I Need Some Help Figuring This Out

[emcmaster]

Hi everyone -

Since Christmas, where I got glutened multiple times over a week, I've not felt consistently well. Usually it takes me about a week to get over a glutening. I realize it could take longer because I was glutened so much. But I've not had normal glutening symptoms. Somewhat normal, but not quite. Usually, a glutening is followed by a week of constant painful bloating, cramps and nausea. Since about mid January, it's just been at night that I get bad stomach pains and painful bloating. It continues into the morning until I go to the bathroom (usually around 10 am) and then it completely disappears, only to come up again around 5 or 6 pm. I'm wondering if it might be constipation related, because I seem to have been backed up lately, but I've been taking lots of stuff to get me going and things have been moving. My assumption is that if the pain and bloating comes at night, it's because I was already backed up and each time I ate during the day, it added to it, resulting in pain and bloating. But I've been taking a lot of stuff to get it moving (pericolace, miralax, zelnorm), and so I would think that if I was decreasing the amount of "stuff" in my intestines, I wouldn't be getting sick til progressively later and later each day. Any suggestions?

If it's not constipation related, I guess I could be getting continuously glutened. I think I mentioned before that I babysit for a coworker's baby during the day a few days a week, at his house. It's a celiac's nightmare. If I have to touch gluten, I wash my hands several times afterwards. I don't touch anything in the house in between washing my hands and eating. I use only paper towels to dry my hands.

I don't touch my face and I don't eat anything at their house that isn't eaten with a fork or spoon - basically I won't eat anything I have to touch with my hands. And because I don't think they wash their dishes well before putting them in the dishwasher (they always have food remnants on them after they've run through the dishwasher), I bring my own spoon and fork. I use their coffeemaker, whose parts go through the dishwasher, but I rinse it out really well after I take it out of the clean DW in the morning.

I started babysitting at the beginning of December and wasn't sick until my Christmas glutenings. I'm wondering if I'm continually getting glutened here despite my best efforts? Can anyone suggest anything I could do to decrease any chance of glutening?

Thanks for reading

[Ursa Major]

Elizabeth, would it be possible to babysit the baby at your own home? You might need to get some equipment (like a playpen for naps, and either a highchair or a booster to strap onto a chair), but you would be where you can control your environment, and you wouldn't get glutened.

You could get permission to only feed the baby gluten-free foods at your house to avoid getting glutened. The baby wouldn't likely care.

I am in a similar situation as you, and I am wondering if it is why I am having the awful problems right now. But with me it is three boys (ages 11 months, 3 and 4 year old), and there is no way I can look after them in my house.

[2kids4me]

Is it a burning, very painful pain in the upper abdomen?

My son has duodenitis right now - not uncommon in celiacs .

The characteristic of duodenal pain is that is ahppnes at night when stomach acid production peaks. It is caused by a variety of factors, but complete relief when stomach acid reducers are given. Over the counter Antacids dont do much but meds that reduce the amount of acid would help - if that was behind the pain.

What happens is stomach acid makes it past the stomach before it is neutralized and irritates the intestinal lining.

sandy

[emcmaster]

Hi Ursula and Sandy -

Urusla, I wish I could babysit for her at my house, but he has an older daughter that I have to watch for an hour in the morning before school and an hour and a half in the evening after school. And they live about 30 minutes away, so it would be about 2 hours of driving every day.

Sandy, it's more of a sharp stabbing pain in the lower abdomen. I think it's probably constipation-related, rather than gluten, but I don't really know how to measure that. But your idea about an acid-reducing med reminded me that I've been having some acid reflux that poses as hunger that I need to get something for.

Thanks for your suggestions!!!

[kbabe1968]

It may sound crazy for acid reflux - but it works WONDERS for me every single time....

Take 1 tbs of apple cider vineger. Drink 8 oz of glass of water. If in an hour it's not gone, do again. DON'T repeat again for 4 hours if it doesn't work.

