The Healthy Celiac Podcast

Still Tired with Celiac Disease? 16 Reasons You Might Be Feeling Fatigued Ep. 202

• Belinda Whelan • Season 1 • Episode 202

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Feeling constantly tired or run down, even though you're living gluten free? In this episode, I’m breaking down 16 possible reasons why fatigue might still be showing up in your life — even years after your celiac disease diagnosis. From accidental gluten exposure and nutrient deficiencies, to sleep issues, stress, hidden food intolerances, and more, we’ll explore what could be going on and how to take steps toward feeling better. If you’re tired of being tired, this one’s for you.

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Speaker 1:

When it comes to living with celiac disease, it's very, very common to still deal with fatigue or just feeling tired and lethargic on a day-to-day basis, and many women tell me that they still feel like this even years after their diagnosis to you. About some of the other causes of fatigue that are not exactly from celiac disease but can be related to or can be completely different causes, all right, so let's dive into it Now. The first one I have to mention because, as as much as it's obvious for some people, it isn't always obvious, and that can be gluten exposure. So if you are, you know you're, you're living a gluten-free lifestyle, you're on top of cross-contact and you're reading labels and you're doing all the things, but you are still feeling rubbish. You could still be getting gluten in your diet and, in particular, if you live in a country where you have 20 parts per million allowable in your diet and, in particular, if you live in a country where you have 20 parts per million allowable in your gluten-free food. So if you're consuming a lot of packaged food packaged and processed food that is labeled gluten-free but still has a minuscule amount of gluten in it, even that could be adding up to making you still feel rubbish, so that's something to be aware of. Or if you live in a country like I do, like australia, where we don't have any allowable gluten in our diet, you could still be getting gluten into your system through things like cross contact. Or if you're eating out and they're not taking the necessary precautions or you're just not and they're not taking the necessary precautions, or you're just not being careful enough so that's something to really get on top of, and that's where it's important to get your bloods done every year. Make sure that you're on top of your, you know, tracking of how you're going with getting gluten out of your system and making sure it's not that that's making you feel fatigued.

Speaker 1:

The next one is healing after going gluten-free. So once you get a celiac disease diagnosis, obviously it takes our body time to heal, and this is a question I get asked so many times is how long does it take for my body to heal? And this is always dependent on your unique body, what you do after you get your diagnosis as far as looking after your body and how long you were suffering with symptoms prior to your diagnosis. So some people in that effect will take a lot longer if they've been living with symptoms for 10 years, compared to, say, six months to a year. It will not take their body as long to heal because their body is not as damaged. So be kind to yourself and understand that it does take time to get your body back on track. It's not just. You know you go gluten-free and you immediately feel better. So if you are in the early days of your celiac diagnosis, know that it does. You know it does get easier as time goes on and you will start to feel better.

Speaker 1:

But if it has been longer than say, a year, two years, and you're still feeling fatigued and feeling run down, let's talk about some of the other reasons that it could be. Now, depending on your diet, you could be deficient in a number of nutrients, and this is in particular, in the early days as well, because if your body has not been absorbing the nutrients that it needs from its diet, that is where we do have nutrient deficiency. So you know things like vitamin b12 and iron and things like that that our body truly needs to give us the energy to get through our day to day. So you should have had your bloods checked for your vitamin levels when you had your celiac disease testing done. If you didn't get that done, I would recommend that you go back and get tested just to see if there's any areas that you know perhaps you are deficient in, and even if it's years, or you know you are deficient in and even if it's years or you know, a year later still go and get a blood test. Just ask your doctor to do that blood test. See if there's any areas that you're deficient. In that way you can look at your diet and improve your diet or see where you might need to supplement to help boost those vitamin levels in your body, so that can make a big difference to the way that you feel.

