Irregular after going gluten-free?

[mystic]

Hey guys, since I started on a gluten free diet 2 months ago, I am not regular as I used to be prior to that, is this normal? If yes, anything can be done to correct this please?

[Jmg]

34 minutes ago, mystic said:

Hey guys, since I started on a gluten free diet 2 months ago, I am not regular as I used to be prior to that, is this normal? If yes, anything can be done to correct this please?

I was very unsettled for weeks after going gluten-free, stomach was very noisy etc. 

You may want to share some details of your current diet. Have you replaced the gluten foods with processed gluten-free foods? Are you eating oats? Dairy? Some struggle with these, at least at first.

[Ennis-TX]

If you changed to processed gluten breads etc...your doing it wrong those have low fiber, high starch/sugars, and will cause bowel issues galore and need to be consumed in moderation and avoided completely at first. Try adding more fiber like nuts, ground flax, chia seeds ,WHOLE seeds (pumpkin, hemp from mygerbs.com), fresh veggies etc. If you do consider a bread go with a nut based one at first and avoid starch ones for now (Julian Bakery). Dairy should be elminated for a few months on a gluten free diet...most develop enzyme issues with it due to the damaged villi not producing enough to break it down. And soy can be harsh on the gut.  Whole food diets are best starting off. Keep a food diary, record what you eat, how it is fixed, seasoned, etc. And how you feel throughout the day. This will help you keep track of foods that bother you and ones that work. We often develop intolerance issues with foods on a rolling basis it seems. Most of the time it is just temporary. Also keep track of liquid intake, 100+ oz a day of water is best.

[kareng]

40 minutes ago, mystic said:

Hey guys, since I started on a gluten free diet 2 months ago, I am not regular as I used to be prior to that, is this normal? If yes, anything can be done to correct this please?

Often people are getting more fiber or less fiber or different kinds of fiber.  Sometimes the types or amounts of fats, sugars, etc have changed.  You might look at that.

if you have Celiac, you are healing and it can take months to get the system regulated and working properly

[mystic]

Everything I consume is gluten-free and non dairy. I use gluten-free flour mixed with almond flour to make flatbread. Unsweetened Almond milk with Cheerios Honey Nut Gluten Free Oats for breakfast. I have given up regular bread. I have stopped fruits too trying to cut down on sugar, wondering if I should add back a little fruit?

[Victoria1234]

29 minutes ago, mystic said:

Everything I consume is gluten-free and non dairy. I use gluten-free flour mixed with almond flour to make flatbread. Unsweetened Almond milk with Cheerios Honey Nut Gluten Free Oats for breakfast. I have given up regular bread. I have stopped fruits too trying to cut down on sugar, wondering if I should add back a little fruit?

You haven't mentioned veggies? And yes, I would add back some fruit. 

Nowadays if I'm a bit irregular I drink a 1/4 c of prune juice. Works like magic.

[Ennis-TX]

34 minutes ago, mystic said:

Everything I consume is gluten-free and non dairy. I use gluten-free flour mixed with almond flour to make flatbread. Unsweetened Almond milk with Cheerios Honey Nut Gluten Free Oats for breakfast. I have given up regular bread. I have stopped fruits too trying to cut down on sugar, wondering if I should add back a little fruit?

gluten-free oats still bother many celiacs.....cheerios is notorious lol, We joke gluten free for fad dieters but not celiacs. Try dropping both for awhile. As for the gluten-free flour blend try changing to a paleo blend completely for a bit, might be the starch load in that.  Again betting it has xantham gum, might sound odd but if you need help removing it for a bit consider they make it from mold might help you look for and avoid it. Then again time is another thing as mentioned can take months to regulate your gut . By example I am getting over a glutening and had to remove spices, garlic, onion, etc. from y diet for a bit til it regulates back to normal....been almost over 4 weeks still picky.

Where are your veggies in this? And fats to keep the system lubed up? Perhaps some avocado in there on some of that flat bread to help out, and look at stuff like salads, stir frys, veggie soups. PS check my profile blog for some lower carb gluten free options, I have a recipe section here on it.

[mystic]

A lot to consider here, thanks. I have a salad once per day  [Romaine lettuce, grated carrots, cucumber and water cress, no dressing]. I will add an apple or some grapes back to my diet. Regarding my cereal for breakfast , I used to have Flax cereal from Costco but I don't know if that's gluten free?

