Trying to understand, looking for help
I’ve been gluten free for 5 months now and I accidentally was given wheat last week for the first time and I think it’s confirmed this is the issue. I’m looking to understand more bc doctors have been no help. I’m assuming it’s the gluten but my symptoms don’t seem typical so I wonder if it’s possibly an autoimmune thing or I don’t know. It’s been many years of suffering trying to figure out what’s going on and how to stop this from happening. My symptoms are all mainly mental. I only suspected gluten bc I was training for a race and carb-loading and could feel this horrible pain in my back and limbs.
Here’s the timeline for my symptoms:
When I first eat gluten the first few days are extreme fatigue. Barely able to keep myself awake, my eyes are heavy, I can’t think, focus, can barely care for myself. Around day 2, my muscles start contracting and hurting really really badly, mainly my back. It feels like someone kicked me over and over. I just place on heating pads and pray. Then the worse part, the dissociation. I stop being able to feel anything, to feel present , to feel emotions, to feel music. My brain is like a dense fog and the real me is trapped somewhere inside. The physical symptoms ease but the brain fog remains. I can’t focus or hold my attention on anything, and I still can’t feel. I try to do all the things I enjoy and engage in healing activities, see friends, but it’s like a brick wall is there and I can’t really experience it. It’s absolute torture and it brings on a lot SI because of how horrible it is for so long.
Is this experience similar to anyone? Can you offer any insight?