Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

What Exactly Do Your Abdominal Pains Feel Like?


Becca78

Recommended Posts

Becca78 Newbie

Ok, I realize that may be a silly question. But I was wondering if you could describe what your abdominal pains feel like and where exactly it hurts. How do the pains differ from an ulcer? My other symptoms are fatigue, diahrrea, bloating, gas, and a tendency for depression (if I'm not keeping up with yoga and meditation). Also, my mother was diagnosed with osteopenia at 41 years old (already lost 2 inches!)... :o

Thanks.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Rikki Tikki Explorer
Ok, I realize that may be a silly question. But I was wondering if you could describe what your abdominal pains feel like and where exactly it hurts. How do the pains differ from an ulcer? My other symptoms are fatigue, diahrrea, bloating, gas, and a tendency for depression (if I'm not keeping up with yoga and meditation). Also, my mother was diagnosed with osteopenia at 41 years old (already lost 2 inches!)... :o

Thanks.

Hi Becca and welcome:

Have you been diagnosed with Celiac? For me the pain when I am glutened is like a knife twisting in the lower left area of my abdomen. But I have had the symptom's that you describe.

ravenwoodglass Mentor

Everyone is different and I think the pain can change for the same person. For the first 5 or six years of my constant D it was actually usually painless and without warning. I was almost happy when I started to get cramps, at least I had some notice. For the last 5 years the pain was so severe that it is almost indescribeable. Cramps and spasms that would effect my entire abdomen, leave me unable to stand upright and I would break out in a cold sweat and shake. This usually went on from 2 to 5 am every night. In addition to 5 or 6 daily trips to the john that were not as bad due mostly to the heavy meds I was on. I gave birth to a 10 lb baby and she came too quick for pain relief so it was all natural and that was nothing compared to what I went through every night at the end.

sneezydiva Apprentice

My pain mimicked classic ulcer symptoms. It was smack in the middle of my stomach, under my diaphragm. It was this sharp, stabbing pain at first, and then would fade into a duller pain. A few times it radiated to my back. It hurt most when my stomach was empty and felt better when I ate. Everyone thought it was a ulcer, but Nexium didn't touch it, and a endoscope showed nothing but a little inflammation. It went away in 3 days after starting the gluten free diet.

Looking back, I always alternated a little consitpation and diarhea, but nothing too severe, and minimal problems with cramping. These stomach pains were a new symptom this past March that started a chain of events to discover I needed to be gluten free. Though I tested negative to celiac, I tested positive to a wheat allergy.

Joyous Enthusiast

Does anyone else get twitching in their gut? Like little spasms?

An-Onion Rookie
Does anyone else get twitching in their gut? Like little spasms?

I do, and back pain (sometimes) and ulcer pains. Also D in under 20 minutes after eating gluten, and all the fun that comes with that.

MrMark Apprentice

I get that awful twitching spasm on my left quadrant. Absolutely hate it. I've read that it could be a vitamin A deficiency. Wish I could find out how to stop it for good.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Joyous Enthusiast
I get that awful twitching spasm on my left quadrant. Absolutely hate it. I've read that it could be a vitamin A deficiency. Wish I could find out how to stop it for good.

Upper left quadrent? Like right below the rib cage? :o

MrMark Apprentice
Upper left quadrent? Like right below the rib cage? :o

Exactly! It wakes me up at night, usually between 1 and 3 AM :angry: . It also causes my breath to be very shallow for the duration of it. I suspect caffeine may be part of my issue, but I am still trying to find a correlation.

Joe Hoffman Rookie
Ok, I realize that may be a silly question. But I was wondering if you could describe what your abdominal pains feel like and where exactly it hurts. How do the pains differ from an ulcer? My other symptoms are fatigue, diahrrea, bloating, gas, and a tendency for depression (if I'm not keeping up with yoga and meditation). Also, my mother was diagnosed with osteopenia at 41 years old (already lost 2 inches!)... :o

Thanks.

Becca,

I am new to Celiac, but I can tell you it has not been easy.

