gluten-free and continued upper left side pain after drinking wine

[Celiacsugh]

Hi There! Recently diagnosed, have been gluten-free for 3 months. My main symptom at time of diagnosis was upper left dull side pain, burning, constant. After going gluten free it has improved dramatically, however I’ve noticed when I drink wine on the weekends the pain returns. Has anyone else experienced this? 

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @Celiacsugh!

Have you been checked for a gastric or peptic ulcer?

[Celiacsugh]

Hi! Yes I have, endoscopy didn’t show anything other than celiacs. I’ve been wondering if it’s possibly that my intestines are so damaged that the wine is irritating because they have not fully healed. Very odd, I felt better for a few weeks and then all the sudden started noticing the pain again after the weekends when I drink wine (don’t drink during the week). I’ve also heard that dull left side pain isn’t a common symptom with celiacs so my diagnosis was surprising to doctor as well though the pain did initially subside with gluten-free diet. 

[trents]

We have had numbers of others on this forum report pain in that same area.

Have you been checked for an H. Pylori infection? This is something very common in the celiac population.

[Celiacsugh]

Encouraging to hear others have had this pain and thanks for the responses  

yes I was checked, no H pylori. 

[trents]

I guess I would encourage you to abstain from the wine for a while. If you know something causes you pain then it is a good idea not to do it if you don't have to.

[Wheatwacked]

The short answer is if it hurts, don't do it.

3 hours ago, Celiacsugh said:

my intestines are so damaged that the wine is irritating because they have not fully healed.

Yogurt may help sooth your gut and repopulate it with benificial bacteria.  I prefer whole milk yogurt because it is not processed and the no fat yogurt is processed dehydrated milk powder with guar gums and water added to make it mouth feel like fat.  Especially in early healing there may be other foods you cannot tolerate for a while.

[Raquel2021]

23 hours ago, Celiacsugh said:

Hi There! Recently diagnosed, have been gluten-free for 3 months. My main symptom at time of diagnosis was upper left dull side pain, burning, constant. After going gluten free it has improved dramatically, however I’ve noticed when I drink wine on the weekends the pain returns. Has anyone else experienced this? 

This was my main symptom. I still get it from time to time. Also feels like a burning pain on the upper abdomen. I think the wine could definitely cause the pain to be worse. There are do many things I still can't eat.

[Celiacsugh]

Thanks so much for the response. Are you usually able to pinpoint a trigger when you get the pain again? What I didn’t share in my earlier post is that I also usually eat out on weekends (though I share celiacs/needs to be gluten-free) and I’ve also been under a lot of stress lately in my personal life. While I’m speculating that it’s the wine it could certainly be a number of things. Do you ever notice the pain more when you are stressed? Learning so much about the brain/gut connection and celiacs. Thanks, there is comfort in hearing others have experienced similar symptoms. 

[Celiacsugh]

21 hours ago, Wheatwacked said:

The short answer is if it hurts, don't do it.

Yogurt may help sooth your gut and repopulate it with benificial bacteria.  I prefer whole milk yogurt because it is not processed and the no fat yogurt is processed dehydrated milk powder with guar gums and water added to make it mouth feel like fat.  Especially in early healing there may be other foods you cannot tolerate for a while.

Thanks! I still have much to learn, I'd hoped going gluten-free would be a magic bullet and I'm learning my system is still very sensitive which is overwhelming and discouraging at times. Thanks for the yogurt tip! There is comfort in knowing that this is common during early healing and I'm not alone! 

[trents]

48 minutes ago, Celiacsugh said:

. . . I'd hoped going gluten-free would be a magic bullet . . .

I think most of us, when we first got our diagnosis, imagined that going gluten free would be the magic the bullet that would restore us to perfect health. We soon find out that it usually isn't quite that simple and that celiac disease has long fingers.

[Raquel2021]

20 hours ago, Celiacsugh said:

Thanks so much for the response. Are you usually able to pinpoint a trigger when you get the pain again? What I didn’t share in my earlier post is that I also usually eat out on weekends (though I share celiacs/needs to be gluten-free) and I’ve also been under a lot of stress lately in my personal life. While I’m speculating that it’s the wine it could certainly be a number of things. Do you ever notice the pain more when you are stressed? Learning so much about the brain/gut connection and celiacs. Thanks, there is comfort in hearing others have experienced similar symptoms. 

Yes stress can .make the pain worse. That being said it is taking years for my body to heal. I am not able to eat out as 98 % of restaurants do not know how to cook for celiacs.  I only eat out on special occasions. Any time I eat gluten I feel there is a tourch going through my digestive system specifically in the area you have mentioned.  Like where the deudenal is . I am very sensitive to cross contamination so any small amount of gluten makes me sick.

[PlanetJanet]

Hello, everyone,

This upper left side pain is interesting to me.  I have this same pain almost all the time.  Started 2009 when I got diverticulitis for the first time.  Then had left ovarian cyst removed and a diagnosis of endometriosis all over inside.  Been attempting gluten-free since 2018.  It's not perfect, but still have that left sided pain.  Like up under the rib cage.  I believe the pancreas head is on that side, so I often wonder if I have a tumor or something there.  But it could also be an endometriosis adhesion in my belly.  I never got scraped.

[PlanetJanet]

Hey, mistake in my post,  pancreas TAIL is on the left side.  Head is middle back of belly,

[PlanetJanet]

After looking at Google images, the spleen is on the upper left abdomen, too!  An organ, part of the lymphatic system for immune function.  A filter.  Wonder how this relates to gluten sensitivity?