Stomache Bloating/gas Daily

[campcour]

i have never used this forum before so hopefully i am doing it right. anyways, i have been strictly gluten-free and dairy free for about 8 months now and feeling much better. but i still have severe stomache distention and gas almost every day. in the morning my stomache is flat and normal looking and feels really good. then about a few hours after eating anything, it starts getting bloated and gets more and more distended throughout the day. by the time i go to bed i look pregnant and my stomache hurts and is really gasy. please help! any suggestions are greatly appreciated. i don't know what to do anymore.

[pturse]

I am going through the exact same thing. gluten-free for 8 months. In the morning after I have BM I feel great and my stomach is flat but as soon as I eat the smallest amount of food I get bloated and gassy no matter what I eat.

[celiac3270]

I'm gluten-free 7 months with bad symptoms -- not so much gas as vomiting/stomach pains -- sorry I can't help, but I'm in the same boat in terms of length of time (almost) passed w/o feeling better

[burdee]

Even after I eliminated gluten/dairy sources, I also still had symptoms of bloating, gas and cramping pain. When I tried to substitute soy for dairy, I had the same symptoms. So I also abstained from soy Avoiding those 3 things gave me some 'good' days of no pain, no bloating, very little gas. But whenever I had any accidental ingestion of any of those 3 ingredients, I experienced all the symptoms again. I have also noticed sensitivity to acidic foods like tomatoes, raspberries, alcohol, etc. so I have avoided those. I'm not sure what could have caused my last symptoms, but avoiding acid seemed to help. I read that as we restrict the main food intolerances like gluten/dairy/soy, we may discover other sensitivities which are related to damage to our intestines during longterm undiagnosed celiac disease. Since I've only been avoiding gluten 4+ months, dairy 2+ and soy 1+ month, I'm still learning to avoid sources and possible cross contamination from those 3 ingredients. So I'm not completely symptom free, but I'm a long ways from where I started 4-1/2 months ago.

BURDEE

PS I also take digestive enzymes and probiotics and use 'beano' before consuming some notoriously 'gassy' veggies and beans.

[tarnalberry]

There may be other foods you're eating that are causing the problem. Like burdee noted, soy could be an issue. Some other very common foods can cause bloating even though there's no intolerance issue - beans, peppers, etc. You may want to talk to your GI, due to the extremity of the situation (maybe bring in "morning"/"evening" pictures? ;-) ). I've heard some people say digestive enzymes have helped them, and you might find some variation on an elimination diet to find out what other foods you have problems with would help.

[Carriefaith]

I have also been on the gluten-free diet for a long time (6 months) and still have problems. Gas and bloating are a daily routine now My other symptoms are getting better thankfully

My GI doc says that having celiac disease caused me to have an irritated bowel.

I personnally think that some celiacs have more extensive damage than others and require a longer healing time. I think that some of those people suffer through the whole healing process. That's just my opinion though.

-Carrie

[campcour]

i was surprised to see how many people replied to my question and very excited that people are there to help and tell their story. it helps to know that others are going through similar things. i have been avoiding all soy/dairy and gluten very strictly but i am curious about the digestive enzymes. what are these? i have never heard of them. i have made an appt to see a gi speicalist again, but it takes a long time to get (3 months) in so in the meantime i am trying to do anything that might help me to feel better. thanks again for all the responses! i really appreciate it

[tarnalberry]

digestive enzymes are ... just like lactase, but for other things that need digesting. you can try googling the term, and checking out a local health food store for more information. I'm not well informed enough at the moment to speak authoritatively on them, but the idea is that, if your body isn't producing the enzymes you need to break down your food, you can take the enzymes with your food. (just like the lactose intolerant may choose to take lactase with their dairy-containing meals)

[Canadian Karen]

Hi.....

I just wanted to mention that if you are taking anything for the gas/bloating, make sure it is gluten free. I made the mistake of thinking Gas-X was gluten-free and I was eating them like candy because my gas/bloating was so bad. Found out recently they actually contain gluten.

Just wanted to make sure you aren't making the same mistake.....

Good Luck!

Karen

[burdee]

I just thought of another source of gas and bloating which I now avoid. When I was looking at ingredients for gluten free/casein free toothpastes, I noticed most include sorbitol which can cause gas and bloating for many people. The only gluten-free/cf toothpaste I found WITHOUT sorbitol is Tom's of Maine. Also many sugar free candies and gums include sorbitol or mannitol (similar to sorbitol in gas/bloating effect).

