Do these symptoms fit?

[pobri19]

For the majority of my life, I've been somewhat sensitive to grains (it would give me acne breakouts, it's given me dermatitis I believe, and it felt like I would have inflammation in the intestines after eating lots of wheat, but it would only hurt if I pressed on them). A couple of months ago, after a heavy night of drinking (which was a sparse thing, I rarely drank before and I haven't drank since), I ate seafood. Maybe about 6 hrs after I ate the seafood I became violently ill, and was vomiting like I had food poisoning. I was vomiting up bile (because there was nothing left in my stomach), and it felt like I did some serious damage to my insides given how violent the episode was. Fast forward a couple of weeks from that point, and I started noticing reflux like conditions when eating grains (pizza especially). Then all of a sudden, one day when eating a bacon & egg Turkish bread roll that I had prepared I become nauseous, and couldn't finish it. From that day on I've had problems with:

* Stomach pain
* Excessive amounts gas (in particular stomach gas, I'm basically burping all day now, and I feel sick if I can't release the gas)
* Nausea (I've only had 1 episode of actual vomiting, but I've felt like vomiting many times)
* Loss of appetite (I've lost 10kg already of muscle mass and a little bit of fat but I was already lean before this, now I'm skinny as hell)
* Intestinal discomfort/achy feeling/bloating feeling, particular every single morning around 8am or so.

Those are the bulk of my symptoms. This has been going on for a little over a month now. Since this all began I've been trying to pinpoint the cause of the problem, and I've been trying to eat healthy to fix the issue. I had a breath test at the doctors to check for H Pylori, it came back negative. Initially I suspected H Pylori infection and gastritis. I also had an upper endoscopy, and they said I have NERD (Non-erosive Reflux), which from my understanding is basically GERD, but without all of the damage to the organs yet.

Trying to figure out what dietary things trigger these symptoms worse, I noticed that whenever I consume any grains (even gluten free grains) it exacerbates my symptoms. Wheat, corn flour, white rice, brown rice, all trigger these symptoms for me for at least a few days. During the periods where I would touch no grains most of the symptoms would be at a bare minimum, and then I tried eating a few slices of gluten free pizza (crust made with corn flour and rice flour) and it flared up these symptoms. I also tried eating some rice and the same thing happened.

I've sort of self-diagnosed with gluten sensitivity/intolerance at this point, I suspect (from the research I've done) I've created a bacterial imbalance which has allowed my intolerance to arise (through an immune response through leaky gut). I can't really do the blood test because from what I've read I need to be eating at least 4 slices of bread a day for 4 weeks to get the results needed, and that would be absolutely unbearable. Also, I don't think I have celiac disease, but I'm perhaps at the early stages where celiac could develop if my condition does not get addressed at this point.

But, like I said, these are only my best guesses through the research I've done and the experimentation I've done on my own body. I'm wondering if anyone else can relate to this?

As far as supplements and diet are concerned, I usually eat a piece of fruit for breakfast, vegetables for lunch, and vegetables+meat for dinner. That's the diet I'm on for the most part now since I've started having these problems. Before now my diet was terrible. Lots of takeout, grains, processed foods etc.

I take DGL licorice, PepZin GI, vitamin D and Krill oil for supplements and I've just begun eating fermented foods (sauerkraut) and taking a probiotic to attempt to restore my suspected gut imbalance.

Sorry for the wall of text, and thanks to anyone who can make it through that and provide me with some words.

[notme]

nah, it's not 4 slices, it's less.  if i ever have to do a gluten challenge (which is eating gluten for a period of time before being tested for antibodies - what you are describing)  i would be wearing OUT some pizza, lolz.  good gluten-free pizza is the holy grail for me :/  haven't had good pizza since i started the gluten-free diet.  

anyhoo - you say you are having trouble with other grains as well - if you can't get tested for celiac i would encourage you to have testing to rule out other health issues.  you know, crohn's, gall bladder, etc things that would make digestion difficult.  and you can certainly have a blood test to see if you are lacking in vitamins and minerals.  if you have been on antibiotics it could have messed up your gut flora, so the sauerkraut, yogurt and probiotics will help if that's what it is.  deep breaths - most people don't have holes in their intestines, even with celiac.  if you've been avoiding gluten most of your life, you might not have alot of damage at all.  see what a doctor says

welcome to the forum & good luck.

[nvsmom]

Like notme! said, a gluten challenge is less than 4 slices of bread. The most common recommendations I've seen is the equivalent of 1-2 slices of bread per day, with some saying as low as a half slice.  The gluten challenge is usually 8-12 weeks for the blood test and 2-4 weeks for the biopsy.

You could have celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) or other intestinal/gut problems.  Seeing a gastro doctor about it would be a good idea.  Try keeping a food and symptom journal so you have some hard data to show him.

If you skip getting tested you will need to be as strict as a celiac, just in case you have it. No risking cross contamination at home of eating out.  Check every label and skip eating if it could be dangerous.  Your whole foods diet will help you stay safe, just make sure you are getting enough proteins and fats too.

Welcome to the boards. I hope you are feeling better soon.