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.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,391
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Gayle Lafond
    Newest Member
    Gayle Lafond
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.1k
    • Total Posts
      70.9k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      If you have been eating the gluten equivalent of 4-6 slices of wheat bread daily for say, 4 weeks, I think a repeat blood test would be valid.
    • englishbunny
      it did include Total Immunoglobin A which was 135, and said to be in normal range. when i did the blood test in January I would say I was on a "light' gluten diet, but def not gluten free.  I didn't have any clue about the celiac thing then.  Since then I have been eating a tonne of gluten for the purpose of the endoscopy....so I'm debating just getting my blood test redone right away to see if it has changed so I'm not waiting another month...
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @englishbunny! Did your celiac panel include a test for "Total IGA"? That is a test for IGA deficiency. If you are IGA deficient, other IGA test resultls will likely be falsely low. Were you by any chance already practicing a reduced gluten free diet when the blood draw was done?
    • englishbunny
      I'm upset & confused and really need help finding a new gastro who specializes in celiac in California.  Also will welcome any insights on my results. I tested with an isolated positive for deamidated IGA a few months ago (it was 124.3, all other values on celiac panel <1.0), I also have low ferritin and Hashimotos. Mild gastro symptoms which don't seem to get significantly worse with gluten but I can't really tell... my main issues being extreme fatigue and joint pain. The celiac panel was done by my endocrinologist to try and get to the bottom of my fatigue and I was shocked to have a positive result. Just got negative biposy result from endoscopy. Doctor only took two biopsies from small intestine (from an area that appeared red), and both are normal. Problem is his Physician's Assistant can't give me an answer whether I have celiac or not, or what possible reason I might have for having positive antibodies if I don't have it. She wants me to retest bloods in a month and says in the meantime to either "eat gluten or not, it's up to you, but your bloodwork won't be accurate if you don't" I asked if it could be I have early stage celiac so the damage is patchy and missed by only having two samples taken, and she said doctor would've seen damaged areas when performing endoscopy (?) and that it's a good sign if my whole intestine isn't damaged all over, so even if there is spotty damage I am fine.  This doesn't exactly seem satisfactory, and seems to be contrary to so much of the reading and research I have done. I haven't seen the doctor except at my endoscopy, and he was pretty arrogant and didn't take much time to talk. I can't see him or even talk to him for another month. I'm really confused about what I should do. I don't want to just "wait and see" if I have celiac and do real damage in the meantime. Because I know celiac is more that just 'not eating bread' and if I am going to make such a huge lifestyle adjustment I need an actual diagnosis. So in summary I want to find another doctor in CA, preferably Los Angeles but I don't care at this stage if they can do telehealth! I just need some real answers from someone who doesn't talk in riddles. So recommendations would be highly welcomed. I have Blue Shield CA insurance, loads of gastros in LA don’t take insurance at all 😣
    • trents
      Okay, Lori, we can agree on the term "gluten-like". My concern here is that you and other celiacs who do experience celiac reactions to other grains besides wheat, barley and rye are trying to make this normative for the whole celiac community when it isn't. And using the term "gluten" to refer to these other grain proteins is going to be confusing to new celiacs trying to figure out what grains they actually do need to avoid and which they don't. Your experience is not normative so please don't proselytize as if it were.
×
×
  • Create New...