To answer you direct question I would first start by saying

  • 6 years later...
teenceliacCO Newbie

My son was given a preliminary diagnosis of Celiac last week and has since gone gluten free.  He still experiences gas pains every day, but the diarrhea has stopped.  We are just trying to get him well enough to get back to high school.  He has been out since Thanksgiving looking for answers to his health issue!  :(    We are still on the learning curve trying to figure out the things he can and can not eat and he is always hungry.

1desperateladysaved Proficient

I didn't really feel pain in my gut when I had undiagnosed celiac.  I noticed bloating.  Sometimes I felt pressure, but once I bloated 9 inches (and 9 pounds over night) with no pain.  Since going gluten free I have occassionally felt sudden sharp pains.  For a couple of days I had sharp pain in the lower left quadrant.  When I eat pumpkin I get a pulsating cramp in my mid abdomen.  Now, I know that means to stop eating it right away! 

  • 2 years later...
Amberg330 Newbie

It's kind of hard to explain. It's like an extreme sharp pain , then I can't stand upright I am bent over til I can make it to a bathroom I can only stand back up straight after I have went to the bathroom. It's so intense, I've had 2 kids and the pains are worse than contractions. I also get really nauseated .  Then sometimes it can be period like cramps that are on my lower left side but that's almost like a constant pain and I swell on my lower left side as well it's only really severe pain when I have to go to the bathroom. 

  • 1 year later...
Autyjunk Newbie

Okay I have a few questions. I haven’t been diagnosed, but someone in my family has celiac. I have had abdominal issues for years bad stomach aches, nausea, bloating major, quick weight gain, diarrhea, I also expierence heart burn, twitches in my stomach, and a lot of pain on my left side.  I kinda just pushed it off. I recently was eating healthier and cut out bread because carbs (duh) and I ate bread for the first time in a few weeks. I was doing well with slight stomach pain, but not as gut renching as normal. After eating the bread I felt super sick, and had the same symptoms as before. Keep in mind I’ve had these symptoms for years, but pushed it off because I blamed the stomach pains on anxiety. I’m planning on going to the doctor, but I was wondering if it could be celiac? I’m also planning an elimination diet soon and testing it. I find whenever I eat dairy products too it upsets my stomach same with caffeine. 

Ennis-TX Grand Master
6 hours ago, Autyjunk said:

Okay I have a few questions. I haven’t been diagnosed, but someone in my family has celiac. I have had abdominal issues for years bad stomach aches, nausea, bloating major, quick weight gain, diarrhea, I also expierence heart burn, twitches in my stomach, and a lot of pain on my left side.  I kinda just pushed it off. I recently was eating healthier and cut out bread because carbs (duh) and I ate bread for the first time in a few weeks. I was doing well with slight stomach pain, but not as gut renching as normal. After eating the bread I felt super sick, and had the same symptoms as before. Keep in mind I’ve had these symptoms for years, but pushed it off because I blamed the stomach pains on anxiety. I’m planning on going to the doctor, but I was wondering if it could be celiac? I’m also planning an elimination diet soon and testing it. I find whenever I eat dairy products too it upsets my stomach same with caffeine. 

This disease has hundreds of symptoms and varies from person to person, it is genetic if a family member has it so might others. Before starting your elimination diet you should look into testing...here is the toughy this disease requires you to be eating gluten daily so they can measure the antibody reaction in your blood which takes 12 weeks of consuming it. Not much just a half slice of bread a day, a few crackers, or a tsp of vital wheat. Some do this at night to try and sleep off the worst of it. This is referred to as a gluten challenge,
Open Original Shared Link
The food intolerance list you have of dairy etc...it will grow the longer this disease is undiagnosed and the diet not followed strictly, food allergies, other immune diseases, complications, cancer etc. can all develop with this disease untreated.

