I've Been Gluten Free For So Long, Yet I Still Get The Worst Stomach Aches

[AlexandarZ]

Hello, i just signed up to this site, just found out about it, seems pretty helpful. I've got a little issue.. i was diagnosed with celiac last year around June and i used to get the worst stomach aches ever, no one could possibly imagine, i went on to a gluten free diet and started feeling better bit by bit. The doctor said i should feel completely better by around September and have no issues with stomach aches etc. Its been a year since this so called September actually a year and Two months. I cant find the problem i never eat out because i'm really paranoid about eating gluten but to this very day i found going to the toilet to be a very irregular gamble its really difficult to go out and enjoy myself because i do get these random stomach aches, that hurt so much. My stomach aches seem to get better then worse then slightly better then worse again,

Just wanted to know what you guys thought the problem is and why? Opinions, thanks.

[shadowicewolf]

It can take some people years (yes years) to get better.

I'm thinking you might have another food intolerence with this.

Keep a food diery. Write down everything you eat, and if you see a pattern with the stomach aches then cut the food out for a while.

Others on this site rave about probiotics, have you tried them?

[AlexandarZ]

It can take some people years (yes years) to get better.

I'm thinking you might have another food intolerence with this.

Keep a food diery. Write down everything you eat, and if you see a pattern with the stomach aches then cut the food out for a while.

Others on this site rave about probiotics, have you tried them?

What are probiotics? i just looked them up on wikipedia and it seems pretty complicated, mind to dumb it down?

[tom]

It makes me think 'additional intolerance' too. For me, soy was doing that & I first had the notion through keeping a food/symptom diary.

The thing that *really* surprised me was that it turned out that the previous 3 or5 day soy-free trials just weren't long enough. It took ~2 wks soy-free before I really knew how great I could feel.

So many products w/ long ingred lists have some soy, ugh.

Enough about soy - if you have other intolerances, it could be anything. I'd say definitely start a food/symptom diary & remember that the reactions may not even be same day.

Good luck!

[bartfull]

Soy, dairy, and corn seem to give a lot of us problems. I would try ditching all three for a while and see if it helps. Then add back one at a time. Be aware, corn is in almost every single product that has more than one ingredient, and even in some things that have only ONE "ingredient". If something is PROCESSED with corn, they don't have to list it as an ingredient. For example, bagged salads at the grocery store are washed in a citric acid wash, and these days, almost all citric acid is derived from corn. Baby carrots are dusted with corn starch to keep them dry in the bag. A lot of fruits and veggies have a waxy coating to make them look more appealing in the grocery store, and that coating usually has corn in it.

Probiotics are the good gut bacteria that we all need. You can find them in capsules at the health food store. Get the kind that are refrigerated because they are more likely to have LIVE bacteria. Yougurt has probiotics, but most grocery store yogurt also has corn and lots of other things you probably shouldn't have right now. If you can find it at the health food store, Stonyfield Farms yogurt is WONDERFUL! It is 100% organic, contains six different strains of probiotics, and it's sweetened with organic sugar instead of corn syrup.

You can also eat sauerkraut if you like it. That has lots of probiotics too.

[dilettantesteph]

A food diary is what worked for me. Don't just write down the foods, write down what company they come from if they are processed or the source if they aren't. I found that I could tolerate certain items from one company and not another. Sometimes I could tolerate a food from one vendor at a farmer's market, but not another.

You also need to figure out the delay between eating the food and the reaction. It can take a few days. I try not to make more than one change per week.

[javic]

How are the stomach aches going now?

Have you had your antibody levels tested again since diagnosis? Have they gone down?

I was reading something about refractory celiac disease - I believe this means that the symptoms will not go away even on a gfd. Very rare mind you. More likely to be additional intolerance. Have you worked it out yet?

[SMDBill]

I am currently going through rough stomach pain that is improving since being back to gluten-free. It was excruciating and would wake me as my intestines cramped. It got so bad at one point I thought I had a bladder infection because it was even sensitive to the touch right where your bladder is, but it was intestinal instead. To me it sounds like you may have another symptom showing signs similar to what gluten did. I am gluten sensitive and lactose intolerant. If I have heavy dairy, I get similar pain, but the added beauty of hemorrhoids and diarrhea. Have you been tested for milk, soy, corn, or other sensitivity or allergy? Have you had a colonoscopy to determine if maybe you have an intestinal blockage or kink in the intestine? Lots of things can cause that pain so it's important to know the cause, or at least eliminate some things as a cause. Your GI may be a good one for these pains unless you are maybe getting glutened without knowing it or if your symptoms are just slower to resolve after being gluten-free.

 

Best of luck to you! Hope it works itself out soon.

[Seifer]

I recovered from severe IBS and stomach pains (after burnout and tooth infections) that had me bedridden and pretty much suicidal. I had to change my diet back and forth a million times before I realized what works. 

 

You have to ditch wheat ofc in all forms. then you have to avoid msg/yeast extract which also triggers stomach problems and overeating. no probiotics either, no yougurt which contains lactic acid and live bacteria that irritate the stomach. you also avoid lunch meats of all kinds (ham, sausages, bacon etc) with sodium nitrite which is terrible for the stomach. then you have to drink WATER and nothing else. no soda pop, no coffee, no beer, no wine, no juice, no tea, just plain water, sparkling or regular. You also avoid cheese which contains live bacteria and is a stomach irritant. what you eat is FRESH MEAT/FISH/CHICKEN (from frozen is fine) eggs and fresh milk. FRUITS, BERRIES and VEGETABLES (except cruciferous vegetables and leaves which contain antinutrients and are also stomach irritants). You eat carbs (POTATOES and other TUBERS, WHITE RICE is also fine but not brown rice (stomach irritant) and FAT (butter/cream, olive oil, coconut, mostly saturated is best) with every meal. milk chocolate, ice cream or some sweets are also fine after the meal in moderation. You keep the amount of nuts/seeds/peas/lentils to a minimum, these all contain antinutrients that irritate the stomach. You don't reheat leftovers in the microwave or elsewhere. It degrades the protein structure, dries out the food, and makes it harder to digest, inflammatory and decreases nutritional value. eat leftovers straight from the fridge in room temperature. 

 

You have to eat the sufficient amount of macronutrients (protein, fat and carbs) and micronutrients (minerals and vitamins) at all meals throughout the day. This will keep stomach acid at the appropriate levels and will also keep your metabolism at a high level which is very important to resolve stomach problems and health problems in general (your immune system only works properly when your metabolism is strong). 

[Lisa]

The origin of this post is over three years old.

 

After being gluten free  for more than ten years, I decided it was time to try all the wonderful named brand cereals after such a long hiatus .  Yes, the lactose intolerance reared it's ugly head once again. I may try the non-lactose milks, but I'm not too big of a cereal fan either.  Back to the Eggo's.

 

Sometimes, the issue may be a simple one.