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Help/info!

Megan16

By Megan16
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Megan16 Rookie
Megan16
Posted

hey! Wondering if I can get some good info/help from you guys! I just signed up for this website couple weeks ago. Whenever I would Google things this was always the first to pop up and I always found info on things I googled. I am pretty new to the gluten free thing. I had a hernia surgery back in Jan and after that I kept throwing up after eating, the DR. told me it was probably acid reflex caused from surgery but all the meds I tried nothing helped. I went back and was told to cut gluten out. I have been doing so since. When I first started I felt like I had it under control and didn't throw up for 3 weeks, now I find it happening more often. I do buy gluten-free things and read labels to the best I can. My frustration comes from not knowing what its from. How do you know if its from the day before or what you just ate? I hate not knowing. Especially when I haven't had gluten (or so I think) I have been keeping a journal but I just find it so hard. I get this feeling in my stomach and can feel it in my throat. Sometimes I puke once sometimes 5 times! Yesterday for lunch I made an omlet with chicken mushrooms and feta cheese. I threw up almost 20 min after. I have also tried the no dairy thing and it doesn't seem to make a difference so I don't think dairy is an issue as well.

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GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Hi Megan,

Did the doctor test you for celiac disease?  You really shouldn't go gluten-free until all the testing for celiac disease is completed.  It is a little odd for a doctor to tell you to go gluten-free for no reason IMHO.  Did he/she explain the reason for it?

Personally, I have learned over the years what I can eat safely and what I can't.  Occasionally I get hit but it is rare.  Simplifying your diet is a good first step.  Avoiding processed foods for a while and dairy also is good.  I suggest any change you make last for a month at least. Then try the food again.

If you are eating 100 random ingredients/foods each day it is hard to figure these things out.  If you reduce it to a much smaller number of foods then things become simpler.

Welcome to the forum! :)

Megan16 Rookie
Megan16
Posted
  • Author

yes, I was tested for it. They said after stomach surgeries and other major things causing that much stress on your body you can become intolerant to gluten. It happened to my aunt as well who was in a horrible car accident. They said you can always carry the gene in your body and having that much stress on your body can start it.

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

That's good Megan, that you were tested.  Many people have the genes, but only some develop the disease.  Your doctor is right about celiac often appearing after some kind of physical stress or illness.

The tricky thing about eliminating one food is that you body may be reacting to multiple foods.  So not getting better could mean you just eliminated one problem instead of 3.

It's not unusual to have digestion issues for quite a while after going gluten-free.  Our guts are damaged and that damage has to heal.  But it can't heal until the immune system stops it's attack.  The immune system attack/reaction can keep going for weeks to months.  So it can be a slow recovery.  Often people report getting better and then getting worse and going back and forth on symptoms.

What doesn't help is that our bacteria in our guts can get really screwed up by the disease process.  We can't properly digest things so there is more undigested food for bacteria to thrive on.  Avoiding sugars and carbs can help with that issue.

Here are some starting the gluten-free diet tips for the first 6 months.  Some of these you have already taken care of:

Get tested before starting the gluten-free diet.
Get your vitamin/mineral levels tested also.
Don't eat in restaurants
Eat only whole foods not processed foods.
Eat only food you cook yourself, think simple foods, not gourmet meals.
Take probiotics.
Take gluten-free vitamins.
Take digestive enzymes.
Avoid dairy if it causes symptoms.
Avoid sugars and starchy foods. They can cause bloating.
Avoid alcohol.
Watch out for cross contamination.

Helpful threads:

FAQ Celiac com
https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/forum-7/announcement-3-frequently-asked-questions-about-celiac-disease/

Newbie Info 101
https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

Megan16 Rookie
Megan16
Posted
  • Author

thank you for the info, its very helpful to hear from someone else who has it and knows a lot about it. When you say I may be eliminating one problem vs 3, what would you think the other problems could be? It's frustrating because I even buy Uldis gluten-free bagels and what not and I still find myself reacting sometimes to that, I don't use butter but just gluten-free peanut butter, but like I said I don't know for sure if its from that or maybe something else. I have read on this site about a couple others that have had issues with uldis breads so could be that. but like you said I guess it can also just take awhile to get better. I read the other day that a lot of throwing up can put stress on your small intestine which can maybe cause your body to react to dairy, do you know anything about that or if that's true?

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Hi Megan,

Regarding dairy, celiac disease damages the villi that make the lactase enzyme that digests milk sugar (lactose).  So sometimes people can't digest dairy well when they first start the gluten-free diet.   Over time that may change as you heal.  The ability to digest dairy doesn't always come back, but it may.

