Severe Bloating

[mikemcm22]

I am a 26 year old male. Just about one year ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease via endoscopy after two years of unexplained symptoms. I was also diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE) the same day. I immediately started a gluten free diet. I made a few mistakes in the beginning, after stopping gluten I got crazy pain that would take me out for a day or two at least when I accidently ate it, so I knew gluten was the culprit. Six months after this I tried a few elimination diets and realized dairy was the cause of my EOE, all my throat related symptoms (food stuck, tightness) stopped a week after going dairy free. Fast foreword to today and I have all the same symptoms (except the throat ones) from before going gluten free 13 months ago- mild to severe bloating, brain fog, fatigue, light pain/cramping/numbness in lower left abdomen. When the bloating is bad I get a "drunk feeling" that has been called brain fog. At first I thought it was me being tired but after eating too many carbs I'll notice this feeling and it can get the point where I have to go lay down to let it pass. The bloating is my worse problem and I need help, I am just managing it temporarily. 

There has been some improvement over the past year but only because of the following two things. I stop either one of these I am right back where I was a year ago. 

- Low carb diet: I eat most of my carbs at dinner so the bloating occurs when I sleep. I cannot eat fruit as I think fructose is the biggest carb culprit, but enough rice or anything else will also set me off to some degree. I mainly eat vegetable, meat, and rice for most of my meals. I am 110% gluten-free and dairy free, I avoid sugar, almost never eat packaged foods. Even when I do this diet perfectly I still get bloating, just much less severe. This is not sustainable for me as I have lost some weight. 

-Iberogast - I take a natural prokinetic with lunch and dinner for three months now. If I ever forget to take this, the bloating will get so bad that I have to stop what I am doing or limit my activity for the day. It gets worse than it was before I took this regularly. I hate being so reliant on it but can't stop it without pain and bloating. 

My gastroenterologist suspects there is another issue at play but wants me to wait to get to 1.5 years gluten-free to start looking at other issues. I had a (very) positive breath test and she tried rifaxamin for SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) twice with no luck. I am working with a nutritionist now who said candida overgrowth could be a cause. I had a year follow up endoscopy that showed the EOE in full remission and the celiac damage 95% healed.(doctors words not mine). So diagnostically I am healed but have all the symptoms still. 

The worst of the bloating is usually hours after I eat so some type of overgrowth does sound logical but I have no idea. I have always been suspicious of the lower left numbness/pain as that is where all this started three years ago as intense pain. I rarely get pain there now but it does feel like a cramp or like there is a rock just sitting there a lot. I also have light issues with my joints and multiple sports injuries that don't allow me to exercise very much. 

Anyone have a similar experience? 

[Scott Adams]

Many have reported similar issues. You mention the fructose issue and you have focused on this some, but many celiacs also need to go on a low FODMAP diet to fully recover. Have you tried this? Here is some research on it:

 

[GFinDC]

Hi

It sounds like a gut flora imbalance or food intolerance issue to me.  But the ongoing gut pain could be a sign of low level gluten exposure too.  Gluten can be sneaky and get us where we don't expect it.  Things like teas, medicine/vitamin pills, other drinks, shared toasters, kissing a gluten eater etc are all possible gotchas.  So I suggest double/triple checking all possible gluten sources first.

If gluten is not sneaking into your diet, then check other things.  Other food intolerances can cause symptoms too.  Nightshades, soy, eggs, oats, corn, etc, etc can all be problem foods.  You may need to try an elimination diet to find other food intolerances.