BURDEE

[ponita]

My goodness, I am so glad I found this conversation today! I have been gluten-free for 12 weeks and have felt so much better until yesterday when I had a couple Tablespons of ice cream on an empty stomach. I have tolerated Blue Bunny ice cream with no problem after a meal (about a 1/3 cup serving), yesterday I started the abd. pain almost immediately and have been in gastric distress ever since and eating Gas X for 24 hours.

Thanks for bringing up this subject (not something you can easliy discuss with your friends over coffee at work).

I know what to do now, thanks!

Melissa

[Guest jhmom]

It seems as though a lot of us continue to have GI probs such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, etc.. even on the gluten-free diet. I have been gluten-free for almost one year with some improvement but not enough to say "I feel good".

I don't know if it takes some people longer to heal than others or the possiblity of another problem on top of Celiac. I suggest talking to your GI doctor about it and possibly requesting lab-work and or any other tests/procedures to be done. I recently switched GI docs and told him of my problems, his first thought was I was not sticking to my diet which is not true but has decided to do an endoscopy/biopsy to check things out. There has to be an underlying problem here. Personally I do not think my GI problems have anything to do with Celiac, I think there is another problem, the hardest part is waiting on the doctors to figure it all out.

Good luck to each of you and I hope each of you begin to feel better soon!

[campcour]

thanks so much for all the suggestions! i bought some digestive enzymes last night and tried them... still felt really sick last night. but i have hope that they will help if i give them some time. but i am wondering if these don't work, what other things do people use for gas/bloating? i am looking for something sold in canada. thanks for your help!

[burdee]

Peppermint tea helps relieve the cramping pains from celiac disease reactions. For gas and bloating I do pilates or yoga exercises that put my knees to my stomach or over my head. That works EVERY time to push gas through. Also a hot shower with water spray concentrated on the painful area helps me. I won't take any drugs to treat celiac disease symptoms, because there's so many potential side effects from ingredients which I may not tolerate.

BURDEE

[kabowman]

After I discovered the lactose/casien intolloerance, I then discovered the gluten intollerance. Once those were eliminated from my diet. I discovered a peanut intollerance, a soy bean intollerance, a corn intolloerance, and a peanut intollerance. Corn syrup is used in a LOT of foods and a lot of foods contain soy bean products and/or are made using peanut/corn oil.

I though my regular mayo was safe, not so--soy bean oil. I thought a little bit of corn syrup each day wouldn't kill me, I was wrong.

Go completely, sauce free, only fresh veggies and fruit and meat for a few days until your stomach clears up (mine took almost a week) and then start adding things back in. I have now a wide selection of products to use that use real sugar, apple cider vinegar, rice, etc.

-Kate

[burdee]

Kate: HOW did you discover those other 'intolerances'? After relying on just fruit, vegies and meat for a while, did you add back each of those ingredients (peanuts, corn and soy) in an 'elimination' diet manner? I already have been diagnosed (Enterolab tests) with gluten and casein intolerances and reacted badly to soy. So as I ate my breakfast of PEANUT BUTTER on an Ener-G foods Brown Rice Sweet Potato muffin with CORN flour, I considered your post about those additional intolerances. Everytime I discover a food I REALLY enjoy, but doesn't give me any immediate, obvious symptoms (like acidic foods have also recently given me), I fear I may have problems with that food. I have MUCH less painful symptoms than I did before I eliminated gluten/dairy/soy, but I still have occasional twinges, gas and bloating. So when you avoided gluten/dairy/soy/peanuts/corn, what DID you eat for breakfast that wouldn't require extensive preparation? My symptoms (excruciating abdominal pain) are usually pretty obvious, so I don't think I react to peanuts and corn, but I sure do like those which makes me suspicious. Were your reactions to peanuts and corn much different from your dairy/soy/gluten reactions?

BURDEE

[kabowman]

Well, after my stomach calmed down, I added other foods back in, catiously. After eating peanuts as a snack a few days in a row and realizing, hey! my stomach hurts, I have gas, etc. I think this might be a problem. I have since discovered that even stuff I thought was safe, i.e., did NOT have peanuts even reading the ingredients but having the same symptoms, I would then, usually too late, re-read and discover it was made with peanut oil. Who would have thought???? Not me.

Well, that kind of goes for everything else. I have been drinking soy milk for years as I am lactose/casien intollerant and not thinking about it, added it to my coffee one morning and guess what...same problems. I just discovered my mayo, which I thought was safe was primarily made with soy bean oil. No wonder I was getting sick on what I thought was safe food.

