[Emily Elizabeth]

hightop girl, on Apr 15 2008, 07:29 AM, said:

My bloating is kind of a come and go thing.... Maybe you all can help me figure this out. I probably need to keep a food journal, but for some reason I am just refusing. I seem to be fine from about Wednesday through Saturday. I steadily lose water weight all week. Then sometime saturday, the "bloat" begins. It seems like every weekend I eat something that ends up with me accidently glutened or my system is so sensitive that it reacts the same regardless. It starts with bloating, then stomach pain, lots of gas, headache, then the big D and 5-10 pounds of water retention. On Monday I am miserable. On Tuesday I have lost a couple of pounds of water. On Wednesday usually another couple, and by Friday I am back to normal... only to start the whole cycle again. This has been going on for about 2 months. Twice I was glutened accidently. The other times I think I just ate something my poor digestive tract couldn't quite handle. This weekend it was coconut. I guess I'll learn, but I didn't read the label and it had a lot of stuff for preservatives. None had anything to do with gluten, but I seem to be a little sensitive to sulfates. It has also been a lot worse as I have added back salad and meat to my diet. My stomach as a pins and needles stabbing pain all night while I try to sleep. I was pretty much living on baked potatos, sweet potatos and fruit smoothies. I guess I might have to go back to that limited diet again for awhile. I have been doing this since August (the gluten free diet) but didn't really try to get rid of everything until probably January. When the GI doc did my scope (only read if you have a tough stomach) she asked if I had followed the protocol to clean out my system first... I had, and had D for about 12 hours nonstop before the scope... anyway, she said she really couldn't complete it because she had never seen so much undigested food. Maybe that is part of my problem.... Help!

Can you think of anything you do differently on the weekends? Like drink wine/alcohol, coffee, eat something different for breakfast or even eat later at night? I go through a similar cycle of bloating up after the weekend, but I'm pretty sure it is because I consume a lot more food and I eat later at night , which I don't do during the week. I'm working on getting rid of this bad habit!

[Heather22]

My guess is that at least 80% of Celiacs know exactly the "The Celiac Belly" is. As I read through this thread, I could relate to at least one thing in each of them!

If you have only been gluten-free for a few months, or for years and years, I would recommend looking into Digestive Enzymes and a Probiotic. I consider myself "healed", but I started to take a full spectrum enzyme before my larger meals, or a meal that is different than usual, and it has really made a world of difference. At work, I eat lunch, but then return right after to running around, bend, lifting, helping patients, etc. Pretty much everyday I was uncomfortable after my lunch, so I started taking the enzymes. I would say, it makes me feel about 70% better (which makes the afternoon so much more pleasant). It's worth looking into if you have similar problems.

I can also relate to the weekend thing, when as soon as you eat some weekend food (which usually isn't all that out of the ordinary), you have problems. I used to have this all the time, but have gotten a good hold on it. I usually have a crazy meal on Friday night, and then stick to whats normal for the rest of the weekend. My crazy meal is usually something like homemade gluten-free pizza. Wild, huh?

To ensure the health of your gut, especially if you have D, a probiotic is a must. Highly recommend looking into it! We can't avoid the Celiac belly, but we can take steps to calm it down. ; )

Heather xxx

[emcmaster]

Jenn928, on Apr 11 2008, 08:51 AM, said:

I was recently dx with celiac by a biopsy in dec'07. I have been gluten free for a couple of months now, working out and eating health and I still am dealing with the stomach issue. I have a weight problem from gluten and was hoping things would straighten out now. I have always had a constipation/belly problem and things are not getting to much better. I can wake up in the morning sometimes and may belly is noticeable flatter, but throughout the day it gets bigger and bigger. I was on zelnorm for IBS and that worked beautifully, but like all other good medications, they took it off the market and now I am stuck again. The more fiber I eat the worse I am. It is nice to hear on here that others have the same problem.

Thanks
Jenn

Jenn,

If you are C, you will definitely bloat. I find that if I don't go every.single.day, I bloat immediately. Also, I was on Zelnorm as well and loved it, so my doctor put me on Amitiza, which I also love. That and lots of strong coffee every morning make my life much easier.

Hope this helps!

Elizabeth

[kayavara]

I've known that I was Celiac for 5 days now and was soooo proud to have lost some of the bloat ...but it's back this afternoon.It seems to come and go at times.Maybe it's way too soon to say bye-bye for good.?? I am following the diet 100% though.....tired of looking/feeling pregnant.

Kay

[CaraLouise]

I don't know, but maybe you are not getting enough to eat and so your body is retaliating by the end of the week. I might try umping my food portions for a week and seeing if that might help.

[Emily Elizabeth]

hightop girl, on Apr 16 2008, 07:06 AM, said:

I can't figure out much that I do differently on the weekend. My usual week day looks like this...

