New to becoming gluten free

[Bethanylynn]

recently found out that I'm gluten intolerant, went not knowing for about 5 years. Went gluten free a year ago and ever since going gluten free I haven't had any pains what's so ever no bloating or anything. I also have this dull/ period like cramps 24/7 when the bloating and everything started happening, could being un diagnosed/ not treated could cause these period like cramps to happen? My OBGYN doesn't think it's on there end. Do you think it's the cause of me being gluten intolerant? The cramps are located at the lower abdominal right between my pelvic bone where my pubic area is. What do you guys think? Un diagnose/ Not treated for so long causing the cramps 24/7? 

[badcasper]

I get period cramps and sometimes spotting every time I eat beef and only beef, not fish, chicken, or pork. been gluten free and soy free since February.  50 and reached menopause but its like im still trying to have a period. ONLY WHEN I EAT RED MEAT

[cyclinglady]

I think a trip to a GI doctor would be wise.  Are you sure you are gluten free (hidden gluten cross contamination)?  How often do you eat out?  Read our Newbie 101 section for great tips.  

Welcome  to the forum!  

[Bethanylynn]

I think a trip to a GI doctor would be wise.  Are you sure you are gluten free (hidden gluten cross contamination)?  How often do you eat out?  Read our Newbie 101 section for great tips.  

Welcome  to the forum!  

I've been to the GI and that's who I found out I was Gluten intolerant. I rarely eat out since I'm a health nut. I try my best to make sure everything that I eat or make is gluten free. Even my mom tries looking up gluten free foods to make sure that nothing happens. But I know last week I did have something that had gluten in it and it did upset my stomach. But ever since then I've been 100% gluten free. But I did read that I went un treated for so long that's the reason why my cramps are still here? That's what I read, what do you think? This all started happening or at least noticing it is when I had my kidney stone which was I believe in 2009 so about 5 or so years. 

[Bethanylynn]

I get period cramps and sometimes spotting every time I eat beef and only beef, not fish, chicken, or pork. been gluten free and soy free since February.  50 and reached menopause but its like im still trying to have a period. ONLY WHEN I EAT RED MEAT

that's crazy that if you eat red meat only that you get period like cramps. Wonder why, things can be so tricky these days.

[bartfull]

recently found out that I'm gluten intolerant, went not knowing for about 5 years. Went gluten free a year ago and ever since going gluten free I haven't had any pains what's so ever no bloating or anything. I also have this dull/ period like cramps 24/7 when the bloating and everything started happening, could being un diagnosed/ not treated could cause these period like cramps to happen? My OBGYN doesn't think it's on there end. Do you think it's the cause of me being gluten intolerant? The cramps are located at the lower abdominal right between my pelvic bone where my pubic area is. What do you guys think? Un diagnose/ Not treated for so long causing the cramps 24/7? 

I'm a bit confused. You said you RECENTLY found out you are gluten intolerant, but you say you went gluten-free a year ago.

Then you said you haven't had any pain or bloating since going gluten-free a year ago, but in the next sentence you say you have cramps 24/7. Are you saying you've had these pains since you got glutened last week?

[Bethanylynn]

I'm a bit confused. You said you RECENTLY found out you are gluten intolerant, but you say you went gluten-free a year ago.

Then you said you haven't had any pain or bloating since going gluten-free a year ago, but in the next sentence you say you have cramps 24/7. Are you saying you've had these pains since you got glutened last week?

when I said I recently found out that I was gluten intolerant was December of last year and that's when I went gluten free. I noticed having these cramps 24/7 around 2009-2010 I didn't know that I was gluten intolerant until 2014 of last year which was around Christmas time. When I was talking about the pains and bloating and what not I didn't have any gluten for a year at least I didn't think I did I didn't have any bloating or what not but I still had my cramps and still are going on at this moment. 

[bartfull]

Oh, OK. I COULD be that you are still not healed. Some of us take a long time to heal - it took me 3 and a half years. But to be honest, it does sound like there is something else going on. It's good that you saw your OBGYN for it. Did he have ANY ideas of what else it might be? It sounds to me like it might be an ovarian cyst. Did he do an ultrasound?