Throwing up can be caused by excess gas in the stomach.  That's pretty common when starting the diet.  Sugar and carbs will make it worse.  Udi's bagels are made of various flours so they are full of carbs.  Carbs are turned into sugar in the body and that feeds the bacteria, hence the gas.

You could be reacting to various foods, so eliminating one problem food is not going to fix all the problems.  I think it would be more helpful to start by following the tips in my earlier post than to  try a full fledged elimination diet at this point.  Elimination diets can take a while to do.

If you can stick to eating meats, vegetables, nuts for now that is a good thing.  No processed foods (like Udi's) or other baked goods.  This is probably the fastest way to get better and learn what is safe to eat.  Once you are feeling better for a few weeks then you can try adding in one new food a week and see how it goes.  The gluten-free diet is a lifetime commitment so you may as well start out right and take your time.  Whole foods are a good way to go at the beginning.  If you cook your own food you know what is in it.  That's important to know for us.  Avoiding any processed food with more than 3 ingredients is also good.  The fewer ingredients you are eating the simpler it is to figure out a problem.

I wouldn't worry about the idea of the throwing up thing making you react to dairy.  Celiac is known to cause a problem with dairy intolerance.

 

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted
1 hour ago, Megan16 said:

thank you for the info, its very helpful to hear from someone else who has it and knows a lot about it. When you say I may be eliminating one problem vs 3, what would you think the other problems could be? It's frustrating because I even buy Uldis gluten-free bagels and what not and I still find myself reacting sometimes to that, I don't use butter but just gluten-free peanut butter, but like I said I don't know for sure if its from that or maybe something else. I have read on this site about a couple others that have had issues with uldis breads so could be that. but like you said I guess it can also just take awhile to get better. I read the other day that a lot of throwing up can put stress on your small intestine which can maybe cause your body to react to dairy, do you know anything about that or if that's true?

I buy Udi's gluten-free bread.  But I feed it to my gluten-free hubby.  Sure it's gluten free, but I discovered that I react to the Xanthan Gum that is used to replace what gluten does to bread (that stretchy binding thing....). It does not bother my hubby at all!   I stick to gluten-free flours and use other gums.  But the best thing is to stick to whole foods (avoiding all processed foods, even gluten-free) until you are feeling better.  Your gut is damaged and needs to heal.  

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Alwayssomething Contributor
Alwayssomething
Posted

Is the peanut butter from your pre gluten free days and maybe cross contaminated? 

 

Megan16 Rookie
Megan16
Posted
  • Author

Thank you so much for all the info! I will defiantly be taking your advise and seeing if that helps me!

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      Good evening @EssexMum You are quite right to be concerned about this situation.  Once diagnosed as coeliac, always a coeliac, and the way to heal  is through adopting and sticking to a strict gluten diet. That said... I have travelled twice to France since my diagnosis, firstly in May 2013 and again in August 2019.   My spoken French isn't bad, and whilst there I tried my best to explain my needs to chefs and catering staff, and I read labels very carefully when shopping in supermarkets, but both times I came away with worsening gastric symptoms and pain. Interestingly,  after the second holiday, my annual coeliac review took place the following month and although I'd been very careful to avoid gluten all year, thanks to that August holiday my coeliac antibodies were elevated,  Clearly I hadn't been imagining these symptoms and they must have been caused by gluten sneaking in somehow. When I spoke to my gastroenterologist on my return, who is an excellent doctor, he told me with a smile that this was a very common experience in France among his patients, and not to worry too much about it! In fact, before we went away in May 2013, which was just after I had been formally diagnosed, he told me not to even bother trying to adopt a gluten free diet until I returned, knowing what France was like, but I was feeling so awful at that time I ignored his advice and at least tried to make a start with it. (I ought to say - both these visits were some time ago, so perhaps things are a lot better there now.) So what to do?  I would say at least try to explain to catering staff the situation - they should be able to rustle up a plate of cheese, boiled eggs, tuna, salad and fruit, and if things like crackers and gluten-free pot noodle or oats can be packed in the UK, those can be produced at mealtimes.    Of course, most larger supermarkets in France do now cater for coeliacs, but when I was last there the the choice wasn't as wide a range as we have in the UK but I think that is partly because the French like to cook from scratch, whereas our gluten-free aisles have quite a lot of dried or pre-baked goods in them/convenience foods, because I think we as a nation tend to use them more. I would be worth doing a bit of research on the internet before the trip, - the words you want are 'sans gluten'.  I've just googled 'sans gluten Disney Paris" and this came up.  I do hope at least some of this is of help. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g2079053-zfz10992-Disneyland_Paris_Ile_de_France.html  Whatever befalls in France, at least your stepdaughter can resume her usual diet on her return. On a related tack, would you be happy to post any positive findings/tips upon her return - it might be of use to others travelling to Disneyland Paris with children in future? Cristiana
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