Speaker 1:

The next one is iron deficiency. So this can be caused by so many reasons. It doesn't just have to be because of celiac disease. So I was diagnosed with anemia a while back and it was due to perimenopause and massive blood loss. So I was eating well and I was doing all the right things I take supplements, but my body was just losing so much blood that it was making me anemic. So I was very, very lethargic and I've done an entire episode on anemia and talking about that and how that happened, because it was one of those things that happened so gradually and I didn't understand why I was so tired and thirsty and I had all these symptoms, but the main one was feeling tired and lethargic and just this constant state of fatigue. So once I got on top of that and was able to start taking iron supplements, I felt so better. I can't even begin to explain what a difference that was. So that's an easy one to rule out, because that can be sorted through a blood test. So you know, this is where I say all the time get your blood test done, get your levels checked for all of these various things, because these are things that you can rule out very quickly then and that can help with your energy and making you feel better very, very quickly.

Speaker 1:

The next one is sleep problems. So if you have a bad sleep, that's a really simple one to say. This is why I'm fatigued, and some people don't put the two together, because it can become part of life that you have a rubbish sleep or you're not. You know, getting that deep, deep sleep where you're in that REM state where you are actually healing. So if you're not giving your body the chance to heal and recover every single night, then that can cause problems on an ongoing basis. So there's a number of ways that you can deal with this, you know, making sure that you are getting to bed at a reasonable time, making sure you're winding down before you go to bed, not exposing yourself to technology and blue lights and things like that. There's lots of different ways that you can help yourself get to sleep easier.

Speaker 1:

So if that's something you need to delve into, make sure you look at some extra ways of you know making sure you're getting that deep sleep, because that is a huge cause of fatigue that people just kind of accept and live with and just blame it on oh, I never sleep, or I have a bad sleep, or I went to bed too late. That can be within your control and that's up to you to make some changes. And if you need support with that, then you may need to seek some extra help with that. But that's one where you know if you can look at your lifestyle and go. Yes, I'm fatigued all the time, but I go to bed too late. Or you know I'm playing on my phone all the hours of the night before I go to bed and then I'm wired and can't sleep. Those things are in your control, okay. So look at that and look at what changes you might need to put into place to make sure you're getting a better night's sleep.

Speaker 1:

This one is tied very closely with the bad sleep, and that is shift work. So if you are a shift worker, this completely messes with your circadian rhythm. It means that your body is all over the show. It doesn't know whether it's meant to be awake, meant to be asleep one one minute, you having a good night's sleep. The next night you're meant to be working. So shift work can play a huge part in making us feel fatigued and making us feel rubbish. So if you are a shift worker, that is a tricky one because that is your, you know, that's your work life balance in your hands. Like you, you have decided to work in that role and you've decided to work that shift work and it's up to you to see if that's something that you know. Maybe the times where you are asleep, you can improve how much sleep you're getting. I don't know. This one is a tricky one and I think many people do feel so much better when they no longer are shift workers.

Speaker 1:

My stepdad was a shift worker for like as long as I can remember and was always tired, always grumpy, and when he retired he became a different person because he was sleeping regularly and every night getting the same you know pattern of sleep. It wasn't like his body was all over the place and one minute he's, you know, on night shift and the next he's on day shift. And my husband was the same. He works in the mines and he used to do one week of night shift, one week of day shift and then a week off, and coming off of that night shift he was a different person. He was so tired for days on end before he could get his body back into the rhythm of getting back onto the day shift. So, yeah, look at that and see if that's something that you can either change from doing shift work or just improve the sleep quality that you are getting.

Speaker 1:

Another sleep problem can be sleep apnea. So if you've got a partner, they might be able to let you know a little bit more about how you sleep, if they're aware of it, or whether you maybe could go to your doctor and get checked for sleep apnea, because that disturbs people so much and can make you feel so, so tired. So you know that's something that's got to be a medical diagnosis and there's sleep apnea machines that can help you sleep better and improve your quality of life. So that's something that's worth looking at if you think it could be that that's causing your level of fatigue.

Speaker 1:

The next one is chronic stress and adrenal fatigue, so these two can tie in together. So chronic stress is such a tough one because we all face a level of stress. It's just human nature to deal with stress. We have to have a level of stress to survive. But some of us are living in such a state of chronic stress that it's like being in fight or flight mode all the time and that is so exhausting. And when you are, you know burning the candle at both ends and you're in constant stress and you're you know doing all of these other things like you know burning the candle at both ends and you're in constant stress. And you're you know doing all of these other things, like you know not eating properly, not sleeping properly, not doing what your body needs, it can lead to that adrenal fatigue.

