Discomfort After Gluten-free Meals

[Seethefacts]

Does anyone else eat gluten for dinner (or on a previous day in the week), and then after eating a gluten-free breakfast start belching? Gas is usually scattered throughout the day and at its worst around 5 hours after lunch. Does celiac affect all digestion, or could it be something else? Are my symptoms going to be the same every meal regardless of what I eat since gluten might have been ingested a few days ago? I haven't been diagnosed yet. I've been trying to go gluten-free here and there to see if it affects my system.

[Scott Adams]

I will assume that there is no hidden gluten in your diet, medications, etc. Have you kept a food diary to see if it might be an additional food intolerance? Do you eat oats? Around 9% of celiacs are also oat intolerant. Many celiacs cannot tolerate dairy because their villi are damaged, which may change after they fully recover. Chicken eggs are a common food intolerance.

[Scott Adams]

You should not be eating gluten if you have celiac disease! Try not eating it and I suspect your issues will disappear.

[Seethefacts]

On 4/18/2023 at 7:09 PM, Scott Adams said:

You should not be eating gluten if you have celiac disease! Try not eating it and I suspect your issues will disappear.

I'm not sure if I do, I've just been suspecting it. I've kind of ruled out many other problems, and celiac seems to be the one left. My doctor thought I had GERD (not true) and gave me pills that did nothing for my issues. I need to go get tested, but I know you need someone to drive you home when you get an endoscopy and that would be hard right now with my job and my family being so busy. The night of or the day after I eat gluten I always have fattier stools and more discomfort. Maybe I'm missing something else, but it seems to be a pattern. I need to start a food diary and list my exact symptoms until I can get tested.

[knitty kitty]

@Seethefacts,

If you have not been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, know that you will have to consume regular amounts of gluten (10 grams/day) for up to eight to twelve weeks ( a gluten challenge) in order to test for antibodies to gluten in your blood.  A minimum of two weeks of gluten consumption is required before an endoscopy to biopsy the small intestine for examination for microscopic changes in the lining of the small intestine.  

Some people try the gluten free diet first, then have a redoubled autoimmune reaction when they reintroduce gluten for the gluten challenge.  

Dabbling in a gluten free diet may cause false negatives in testing.  

I went gluten free before testing.  When I tried to do a gluten challenge, I got sicker than before and had to stop within a week. Instead, I chose to do genetic testing.  I have two Celiac genes.  DNA testing and improved health on the gluten free diet allowed my doctor to diagnose Celiac Disease.  

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) frequently occurs in Celiac Disease, but it also occurs in people who consume a high carbohydrate diet.  Heavy carbohydrate loads leave lots of undigested carbohydrates that colonic  bacteria feed on, producing lots of gas as a byproduct.  The "bad" bacteria creep out of the colon (where they belong), and grow into the small intestine (where they are not supposed to be).  Thiamine Vitamin B 1 keeps the SIBO bacteria in check.  Additional Thiamine is needed if a high carbohydrate diet is consumed regularly.  

Thiamine insufficiency symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, blood pressure dysregulation, tachycardia, digestive problems (low stomach acid, Gerd, gastroparesis, constipation or diarrhea), body temperature dysregulation, anxiety, depression, syncope, vertigo, dry eyes, vision problems, and stuttering.  

I developed thiamine deficiency while on my journey to Celiac diagnosis. I had the symptoms listed above, and more besides.

My doctors were clueless about Thiamine insufficiency/deficiency symptoms.  They had no answers.  Their medications didn't improve things.

The World Health Organization says a thiamine insufficiency/deficiency can be diagnosed if improvement is seen after 500 mg/day Thiamine Hydrochloride for a week.  If improvement is seen, Thiamine supplementation should be continued for months to years.  

I tried this test and had improvement within hours.  

While B12 and Vitamin D are routinely tested, blood tests for thiamine deficiency is not routinely tested for because the tests are not reliable.  Blood levels of Thiamine can reflect how much Thiamine you've eaten in the previous twenty-four to forty-eight hours.  The Erythrocyte Transketalase test can give a more accurate measurement.

Thiamine needs magnesium to create enzymes our bodies need.  Magnesium Glycinate is a highly absorbed form.  Thiamine also needs the other B vitamins so all can function properly, so a B Complex would provide these.  

Another form of thiamine, Benfotiamine has been shown to improve intestinal health.  

Hope this helps!