Swpocket's Blog

Hi. I was diagnosed January, 2000 with celiac sprue. Whenever I have accidentally gotten into gluten by eating or drinking or makeup or lotion or shampoo, or by resting bare arm on gluten crumbs on a table or walking barefoot in kitchen after someone lets bread crumbs fall on floor.........yes always I have also had abdominal pain, and bloating. I think I have read that it is because no matter how a celiac gets exposed the autoimmune reaction is almost always involving the gut.

I always go right back to the newly diagnosed and damaged gut celiac diet: nothing raw, no yeast, no dairy, no refined sugar, low fiber, low acid. Meat, rice, tea, coffee, no soda. I eat like this for as long as I have had to to heal up and eventually the bloating heals up. A week or two usually helps.

However in my own case, I have had such a long and bad exposure last year that I have lymphocytic colitis from it.

Good luck to you.

Believe it or not, it is very common to gain weight as a celiac. Up to 85% of celiacs are actually overweight and don't present with the classic symptoms of 'wasting'. Also, a lot of celiacs (once diagnosed) tend to eat a lot of sweets once gluten-free cause they find that candy or junk food is an easy gluten-free find. gluten-free breads, brownies,etc all tend to be higher in the glycemic index (like white rice flour) and can cause blood sugars to raise easier as well. However, if you were already low on the weight end of things, your body may actually be 'normalizing' now and going up to a more suitable weight for your size (depending on how tall you are and your activity level).

As far as bloating after being glutenated...our bodies react differently and recover differently as well. Some people get sick for LONG periods of time..even from traces of gluten. Some only catch a 'buzz' from trace amounts of gluten and it goes away. It all depends on how sensitive you are. There is no way to take away the bloating any quicker. Just be very cautious and diligent in the gluten area and let your body recover as much as possible. It might help to avoid dairy in the meantime and see if that helps though..as some celiacs are also lactose intolerant and caesin intolerant and dont know it. Some dont find out til after they've gone gluten-free. In any case, I hope you get to feeling better soon.