasn't been online here in ages. Maybe you can start your own thread to ask for other people's experiences