Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

How Many Of You Had Chronic Constipation As A Celiac Symptom?

Lymetoo

Recommended Posts

Lymetoo Contributor
Lymetoo
Posted

I'm still trying to get this all figured out. I will probably order the Entero-lab test kits next week. Not willing to do a challenge.

But I've had several people tell me I couldn't have celiac unless I have chronic diarrhea. From what I've read here, that's not true.

It would help me to know how many of you had C as a theme ? Is it really prevalent??

Thanks!!!! :)

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


celiacgirls Apprentice
celiacgirls
Posted

You can definitely have at least a gluten intolerance and C. I had that for years but never connected it to celiac disease. Neither of my daughters had D.

rinne Apprentice
rinne
Posted

Me too, C has always been my issue. The only time I ever had D was when I had a migraine headache.

I have read that typically, it is true, D is the issue but that all Celiacs end up with constant D even if they start out with C, that would be if it was not diagnosed before the D started.

marciab Enthusiast
marciab
Posted

Me too. I was diagnosed with IBS with Constipation dominant. I would have "D" on a regular basis too, but since it was a relief from the "C", it didn't bother me as much. It was always a good thing. :)

Lymetoo Contributor
Lymetoo
Posted
  • Author
I would have "D" on a regular basis too, but since it was a relief from the "C", it didn't bother me as much. It was always a good thing. :)

I hear ya!!!!

Thanks to all....hope to hear from others as well.

BRUMI1968 Collaborator
BRUMI1968
Posted

My understanding is about 30% of those with ceiac suffer constipation. I know I did. I only ever got D when I had food poisoning or something. 34 years of virtually constant constipation. Yahoo.

Also, I think those with C are less likely to be underweight than those with D, though I do realize that not all with D are underweight either.

Anyway, good luck.

jenvan Collaborator
jenvan
Posted
I'm still trying to get this all figured out. I will probably order the Entero-lab test kits next week. Not willing to do a challenge.

But I've had several people tell me I couldn't have celiac unless I have chronic diarrhea. From what I've read here, that's not true.

It would help me to know how many of you had C as a theme ? Is it really prevalent??

Thanks!!!! :)

You are right, that isn't true. Unfortunately many doctors etc. still operate out of this old Celiac paradigm based only on D. I had constipation almost entirely...accompained by occasional D. You can have either or a combination. There is no "right or wrong" when it comes to celiac disease. There are many of us here who had C.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


jabberwife Explorer
jabberwife
Posted

I have not yet received my "official" diagnosis from Enterolab yet, but I too am a chronic C girl. That and gas, bloating, then alternating D. It was a vicious cycle that my body is still going through (I'm about 3 weeks into the gluten-free diet and did a challenge last week--there went the D!!! so I feel I'm definitely intolerant). The only time prior to going gluten-free I would get stressed. That started happening about 1 1/2 years ago--when I took a stressful job--and would be almost immediately after a meal at times...then there would be a week where I wouldn't go at all. Talk about irritating!

Paigie Newbie
Paigie
Posted

I haven't been dx'd yet, I go for the biopsy next week. If it comes back positive for celiac I will be one of those who have chronic constipation and weight gain.

munchkinette Collaborator
munchkinette
Posted

I've had problems with C my whole life. It is definitely better now. I have to take colace because I'm taking iron pills, but I noticed improvement anyway. I was definitely having problems with C last week when I got glutened.

eeyor-fan Contributor
eeyor-fan
Posted
I'm still trying to get this all figured out. I will probably order the Entero-lab test kits next week. Not willing to do a challenge.

But I've had several people tell me I couldn't have celiac unless I have chronic diarrhea. From what I've read here, that's not true.

It would help me to know how many of you had C as a theme ? Is it really prevalent??

Thanks!!!! :)

I've been constipated for years and even had a prolapse beginning of this year and I'm celiac. One thing I've learned--- Celiacs all have different symptoms and we all come in different shaqpes and sizes. You don't have to have the runs (sorry) and weigh 90lbs to have Celiac. I've met a few other Celiacs and no 2 were the same.

Hugs

Bridget

wolfie Enthusiast
wolfie
Posted

Me! I had mostly C with some D if I ate certain foods. Drs said it was IBS and to eat more WHOLE GRAINS and fiber. That made it worse, go figure?!? Finally this year my nutritionist asked if I had been tested for Celiac....thank God for her!

Our Ped tried to tell us that unless DS had D then it was unlikely he had Celiac b/c he was in the 75th percentile and thriving. He was wrong, he has been diagnosed by biopsy. He also had C as a symptom on occasion.

