Worried!

[Melisa Dobler]

Hello people around the world. I’m from Argentina and my mother language is Spanish, so..I’m sorry if my english is not very good. I’m gonna share my storie! In March I had the worst pain in my right side every time I move..and that was for 4 month(in July y start my gluten free diet) The doctor never help me with the pain and they tell me I’m okay. After the diet in 13 days the pain goes away, but I had this feeling of heaviness near the right hip bones.. anyone had that too? And I had bloating near the pelvic area-left and right-too, almost goes away after I quit to Coca Cola and all the others sodas! Can someone help me? Is this normal? I read that after 1 or 2 year you totally recover for the gluten exposure.

[DJFL77I]

were you diagnosed with celiac?

did you have a endoscopy or blood work?

[Melisa Dobler]

No, I had to see the gastroenteorologist in November-24. The doctors here are collapsed with the covid19, isn’t a good time to see them, sadly! 

[Scott Adams]

I had similar symptoms before I was diagnosed, and if gluten is causing your symptoms it can take up to 2 years to heal. Since you can't get tested, and have already gone gluten-free, I would give the diet more time, and also consider temporarily eliminating other common foods that can cause issues like cow's milk, corn, soy, eggs, etc. for a while, then slowly adding them back. Cutting out sugar is a good thing.

[GFinDC]

Hi Melisa,

Soda can be irritating to an ulcer.  So that might be part of the problem.  As far as gluten goes, we need to avoid all wheat, rye and barley.  That includes malt which is usually made from barley.  Some people with celiac disease also react to oats.  So it's good to not eat oats for several months while you are healing.

The safest way to start the gluten-free diet is to avoid all processed / packaged foods.  Foods that are packed in factories where they add lots of ingredients and sometimes wheat or barley etc.  Simple, whole foods are safest.  Many times people do better if they stop all dairy for several months also.

You need to check tea and other drinks for gluten also.  Anything you consume needs to be gluten-free even pills and medicines.  The auto-immune reaction is very sensitive to tiny amounts of gluten.

[Kate333]

Hi Melisa.

Sorry you are in pain and distressed.  The symptoms you describe (pain and indigestion) could be so many different things, including gluten allergy but also could be due to simply bad diet, PMS, IBS, chronic worry, insomnia, and even depression/extreme stress which can really do a number on the gut and entire body (so understandably common during this scary pandemic...and interesting coincidence that your pain began in March, at the beginning of the pandemic. 

I know it's so hard to keep from worrying, esp. if you have to wait a bit to see a specialist (there are long waits here in the US as well, mostly due to the pandemic).  But I am glad you got a referral to a gastro specialist.  Perhaps while you wait for the gastro appt., you could ask your general doctor to order a simple TTG blood test which will tell whether (or not) you have a high likelihood of celiac disease.  If it's negative, you can stop worrying about celiac disease and consider other issues (focus on food "allergies" or other factors I mentioned). Also, if you haven't been to a gynecologist or had a pelvic exam, probably a good idea to see one.  

I'm happy you gave up colas.  They really are terrible for your body, esp. if you drink that stuff constantly.  It's essentially nothing more than high fructose corn syrup and brown food dye which are terrible for the gut and body!  Not only does it generate a ton of gas (bloating), but it also interferes with your body's bone mineral density and ability to properly absorb calcium (so essential to healthy bones, esp. in women).  See:  https://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2536421&page=1 

You might also consider what kinds of solid foods you have been eating (whether healthy or "junk" food) and change your diet accordingly toward healthier eating.  Sometimes a simple diet change is all that's needed to resolve a problem and feel much better.  The fact that you report improvement since you gave up the sodas and gluten seems to point to your answers.

Good luck you you!