Speaker 1:

So, again, looking at your lifestyle, looking at what's going on for you, can be a big pillar in making change, to feeling better. But I know for myself that stress can be a big factor for me getting burnt out and feeling worn out. So I recently had a week away into state with my, without my kids, just my husband and I visiting friends, doing all the fun things that you know you don't normally get to do when you have three kids, and I have come back feeling so refreshed and recharged and I know I needed that because my life is constantly go, go, go. So you know, maybe you need a timeout, maybe you need a weekend away or just a couple of days break and see if that can help reset you or if there's some ways that you can lower your stress and make your life a little bit easier. There's so many different systems and hacks and different things that you can do to lower your stress. So, you know, think about that if you're like, oh my god, yes, belinda, I'm stressed all the time, take a moment to figure out how you can lower that stress, because it's no good realizing that you're stressed and not doing anything about it.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, put some systems in place, figure out some things that you can delete from your life that perhaps aren't important, and then it's important to mention some other health conditions that can be tied into celiac disease or they can just be other problems. So the first one I want to mention is type 1 diabetes. So some people with celiac disease also get a type 1 diabetes diagnosis and people with type 1 diabetes get a celiac disease diagnosis. So they do tie in together. But if you're not on top of living with type 1 diabetes, that can cause fatigue and make you feel worn down. So that's something to keep an eye on as well, if you start to notice any symptoms that are out of the ordinary, and make sure you get checked. Fibromyalgia and hypothyroidism are also linked closely to celiac disease. So again, worth making sure that you can rule those out. If you think there's any kind of link to those, checking with your doctor, making sure you can rule those out. If you think there's any kind of link to those, checking with your doctor, making sure you can rule those out.

Speaker 1:

Heart disease is another one, and also chronic fatigue. So all of these things can make you feel really, really tired. So if you've got an ongoing you know, general fatigue, other issues that maybe link in with this it's not just the fatigue you can notice some other symptoms Definitely go to your doctor. Go check it out, make sure that you can rule these out, and look at all of the other things that we're talking about in today's episode as well, to see if it's just a simple one, like the sleep or the diet, those types of things. Now the next one is an easy one for me.

Speaker 1:

This is so often overlooked and it's dehydration, and when you are dehydrated it makes you feel so incredibly tired and most people are walking around dehydrated. Believe it or not, not enough water is being drunk by the majority of the population. So if you are drinking you know, soft drinks or soda pop, whatever you want to call it and you're not consuming plain water, just straight water, nothing else added to it, then you are very likely dehydrated because your body needs water to survive. Your body needs water to make your brain function, it helps with your joints lubrication, it helps with your energy. So if you are not drinking water, I cannot urge you enough to add water into your lifestyle and do it gradually, make it a part of your life, and you will feel so much better.

Speaker 1:

Now, many, many years ago ago I'm sure I've talked about this on another episode, but many, many years ago I was at a training event and was learning all of these different hacks and different things about health, and we were in a room of all these people and you could see people, those. It was like they started to just go in this like coma kind of sensation. Everyone was starting to get dazed and if you've ever been in a meeting you'll know. As the time goes on, you just feel groggy and sleepy and it's usually because you're not sitting there drinking enough water, and if you grab that glass of water and you have a drink of water, it's almost like an instant pick me up. Most people in that situation think they need to go reach for a caffeinated beverage or a soft drink or an energy drink, something like that, but water is usually enough to make you have that extra perk. So if you work in an office space or you work somewhere where there's a lot of air conditioning, you will notice that you will need to drink more water than perhaps when you are at home, because the air conditioning can be quite dehydrating. So think about how much water you're drinking, see if you can add more water into your lifestyle and see how much improvement that makes, because that can honestly be a huge difference to the way that you feel. And it's such an easy hack to just drink more water. So give that a go.

