Hyper- Acid Secretion?

[CeeLeighacLady]

I apologize in advance for the long post. I guess I am still in shock. I am a 54 year old female in Tolland County, Connecticut and was just diagnosed this Wednesday. I had my upper endo and colonoscopy on 11/13/13. The Dr put me on Zantac 300 mg twice a day, along with Carafate. I had an allergic reaction to the Carafate. I do have a host of allergies to foods (including seafood) and medications ( like Protonix). The only other thing they told me to take for relief was Tums. I did not start my gluten free diet until the confirmed diagnosis of Celiac on 11/27/13. My blood work was mildly positive but they said the biopsy showed severe celiac disease. I also have esophagitis ( no Barrett's, Thank God), as well as gastritis and multiple duodenal ulcers. No evidence of yeast or H.Pylori.

 

Talk about timing just before the ultimate food binge day.  By the time I got home from the Dr, my daughter who probably also has celiac (she will have Upper Endo on Jan 2), divided the pantry and gave me separate shelf space from foods with gluten. I immediately downloaded gluten free apps for my phone and went food shopping since I was cooking the turkey, etc.  I was able to have a good Thanksgiving dinner. So I thought to myself, I am going to manage this with a shared gluten household and all will be well.

 

Last night I had what I guess is hyper-acid secretion that woke me from my sleep. TUMS didn’t help. OK what is this now? I did a little searching on Google and it made me crazy. They were saying that being on acid suppressors is bad in the long run ( H 2 blockers or PPI inhibitors) and may not work for everyone. Of course now it is Saturday so I can’t talk to the MD. How else am I going to heal the esophagitis, gastritis and duodenal ulcers? I read the phrase gluten withdrawal and have to research this. Might this have anything to do with hyper acid secretion?

[NoGlutenCooties]

Welcome to the forum!

A few things come to mind after reading your post.  First, have you tried taking a digestive enzyme?  If you have ulcers you would want to check with your doctor first, but a good digestive enzyme can really help your body break down your food - especially when you're healing from all the Celiac damage and probably can't break them down on your own.  If your doctor says it's ok, only take the digestive enzyme when you eat enough food - including protein - to need them.  Given the ulcers, you would most likely want a digestive enzyme that does not have hydrocloric acid in it.

 

The second thing is a good probiotic.  The bacteria in the gut tends to get out of whack with Celiac - and a good probiotic can help right things around and also help with disgestion.

The last thing, aside from finding out what other foods your body can't tolerate right now, is to try sticking to whole foods that are easily digested.  Don't make your body work too hard while it is trying to heal.

 

Congratulations on immediately going gluten-free!  I found going cold-turkey worked best for me too.