Gluten Effecting Entire Gi Tract?

[cdfiance]

Does gluten effect the whole GI tract or is it just confined to the small intestine? I know that the villi are only in the small intestine so that is where the damage is but can it cause inflammation of other parts of the GI tract? Just wondering because since Alex

[ravenwoodglass]

Yes unfortunately it can. For some the main symptom is heartburn, that was my DD. I get awful pain in the stomach and do get some relief from that from Pepto Bismal. Be careful if she takes an antiacid some are not safe so be sure to check. She has been through so much I am so sorry this happened to her. I hope she feels better soon.

[zarfkitty]

I wish I had the study handy just now, but I read where they gave celiacs a gluten challenge by suppository (yuck!!) and the rectum definitely showed histological changes.

[SunnyDyRain]

  zarfkitty said:

I wish I had the study handy just now, but I read where they gave celiacs a gluten challenge by suppository (yuck!!) and the rectum definitely showed histological changes.

ACK! If i HAD to do a Gluten Challenge, I'd want to at least enjoy the taste of it...!

[cdfiance]

  ravenwoodglass said:

I get awful pain in the stomach and do get some relief from that from Pepto Bismal.

Just wanted to thank you for that suggestion. I ran out to get some for Alex to try and it helped to soothe her stomach discomfort and I think it may have helped slow her intestine down a little bit. After taking it, she's been asleep for 4 hours and counting which is the longest she's stayed asleep without her upset stomach waking her up since the glutening two days ago.

We were ready to try some left over Reglan she had even though it caused some unpleasant side effects but it looks like we might not have to go there now. I'm not sure why we didn't think to try Pepto Bismol before. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

Ryan

[happygirl]

While the classic damage is usually in the small intestine, the side effects, per se, of gluten can be anywhere....so yes, stomach problems are a common symptom, or anywhere else that you described for that matter. Some people have no symptoms, some people have every symptom in the book, etc.....

Hope she gets over her first glutening soon. I also take immodiums.

[lob6796]

  cdfiance said:

Does gluten effect the whole GI tract or is it just confined to the small intestine? I know that the villi are only in the small intestine so that is where the damage is but can it cause inflammation of other parts of the GI tract? Just wondering because since Alex

[sparkles]

I think that I have had every upper gi digestive problem known to man!!! I have also had colon cancer.... I certainly do think that gluten affects the whole digestive system, nuerological system, etc, etc, etc!!!!!!!

[sparkles]

I think that I have had every upper gi digestive problem known to man!!! I have also had colon cancer.... I certainly do think that gluten affects the whole digestive system, nuerological system, etc, etc, etc!!!!!!!

I hope that your fiance starts feeling better. It may take her a long to heal. Also I think once you go gluten-free, you are so much more aware of the symptoms of being glutened because your body has had a chance to heal some and I think sometimes we forget how sick we really were so much of the time. We just learned to put up with what to us was NORMAL.

I remember my doc asking me if I was bragging or complaining when I told him that it seemed like I was throwing up a lot and having a lot of diahrea. That was many doctors ago and years before I was finally diagnosed.

It isn't a fun disease but eventually, most of us start to heal. I hope the same for your fiance.

[ravenwoodglass]

  SunnyDyRain said:

ACK! If i HAD to do a Gluten Challenge, I'd want to at least enjoy the taste of it...!

In some other countries they use a rectal challenge for diagnosis and are even working on a way to use the oral mucosal tissue. The reason for this is that the challenge is then a one shot process that takes less than a day and there are much less side effects to worry about than our doctors current practice of poisoning us for weeks or months. Also with the mucosal challenge the biopsies are taken from an area that has for sure been effected on a microscopic level. There would be much less pain, and also much less of a chance of a false negative with this form of testing. I doubt it will catch on in this country though, everyone makes much more money from poisoning us for months, and the charges for the endo and the endless blood tests and scripts for toxic meds when the tests show a false negative.

[ravenwoodglass]

  cdfiance said:

Just wanted to thank you for that suggestion. I ran out to get some for Alex to try and it helped to soothe her stomach discomfort and I think it may have helped slow her intestine down a little bit. After taking it, she's been asleep for 4 hours and counting which is the longest she's stayed asleep without her upset stomach waking her up since the glutening two days ago.

We were ready to try some left over Reglan she had even though it caused some unpleasant side effects but it looks like we might not have to go there now. I'm not sure why we didn't think to try Pepto Bismol before. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

Ryan

I am so glad it helped, I tried it once in desperation and was really surprised at how much relief I got. One thing I forgot to mention is that it can darken the stool, this is not something to be alarmed about. I don't notice this with just one dose but if she needs to take it a couple of times I wanted her to be aware. It can be scary for us to look down and see a stool that is almost black but that is a normal side effect of the pepto and will go away quickly if it happens.