Lower stomach swelling??? Sibo or gluten intolerance?

[JasmineG]

have Hashimotos hypothyroidism. was whole foods vegan for 5 years. in January I went to get blood panel ( because I couldnt digest properly and was having depression come  back and weakness) and ldl was high and omegas low, decided to start eating meat again. for the last 6 months I've been struggling with hemorrhoids and possibly anal fissures. went gluten free once again (prior to all of this I had started eating gluten again for about 3 months) and mostly AIP and hemorrhoid has improved but not gone and still bleeds. if I eat certain things my stomach from below my belly button feels swollen, I thought possibly sibo but last weekend I ate pizza (not gluten free) and ever since then my stomach has felt super swollen . is this possibly just a gluten issue? It's not gas but literally feels like my intestines are swollen, and it lasts for days after eating gluten or other foods that I suspect had gluten contamination. The swelling typically only happens the next day or several hours later that night and lasts 3-5 days. 

[Ennis-TX]

1 hour ago, JasmineG said:

have Hashimotos hypothyroidism. was whole foods vegan for 5 years. in January I went to get blood panel ( because I couldnt digest properly and was having depression come  back and weakness) and ldl was high and omegas low, decided to start eating meat again. for the last 6 months I've been struggling with hemorrhoids and possibly anal fissures. went gluten free once again (prior to all of this I had started eating gluten again for about 3 months) and mostly AIP and hemorrhoid has improved but not gone and still bleeds. if I eat certain things my stomach from below my belly button feels swollen, I thought possibly sibo but last weekend I ate pizza (not gluten free) and ever since then my stomach has felt super swollen . is this possibly just a gluten issue? It's not gas but literally feels like my intestines are swollen, and it lasts for days after eating gluten or other foods that I suspect had gluten contamination. The swelling typically only happens the next day or several hours later that night and lasts 3-5 days. 

Umm, sounds like my Ulcerative Colitis, it does flare to gluten and comonly to soy, dairy, with other triggers varying from person to person. Mine flares to sugars, fructose, glucose, carbs, and I hear others that have issues with coffee, or chocolate.
Bloody stool with streaks, mucus sometimes, lower abdomen distention, pain sometimes in the sides along the large intestine tract?

[JasmineG]

Interesting, so I'm curious if I should go see a doctor for it or just continue trying to eliminate the foods that tend to irritate my body? For your UC do you eat a particular diet or just stay away from foods that you know are problematic? 

[Ennis-TX]

2 hours ago, JasmineG said:

Interesting, so I'm curious if I should go see a doctor for it or just continue trying to eliminate the foods that tend to irritate my body? For your UC do you eat a particular diet or just stay away from foods that you know are problematic? 

It needs to be checked by a doctor, they need to do a colonoscopy to see if it is UC and not something else or more serious. There are RX for it but they are very expensive ($600-700 a month), diet works best finding the foods that flare it and removing them and taking herbs to coat and sooth the intestines. Try keeping a food diary to find flaring foods. Again you could have both celiac and UC or either. Talk to your doctor about testing, might be able to get both scopes done while under thus 2 birds one stone and get a idea of your GI issues.
In the mean time these might help with the bleeding
https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/120672-ulcerative-colitis-treatments/

 

[GFinDC]

You might have Crohn's Disease also, or microscopic colitis or celiac disease.  Or even a combination.  So it makes sense to get to a GI doctor and try to find out what you are dealing with as treatments can vary.  For celiac disease testing you need to stay on gluten until all the testing is completed.  Celiac testing includes a blood test for gliaden antibodies first.  Then usually sometime later an endoscopy to take biopsy samples for microscopic review.  As Ennis said, it makes sense to do both the endoscopy and colonoscopy at the same time.

Another possibility is casein sensitive enteropathy.  That condition results in gut irritation after eating dairy.  It can cause bleeding also.  I am not sure how they test for it though.