Lymetoo Contributor
Lymetoo
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the replies. I should have also asked how many of you with C problems were also celiac, not gluten intolerant........or is there a difference??

Some of you I could tell by your signature.

Thanks again. :)

munchkinette Collaborator
munchkinette
Posted

This thread reminds me- my gran had "wheat problems" at my age, but they told her she grew out of it. Her mother died of colon cancer and I think many of my gran's problems were related to her "wheat problems".

Anyway, my gran was constantly asking us if we'd had a BM that day. I can remember her asking that since I was a kid. My mother and uncle remember it from a young age, too. It has become the running joke in our family. Anytime someone stubs a toe or has a headache, one of us will ask, "Well did you have a BM today?" just like my gran used to. It was obviously an important health issue for her.

jenvan Collaborator
jenvan
Posted
Thanks for the replies. I should have also asked how many of you with C problems were also celiac, not gluten intolerant........or is there a difference??

Some of you I could tell by your signature.

Thanks again. :)

Most of us here have Celiac. This article on the Widening Spectrum of Celiac, talks about one doctor with 20% of patients having constipation, not D. Open Original Shared Link

Also read this quote from the Gluten Intolerance Group site: "Physicians may not be aware that celiac disease frequently presents with other symptoms, some that do not involve the small intestine. More often, symptoms can include constipation, constipation alternating with diarrhea, or premature osteoporosis."

Open Original Shared Link

Paigie Newbie
Paigie
Posted
Most of us here have Celiac. This article on the Widening Spectrum of Celiac, talks about one doctor with 20% of patients having constipation, not D. Open Original Shared Link

Also read this quote from the Gluten Intolerance Group site: "Physicians may not be aware that celiac disease frequently presents with other symptoms, some that do not involve the small intestine. More often, symptoms can include constipation, constipation alternating with diarrhea, or premature osteoporosis."

Open Original Shared Link

Jen,

Thank you for posting the links. I found this from the first link and it really helped in my understanding:

"The degree or type of symptoms that a person with celiac disease presents with

does NOT depend on the severity of the disease where you take the

biopsy. In celiac disease the damage starts in the intestine just after the

stomach and works its way down. The small intestine is about 26 feet

long and has a tremendous ability to compensate. So if the damage is

mostly near the stomach (which is where biopsies are done) then you

may never have diarrhea; the rest of the small intestine can

compensate and absorb all the liquid and food that passes by the first

few damaged feet.

When somebody presents with severe diarrhea and wasting, that means

most of the small intestine is damaged and it is not able to

compensate for the damage closer to the stomach. So it is the amount

of the small intestine that is damaged which determines the symptoms.

If you have all of the small intestine damaged you'll have diarrhea and

weight loss. If only a small portion of the small intestine is

damaged, you may have pain, bloating, and discomfort after eating but

not diarrhea."

Ursa Major Collaborator
Ursa Major
Posted

I've had alternating C and D all my life. Only last summer, when I tried a colon cleanse, did I end up with chronic D that lasted for six months. But even though everything I ate those entire six months went right through me, undigested, I STILL gained weight! I couldn't believe it.

The day after eliminating gluten the D stopped.

Now, if I get glutened, I will have C for a week, and then one or two days of D and feeling really lousy.

Nic Collaborator
Nic
Posted

My 5 year old son's only symptom was constipation. And it was severe. But he has always been in the 95th to 97th percentile for height and weight. He was diagnosed with Celiac a year ago. It took him about 3 months to see any improvement after going gluten-free. My father is Celiac but D was his symptom. He was extremely underweight and saw improvement withing weeks of going gluten-free.

Lymetoo Contributor
Lymetoo
Posted
  • Author

Paigie....Thanks so much for that information. That explains ALOT!!!!

Ursula.....I started doing colon cleanses in late January, then had some colonics beginning in April. [Trying to clear yeast problems once and for all. The diarrhea started in early May.

Also....went out to eat a business function and tried my best to avoid the obvious bad foods, but I think I DID get glutened. I've been rather miserable since then and after one week of C, have been having D again.

Looking forward to my colonoscopy Tuesday...NOT :P

Vladimir Gluten Newbie
Vladimir Gluten
Posted

That would describe me. Whenever I had regular pasta you could just about guarantee it.

Gluten-Free, no problems.