4:30- get up
have yucky vegetable shake the doc prescribed to calm intestinal track (not tasty- I just started this last week)
5:30 - ride bike 10 miles to work
7:30 work
have one boiled egg and maybe some rice crackers or sweet potato chips (I am trying to cut those out)
9:30- 6 rice crackers and 1t peanut butter
11:00- salad with salmon or boiled egg or a protein shake, 6 rice crackers or sweet potato chips
1:00- same as 9:30
3:00 ride 10 miles home then run 8 miles or swim
7:00 dinner- salad with fish, sweet potato chips or maybe a treat of real mashed potatoes or a protein shake

It seems like you're eating healthy, the only thing that I would suggest is that you not eat after about 5pm at the latest. Though it doesn't explain the weekend bloat, it could help with the weight gain. I was eating very healthy and gaining weight and bloating horribly until I stopped eating after 5pm (I also get up at 4:30am). I figured since I was starting my day about 2-3 hours before most people, I should eat my dinner 2-3 hours before most people as well. I haven't even been eating as healthy and the bloating has gone away and I have gone back to my regular weight. You might also try, like you said, cutting out the rice crackers. Maybe you could replace them with rice or even more cooked veggies. Anyway, I hope this is helpful and you start feeling better!

[Nancym]

It has taken about 2 years for me to get rid of my "wheat belly". I also eliminated dairy too, and all other grains, so it might have many things contributing to the bloat.

[SunnyDyRain]

Emily Elizabeth, on Mar 29 2008, 08:37 AM, said:

You're welcome! I can definitely sympathize! My husband and I went on a cruise and it was so depressing to have to put on a nice formal dress at night and have a pregnant belly sticking out. My chest has even decreased in size since I went gluten free (not sure why, haven't lost weight) so that just adds insult to injury!

That is my biggest issue! I go on a diet... I loose my boobs! Not my tummy, not my butt... my boobs! The only fat on my body that is an asset!

My body just wants to be one big tummy.

[andarah]

Would you include a belly that is not that hard, but not fat (just round) and it doesn't get bigger through the day as a celiac belly?

We have always referred to DD's belly as her `toddler belly' that hasn't gone away. But, at 6 1/2, it should be gone by now. It's not remotely fat, is fairly hard, but not hard like a contraction in labor. Just very firm.

Is this what you are referring to?

We are trying to figure out if she has celiac and we've just started her on gluten-fee.

[Emily Elizabeth]

I'm not too sure. I do remember always having a very round belly when I was young (always there). It bothered me and my mom just said that it was normal for kids. Now that I think about it, I wonder if it was due to celiac. I was very thin, but had a bigger belly. I remember laying down in the tub and my belly would stick out of the water like a mountain!

I would recommend going to a doctor to have a blood test done on your daughter before putting her on a gluten free diet. If she has been gluten free when she gets the test done it will not show positive results. It is a life long change to be gluten free and I know that the only way I can do this is by knowing that I was officially diagnosed. Some don't need the diagnosis, but I know I sure did.

Good luck!

Emily

andarah, on May 9 2008, 11:54 AM, said:

Would you include a belly that is not that hard, but not fat (just round) and it doesn't get bigger through the day as a celiac belly?

We have always referred to DD's belly as her `toddler belly' that hasn't gone away. But, at 6 1/2, it should be gone by now. It's not remotely fat, is fairly hard, but not hard like a contraction in labor. Just very firm.

Is this what you are referring to?

We are trying to figure out if she has celiac and we've just started her on gluten-fee.

[pewpewlasers]

I'm glad to know I am not alone.
I just started my gluten free diet a couple weeks ago and I am crossing my fingers one day my tummy will be gone. Some days I look like I could be pregnant and everyday I see it and my self esteem gets lower and lower. .
Let me know if you find something that works! Good luck.

[darlindeb25]

My dad had the celiac belly, maybe I did too, but I was big everywhere, so it was hard to tell. Before going gluten-free, he got very ill. He went from a strapping man at over 250# down to 139#. I would have much prefered he kept the celiac belly. Now, after a little over 3 yrs of gluten-free (will be 4 yrs in Nov.) he is back up to around 170#. He and my sister both, at their sickest, lost so much weight...I on the other hand, at my sickest, weighed more than I ever had.

This disease does not care who it picks on, or how it effects them. Everyone is different, even though it's the same disease.

Good luck!

[munchkinette]

This thread is really interesting to me. I have the same problem. Even when I've gone a while without getting glutened, I still have a big stomach by the end of the day. It's getting better, but it's not gone. Here's what I've done so far:

1. No gluten. (duh)
2. Digestive enzymes- I get really gassy when I eat certain raw vegies, and sometimes with gluten free bread like products. This has helped.
3. Probiotics, in pill form. I take Theralac. I can't really do yogurt. I wish I'd found these years ago, because I'm regular without laxatives now.

4. Ab work. I know, we've all tried it before, but now I have a trainer. I was trying to explain to him that I had weak abs from the gluten, because my guts pressed on my abs for so many years. He didn't understand it for maybe 3 weeks. Then, we were doing some lower ab exercises and I said they were too hard on my back, so he picked the next easiest thing for me. I said that was still to hard. He was like, "Oh WOW. The next easiest is borderline physical therapy, with some assistive device."

He finally got it. He also made me realize that I have a set of abs lower than I thought. I never even knew I had them. Since then I've been sucking them in when I stand. It helps my back and makes my belly flatter. I think most normal people do this and don't realize it, except for all of us. Anyway, I've been working with him for 4 weeks now, and I have the flattest belly of my life! Granted, it's still bigger than everyone else's belly, but it's improving, slowly. I basically had "pregnant woman abs" for 25 years, so it may take a while.