Speaker 1:

If you're not already drinking much water in your day-to-day now, the next one is not exercising. And you might be like oh, belinda, I'm too tired, I don't have enough energy to exercise, and I totally get that. Before my celiac disease diagnosis, I was told by a doctor that I needed to go exercise. When I told her I could barely get out of bed in the morning, she was like oh you, you've got depression, you need to just go exercise. And I was like oh, my god, I don't have any energy to go exercise.

Speaker 1:

We're not talking about that major fatigued, like can't get out of bed level of fatigue. We are talking about a level of fatigue where it is not conducive to a day-to-day way of living. We're talking about you need to make some changes so exercise can actually increase your energy. And if you are at a point where you're fairly fatigued, but not to the point where you can't get out of bed in the morning, if you can't get out of bed in the morning, there's something major going on. It's not just a lack of exercise. But if you've got like this low level of fatigue, then adding in an amount of exercise can make a big difference. So you might need to start with just going for a walk or doing some gentle stretches or you know nothing major like CrossFit or anything like that. I'm not talking about that low level of exercise in to boost your energy and then gradually building up from there, because that can help if you are stagnant and you don't do much at the moment. So think about that.

Speaker 1:

And then we go to the other side of the coin and that's too much exercise or too much going on can actually burn you out. So if you are, say, doing a crazy amount of exercise every single day and you're not giving your body that time to rest, it can actually burn you out and make you feel worse and lower your energy. So you will know if this is you. You will know if you're doing too much. You know it all kind of ties in together. You can look at your lifestyle and go, yeah, okay, this is weird, I do do too much exercise. Maybe I need to rein it back a little bit, or I need to have more rest days, or I need to do some hardcore exercises three days a week and then do something gentle, maybe two days a week and then have a rest day here and there in between. So you will know, listening to this, whether that's you, um, but yeah it's. It's something to be aware of because it can actually backfire and do the opposite effect of what, what we think it's doing.

Speaker 1:

Now the next one is interesting, and that's other food intolerances. So, for me, I also have lactose intolerance, which I personally think is worse than not being able to have gluten. I miss the cheeses and all the beautiful things that you can have when you can have dairy products, and the thing is it makes me feel like rubbish. I keep pretending that I can take a lactase you know digestive enzyme and be okay, but to be honest, even when I do that, it just still makes me feel rubbish when I have dairy. So I do my best to not have much dairy, even with the lactase, but it it's just, yeah, it makes me feel like rubbish, it makes me feel like I've actually been glutened most of the time because it doesn't agree with my body.

Speaker 1:

And many people that have got celiac disease also find that they are lactose intolerant, whether it's temporary or whether it's permanent. So you might want to look at your diet, see if you want to try and cut out a few things and see if maybe you also have a lactose intolerance or just a reaction to dairy in general. There's also soy intolerance is quite common for people with celiac disease. But yeah, there's lots of different intolerances that could be causing you to feel rubbish. So you know that's where an elimination diet can tie in. So maybe you know doing an elimination diet and you know cutting out these certain foods for a bit, reintroducing them slowly and seeing if it's any of these particular foods that are causing you problems can help to figure out if that's what's causing you issues, because if you're like me, you would have like a. You know you'd have an inkling and you're probably pretending that it's not there, which I did for a long time. And yeah, it can. It honestly makes you feel better when you also cut out those foods from your diet and, you know, live a much healthier way rather than being ignorant and silly like I was for quite some time and sometimes still do, if I'm completely honest.

Speaker 1:

And the next one is poor nutrition or not even eating enough. So many women that I speak to share their diet with me and tell me what they eat on a day-to-day basis and, unfortunately, many of them are not even eating enough food to give them the energy to get through the day. You know they're so scared of what to put in their bodies because you might be in the same situation. You get to a point where it's like so scary to eat that it's easier not to eat. So that's that's a whole big issue on its own, because the thing is, when you eat nourishing foods, you can eat a lot of it. You can eat really, really well and you can eat lots when you're eating whole foods, real foods, not the packaged stuff, not the things that you have to be worrying about that have got gluten in. I'm talking about the real foods that your body actually thrives on and your body needs for energy. So that's something to think about.

