Constant Gas

[odcdinah]

Anyone else have continuing problems with gas, despite being gluten-free?

I've only been gluten-free for 3 weeks, but am wondering if this part will ever get better!

[NicoleAJ]

It will get better as long as you're 100% gluten free. Your body will take a lot of time to heal (it's different for everyone), but symptoms will slowly go away over time as long as you're committed to the diet. When I first went gluten free I still had some symptoms because I hadn't made calls to all of the manufacturers of foods I was eating and I didn't do enough to separate my own utensils from gluten-containing ones. You'll get the hang of it though and then the gas will begin to go away--just be patient and know that the lifestyle change is difficult but it is working towards making you feel much more energetic and alive--you'll never believe that you were able to tolerate all of the suffering you endured before your diagnosis.

[jerseyangel]

It could be something still in your diet that is causing it. I found that dried fruit and almonds were causing me to have excessive, embarassing gas. I had been eating Lara Bars--which I love--and dates and almonds as snacks. I had tried cutting out the obvious sources--onions, fruits, etc. None of that worked. I ran out of the bars, and tried cutting the almonds (because I had not been eating then for a long time) and peanut butter--it worked!! (I've since been able to add peanut butter back in--yea!) Everyone's gas trigger will be different--it may not even be a specific food--but this is what worked for me--it's been 2 weeks, and no problem with gas whatsoever. Couldn't hurt to take a look at what you eat every day--

[kabowman]

I have problems from time to time BUT because I have eaten something that didn't agree with me. Like I discovered that anything commercially made that has vanilla in it gives me gas. I can use my own homemade with potato vodka vanilla OK but I am guessing that commercially made and used vanilla uses a grain or corn base which I can't have at all--due to yeast issues, not gluten problems.

I had to give up my cookies. It was a sad day - now, to finish off the box, I eat one (they are tiny), every other evening right as I go to bed so the worst of it hits over night. I don't think the rest of my family would enjoy them when they can have the real thing.

[covsooze]

Hang in there! It will definitely get better Peolpe with celiac disease often have problems with dairy to start off with, so maybe you should try excluding that to see if makes any difference to the wind. I did and it made a huge difference. I can now tolerate dairy much better without the evil wind

Susie x

[odcdinah]

I've thought about that, but what exactly does it mean? Obviously milk and cheese are out, but what about things like salad dressing, butter, etc. How far should the exclusion go? Thanks!

quote name='covsooze' date='Apr 21 2006, 12:58 PM' post='129732']

Hang in there! It will definitely get better Peolpe with celiac disease often have problems with dairy to start off with, so maybe you should try excluding that to see if makes any difference to the wind. I did and it made a huge difference. I can now tolerate dairy much better without the evil wind

Susie x

[covsooze]

I was told by DS's paediatrician that the only sure way of testing whether you have an intolerance to something is to exclude it totally for 6 weeks then reintroduce it for 6 weeks. If you have an intolerance you will notice a difference. Having said that, my gastroenterologist just said to restrict the amount of dairy if it's causing problems. What I ended up doing was completely eliminating it, which made me feel much better. I've now reintroduced some dairy and find that if I eat lots it causes me problems, but small amounts seem, for me, to be OK. It's very common apparently to be lactose intolerant until your intestines start to heal, so maybe try it out. You'll see on here that some people remain lactose or casein intolerant, and they'll probably be in a better position to answer these questions than I am - do a search on casein/ lactose intolerance.

hth

Susie x