Nic Collaborator
Nic
Posted

If you have been glutened, how long does the syptoms last afterwards? I have been challenging my son for lactose intolerance and have seen great improvement for the past 2 weeks. Last night I ordered pizza and a salad (he was eating gluten-free pizza I made) and it was from a new place that uses croutons on their salads (which I did not know). Before I could tell him not to eat the salad, he grabbed a piece of salami right off the top which is where the croutons had been. He usually doesn't even eat the salad let alone the salami off the top. Anyway, he is struggling again today (a bit constipated) for the first time in 2 weeks. How long does this last after being glutened? I don't think this has happened to us before.

Nicole

Vladimir Gluten Newbie
Vladimir Gluten
Posted
Vladimir Gluten,

In the backround of your picture it looks like you're here with me in Florida.... just curious where the pic was taken.

(sorry to go off topic)

That picture was taken in Virginia Beach. When I was younger, I lived in Florida. Right across the bay from Destin. But that was before Destin became the place it is now.

Lymetoo Contributor
Lymetoo
Posted
  • Author

Nic....I've been having symptoms after that meal since about an hour after eating....lasting still through today, Sunday.

Hope your son feels better soon!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Scott Adams
      0

      Celiac Disease Beyond the Western World: Hidden Populations, Changing Diets, and Growing Awareness

    2. Wheatwacked
      - Wheatwacked replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium. A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake. With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones. Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 1...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it. Gluten is the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part. Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein. Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat...
    4. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3. Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C. Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine. Weight...
    5. Florence Lillian
      - Florence Lillian replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      11

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free. I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,356
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    JAGAPG
    Newest Member
    JAGAPG
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium.  A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake.  With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones.  Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 10,000 IU D3 a day since 2015.  My doctor says to continue. To fix my lactose intolerance, lots of lactobacillus from yogurts, and brine fermented pickles and saurkraut and olives.  We lose much of our ability to make lactase endogenosly with maturity but a healthy colony of lactobacillus in our gut excretes lactase in exchange for room and board. The milk protein in grass fed milk does not bother me. It tastes like the milk I grew up on.  If I drink commercial milk I get heartburn at night. Some experts estimate that 90% of us do not eat Adequite Intake of choline.  Beef and eggs are the principle source. Iodine deficiency is a growing concern.  I take 600 mcg a day of Liquid Iodine.  It and NAC have accelerated my healing all over.  Virtually blind in my right eye after starting antihypertensive medication and vision is slowly coming back.  I had to cut out starches because they drove my glucose up into the 200+ range.  I replaced them with Red Bull for the glucose intake with the vitamins, minerals and Taurine needed to process through the mitochodria Krebs Cycle to create ATP.  Went from A1c 13 down to 7.9.  Work in progress. Also take B1,B2,B3,B5,B6. Liquid Iodine, Phosphatidyl Choline, Q10, Selenium, D and DHEA.     Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men +    
    • knitty kitty
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.    
    • knitty kitty
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Florence Lillian · Posted

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
    • catnapt
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By catnapt · Posted

      highly unlikely  NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean ground turkey but not much) I was off dairy for years but recently had to add back plain yogurt to meet calcium needs that I am not allowed to get from supplements (I have not had any problem with the yogurt)   I eat almost no processed foods. I don't eat out. almost everything I eat, I cook myself I am going to keep a food diary but to be honest, I already know that it's wheat products and also barley that are the problem, which is why I gradually stopped eating and buying them. When I was eating them, like back in early 2024, when I was in the middle of moving and ate out (always had bread or toast or rolls or a sub or pizza) I felt terrible but at that time was so busy and exhausted that I never stopped to think it was the food. Once I was in my new place, I continued to have bread from time to time and had such horrible joint pain that I was preparing for 2 total knee replacements as well as one hip! The surgery could not go forward as I was (and still am) actively losing calcium from my bones. That problem has yet to be properly diagnosed and treated   anyway over time I realized that I felt better when I stopped eating bread. Back at least 3 yrs ago I noticed that regular pasta made me sick so I switched to brown rice pasta and even though it costs a lot more, I really like it.   so gradually I just stopped buying and eating foods with gluten. I stopped getting raisin bran when I was constipated because it made me bloated and it didn't help the constipation any more (used to be a sure bet that it would in the past)   I made cookies and brownies using beans and rolled oats and dates and tahini and I LOVE them and have zero issues eating those I eat 1 or more cans of beans per day easily can eat a pound of broccoli - no problem! Brussels sprouts the same thing.   so yeh it's bread and related foods that are clearly the problem  there is zero doubt in my mind    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.