Speaker 1:

If you know you are not eating enough and you want help and guidance on that, make sure you reach out, because that is something that is a big game changer when you start to really nourish your body and give it what it needs. Because poor nutrition is a game changer for people with celiac disease. If you are, if you are, low in nutrients, it will make you feel so much worse because the thing is you've gone from eating a certain way, probably your whole life, to now cutting out so many foods that you know you might be lacking in fiber, you might be lacking in nutrients and you've literally done a swap for packaged gluten food to packaged gluten-free food, which are usually not as good as the ones that have got gluten in, because they have more salt, they have more sugar, they have more additives and they usually have more junk in them than what you were having before. So it can be an issue for many people with celiac disease when they change to the gluten-free diet and are not nourishing their bodies. So if you feel like your diet could, you know, do with a little bit of help, then that is something to look at and definitely reach out, because that's where I can help as well. But yeah, unfortunately that is something that I see time and time again is poor nutrition and not eating enough. But once you get your nutrition on track and you start to eat really well and eat more, you can improve your energy and not have to stress so much about food either, which is a big one, all right, and I've got two more for you, and the next one is caffeine dependent. So if you are living on caffeine, you cannot get through your day without just caffeine, caffeine, caffeine then that can actually lower your energy. So, you know, it might be time to perhaps swap out some of those caffeinated beverages.

Speaker 1:

It's not always coffee, it can be those nasty energy drinks which will give you the crush and burn. Because the thing is, if you're drinking, you know, say, like a mother drink or a red bull or whatever, it spikes your blood sugar. It gives you this instant spike in energy and your blood sugar goes through the roof and then it crashes down and you have this lull in energy. So then your body tells you to go have another drink of this sugar-fueled, nasty nonsense and then the same thing happens. So all day you're just spiking your blood sugar crashing, spiking your blood sugar crashing. And even if you were to get, you know, like a coffee drink that's full of sugar and cream and all this stuff from your local coffee shop, the same thing can happen. Some of those drinks have the most ridiculous amount of sugar in them that they're doing the same thing. They're just spiking your blood sugar. You've got all this caffeine and adrenaline and all this like whoa, I feel amazing and then you crash.

Speaker 1:

So if you are, if you can look at your, your lifestyle and see that you are literally living on caffeine, I urge you to make a difference in that and start to cut out some of those drinks, replace them with some better options and see how you feel, because long term that will make such a huge difference. And then you know, if you're talking about a level of stress as well and you tie that in with those caffeinated beverages, it could lead to adrenal fatigue, which is, you know, not what we want to be aiming for, and we want to be getting away from a lot of those caffeine drinks, especially those energy drinks. And the last one is depression. Now, depression is a big cause of feeling down, feeling fatigued, feeling tired, and for many, including myself, it took me quite some time to even notice that I had depression after my third baby. So I had postnatal depression and it did take me a while to realize, hey, this is what's going on for me, and it took my mom to point it out to me.

Speaker 1:

So you may have not even realized that you've got depression, you may not even see the symptoms, but if someone has said to you, hey, you might have depression. Please listen to them and please take them seriously, because it could be that you have depression and you have not noticed the signs or you're in denial, like I was, because I thought I was too fit and healthy and had a great life, that it wouldn't happen to me. Boy, was I wrong. So, please, if you have a loved one that has spoken to you about this, do something about it. Go see your doctor, speak to someone that can help you and support you, because it can be a major cause of that fatigue and that feeling, you know, no energy and feeling down. So that's one that you can get help with and get guidance on.

Speaker 1:

So, on that note, I hope that if you have been living with a level of fatigue or tiredness, some of these really simple steps that I've spoken about today such as, you know, improving your nutrition, drinking more water, cutting back on caffeine, adding in exercise I really hope that those are some simple tricks for you to get your energy back. But if they don't work for you and it's one of the other issues then that's where you need to go and speak to your doctor and get some support from him or her. So thank you so much for tuning in, thank you for checking out this episode and, like I said, I really hope this has helped you. Leave a comment below if you're on YouTube and let me know which one you think could be something you could improve on, or, if you are listening on the podcast, send me a dm over at the healthy celiac on instagram and let me know what you loved about this episode. So take care and I look forward to talking with you again next week. Bye.

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