No symptoms since Colostomy

[JoelP]

I have been a diagnosed celiac for over 25 years and adjusted very well to the diet and lifestyle. Over the years I also learned that I was fructose intolerant, or couldn't absorb fructose. I also had symptoms of IBS with alternating periods of constipation or diarrhea along with abdominal discomfort and pain.

In 2018 I had sigmoid volvulus and had to have 2 feet of my sigmoid colon removed with a permanent colostomy resulting. What I find interesting is that since then I have had absolutely no symptoms of gluten intolerance. That's not to say that I am eating foods containing gluten, but before the surgery, even with the utmost care, I still had diarrhea and abdominal pain every few months. Since the surgery, I have had absolutely no symptoms, even though I have tried some "regular food" in small amounts with no reaction.

My question is, why did the removal of a portion of my large intestine result in a cessation of the evident signs of the celiac condition? Why did it also affect fructose absorption, since that is no longer a problem?  Nobody seems to have an answer to this question, but I find it helpful to think about as a means of understanding the entire aspect of celiac condition. It also is, obviously, very interesting to me. 

Thanks

[trents]

What symptoms were you having before the colonoscopy when you got glutened? How did distinguish glutening from the fructose issue back then? Is it possible all the symptoms you were having pre colonoscopy were caused by the fructose intolerance rather than gluten? Many Celiacs are asymptomatic. We call it "silent" Celiac Disease.

[JoelP]

Prior to my diagnosis that gave positive results with celiac-sprue I lost 12 pounds weight. After the results were reported, the doctor told me what to do to avoid the symptoms: avoid any food with wheat products, rye, barley, which I did for years and it was amazing in that all my symptoms of gluten intolerance disappeared in about 2 weeks. I remember thinking that I hadn't felt this good for a long time. My symptoms were intestinal/abdominal pain that was almost severe to the point of being intolerable, weight loss, diarrhea that was constant. 

Later I began the extra symptoms of alternating IBS type of behavior with diarrhea at one time, then constipation that would follow if I were not careful. It was a balancing act. This began about 15 years after the original diagnosis. Then it was that my doctor suggested that I may be suffering also from fructose malabsorption, and I was tested for that and it was positive. So I stopped that. But I still had reactions from eating anything with gluten in it. 

Regardless, neither of these conditions takes place in the colon, especially not the sigmoidal colon, so I was hoping that some doctor would respond to give me an opinion, or speculate, on why an operation that removed much of my sigmoid colon would affect my reactions to both gluten and fructose. I can eat both now without any problem, though I avoid gluten except in small amounts on rare occasions. Nevertheless, I have had absolutely  NO symptoms since the colostomy (not I didn't say colonoscopy, it is a colostomy) which is an opening for my large intestine in the abdominal wall. I have told people that I haven't felt this good for years. There was nothing done to my small intestine, which is where all these problems are centered, according to all that I know. 

Thanks for responding

[trents]

Sorry, you did say colostomy. My bad. I was thinking right but keyboarded it wrong.

[Wheatwacked]

Are you taking any vitamin/mineral supplements now that you were not before the surgery? Eating different foods?

[JoelP]

No. I haven't changed anything in my diet at all. Actually, my diet has been able to expand since the colostomy since I find that even eating fructose containing fruit doesn't bother me. I don't need to be so careful about not eating certain things that might cause a problem. So I would say that nothing in my diet has been a factor in this result. It's a puzzling situation that nobody seems to have an answer for, and I'm not too concerned if there is. I just thought that it may present a situation that could be a help to any research on celiac. 

Thanks for responding.