9 month update

[[je...]]

It's been a long time since I gave an update. And it has been very difficult to track my symptoms, because my symptoms have become much worse but withdrawal was not the culprit. I hope my experience can be beneficial to someone else. 

My main symptoms during my taper have always been brain fog, headaches, migraines, head pressure, insomnia and memory loss. These have been pretty consistent. I have been functional throughout my taper and pretty much after jumping. A week after I jumped I started experiencing gut issues. At first I didn't pay much attention to it, but then it gradually got worse and it became cyclical. I could see a pattern. When I searched the forum it resembled withdrawal symptoms but somehow it didn't feel like withdrawal to me. I kept telling myself other people also don't think their symptoms are withdrawal, so it has to be, especially since it started when I jumped. 

A couple of months later I mentioned it to my doctor and her response was that it's not withdrawal but gluten related. She told me to go on a gluten free diet to see if it makes a difference. Within two weeks of going gluten free, my gut issues resolved. Within 4-6 weeks I could see an improvement in my head pressure, brain fog and headaches. Since there was a definite improvement after going gluten free my doctor said we needed to test for Celiac Disease. This required me to go back to a gluten diet. Introducing gluten back into my diet made my symptoms much worse than it had been before. The headaches, brain fog and head pressure was excruciating. I had more frequent migraines that did not respond to any medication. The gut issues were also worse, but I could manage it. This time round the gluten made me housebound and I spent most of my time on the couch. I really struggled to function.

After all the required test are done the diagnosis is gluten intolerance. I have been gluten free again for almost 2 weeks now and the headaches have become tolerable. The worst of the head pressure has lifted. My last migraine was 3 weeks ago. My gut issues are now much better. I have done lots of research and I know that if you're gluten intolerant and you consume gluten, it can cause all these symptoms that I already had as a result of withdrawal. I am hopeful my recovery will be much smoother now without gluten aggrevating/causing my symptoms. I still think 98% of the time our waves and symtoms are caused by withdrawal, I just happen to be in the 2% where it wasn't. 

[[be...]]

Thanks Jelly for posting your update, I remember when I first started getting benzo belly I gave up bread and tummy felt a mite better. I guess we really never know for sure if it is wd or something else causing our sx, unless we seek out more information. Your Doctor was spot on and I know you are grateful to feel better, I am sure given time, you will feel like a new person. Stay Strong.💖 Peace and Healing

[[pi...]]

Thanks for this jelly. It helps us all remember that not everything is withdrawal related. I’m glad you are seeing improvements now. 

[[Br...]]

Thanks for this update jelly/.  So glad you've got some answers, and some relief.

[Guest [...]]

I’m so glad you’ve found the answer to your symptoms, Jelly, and along with it, relief! 

The question which comes to mind is this…  Does going through this process leave us much more susceptible to these type of intolerances? 

Personally, I believe it does. 

[[Ro...]]

Thanks so much for the update.  I'm glad you found the culprit and are now seeing improvement.

[[je...]]

37 minutes ago, [[W...] said:

I’m so glad you’ve found the answer to your symptoms, Jelly, and along with it, relief! 

The question which comes to mind is this…  Does going through this process leave us much more susceptible to these type of intolerances? 

Personally, I believe it does. 

Yeah, it's really tricky. My doctor said there seems to be a correlation between long Covid and gluten sensitivity. It's probably a combination of everything. 

[Guest [...]]

Yeah, it’s interesting, @[je...]

We know that many people actually develop gluten intolerance (for whatever reason) at some point in their lives, rather than being born with it. I just can’t help but wonder if the stress our systems go through during this process may play a role in the onset of such intolerances. 

[[je...]]

@[Wi...]I wouldn't be surprised if it does.