Sugar intolerance 10 years into gluten-free diet

[science enthusiast Christi]

Hey Celiac friends, 

I'm wondering how weird I am. About a year ago, I started getting bloated all the time and having extremely smelly gas. Lots of it. I had to avoid people, keep windows open, etc. It really upended my life in a somewhat horrifying way. I figured out that if I didn't eat any sugar, the symptoms mostly resolved. With more experimentation, I found out that I'm intolerant to any disaccharides (things with sucrose, maltose) and some starches. I've since figured my small intestine stopped making some digestive enzymes. Since Celiac causes the immune system to attack the small intestine, I wonder if I was getting low-level gluten contamination from my environment. (My family eats gluten in our home, and I have to use a shared kitchen at work for lunch.) 

I am apparently among the 2% of Celiacs who also have a similar reaction to soy. I've been avoiding both gluten and soy for over a decade now, but sometimes you just get poisoned. For example, I love my houseplants and bought an insect-preventing spray online. After spraying it on all my houseplants, I found out it has soybean oil. Sure enough, two days later I was sick. Soy is such a big ingredient used in everything, I doubt it's possible for me to avoid it completely. Everyone uses lotions with soy on their hands, so every doorknob and switch and item I touch is risky for me. 

I was just wondering, has anyone else had carbohydrate intolerance after or related to Celiac? My doctor doesn't know anything about it, especially since I can still digest lactose. Wondering if there are other people out there with similar stories. If eating was complicated before, now it's a bit crazy to be honest. 

Thanks, Community! 

[trents]

Welcome to the celiac.com community, @science enthusiast Christi!

I don't have a problem with disaccharides but I do with polysaccharides and complex carbohydrates which are so common in many gluten free processed foods. Gar gum, xanthan gum, pea fiber, chicory root, inulin etc. All those "prebiotics". 

[Scott Adams]

Many people with celiac disease, especially those who are in the 0-2 year range of their recovery, have additional food intolerance issues which could be temporary. To figure this out you may need to keep a food diary and do an elimination diet over a few months.

Some common food intolerance issues are dairy/casein, eggs, corn, oats, and soy. The good news is that after your gut heals (for most people who are 100% gluten-free this will take several months to two years) you may be able to slowly add some these items back into your diet after the damaged villi heal.

This article may be helpful:

 

 

[RMJ]

Here is some information on disaccharide (i.e., sucrose, maltose) intolerance.

Disaccharide intolerance

[knitty kitty]

@science enthusiast Christi,

It could be Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).  Lots of people with Celiac develop it, especially if they eat a high carbohydrate diet.  

Colonic bacteria crawl into the small intestine and ferment the excess carbohydrates and prebiotic fibers which causes lots of gas.  

I changed my diet to the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (AIP), a Paleo diet, and supplemented with a B Complex and Benfotiamine, a form of Thiamine that helps heal the intestines and has antibacterial properties.  I had improvement within a few days.  The AIP diet starves out the carbohydrate loving SIBO bacteria and allows more beneficial bacteria a chance to repopulate.

Hope this helps.