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[Victoria1234]

23 minutes ago, mystic said:

A lot to consider here, thanks. I have a salad once per day  [Romaine lettuce, grated carrots, cucumber and water cress, no dressing]. I will add an apple or some grapes back to my diet. Regarding my cereal for breakfast , I used to have Flax cereal from Costco but I don't know if that's gluten free?

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Your cereal is produced in a facility that also does wheat. I generally avoid those foods but it's totally up to you. If I were having problems I would steer clear.

[trents]

Yes, as you mentioned, adding an apple very day is an excellent move. Apples not only are a good source of fiber but they also help with GERD and settle stomachs. There is some truth to the old saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." And instead of prune juice I would use whole prunes.

[mystic]

I wasn't having a single issue with that cereal having used it for years, only reason I switched to the cheerios is because it's label shows as gluten-free. I would be glad to go back to the flax if I can confirm it's gluten free?

 

[cyclinglady]

This granola cereal does not specify gluten free sourced oats.  It also says that it “may contain wheat....”.  So, I would not eat it (based on the company website).    This cereal is not even listed under their gluten free product listing.  

I used to eat this cereal prior to my diagnosis and I gave it up.    Anemia was my only main symptom when I was diagnosed.  Back then,  I could eat any gluten product and did not suffer from gut issues (made my diagnosis shocking).   So, just because you once ate gluten and did not suffer from it, does not mean you are not doing damage if you have celiac disease or Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity.  

If you are doing the gluten-free to help with other autoimmune disorders, you should still be just as careful, otherwise, why bother?  

I do not eat grains as a general rule (due to diabetes),  but I eat copious amounts of veggies even for breakfast!   

Finally, if these tips are not helpful, consider eliminating Cheerios (or testing).   There has been a lot of controversy about mechanically sorted oats.  Not saying a gluten exposure is your current issue, but it is worth investigating if all else fails.  

Edited January 1, 2018 by cyclinglady

[Jmg]

38 minutes ago, mystic said:

I wasn't having a single issue with that cereal having used it for years, only reason I switched to the cheerios is because it's label shows as gluten-free. I would be glad to go back to the flax if I can confirm it's gluten free?

 

For quite a long time I didn't have any cereals as I didn't seem to take to them too well. I noticed both cereals and gluten-free bread seemed to be difficult to digest. The saving grace for me was switching to omelettes. I fill them with any of onions, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, avocados, bacon etc. They're filling, nutritious and help set me up for the day. Now I do have gluten-free cornflakes quite often or some fruit with non dairy yogurt. Even a gluten-free crumpet on occasion, but generally I eat far less grains than I used to.  

[mystic]

I am going to try the apples and whole prunes and will report back here in this thread a few weeks or when I see things change or not, thanks guys and Happy New year!

p.s. Anyone can still post whatever meantime.

 

[liblue]

Thank you for this topic. I know it's difficult to talk about..

I am new to the forum but a long time Celiac....although I went for many years eating normally & having regular normal BM's. I just went gluten-free & DF (also cut out caffeine, chocolate & citrus) in November and since then I am irregular either "loose" or "pellets".....The ND that put me on the gluten-free diet was surprised to hear this and doesn't know why it changed....I am suspecting it's the lack of cheese that I used to consume......as it was my only dairy for years I did have it almost daily.....

I do eat Chex gluten-free cereal or gluten-free oatmeal but haven't had any bread in years...my downfall was tortillas so I have cut them out....so maybe I will cut the cereals out for awhile too ...

I have been doing a lot of reading here lately and I am happy to hear that I am not alone...I sure hope it will be corrected soon.....it's been  2 1/2 months of gluten-free eating and it was easier to remove than the dairy........

 

[kareng]

46 minutes ago, liblue said:

Thank you for this topic. I know it's difficult to talk about..

I am new to the forum but a long time Celiac....although I went for many years eating normally & having regular normal BM's. I just went gluten-free & DF (also cut out caffeine, chocolate & citrus) in November and since then I am irregular either "loose" or "pellets".....The ND that put me on the gluten-free diet was surprised to hear this and doesn't know why it changed....I am suspecting it's the lack of cheese that I used to consume......as it was my only dairy for years I did have it almost daily.....

I do eat Chex gluten-free cereal or gluten-free oatmeal but haven't had any bread in years...my downfall was tortillas so I have cut them out....so maybe I will cut the cereals out for awhile too ...

