Tired Of Coping With Public Restrooms

[Walter S]

I have been gluten free for a while. I really miss the good tasting foods especially now that it is Summer. I just want to go and have a good burger and a beer or something like that! Anyway, I am still getting diarrhea pretty often and I don't know how to deal with it in a public restroom anymore. I have posted about this topic before, but I had another problem with it yesterday! I was at the local community center when I got a sudden stomach ache and needed to get to the bathroom as diarrhea struck. This happens more often than I would like it o but I can't help it. So I go in and I use the stall only to have (what sounded like younger teenage kids enter the restroom). They immediately started laughing and whispering going look eww, etc. because I was using the stall and pooping. I was soo embarassed and that is not the first time that happened to me lately. It has happened a few times and I am so sick of dealing with that! I hate using public restrooms when I have diarrhea in the first place and this makes it ten times worse. SO frustratuing! Also I am still suffering with depression and my docotrs have tried different meds but they don't seem to work so I am sick of that too! uggghhh! Does anyone have any suggestions?

[par18]

Walter,

From the best of your knowledge are you getting "any" gluten in your diet if even by accident. If that is not the case then you need to keep a food journal to see what other items might be causing your diarrhea. I have had no instances of the big "D" since starting on this diet over two years ago. I feel the biggest reason is I am super careful. I don't eat anything I am not 100% sure is gluten free. I do eat out every now and then but so far so good. I had chronic diarrhea prior to starting this diet so I know gluten bothers me. I cannot stress how careful a person must be when making decisions on what to eat. Start with as simple a diet as possible and add to it as you progress. Hope this helps.

Tom

[ArtGirl]

I had a similar problem - diarrhea continuing after being gluten-free for a couple months.

I FINALLY discovered it was corn sensitivity that was the culpret - and corn is in a lot of gluten-free flours and mixes.

Even after eliminating corn, dairy, egg, etc., I still had ups and downs with the D - never really returning to normal. Someone on this board recommended L-Glutamine and after I started taking that, my poop became more solid and what I assume is normal.

L-Glutamine is an amino acid naturally occuring in the body and it reverses the immune response that tells the lower GI to dump in a lot of water and clear it all out (my simplified, non-scientific explanation of the mechanism for creating diarrhea).

So, if you are eating somethiing that you're body is sensitive to, that may be what's prolonging the symptoms of diarrhea. I know it's confusing. I thought for a while that I was getting glutened all the time although I was being VERY careful.

By the way, there are several people here on the board who have reported a lessening of depression and/or anxiety after being gluten-free for a few months - so much so that they no longer needed any medication. Gluten can cause all kinds of problems and not just physical symptoms. The fact that the meds aren't working all that well with your depression may indicate that you can look forward to having it lift after you begin to heal from the gluten damage.

[CarlaB]

I have FINALLY discovered the reason for my ongoing diarrhea. I did improve gluten-free, but not completely. I still get stomach cramping and diarrhea.

I was tested for bacterial overgrowth and parasites. Ends up I have an overgrowth of Klebsiella and Citrobacter, and some of the good bacteria are completely non-existant.

I'm on Cipro and mega-probiotics. The day after I started the Cipro, my stomach didn't hurt after eating for the first time in years.

I had already tried eliminating corn, soy, and dairy.

The testing is a three day random sample stool test.

The symptoms of bacterial overgrowth are diarrhea, fatty stools, fatigue, and weight loss. (Sound familiar?)

[Teacher1958]

I have been gluten free for a while. I really miss the good tasting foods especially now that it is Summer. I just want to go and have a good burger and a beer or something like that! Anyway, I am still getting diarrhea pretty often and I don't know how to deal with it in a public restroom anymore. I have posted about this topic before, but I had another problem with it yesterday! I was at the local community center when I got a sudden stomach ache and needed to get to the bathroom as diarrhea struck. This happens more often than I would like it o but I can't help it. So I go in and I use the stall only to have (what sounded like younger teenage kids enter the restroom). They immediately started laughing and whispering going look eww, etc. because I was using the stall and pooping. I was soo embarassed and that is not the first time that happened to me lately. It has happened a few times and I am so sick of dealing with that! I hate using public restrooms when I have diarrhea in the first place and this makes it ten times worse. SO frustratuing! Also I am still suffering with depression and my docotrs have tried different meds but they don't seem to work so I am sick of that too! uggghhh! Does anyone have any suggestions?

I assume you do the "flush as you go" routine. If you need to, just keep flushing to cover up any other sounds. I sympathize with you, as this can be very embarrassing.

[Karen B.]

----snip----

The symptoms of bacterial overgrowth are diarrhea, fatty stools, fatigue, and weight loss. (Sound familiar?)

A doc spoke to our local group on the topic "Why did it take so long for my doctor to figure out I had Celiac?" The more I find out about the human body, the more amazed I am when it works right.

[CarlaB]

A doc spoke to our local group on the topic "Why did it take so long for my doctor to figure out I had Celiac?" The more I find out about the human body, the more amazed I am when it works right.

No kidding.

And what amazes me about GI's is that bacterial overgrowth is so easy to test for (gross, but easy), yet when someone tests negative for celiac, they want to check the gall bladder even though the symptoms don't match (at least they didn't for me).

I'm realizing that medicine is big business and that directs a lot of medical protocols.