[cyclinglady]

I agree with Barty.  You might not be healed yet and that's why I pointed out our Newbie 101 thread.  It never hurts to brush up of gluten free basics.  Something might have slipped through the cracks. 

This cramping 24/7 does sound odd and should be investigated by a doctor.  You sound young and usually younger folks with good dietary gluten-free adherence tend to heal much faster than a middle-aged person, like myself! 

[Bethanylynn]

Oh, OK. I COULD be that you are still not healed. Some of us take a long time to heal - it took me 3 and a half years. But to be honest, it does sound like there is something else going on. It's good that you saw your OBGYN for it. Did he have ANY ideas of what else it might be? It sounds to me like it might be an ovarian cyst. Did he do an ultrasound?

I'm going to see my doctor Oct 15 to a newer one since I have no insurance right now since I turned 26 on July so going to a health clinic. When I was seeing my old Doctor he didn't do anything he kept saying let's take you off the pill and blah blah blah and nothing happened. He kept looking at me like I'm crazy. Sent me to the gastro Doctor and all he did was test and nothing came back other then me being gluten intolerant that's what my mom said it came back positive. But I did have an ultra sound 3 or so years ago I believe because I had these pains and they did an ultra sound and found liquid in my ovaries. Then 2 or so

days ago I had to go to the ER and found out I had a kidney stone 2 days later. Me having a cyst plus a kidney stone I thought that's the cause of these cramps but they said that's not it. So I'm hoping that the new doctor could give me some help with this. 

[Bethanylynn]

I agree with Barty.  You might not be healed yet and that's why I pointed out our Newbie 101 thread.  It never hurts to brush up of gluten free basics.  Something might have slipped through the cracks. 

This cramping 24/7 does sound odd and should be investigated by a doctor.  You sound young and usually younger folks with good dietary gluten-free adherence tend to heal much faster than a middle-aged person, like myself! 

yeah that's what I read that if it's gone un treated that it could cause female related issues. Yeah I'm going to read up on that group thank you

who know what I think is gluten free might actually not be gluten free  some of the things I get don't say gluten free and it doesn't say it contains gluten so I eat it.  I know when I went gluten free December of last year I didn't have any gluten pains like I did before going off of gluten and haven't really felt that way unless I ate something that did have gluten in it and that I know did like Oreos and mini donuts and that made my become very very bloated and my stomach didn't feel very good  

[bartfull]

There really is no way to test for gluten intolerance. If your Mom says your tests came back positive it is likely that those tests were for celiac. See if you can get copies of your test results and post them here. We can help you sort it out.

If you DO have celiac you need to be really strict with your diet. Even if it is not celiac but gluten intolerance you need to be really strict. There have been some new studies published that indicate non-celiac gluten intolerant people have an even higher risk of neurological problems from gluten than those of us with celiac.

So go over to the coping section and read the Newbie 101 thread that is pinned to the top. It will help you so much with the diet.

And about the kidney stones and ovarian cyst? They both hurt like crazy.

[Bethanylynn]

There really is no way to test for gluten intolerance. If your Mom says your tests came back positive it is likely that those tests were for celiac. See if you can get copies of your test results and post them here. We can help you sort it out.

If you DO have celiac you need to be really strict with your diet. Even if it is not celiac but gluten intolerance you need to be really strict. There have been some new studies published that indicate non-celiac gluten intolerant people have an even higher risk of neurological problems from gluten than those of us with celiac.

So go over to the coping section and read the Newbie 101 thread that is pinned to the top. It will help you so much with the diet.

And about the kidney stones and ovarian cyst? They both hurt like crazy.

I doubt that I have celiac because the reason why why I say that is because I don't get the symptoms of what celiac has I only become bloated and just feel icky. What's also crazy is that for some reason I can have like 2 Oreos and that doesn't bother me unless I have more then 2 but what's crazy is that I had pumpkin spice mini donuts and the serving size was 4 I only had 2 and within I say 4-8 hours later I was bloated and wasn't feel good.  So just go to the forum home and look for coping then newbie 101?

