Bloating and abdominal pain even when not eating gluten

[Stevo]

Hi all, I am as of yet undiagnosed and as such am not sure if I am just gluten intolerant or celiac.  I have tried as far as possible to adjust my lifestyle to cover all bases.  I also recently discovered that I can add eggs to my list of foods that trigger bad bloating and abdominal pain.  My question relates to my adjusted diet because I am consuming mostly meat and salads/veggies (cruciferous mainly) and still have the onset of bad bloating and abdominal discomfort.  I have also been battling with sleep apnoea all of a sudden which seems worse during episodes/flares.  Its currently 4am and I have not slept a wink because sleeping is just not on the cards.  Can someone please help me decipher why I am still battling even avoiding gluten/eggs; could the bit of milk I have in my tea or the occasional cappuccino be a problem as well?  Process of elimination is such a pain ...  I am also taking zinc here and there and have googled whether the tablet itself is bound with gluten its all a bit daunting... please also note that I am in a third world country and also don't have the means to see a dietician and get diagnosed as readily as people would suggest.  Yes there is government care here that can be either really good or a death sentence so please be patient.  Thank you for any answers/insight sorry for the disjointed message (I have brain fog XD) 

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, Stevo!

I too have developed an intolerance to eggs. Bummer! They are so packed with nutrition and I love them. Have eaten them all my life up until a few years ago. I was diagnosed with celiac disease about 20 years ago. My only suggestion would be to start an elimination diet where you eat only one food item for a couple of days until you narrow the culprit. I know it is a pain. Since you are already limiting yourself to just a few things it shouldn't take long. Yes, it could be dairy or even coffee that is causing the problem.

[Mayflowers]

Could be dairy. I get bloated from dairy. 

[Wheatwacked]

Lack of choline can cause bloating. If you are not eating eggs or red meat you are surely deficient. It is needed to process fats in the liver. Also works with folate to lower homycysteine and lower risk of cardiovascular inflammation and also is linked to fetal neural tube defects like spinabifida. 90% of the mitochondria membrane is phosphatidyl choline and of course it is needed to make the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The recommended intake daily is from 550 to 3000 mg. 200 grams of eggs has 576 mg choline or 15 ounces of steak or 10 cups of cooked broccoli. You have to eat a kilogram of eggs to reach the RDA upper limit.

You can supplement with choline or phosphatidyl choline capsules. 

 "In adults, the average daily choline intake from foods and beverages is 402 mg in men and 278 mg in women."   https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/#:~:text=In adults%2C the average daily,amount to total choline intakes.

[knitty kitty]

@Stevo,

You might try the Autoimmune Protocol diet, a Paleo diet scientifically shown to help healing in the digestive tract.  

Cruciferous vegetables are notorious for producing lots of gas because they contain high levels of sulfur which is turned into sulfur gas by intestinal bacteria.  (Hence that rotten egg smell.)

Try eliminating cruciferous veggies and iceberg lettuce.  Cooking veggies until they are soft will make them more digestible.  Raw veggies can be hard on the digestive system.  

[Rebmes]

You'll definitely have to try going dairy free for awhile, and re-integrating later to see what happens - that's a very common one, and usually not too hard to solve (especially if you're already on a GFD)

Definitely watch out for gluten in your supplements, and prescription medications (especially off-brand). As a rule of thumb, for supplements, if it isn't labeled gluten-free, it's probably no good.

You could also be picking it up from some of your bathroom products...