Type 2 Type II & Gluten Intolerant

Hi, I was diagnosed type II in 2010, but have not really been able to control my blood glucose levels. So I went on a search and started eating mainly paleo for a good while, my blood sugar more or less stabilized, but that diet is restrictive and after a few months I caved in to bread, only a couple of slices.

Oh boy, that was a disaster. It felt like my throat and passage right down to my stomach was on fire and I had delhi belly for days.

Then I realized that my poor health was due to something like gluten intolerance or worse celiac disease.

So I started a gluten free lifestyle, but it's almost impossible to do. I found out yesterday that the vitamin C powder I was taking was making me a whole lot worse after taking it in the mornings, I have tinnitus and it goes way high after taking C.

The C is made from corn and it looks like I am corn gluten sensitive as well.

Washing up liquid in the UK, main brands that is, have gluten in them, same for washing detergent, shampoo, soaps, etc.

So I am cutting them out as well.

So yesterday I realized that the metformin I take, different brands from my chemist may not be gluten free. They are packed in environments that contain gluten. Looking online there seems to be only one brand that is gluten free but it looks to be american only.

Does anyone know of a gluten free brand of metformin in the UK?

Thank you in advance.

Tony337 said:

Hi Stu and welcome to the forum.
Type 1 with coeliacs here.
Yes there are an awful lot of surprises out there but I wouldn't worry too much about soaps and the like as you don't eat them and its the villi in your gut that reacts adversely to the gluten.
I would get a medical diagnosis as there are lots of intolerances out there.

Good luck

Tony

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Thanks Tony, I need to get tested for celiac, but I found out that 80% of celiacs get false negatives. But my brother has been diagnosed as celiac, so perhaps they'll find it.

What about the skin taking in the gluten, some of the US forums I looked at has members who cannot have anything with gluten on their skin.

I also have a friend in Australia who reacts violently when she comes into contact with gluten, and she's down to washing with water only as she has tons of cross-reactances.

Brunneria said:

Hi and welcome!

This is just speculation, but I suspect that your pharmacist may be able to help you with this.
I would imagine that they must have a list of GF products.

I know my mother has a severe reaction to lactose, and after discussion with her consultant and pharmacist they were able to source a brand of her medication that didn't have some kind of milk product as a binder. Of course, it was more expensive! So she needed a specific prescription for that specific brand from the consultant, so that the pharmacist could spend the extra.

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Thanks Brunneria, I will contact my pharmacist today, if that does not work I will go to my doctors, we are due a chat.

chalup said:

Just remember that you need to be eating gluten daily to get a positive coeliac test. If you have been gluten free for any length of time it will come up negative whether you are coeliac or not. If you are not eating gluten your body will not be making antibodies. It can also be negative for coeliac but you can still have an intolerance or allergy to wheat which needs a different test.

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I believe I have been doing just that chalup, the metformin plus the washing up liquid, clothes detergent etc have ensured as far as I am aware that my body has been taking in a constant small amount of gluten a day. Whenever I wash the dishes I am breathing in the fumes from the washing liquid, whenever I wear my clothes my skin is taking in gluten and when I take the metformin I am ingesting gluten.

I can easily tell when I've done something the body stresses about, the tinnitus screams, and that's even after having normalish glucose levels.

Another point I would make is that after being exposed to gluten my blood sugar goes up, a lot in the case of wheat products so there seems to be a correlation and perhaps causation with diabetes and gluten for those who cannot take gluten.

Except for metformin, I just get hours of screaming tinnitus because obviously it's keeping blood sugar levels down.

Brunneria said:

@Stu10000

I found this you tube vid very helpful. It was what finally inspired me to stop messing around and switch to a properly gluten free diet. She discusses the impact of environmental exposure and skin contact - depending on sensitivity, of course. Luckily, I am not that sensitive.


And six months later, what a difference! I never had any gut problems, so I am pretty sure I wouldn't be considered Coeliac, and I wouldn't get a positive result on a test for it. But my joint inflammation, knee pain, hand pain and psoriasis have all cleared up (although they return for 2-3 weeks after I eat gluten).

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Thanks Brunneria, I shall watch it today.