3 replies to this topic

[mkpesho]

A year ago I visited my Dr. because of excessive stomach pain and gas. She said it may be a lot of things and prescribed meds. She mentioned gluten allergy and IBS among some other things after I pressed for what the “lot of things” might be. I didn’t use the meds. Instead I went home and researched the symptoms of IBS and gluten allergies. I had so many symptoms I didn’t even know were symptoms! I cut gluten from my diet and a few weeks later I felt better than I had in a LONG time.

Things have been good until about a week and a half ago. I’m experiencing stomach pain in my upper abdomen along with gas and bloating much like before I went gluten-free. It seems to happen after meals. I’m careful about not consuming gluten, as it now gives me pain so bad I can barely stand up, so I don’t think my problem is gluten related. (Is it normal for the symptoms of the gluten allergy to worsen after going gluten-free?)

I’m wondering if anyone has serious suggestions as to what may be causing this problem. I’d visit my Dr. but I don’t want to hear “It could be this or that – here, take some pills” again. I haven't been eating many "gassy" foods and I haven't changed my diet.

[rosetapper23]

I attended a celiac forum last Saturday in Palo Alto, and the topic of cross-reactivity was discussed extensively. While there are some people on this forum who object to this word (or maybe even its existence), it has been a topic covered at many nationwide conferences during the past few years; and, personally, I have accepted it as a very viable theory.

How it was described on Saturday is that when a person's body has been battling either gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, its antibodies continue firing for possibly years after a gluten-free diet is adopted. Our immune systems can become confused so that the antibodies begin mis-identifying the molecules of other foods as gluten molecules, and your body will have the same type of reaction. It is sometimes necessary to remove the most common cross-reactive foods from one's diet for 2-3 months while the auto-immune system calms down and stops mis-identifying molecules. Remember, you were sick for quite a while, and your system became very adept at attacking gluten molecules (and your own body). For many people on this forum who have discussed this topic, oftentimes the culprit is one of the following: dairy, soy, oats, rice, nightshade vegetables, and salicylates. At the celiac forum on Saturday, other foods were mentioned, such as coffee, but I haven't seen coffee mentioned here on this forum as being a problem.

After being glutened last year, I began to react to rice exactly as I normally do to gluten, so I removed it from my diet for four months, and after that time my body no longer mis-identified it as gluten. So, personally, I believe this theory to be completely plausible. Many people on this forum have described similar reactions to non-gluten-containing foods and have had success reintroducing them after several months.

Perhaps others will jump in and list foods that have caused them reactions while their guts were healing.

[GottaSki]

I have multiple food intolerances that developed &/or worsened after I was gluten-free.

My first thought is your symptoms came on suddenly, so has there been any items that are new to your diet - change of brands or ingredients in things you regularly consume.

If not, you might want to consider other intolerances. Mine fall within the foods that have high Lectin content, while many other folks have problems with Salicylate foods.

The only way to determine intolerance is elimination - either one food at a time or remove all suspect foods for some time and then add them back in one at a time with a week or so between trials.

If you don't already have one - a food log can help identify problems.

Another thought I had when I read your post was SIBO (Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth). It was one of the things my Celiac Doc suggested when I had a sudden return of symptoms after nine months of good health. An internet search regarding "SIBO" might be worth a look.

Good luck to you

[~**caselynn**~]

Just a thought, do you still have your gallbladder? A lot of times gallbladder disease is the culprit of abd issues.