Kaylin93 Newbie

I tested negative for celiac but read it can take multiple tests to get a positive result. My pains are right below my ribs in the middle of my abdomin. About where my diaphragm is. The pains feel like death. Most of the time, the pain is so bad I’m doubled over and vomiting from the pain. Does anyone have any solution to making the pain go away. What’s worked for you? I’ve tried antacids, acid reducers, pain killers. The pain can last anywhere from 10 minutes to 2+ hours. It’s gotten to the point where any small amount of cross contamination sends me into a stomach episode. I have no other side effects such as gas or diarrhea, thank goodness. I just need some sort of relief from the pain. 

cyclinglady Grand Master
3 hours ago, Kaylin93 said:

I tested negative for celiac but read it can take multiple tests to get a positive result. My pains are right below my ribs in the middle of my abdomin. About where my diaphragm is. The pains feel like death. Most of the time, the pain is so bad I’m doubled over and vomiting from the pain. Does anyone have any solution to making the pain go away. What’s worked for you? I’ve tried antacids, acid reducers, pain killers. The pain can last anywhere from 10 minutes to 2+ hours. It’s gotten to the point where any small amount of cross contamination sends me into a stomach episode. I have no other side effects such as gas or diarrhea, thank goodness. I just need some sort of relief from the pain. 

Are you still consuming  gluten?  (All celiac testing requires you to be a gluten diet some 8 to 12 weeks prior to testing).  If so, ask your doctor for the complete celiac panel (TTG, DGP, EMA).  The TTG is good, but does not catch all celiacs like me.  Then there are some celiacs who are seronegative, so a biopsy can be critical for a diagnosis, especially in that case.  

In anycase, see a GI.  Something is wrong.  It might not even be celiac disease.  It could be a gallbladder issue, appendix, whatever....but you deserve some answers!  

 

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - fritz2 replied to VinnieVan's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      13

      Question

    2. - trents replied to Nikki03's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Confused about test results.

    3. - Nikki03 posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Confused about test results.

    4. - trents replied to VinnieVan's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      13

      Question

    5. - fritz2 replied to VinnieVan's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      13

      Question


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,768
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Sharon Bing
    Newest Member
    Sharon Bing
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.1k
    • Total Posts
      71.2k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • fritz2
      So what relieves the joint pain?
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @Nikki03! What was the other result from the other physician's lab work? The test result you report in your post is not a celiac disease diagnostic test. It is a test for IGA deficiency. It is also known as "total IGA". There are other IGA antibody tests that are used to diagnose celiac disease but if you are IGA deficient, their scores will be artificially low. Obviously, you are not IGA deficient so if there were other IGA antibody tests run they should be trusted as accurate unless you had been on a gluten free or reduced gluten diet before the blood sample was taken. So, if you have other test results, please post them along with (this is important) their reference ranges. Raw test scores without reference ranges are not necessarily helpful as different labs used different reference ranges. Here is an article that describes the various antibody tests that can be ordered when checking for celiac disease: As you can see, there are IGA tests and there are IGG tests. What are your symptoms? There is another gluten disorder known as Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) that shares many GI symptoms with celiac disease and is 10x more common than celiac disease. There are no tests for NCGS so celiac disease must first be ruled out by formal testing.
    • Nikki03
      I had celiac labs done and got two different result from two physicians. I have tons of celiac symptoms and suspected it for a while now but this has me so confused can you help?    my labs results read as follows  immunoglobulin A QN =419 which was off the chart high but everything but that was in normal range.               Thanks sincerely confused!   
    • trents
      As I mentioned above, NCGS stands for Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity. Celiac disease and NCGS share many of the same GI distress symptoms but NCGS does not damage the lining of the small bowel as does celiac disease and is not an autoimmune condition, as is celiac disease. NCGS is 10x more common than celiac disease but there are no tests for it. Celiac disease must first be ruled out. We actually know much more about celiac disease than we do about NCGS. Some experts believe NCGS can be a precursor to celiac disease. The only known antidote for either is total abstinence from gluten. Joint pain is a well-established symptom of celiac disease, one of the more than 200 symptoms on a growing list. And many of them present as non-GI related.
    • fritz2
      Well, as much pain as gluten has caused in the past, there's no way in hell I'm taking gluten on purpose.  What is NCGS?  And are there any remedies to quickly get over the swollen joints? My joints are swollen and hot to the touch and hurt.  For about two weeks they were too painful to even think about using them.  Six weeks later, I still can barely use my hands.  I struggle to get a bottle cap unscrewed they hurt so badly.  Edema in my legs and the knees hurt to walk.  And that was probably a minor exposure as the wheat was listed towards the end of the "contains" list in very fine print we couldn't read without a magnifying glass.
×
×
  • Create New...