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Sharp, Stabbing Upper Abdominal Pain With Gluten Exposure?

Caitlin9267

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Caitlin9267 Newbie
Caitlin9267
Posted

I am a newly (3 months) diagnosed celiac and have been vigilant at eliminating gluten from my diet. Since I have been gluten-free, I have had four episodes of sharp, stabbing pain in my upper abdomen that disappears after several hours. I contacted my (disinterested) GI doctor who insisted that it was unrelated to accidental gluten exposure and subsequently ordered an ultrasound of my gall bladder...whiich was negative. Has anyone experience this type of pain as a result of gluten exposure?? Thansk!!

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Pain in Amanda Newbie
Pain in Amanda
Posted

I have severe pain at the bottom of my ribs is this "upper abdominal'?

Caitlin9267 Newbie
Caitlin9267
Posted
  • Author
I have severe pain at the bottom of my ribs is this "upper abdominal'?

Thanks for your reply...the pain that I experience is just below my sterum and centered just below my ribs. Is this similar?

plantime Contributor
plantime
Posted

My pain is on the left side, just under the ribcage. I don't see why it couldn't be in the center, under the sternum. As I understand it, people feel the pain in different parts of their abdomen. And yes, it is pain triggered by gluten. If you have only been glutenfree for a few months, you might feel the pain for up to another year as your body heals itself.

georgie Enthusiast
georgie
Posted

I have just had an attack of this last night. For me ...it is gall bladder. Whenever you change your diet there is the risk of eating more fat. Last week I tried a new type of gluten-free crisps....they tasted really nice but by that evening I felt a bit off colour .. 3 days later I have a gall bladder attack. Before being gluten-free - I would never eat crisps as I knew they were too fatty for me.. duh ..

I had ultrasounds for 17 years that were always negative.. My mystery pains were a real mystery ..until a new Dr and a new radiographer and the gall bladder 'sludge' was found. Gall Bladder sludge doesn't often show up on an ultrasound and is often just found during surgery. But the effects of the sludge is the same as stones - worse even.

Try sipping lemon juice every morning before breakfast and see if that helps. So far I have avoided surgery by using lemon juice type cures.

Granny Garbonzo Apprentice
Granny Garbonzo
Posted
I am a newly (3 months) diagnosed celiac and have been vigilant at eliminating gluten from my diet. Since I have been gluten-free, I have had four episodes of sharp, stabbing pain in my upper abdomen that disappears after several hours. I contacted my (disinterested) GI doctor who insisted that it was unrelated to accidental gluten exposure and subsequently ordered an ultrasound of my gall bladder...whiich was negative. Has anyone experience this type of pain as a result of gluten exposure?? Thansk!!
Granny Garbonzo Apprentice
Granny Garbonzo
Posted

I wrote a reply but don't know what happened to it. It was long and complex.

Anyway. I have had this same problem for 20 years only just a few times. Back in 1989 the doc wanted to remove my gall bladder and I did not, still have it today and it is fine. The problem is with the large bowel, which has a section that goes across the top of your abdomen under the rib cage. It swells and becomes irritated and inflamed in that area because that is the most sluggish area of the bowel. If it gets really bad, the swelling and inflamation will form an obstruction of sorts and you will vomit and have loose bowel movements as your body exits everything from below and above the obstruction.

What I find helpful is to take an anti-inflamatory such as ibuprofen, and drink only water with a tiny bit of soda in it, sipping this as much as you can. No food or drink for quite a while as this seems to further irritate the bowel. Remember, if this one section is irritated, the whole digestive system is irritated too.

Take care

granny

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Granny Garbonzo Apprentice
Granny Garbonzo
Posted
I have just had an attack of this last night. For me ...it is gall bladder. Whenever you change your diet there is the risk of eating more fat. Last week I tried a new type of gluten-free crisps....they tasted really nice but by that evening I felt a bit off colour .. 3 days later I have a gall bladder attack. Before being gluten-free - I would never eat crisps as I knew they were too fatty for me.. duh ..

I had ultrasounds for 17 years that were always negative.. My mystery pains were a real mystery ..until a new Dr and a new radiographer and the gall bladder 'sludge' was found. Gall Bladder sludge doesn't often show up on an ultrasound and is often just found during surgery. But the effects of the sludge is the same as stones - worse even.

Try sipping lemon juice every morning before breakfast and see if that helps. So far I have avoided surgery by using lemon juice type cures.

If this really is gall bladder, add your lemon juice to a couple of tablespoons of oil (expeller pressed is best) this will result in a gall bladder flush. Repeat a couple of times each day for a week or so.

Pain in Amanda Newbie
Pain in Amanda
Posted

As Dessa said it affects everyone differenlty, but it sound like we are only inches away from our pain. Try the stretches she suggested but go very slowly at first. I am actually to scared to try until I find out which way she stretches.

Good luck to you and I wish you the best.

Amanda

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
If this really is gall bladder, add your lemon juice to a couple of tablespoons of oil (expeller pressed is best) this will result in a gall bladder flush. Repeat a couple of times each day for a week or so.

Do be very cautious if you decide to try this. If you have stones this 'flush' can have dangerous results. The flush will cause the gallbladder to contract forcefully and there is a risk of rupturing the tubes if you have stones. Do a through research on the flushes and their risks before trying.

Hummingbird4 Explorer
Hummingbird4
Posted

It was this exact type of pain that caused me to go see a GI and get an endoscopy. The result was a diagnosis of Celiac Disease. So I'd say yes, they could absolutely be related.

  • 4 years later...
gingerthing Newbie
gingerthing
Posted

I really had to respond to this post. YES. I GET SHARP STABBING PAIN LIKE THAT ALL OVER MY ABDOMEN, scarey pain from gluten. Gluten terrifies me ust thinking of ingesting it and going through that pain one more time! I hope that helps!

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

I see you are new to the board. Welcome. :) Do be sure to check the dates of the last posts on threads you are posting in, as some of them are quite old. The person you just replied to has not posted on the board in almost 18 months so will probably not see your post :(

steermom Newbie
steermom
Posted

I am a newly (3 months) diagnosed celiac and have been vigilant at eliminating gluten from my diet. Since I have been gluten-free, I have had four episodes of sharp, stabbing pain in my upper abdomen that disappears after several hours. I contacted my (disinterested) GI doctor who insisted that it was unrelated to accidental gluten exposure and subsequently ordered an ultrasound of my gall bladder...whiich was negative. Has anyone experience this type of pain as a result of gluten exposure?? Thansk!!

I, too,am newly diagnosed and the sharp stabbing pain was what initially what made me go to the doctor. I've had symptoms for years and been told by a doctor to stop drinking diet soda (lol) to getting a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (without testing).

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