I have been doing a lot of reading here lately and I am happy to hear that I am not alone...I sure hope it will be corrected soon.....it's been  2 1/2 months of gluten-free eating and it was easier to remove than the dairy........

 

You have known you have celiac disease for " a long time" and just now decided to eat gluten-free?  Well... that might be your problem right there.  

Edited January 1, 2018 by kareng

[liblue]

2 minutes ago, kareng said:

You have known you have celiac disease for " a long time" and just now decided to eat gluten-free?  Well... that might be your problem right there.  

It wasn't much of a problem as I have had it since childhood and as long as I didn't overdo it I really didn't have issues....when I did it was usually bronchitis...My parents decided when I was diagnosed to just reduce it and it's worked for all these years (I'm in my 50's now).....Just recently I have has some inflammation that was lasting for too long so on a hunch the ND asked if I was willing to try going gluten-free & DF......so I did and bathroom things just seem to be worse than before.....The inflammation is still present but an MRI shows that I have Plica syndrome, so now I know it's not because of my diet....

[GFinDC]

Hi Liblue,

Welcome to the forum!

Now that you are gluten-free, your body can start healing.  It will take a while for the antibodies that cause the damage to go down.  It may take weeks or months.  It depends a lot on how good you are at keeping gluten out of your diet.

The Newbie 101 topic in the "Coping with" forum section has getting started tips that may help.  I like Mission brand corn tortillas as an alternative to bread.  But there are also several gluten-free breads on the market.

You may notice that your celiac reactions become stronger after going gluten-free.  There is a big change going in in your gut as it starts to heal.  It can be helpful to eat a simple diet of whole foods and avoid most processed foods for several months.

Pepto Bismol and peppermint tea and aspirin can help with symptoms.

You are on your way to better health now!

 

Edited January 1, 2018 by GFinDC

[liblue]

2 minutes ago, GFinDC said:

Hi Liblue,

Welcome to the forum!

Now that you are gluten-free, your body can start healing.  It will take a while for the antibodies that cause the damage to go down.  It may take weeks or months.  It depends a lot on how good you are at keeping gluten out of your diet.

The Newbie 101 topic in the "Coping with" forum section has getting started tips that may help.  I like Mission brand corn tortillas as an alternative to bread.  But there are also several gluten-free breads on the market.

You may notice that your celiac reactions become stronger after going gluten-free.  There is a big change going in in your gut as it starts to heals.  It can be helpful to eat a simple diet of whole foods and avoid most processed foods for several months.

Pepto Bismol and peppermint tea and aspirin can help with symptoms.

You are on your way to better health now!

 

Thank you...I know that's why I wasn't gluten-free before...I believe they tried it for me and I had a severe reaction when I unknowingly consumed some....so by limiting it instead of removing it I was as "normal" as could be...I really don't have a craving for breads and I have been on a mainly homemade soup diet for the first month, but that might be causing me to have an allergic reaction from eating the same food daily.....so he want me to "mix up my foods".....

I am being really strict on my diet and like I said the gluten foods were easier than the cheese/dairy....as I didn't have all that much gluten...most days none at all anyway....

The ND has no explanation as to the loose stools I have been having since going gluten-free.....so I started looking for my own answers.....hence the reason I am here...

[cyclinglady]

8 hours ago, liblue said:

Thank you...I know that's why I wasn't gluten-free before...I believe they tried it for me and I had a severe reaction when I unknowingly consumed some....so by limiting it instead of removing it I was as "normal" as could be...I really don't have a craving for breads and I have been on a mainly homemade soup diet for the first month, but that might be causing me to have an allergic reaction from eating the same food daily.....so he want me to "mix up my foods".....

I am being really strict on my diet and like I said the gluten foods were easier than the cheese/dairy....as I didn't have all that much gluten...most days none at all anyway....

The ND has no explanation as to the loose stools I have been having since going gluten-free.....so I started looking for my own answers.....hence the reason I am here...

I would suggest seeing a gastroenterologist.   You still might have elevated antibodies in your blood work and he/she might want to order an endoscopy.  You might not even have celiac disease (unless your parents gave you the lab results), or if you do, it might have progressed to refractory celiac disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease,  or cancer.   I would not recommend working with an NP, at least until you have more definitive answers (like lab work).     Certainly self-treatment ( for a long-known diagnosed celiac who has not been diet compliant)  may not be in your best interest. 

Why no dairy?  Are you lactose intolerant or the NP thinks it could be inflammatory and what does that have to do with a knee injury (just curious)?  

