Still having abdominal pain

[LisaSan111]

I started gluten free three days ago and I was fine the first day but I've had moderate abdominal pain over the last 48 hours. I'm using a heating pad. I've  been keeping a food diary and tracking my symptoms and I did have a meal containing beans. I normally have no problem with them. Is it possible I am having a reaction to gluten withdrawal or could it just be too much fiber? I wish there was a "starter" gluten free diet for the first several weeks. Are there certain foods I should stay away from in the beginning? Thanks in advance. 🙂

[knitty kitty]

@LisaSan111

I've been a big fan of the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (AIP diet).  It was designed by a Celiac doctor (Dr. Sarah Ballantyne) for herself and her Celiac family.  The AIP diet has been scientifically proven to improve intestinal healing.  

The AIP diet is strict at first, but this is in order to reduce inflammation and calm the immune system down.  It consists of meat and veggies and some non-citrus fruits.  The AIP diet excludes things that are hard to digest like nuts, legumes (beans), all processed foods, dairy, eggs,  and fermented foods.  Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower (not to mention beans) produce lots of gas when digested by the bacteria in our gut, so these are best avoided, too.  Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers) are to be avoided as well.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/aip-diet-autoimmune-protocol-diet

This is the diet that I began with and return to if glutened.  It has worked well for me.  The mental adjustment to "let food be your medicine" is important.  

Yes, there is a gluten withdrawal.  Gluten (and dairy) contain exogenous opioid which can numb out your body.  Once you quit gluten and are no longer experiencing those opioids, you may feel worse due to the exogenous opioid withdrawal.  

Switching from a gluten containing diet (where energy comes from those gluteny carbohydrates) to the ketogenic AIP diet (where energy comes from fats and proteins) helps our bodies decrease inflammation.  

You want to be aware that when cutting out gluten, you are also cutting out the vitamins and minerals that gluten containing products are required to be enriched with.  Supplementing with a B Complex supplement, Vitamin D, and extra Thiamine and magnesium is helpful.  Since most of us Celiacs have malabsorption problems, supplementing with vitamins and minerals is important. 

Discuss all diet changes and supplementation with your doctor and nutritionist.  

[LisaSan111]

10 hours ago, knitty kitty said:

@LisaSan111

I've been a big fan of the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (AIP diet).  It was designed by a Celiac doctor (Dr. Sarah Ballantyne) for herself and her Celiac family.  The AIP diet has been scientifically proven to improve intestinal healing.  

The AIP diet is strict at first, but this is in order to reduce inflammation and calm the immune system down.  It consists of meat and veggies and some non-citrus fruits.  The AIP diet excludes things that are hard to digest like nuts, legumes (beans), all processed foods, dairy, eggs,  and fermented foods.  Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower (not to mention beans) produce lots of gas when digested by the bacteria in our gut, so these are best avoided, too.  Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers) are to be avoided as well.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/aip-diet-autoimmune-protocol-diet

This is the diet that I began with and return to if glutened.  It has worked well for me.  The mental adjustment to "let food be your medicine" is important.  

Yes, there is a gluten withdrawal.  Gluten (and dairy) contain exogenous opioid which can numb out your body.  Once you quit gluten and are no longer experiencing those opioids, you may feel worse due to the exogenous opioid withdrawal.  

Switching from a gluten containing diet (where energy comes from those gluteny carbohydrates) to the ketogenic AIP diet (where energy comes from fats and proteins) helps our bodies decrease inflammation.  

You want to be aware that when cutting out gluten, you are also cutting out the vitamins and minerals that gluten containing products are required to be enriched with.  Supplementing with a B Complex supplement, Vitamin D, and extra Thiamine and magnesium is helpful.  Since most of us Celiacs have malabsorption problems, supplementing with vitamins and minerals is important. 

Discuss all diet changes and supplementation with your doctor and nutritionist.  

Thank you so much for your reply to my inquiry. I went to the link and it certainly looks promising. I basically stopped eating yesterday and limited myself to a small card deck sized piece of cooked salmon at dinner time. I drank water only. Over the course of the day my abdominal pain eased significantly. By evening I was able to attend a fundraising Movie night that I was running at my church without incident.  I'm going to try to follow the AIP diet for the foreseeable future until I see my gastroenterologist again.