Gluten free diet - are these symptoms normal?

[Ems10]

Hi. So for a month or two I had been experiencing extreme pain around my left rib going right up to underneath my breast, I went to hospital and the GP many times and one day it just came across my mind maybe I’m celiac/ gluten intolerant (celiac runs in my family)! I instantly stopped consuming anything with gluten (tbh everything I was eating was full of it) and the day I stopped having gluten the pain instantly disappeared, the next day I had a GP appointment about the pain & I informed him it just stopped instantly and explained why I believe I’m intolerant! I’m waiting on test results as of now, however I have still had absolutely no pain whatsoever today I’ve started to have diarrhea which I haven’t had in at least two months, I was severely constipated whilst consuming gluten! Just wondering would this be a symptom of gluten withdrawal? I’ve done a grocery shop from the “free from” gluten section, I’ve been very careful as I’m terrified the pain will start again! 

[Wheatwacked]

Welcome @Ems10,

Isn't is wonderful how a simple change helps.

Gluten free eating is not a punishment.  It does take attention to details when buying processed foods.

 

[trents]

Maybe you picked up a little intestinal virus? Maybe some ingredient in the gluten free processed foods you've been consuming is causing this. In order to simulate the texture that wheat provides, a lot of gluten free products contain ingredients that may cause digestive distress. Xanthan gum and similar polysaccharides are among the chief offenders.

[Scott Adams]

You mention that you are waiting on your test results--did they do a celiac blood panel? If so, were you eating lots of gluten in the 6-8 weeks leading up to the test?

This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. One test that always needs to be done is the IgA Levels/Deficiency Test (often called "Total IGA") because some people are naturally IGA deficient, and if this is the case, then certain blood tests for celiac disease might be false-negative, and other types of tests need to be done to make an accurate diagnosis. The article includes the "Mayo Clinic Protocol," which is the best overall protocol for results to be ~98% accurate.

 

 

[Ems10]

1 hour ago, Scott Adams said:

You mention that you are waiting on your test results--did they do a celiac blood panel? If so, were you eat lots of gluten in the 6-8 weeks leading up to the test?

This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. One test that always needs to be done is the IgA Levels/Deficiency Test (often called "Total IGA") because some people are naturally IGA deficient, and if this is the case, then certain blood tests for celiac disease might be false-negative, and other types of tests need to be done to make an accurate diagnosis. The article includes the "Mayo Clinic Protocol," which is the best overall protocol for results to be ~98% accurate.

 

 

Thanks for your reply! I’m really not too sure, the doctor just took a few tubes of blood & that’s all I know 🥹

[Scott Adams]

It might make sense for you to find out if they've run a celiac disease test on you, and if not, consider planning for it.

[Scott Adams]

Approximately 10x more people have non-celiac gluten sensitivity than have celiac disease, but there isn’t yet a test for NCGS. If your symptoms go away on a gluten-free diet it would likely signal NCGS.

 

[trents]

@Ems10, celiac diagnosis normally involves two steps. The first one is serum antibody testing which you may have already have had done and are waiting on the results. The second step involves and endoscopy (aka, gastroscopy) with biopsy of the small bowel lining. This second step is typically ordered if one or more antibody tests were positive, is a confirmation of the serum antibody testing and is considered the gold standard diagnostic test for celiac disease. Now hear this, you should not be eating gluten free weeks or months in advance of either kind of testing. Prematurely going on a gluten free diet can and will sabotage the results of the endoscopy/biopsy should you get a referral to a GI doc who would want to do that. Eliminating gluten from the diet causes causes inflammation to subside which allows the small bowel ling to heal such that the damage they would be looking for is no longer there.