I had HORRIBLE acid reflux during all of my pregnancies (3) and I would go thru the mega box of tums in a week. I did this ONCE, just ONCE my 2nd pregnancy, and I didn't have acid reflux again for 18 MONTHS!

It sounds totally crazy, but it works REALLY well....

Many believe that acid reflux is caused by TOO MUCH acid where it can also be caused by NOT ENOUGH acid as well, or not the proper acid in your stomach to digest your foods appropriately.

Bowing out....derailing topic.....sorry!!!

[Ruth52]

It can be a nightmare trying to work out what is causing the pain. Pain at night can often be caused by something that you have eaten in the morning. Is there a certain food that you always eat in the morning, or always prepare for the children you babysit?

I suffer from reflux and pain caused by that is usually somthing that strikes in the middle of the night.

I hope you feel better soon.

Ruth.

[darlindeb25]

Ok, a new twist on the situation. I had this similiar thing going on with me in November. In the beginning of December, I had a vacation planned to go visit my kids and grandkids. My tummy kept acting as you say yours is, in the beginning, not every night, but soon it was every night--Thanksgiving was the first day of terrible hurting. I too finally decided it was constipation. I had always had diarrhea, so constipation had not occured to me. It was so bad Thanksgiving Day that I started to think maybe I had an ulcer. My vacation was to begin Wednesday, after work, well on that Monday I was up all night with terrible pains. Tuesday morning, I went to the doctor, the pain had been so bad and I knew I could not drive 800 miles feeling this way. The doctor, after evaluating me, not just my tummy, but my behavior, decided it was depression/anxiety. I was immediately put on Celexa, by Wednesday, I knew the vacation had to be postponed for a time. During the day Wednesday, the terrible tummy pains were back and I just knew I couldn't go anywhere feeling this way. So, I canceled my trip and let the Celexa work. I had so many side effects from it in the beginning. The first week I felt like I had morning sickness, then nasty joint pains, but the tummy pains left me, just as the doctor suspected. My anxiety was causing the tummy pains, not constipation. Don't get me wrong, the tummy probs did not go away completely, by this time, my tummy was out of sorts from all of the stress on it and it takes a long time for my tummy to fix. I did go on vacation just before Christmas, and honestly, it was still too soon for me to go, but I had to see my kids and grandkids. The tummy pains returned on the day I was to come home, only because I was dreading the drive. The doctor I work for tells me I may not feel the full effect of the Celexa for at least 6 months and that I may need to be on it forever. He says that some of us just have bad wiring in our brains and the Celexa rewires us. His wife has taken it for over 3 years now.

Do you have underlying stress in your life? My stress was very obvious, yet I could not imagine the stress and the tummy were one in the same. Just as I already knew, my doctor told me that for the rest of my life, anything that effects me will effect my tummy, just because it is my weakest area. I think that may be true of many celiac's. I do not think that some of us will ever absorb vitamins properly again, some do, some do not. I am one who does not. I had a panic disorder before going gluten-free too and I weaned myself off of Paxil over 5 years ago. Chemical imbalances do horrific things to us.

Just another thought!

[emcmaster]

kbabe, I'm going to try that right now. I've got my fingers crossed!

Ruth, I'm trying to think of something that I do everyday. The only thing I can think of is making coffee in their coffeemaker. Maybe I should make it at home, pour into a huge thermos and just reheat during the day? That's the only thing I can think of, especially if it is the parts of the coffeemaker getting gluten on them in the dishwasher.

darlindeb, I do have a lot of stress. I'm working full time and finishing up my senior year of college. I was on antianxiety meds until July, when I felt I didn't need them anymore. I tried different ones but they all upset my stomach. Maybe I should go back on them and give them some time to work? I think I might try that. And what your doctor said about things affecting your stomach because it is the weakest link makes a lot of sense.

Thanks, everyone!