Rice and potatoes are OK for me, corn was not - although I kept trying it, I was still getting sick so that has now been COMPLETELY eliminated from my diet. Talk about something that is in EVERYTHING - high fructose corn syrup, from gum to BBQ sauce to Margartita mix.

Breakfast: Lucky for me, my husbands makes eggs and bacon (which surprisingly I can eat) every morning (with olive oil, not any type of margarine since they all contain at least soy bean and/or corn and/or lactose). And on mornings he is gone, I eat fruit and almonds (just about the only nut not prepared with peanut oil), and sometimes pre-cooked bacon - not store bought but what we purchased then cook up in advance to make mornings easier. We do the same with dinner meats to make evenings with three kids, us both working full time, all the activities, etc. that much easier. We then just need to fix side dishes.

I have actually just had my first really good days in a couple of weeks. No corn syrup! Camping was a little difficult with 3 different families and all the sauces and milk products going around. I just ate as much of my food as I could but it ALL looked SO good, it was a little hard to pass up.

-Kate

[strack2004]

I just posted a long list of foods I eat on the SCD diet on another thread. Forgot to write it down, but it was posted today, Sept 13. Upon reading these posts, I realize that one of the things I have eaten regularly for lunch is peanut butter. Last Tuesday was a day when I felt better than I have for awhile all day. That was possibly because I didn't eat peanut butter for lunch that day. Although I felt better in the morning, too, and I had had peanut butter the day before. Ruth

[burdee]

Thanks, Kate, for the reassurance. No, really, you reassured me by telling me you had SYMPTOMS after introducing each of those foods. I also had SYMPTOMS when I introduced soy products to substitute for dairy products. However, I have NEVER had symptoms after eating peanut butter or corn products. Before my gluten/casein intolerance test results, corn and peanuts were foods I could easily do without. I started eating peanut butter as a protein/fat source, since I could no longer have casein/soy products and don't like to take time to cook eggs for breakfast. So I guess I really like peanut butter on muffins with corn flour because they FEEL good in my body, not because of any addictive craving. Unfortunately, I have previously eaten tomatoes, acidic berries and citrus fruit because I thought it was 'healthy' for me and ignored my symptoms. The biggest thing I've learned from my celiac disease diagnosis is NOT to ignore any discomfort after eating ANYTHING, healthy or not. As long as I stay gluten/casein/soy free and acid limited (including citric acid in diet sodas), I feel VERY good and symptom free.

BURDEE

[tarnalberry]

I think it's a valid point, though... we go about replacing all these foods, and then end up eating potential allergens in large quantity... While there's no "proof" that repeated exposure to the allergen will cause it (well, a lot of allergists will tell you that... ;-) ), it means I try to not eat the same thing (if it's got a high allergen potential) day after day. I do worry about becoming sensitive to peanuts (I love peanut butter... fab food for hypoglycemics ;-) ) and soy (gotta have something for my cream of buckwheat!), but I'll cross those bridges if I ever have to.

[CoolCat1]

I have been gluten-free for 2 months and I just recently found out that my favourite chocolate Lindt/Lindor has malt. Cheaper chocolates do not. I am looking for a comparable Swiss/Belgian chocolate. Anyone know of any? Chocolate withdrawal uck!

[burdee]

Tropical Source makes great gluten/dairy free chocolate bars (delicious DARK chocolate) in dark expresso roast, hazelnut, raspberry, almond and rice varieties. UNFORTUNATELY those contain SOY which may cause problems for others (like me). Has anyone found any gluten/dairy/soy free chocolate? I know Ener-G Foods makes gluten-free/df/sf chocolate chips as does EnjoyLifeFoods. But I'm still looking for gluten-free/df/sf chocolate bars.

BURDEE

[campcour]

just to let you all know that i have been taking digestive enzymes for about 5 days now and was SUPER SICK, but had been really sick before, so i thought they just took time. well, the health food store informed me they were gluten free and it said "wheat free" on the bottle (organika, digestive enzymes). but i made the mistake of trusting that and finally decided to contact the company. turns out there is gluten in them. so don't use! does anyone know a gluten free brand? preferably in canada? same with probiotics.. i was accidentaly using one with gluten in it. errr! i can't find a gluten free one in canada.

[vany4]

Dove chocolate is gluten free.

[sixtricks6]

Is there different levels of celiac disease? I get severe bouts that last a about a week to 2 weeks and then other days maybe just gasy, or maybe just nauseia or just bloating with a little cramping in between the severe attacks.

Cheryl