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Gluten Symptoms And Monthly Cycle?

Guest kivmom3

By Guest kivmom3
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Guest kivmom3
Guest kivmom3
Posted

I've been gluten free now for a little over 3 months. I've had good days and bad days. Recently I've seen a GI doctor who specializes in the disease and had the biopsy to confirm what stage of the disease I am at. Well, i started zantac/zyrtec combo about 2 weeks now and have been gassy, bloated and just not feeling right. Tonight, I got the start of my period (25 days only!!!! is that even possible to be early?) and literally have been in the bathroom since 7:00 p.m. and it's now 9:00 and my symptoms are just calming down.

I keep a food diary and have had nothing today but steamed veggies, meat and fruits. I do not eat soy/rice or dairy. I had hot quinoa this morning and felt fine all day until 7:00 this evening.

I guess my question is can you feel glutened with menstruation?

I even called the doctor and I had to have the doctor on call not the speicalist I saw and he told me i have a stomach virus!!! yeah, I've heard that before.... Even when I told him i am a celiac. He was worthless.

Any suggestions/comments would be MUCH APPRECIATED!!!! :) Please help me feel like I'm going to be okay and this is normal!!

I should also mention that I am going to call the specialist AGAIN (I've been trying to get a hold of him for 2 days now) in the morning if I am not better...

Thanks for reading and helping,

Gg

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mommyagain Explorer
mommyagain
Posted

I have always had worse symptoms when my hormones were fluctuating. I have never been 100% gluten free while menstruating (I'm gluten free now, but I'm pregnant) so I can't say if I ever felt glutened when I knew I hadn't been.

Is there any chance that you got cross contaminated? Also, a lot of people don't react on the day that they consumed gluten, for some, it takes several days, especially if it was a small amount (like from cross contamination). No one really knows exactly why/how gluten does what it does, and it seems to affect all of us differently. Have you eaten anything that someone else prepared lately?

Have you checked every personal care item (makeup, shampoo, lotions, etc) that you use?

Did the gas and bloating start when you started the meds, or closer to when your period started?

We all hope you feel better soon. If it continues to happen every month around this time, you may want to talk to your gynecologist about a form of birth control that limits (or eliminates) your period altogether. Unless of course, you're planning on trying to get pregnant soon...

sickchick Community Regular
sickchick
Posted

ehhh periods. I get the worst nausea EVER, and diahrrea and have been known to have it coming out of everywhere all at once... it's the WORST misery ever :huh:

HouseKat Apprentice
HouseKat
Posted
I guess my question is can you feel glutened with menstruation?

In my experience, yes. I noticed years ago that my GI symptoms were worse during my periods. I've been gluten free for a month now, and was doing very well until my cycle started a few days ago. I'm experiencing the big D even though I have not had any gluten. (I also have Polycistic Ovary Disease, so my hormones are a bit more intense and out-of-whack than the average person.)

Cynbd Contributor
Cynbd
Posted

I have been gluten free for almost a year now (gluten-free since Nov. 2006), and I definitely feel glutened during my period. My cycle is getting shorter too. It is awful. I do try to take 2 Motrins every 4 hours so the cramps don't get really bad... I find that the cramps make the D worse... it's all that pressure... ugh...

hez Enthusiast
hez
Posted

I have d before my cycle. I spoke with my doc about this. My doc thinks gi symptoms are pretty common for alot of women. Started talking to my non-celiac friends and they experience a disruption in the routine as well. I have chalked it up to hormones.

Hez

confusedks Enthusiast
confusedks
Posted

Yes! I get really bad GI symptoms. I got it on saturday and I am still having a lot of tummy troubles. <_<

Kassandra

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JNBunnie1 Community Regular
JNBunnie1
Posted

WHOO BOY do I get GI symptoms on my period!!! MY boyfriend even teases me about it at this point. And it's been happening for years now, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the drug your system releases to cause the contraction of the uterus also affects the bowels. I've noticed that the more difficult a woman's cramps, the more diarrhea she gets. I take Ibuprofen and Imodium if I have something to do, if I'm at home then I just let it run it's course, once I'm a bit 'emptied out' the whole system calms down. Try a heating pad as well, and mint tea for anyone with nausea. I think the nausea is the stomach being affected by the cramps lower down, at least, my nausea goes away when my cramps go away. :)

Nancym Enthusiast
Nancym
Posted

Google dysmennorhea and see if that doesn't answer your question. :D

melmak5 Contributor
melmak5
Posted

Yes, this happened to me before I ever had any digestive woes, celiac or any other problems.

The day before I get my period I used to get D, like crazy.

(Mind you, before all of this, I was a once a day, normal bm girl.)

I also get pain in my lower abdomen and upper thighs.

I hope you are feeling better.

melmak5 Contributor
melmak5
Posted

I forgot to add...

Staying well hydrated is key. It really does help.

loco-ladi Contributor
loco-ladi
Posted

Well, let me into this line and my hand is raised WAY UP HIGH with a CMI for all of the above, lol...

Matter of fact.... Would bet ya all money I start in the next 12 hours, been tired, gassy, D, and so tired I have literally slept all day after having a restless night......

and early or even late, oh yes its possible, heck if it wasn't for my syptoms I would have no warning at all!

Guest thatchickali
Guest thatchickali
Posted

This is my first Gluten Free cycle.

Oh, I've felt horrible, not to mention the morning I started I woke up with a head cold too.

I feel like I've been hit by a truck........

loco-ladi Contributor
loco-ladi
Posted

Yuppers right on target, never was regular until i went gluten-free, this time of the month with the visit from aunt flo I often wonder if it was really worth it, then she leaves and I realize yes it is!

  • 3 years later...
julie041092 Newbie
julie041092
Posted

Girl, Im right there with you, at this very moment. I've had major diarrhea for a few days, and I started my period yesterday, so if the diarrhea is done by the time my period is done, I will actually be relieved that it is just because of my period, not actual gluten ingestion!

bridgetm Enthusiast
bridgetm
Posted

Girl, Im right there with you, at this very moment. I've had major diarrhea for a few days, and I started my period yesterday, so if the diarrhea is done by the time my period is done, I will actually be relieved that it is just because of my period, not actual gluten ingestion!

I'm with you there Julie. I never thought I'd be so excited to see our "monthly gift". Ironically, it tends to come within a few hours or a day of eating out or trying something new so I start to freak out and go over potential CC sources, etc., but then I get to the bathroom and it's "Oh, well, that's not so bad. Let's go eat."

LivesIntheSun Apprentice
LivesIntheSun
Posted

Hey,

I don't get bowel symptoms from gluten but I sure as hell do from my period! I get all windy a couple of days before and then on the first day of my period I get cramps that are out of this world and D, I often have to spend a few hours in the bathroom suffering. Yhe trick for me is to take some pain killers as SOON as i feel the SLIGHTEST cramping, because otherwise it gets out of control all of a sudden and I can't be out of the house, if you get me. :o

K8ling Enthusiast
K8ling
Posted

I ALWAYS feel glutened during my period. Even being pregnant occasionally I mistake normal pregnancy upset for being glutened.

I hope it gets better for you :)

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