Other Food Intolerances Returning With Gluten Challenge?

[dopaminegirl]

One of the problems that first sent me in search of a diagnosis was some pretty severe stomach cramping that I finally identified as an intolerance to the allium family (onions, garlic, etc.).

It was hard cutting them out, but we did and some (but not all) of my pain went away. 

 

after about 10 months gluten free (because it made me feel better, not because of any diagnosis) I was feeling pretty amazing, so I decided to test onions again. Ate something with onions in it and then spent the next three hours waiting for the pain to hit, but nothing happened. Huzzah! I could eat onions again.

 

Most of my symptoms that originally sent me to the doctor are gone, but not all of them, so I decided to go back to the doctor. A few back and forths and we decided that I should do a gluten challenge so that I could get tested for celiac disease. I've hypothesized that the reason for my low level of continued symptoms could be due to incomplete adherence to the gluten free diet, and I wanted to know if there was a clinical reason for me to start being more stringent about cross contamination. 

 

I started a 6 week gluten challenge. I had some immediate symptoms that calmed down a bit and then after about 4 weeks, the stomach issues came back with a vengeance. Five weeks in, my onion intolerance came back! Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does gluten exposure trigger other intolerances in you that are otherwise dormant? 

 

I hope it doesn't take another 10 months for the onion issue to resolve, but I fear for the worst. 

 

[LauraTX]

Damage to the villi can absolutely cause a domino effect.  The most notable and prevalent is lactose intolerance, because you need healthy villi to properly digest lactose.  Other things can fall into that category too, especially if you were already prone to issues with certain foods in your previous state.  Even more reason to be 100% strictly gluten-free to heal up once you are done with the gluten challenge.  Hopefully the damage won't be as bad this time and it won't take as long for the onion issue to go away, but you just won't know until it happens.

[dopaminegirl]

Thanks Laura