[cyclinglady]

I doubt that I have celiac because the reason why why I say that is because I don't get the symptoms of what celiac has I only become bloated and just feel icky. What's also crazy is that for some reason I can have like 2 Oreos and that doesn't bother me unless I have more then 2 but what's crazy is that I had pumpkin spice mini donuts and the serving size was 4 I only had 2 and within I say 4-8 hours later I was bloated and wasn't feel good.  So just go to the forum home and look for coping then newbie 101?

There are over 300 symptoms of celiac disease and some people display NO symptoms!    You should make sure you get copies of all your lab tests.  It is your right!  Only you can be your best health advocate (or your Mom!).  You need to really make sure your test results indicated that you have an issue with gluten.  You  do not want to give up gluten if that is not the answer to your problems. 

I hope you figure it out!  No one wants to feel icky! 

[Bethanylynn]

There are over 300 symptoms of celiac disease and some people display NO symptoms!    You should make sure you get copies of all your lab tests.  It is your right!  Only you can be your best health advocate (or your Mom!).  You need to really make sure your test results indicated that you have an issue with gluten.  You  do not want to give up gluten if that is not the answer to your problems. 

I hope you figure it out!  No one wants to feel icky! 

I know for a fact that cutting gluten out completely I've started feeling a lot better and it's been almost a year and haven't really felt bloated or sharp pains unless I accidentally have something that had gluten in it. All I have right now is my pelvic cramps other then that I feel fine without eating gluten. It doesn't take much for me to feel bloated after eating it. When I had pumpkin spice mini donuts I only had 2 and a couple hours later say 4 hours felt bloated sick to my stomach I was just overal in pain and it wasn't fun at all and felt the same way when I woke up the next day. And I believe a month or so ago I went to cheeseburger Bobby's and decided to get a hamburger with a whole wheat bunn to see if that is another thing that I need to rule out and within maybe 10 minutes into eating it I became bloated a little bit of pain it was just horrible, so I know now not to be getting that specially since I can't have it, also I had to go really bad after having that burger too. I really don't mind giving up gluten  I've pretty much have got used to not having it that I don't even notice it  I have a appointment I believe the 20th of Oct with a health clinic so I'm going to talk to them about the cramps that I'm having.  

[bartfull]

But you ARE eating gluten! Oreos, doughnuts, whole wheat buns. You need to go COMPLETELY gluten-free, not just halfheartedly. You can't cheat at all. As I said before, get us the test results so we can help you figure out what they mean, and read that Newby 101 thread in the coping section. Whether you have celiac or gluten intolerance, you can do so much damage to your body that you will ruin your life and your health if you don't take it seriously. I mean it. A few cramps and feeling "icky" are just the tip of the iceberg.

[Bethanylynn]

But you ARE eating gluten! Oreos, doughnuts, whole wheat buns. You need to go COMPLETELY gluten-free, not just halfheartedly. You can't cheat at all. As I said before, get us the test results so we can help you figure out what they mean, and read that Newby 101 thread in the coping section. Whether you have celiac or gluten intolerance, you can do so much damage to your body that you will ruin your life and your health if you don't take it seriously. I mean it. A few cramps and feeling "icky" are just the tip of the iceberg.

yeah I know  that was a couple weeks ago and haven't had it. I've been really serious about it since then and making sure everything I put into my stomach is gluten free. Do you know of any good sites for gluten free list/ hidden gluten? I actually did read the thread and it did help a lot, it said something about soy, I though soy was okay? That's what I heard even if you wasn't gluten intolerant or celiac it is still very bad for you. 

[bartfull]

Soy doesn't have gluten and many folks here can eat it with no problems.

If you are in the US or Canada, if an item has wheat in it it MUST be labeled as such. Rye, well, that's pretty much only in rye bread or crackers. Barley is the only one you have to worry about being "hidden", although since barley is expensive most companies like to let folks know they use it. Malt is usually from barley so if you're not sure, just avoid malt. Read every label, every time you buy something and you should be OK.

