Stools

[Robert John]

About a year ago I noticed a positive change in my bowel movements. For about 20 years my stools were increasingly quite loose and this necessitated my washing my anus, inside and out to stay clean. If I failed to wash properly, I would not only be unclean, I would also get very sore.

My bowel movements were very regular, just once a day in the morning.

The change came after changing my diet. I became to eat porridge at breakfast and coincidentally didn't eat bread for 2 days. I experimented with leaving different things out of my diet and after a couple of months found that being gluten free made my stools normal. No more washing and no soreness.

When I look at coeliac websites, I cannot easily relate this experience to the symptoms described.

The only other change I have noticed is that I no longer have uncontrollable tiredness.

Do others share these experiences?

[NayeliElyan]

On 8/14/2018 at 6:27 AM, Robert John said:

About a year ago I noticed a positive change in my bowel movements. For about 20 years my stools were increasingly quite loose and this necessitated my washing my anus, inside and out to stay clean. If I failed to wash properly, I would not only be unclean, I would also get very sore.

My bowel movements were very regular, just once a day in the morning.

The change came after changing my diet. I became to eat porridge at breakfast and coincidentally didn't eat bread for 2 days. I experimented with leaving different things out of my diet and after a couple of months found that being gluten free made my stools normal. No more washing and no soreness.

When I look at coeliac websites, I cannot easily relate this experience to the symptoms described.

The only other change I have noticed is that I no longer have uncontrollable tiredness.

Do others share these experiences?

This was the first thing I had noticed with myself after going gluten free. It only took 2 days removing gluten (after 20+years of experiencing diarrhea/constipation, foul, oily stools) for my stools to become normal*.  Even after years of Gluten free— if I have anything with gluten, this symptom returns immediately and takes 2-3 days to clear up again. 

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum, both of you!

This is a common symptom of celiac disease, and is also reported in those with gluten sensitivity. One question I have for you is, are you sure that your diet is 100% gluten-free? This problem should clear up after a few weeks or months if it is the cause of your issue.