Frequent diarrhea 18 days after diagnosis

[CeliacKeenanBolger]

Hi new family! First post. Quite overwhelmed. 
 

I know it will take months on the new diet to feel better. I’m doing my best but still have a lot to learn. 
 

My question is specifically about diarrhea - it’s very frequent and I’m confused as to what the triggers are as i have avoided gluten and cross contamination as best I can for these 3 weeks.

 

Do I just need to expect that diarrhea and stomach upset will continue for a while despite the diet change?

 

thanks so much. Wishing you all health. 
 

[LLS]

When you say "as best as you can"

It's imperative to be proactive on being completely gluten-free.  If you have questions on food definitely seek out reliable information.  Also many celiac have issues with dairy.  So maybe consider doing away with dairy (at least for the short term) and see if it helps.  Also invest in a good probiotic.

I'm a wife of a celiac.

Edited November 18, 2019 by LLS
Left word out

[Ennis-TX]

Seen it last 6 weeks after a exposure, it can take that long after a CC incident for the antibodies to go down and you body to stop attacking the intestines.

BTW as a celiac you have to absolute avoid gluten, flour dust settling on your food or food prep area then getting consumed will make you sick. Tiny crumbs, residue from unwashed hands or unchanged gloves, gluten stuck on wooden utensils or scratched pans transferring....yeah CC is a great concern and you need to have dedicated cookware, avoid eating out unless the place is actually a dedicated restaurant and not some fad diet gluten free menu item. You have to clean out your house a bit and transition throwing out wooden utensils, scratched pots, colanders, condiment jars (they get crumb transfer from gluten food), cutting boards, etc. And be sure to read all your labels. If in a shared house be sure no one uses flour and you have your own dedicated area and cookware.

As LLS said you need to avoid dairy, the villi tips produce the enzyme to break it down, the villi are destroyed with celiac disease so you have issues with dairy til healed, but some never get it back. You should also avoid oats as 10% of celiacs will react to oats regardless.
Other food intolerance issues and sensitivities are not uncommon, and you should go to a whole foods only diet with simple soft cooked meals of meats, steamed veggies etc.  Keep a food diary and perhaps try a elimination diet to see if something else is the cause.

Another thought would be digestive enzymes, consider finding them or trying to take them in ratio to your diet macros (certain amounts of each are needed to break down fats, proteins, carbs) I found realzymes made ones for my keto diet by example, then I added some extra bromelain for protein and sometimes have the lipease pill from Enzymepedia when I have something extra fatty (if fat digestion is a issue you will have oily stools/D)

[NNowak]

The curse of loose bowels will be with you until your GI tract is healed.  If you’re like me, you’ll be more prone to that then regular bathroom visits. 24 years after diagnosis I finally was tested for vitamin deficiencies and found more than a few. 3 weeks after beginning a course of B12 loading, I’m consistently “regular.”  I’m 48 years old and this is a first for me in my life!!  Treating just my B12 also eliminated my migraines, balance issues and pain in my back and legs. While there are physiological reasons for all this, I gave you my experience as I’m not a doctor. 
 

First, the GI needs to heal. This can take months to over a year. Research so you understand what is in the food you eat. Do not consume empty calories - your food should heal you. Learn natural ways of healing your
 body such as bone broth, super greens, kombucha. Back in the day, before Google and internet in every home, there was a notebook published yearly that listed all the ingredients containing gluten. It also listed alcohol, candies and other items that were gluten-free.   I still have my gold colored notebook from 1996. That might still be available from the Celiac Disease Association. 

So learn, heal, be patient. Best of luck!