[liblue]

13 minutes ago, cyclinglady said:

I would suggest seeing a gastroenterologist.   You still might have elevated antibodies in your blood work and he/she might want to order an endoscopy.  You might not even have celiac disease (unless your parents gave you the lab results), or if you do, it might have progressed to refractory celiac disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease,  or cancer.   I would not recommend working with an NP, at least until you have more definitive answers (like lab work).     Certainly self-treatment ( for a long-known diagnosed celiac who has not been diet compliant)  may not be in your best interest. 

Why no dairy?  Are you lactose intolerant or the NP thinks it could be inflammatory and what does that have to do with a knee injury (just curious)?  

I didn't set out to work on being gluten-free after all these years but he was thinking it could be the cause of the inflammation......this was all before the MRI results.....I did have some blood work done and it showsI have no allergies....I was allergic to just about everything when I was a child...13 years of allergy shots...I did outgrow or still avoid all those things I was allergic to...

Yes milk was one of them so I never drank it...It makes my throat close...I would suppose it still does and if I ever have ice cream it would make me stuffy and I would get a "thick throat"...so not closed but mucous buildup.....I did eat cheese almost daily as it was my main source of calcium without any issues unless I overdid it.........he asked me to avoid them all(caffeine, chocolate, citrus, processed foods and as much sugars as I can)for awhile to see if the swelling came down or stopped every evening....(at that time we didn't know what we were dealing with)....

The last blood tests also included Celiac & RA.....both came back negative....but I stopped gluten mid November so no big surprise...the only low vitamin I had was D...so now I have added that into my daily routine...

I don't like Dr.'s and don't wish to spend the rest of my time trying to figure out what else might be wrong with this body...SO no GI or endoscopy for me.......I do self care as much as I can and have learned a lot from the reading I have done here....For the last 10 years I have been in better condition doing for myself instead of listening to the medical profession & taking a bunch of prescription(that cause more issues)............

Celiac has nothing to do with my knee  issues....I just need to rebuild the strength in my legs to correct my knee issues and this will come with time.....

I only relied here because it is relevant to my current situation and I was wondering if someone had some insight as to why it started only after I went gluten-free.....

I hope this answers your question.......

[cyclinglady]

Thank you for satisfying my curiosity.  I have no idea why your GI issues would have surfaced after going gluten free.  When I was diagnosed, my symptom was anemia.  I had no GI issues.  I was shocked when my GI suggested celiac testing after he read my chart (anemic all my life or at least since I was first tested).  I just went in for a cancer screening (colonoscopy) because I am over 50.  Now, since going gluten free, I react with GI symptoms if I am exposed to gluten (follow-up antibodies testing usually confirm glutenings in my case), that last for a few months.  Perhaps that is occurring with you.  

I just want to make sure that you understood the risk of long, untreated celiac disease.  We lost a member to Lymphoma not that long ago.  Also, I could have sworn my niece had celiac disease.   Turns out she has Crohn’s.  So, you just never know.  

I wish you well.  

[liblue]

21 minutes ago, cyclinglady said:

 When I was diagnosed, my symptom was anemia.

That's funny.....I was told to stop taking the iron supplement as my iron was too high......The first blood test was before I went gluten-free......the second was about a month into in when he tested for Celiac, RA & Allergies....(those are the only ones my insurance would cover)....

 

21 minutes ago, cyclinglady said:

 Now, since going gluten free, I react with GI symptoms if I am exposed to gluten (follow-up antibodies testing usually confirm glutenings in my case), that last for a few months.  Perhaps that is occurring with you.  

There is also the cramping/bladder control/foul gas/brainfog & the irregular BM's that also all started after going gluten-free...(all this I remember suffering with as a child..but seems to have leveled out from ages 20-50 and now has returned...)

I also am suffering with mood swings....at first I thought it was just withdraws of the casein & sugars....but it's still lingering 3 months later........

It almost seems like it's backwards....unless it's all about the dairy.....

21 minutes ago, cyclinglady said:

I just want to make sure that you understood the risk of long, untreated celiac disease

I do appreciate the care found here and of course all the information......Thank you....

[trents]

I think something cyclinglady said bears repeating and that is the absence of overt GI symptoms such as pain or "D" is not a reliable indicator of something being gluten free. Many Celiacs are largely asymptomatic but gluten is still damaging their bodies.

[mystic]

So wait guys, is there a specific ingredient in Gluten products which keeps us regular?