Could This Bloating Be From A Gluten Intolerance?

[Spatchie]

Hi all, this is my first post. About 6 months ago, I suddenly became bloated all the time. By the end of the day I look like I'm 5-6 months pregnant. I have also began to deal with issues of constipation. Some gas pains, but nothing too serious. I first went to my gyno for an ultrasound but it looked good. Then I went to a GI doctor who took blood work including testing for celiacs. She said the results were negative. I had a colonoscopy done which also looked good. I recently had the LEAP test done ( a blood test that covers over 100 foods and chemicals). I am not sensitive to wheat, but the dietician said to eliminate gluten as a possible sensitivity. I went gluten free for 2 weeks and the bloating either got a little better or stayed the same. I added it back in yesterday and within 2 hours I bloated more than normal (especially for the morning) and about 2 hours later had 2 gas pains followed by a BM. A little softer than normal but no D or anything too unusual. Since then, I have had more gas than normal, but nothing major. I guess I was expecting an AHA moment, but I still feel confused. Should I have stayed off gluten longer than 2 weeks? If I try testing this again, how long should I stay off it ? I'm so tired of looking pregnant when I'm not. My 8 year old daughter keeps asking me, "Are you going to have a baby?" When I tell her "no", she doesn't believe me. Any advice you all have would be so appreciated. Thanks!!

[Eriella]

Your symptoms do sound familiar. If you have constipation problems, it won't clear up in just two weeks, especially if it is severe. Try going off of gluten for a month, making sure that you eat at least 10 servings of fruits or vegetables and drinking lots of water. Also try to say on the 4 Foods diet (rice, vegetables, fruit, and lean grilled meat/eggs) for at least the first 2 weeks. It helps clear you out and remove the bloat. After a month on that, see how you feel. If you feel better, it may be gluten. Stay off for another month, then do a gluten challenge (test your body by eating gluten every day for a week and watch for symptoms). If you get sick on the gluten challenge, then you have an answer.

Good luck! If you need any advice/support, we are here for you.

[Spatchie]

Thanks for the advice. This is such a long and tedious process. It helps to have encouragement through it all. It seems that I didn't eliminate gluten long enough. I will try again for longer next time.

Thanks,

[pebbles]

I understand how you feel. For the last five months I've looked pregnant. I had the blood work done for Celiac (negative), colonoscopy, an ultrasound, and CAT-Scan. All were negative. I did try the Celiac diet for a short period of time. I lost five inches in my waist and three inches in my abdomen. It seems like it would take a while for the body to calm down, flush out the bad stuff, and to heal.

Good luck and feel better soon!

[gfpaperdoll]

If you are doing a gluten elimination you need to also eliminate dairy & soy at the same time.

because you could also be reacting to those in combination with the gluten & most people that quit eating gluten will automatically double their dairy intake, dairy also has that little thing that gives your brain an opiate effect & makes you just crave more.

Just doing an elimination of gluten is hard to be completely gluten free because you do not clean out your kitchen etc & are probably getting some cross contamination...