[Bethanylynn]

Soy doesn't have gluten and many folks here can eat it with no problems.

If you are in the US or Canada, if an item has wheat in it it MUST be labeled as such. Rye, well, that's pretty much only in rye bread or crackers. Barley is the only one you have to worry about being "hidden", although since barley is expensive most companies like to let folks know they use it. Malt is usually from barley so if you're not sure, just avoid malt. Read every label, every time you buy something and you should be OK.

oh okay that's what I thought  so if it doesn't say it is gluten free don't eat it? Because I did get this nature valley oatmeal for my keurig it didn't say it was gluten free and it didn't say it contained gluten in it. So if anything is hidden it would say barley and if it does say barley that's a dead give away that it contain gluten and it's hidden?

[bartfull]

oh okay that's what I thought  so if it doesn't say it is gluten free don't eat it? Because I did get this nature valley oatmeal for my keurig it didn't say it was gluten free and it didn't say it contained gluten in it. So if anything is hidden it would say barley and if it does say barley that's a dead give away that it contain gluten and it's hidden?

Um, no. It doesn't have to say gluten-free. You have to read the ingredients. If you buy a package of pork chops it doesn't say gluten-free, but it is. If you buy a head of cauliflower it doesn't say gluten-free, but it is. If you buy products that have more than one ingredient, just read the label. If you don't see wheat, rye, or barley, or malt, it is most likely gluten-free. You may want to avoid oats too because they are usually contaminated. Other than that, it's good to avoid things made on the same line as gluten containing products. Some companies will always tell you if they are. Kraft, Con Agra, Nestle, Campbells, Unilever - those are great companies. Not everything they sell is gluten-free, but they are clearly labeled so all you have to do is read the ingredients.

[Bethanylynn]

Um, no. It doesn't have to say gluten-free. You have to read the ingredients. If you buy a package of pork chops it doesn't say gluten-free, but it is. If you buy a head of cauliflower it doesn't say gluten-free, but it is. If you buy products that have more than one ingredient, just read the label. If you don't see wheat, rye, or barley, or malt, it is most likely gluten-free. You may want to avoid oats too because they are usually contaminated. Other than that, it's good to avoid things made on the same line as gluten containing products. Some companies will always tell you if they are. Kraft, Con Agra, Nestle, Campbells, Unilever - those are great companies. Not everything they sell is gluten-free, but they are clearly labeled so all you have to do is read the ingredients.

oh okay because the reason why I was asking is because my friend is celiac and she said if it doesn't actually say that's it's gluten free then it's not gluten free. The keurig oatmeal I was talking about it only contains rolled oats and whole grain oats and I didn't see barley, rye or anything like that on it. Like I said im still learning this whole gluten free life and trying to figure out what's okay  that's why I'm on here and getting amazing feed back from ppl on here like you  

[bartfull]

Oats, unless they are certified gluten-free, are not good. Go back to that Newbie thread and read it again. Take notes. Seriously, we remember and process information much better when we write it down.

[Bethanylynn]

Oats, unless they are certified gluten-free, are not good. Go back to that Newbie thread and read it again. Take notes. Seriously, we remember and process information much better when we write it down.

okay I'll re read it and write down the things I need to remember and what not. So I guess I shouldn't eat those keurig oatmeal anymore. So if it says it's gluten free it's okay? So no Quakers oatmeal? 

[bartfull]

No Quaker oats. If you really want oats you need to go to a health food store and find some that say certified gluten-free. But really, it would be best at first if you didn't eat oats at all. Keep you diet simple at first.

[Bethanylynn]

No Quaker oats. If you really want oats you need to go to a health food store and find some that say certified gluten-free. But really, it would be best at first if you didn't eat oats at all. Keep you diet simple at first.

okay that's what I thought, I have Chex gluten free oats. I believe I didn't have any oats for awhile until I was able to find gluten free oats and recently found some and bought some

from a website that had gluten free oats.