Painful Bms

[HouseKat]

I've been gluten-free for just over a month and am having normal BMs for the first time in many years. Each time I have a solid BM it is very uncomfortable, and afterwards I feel weak and drained. When I'm at home, I actually go lie down for a bit to recover. When I'm at work, it takes everything in me to walk back to my office from the restroom, and I find that I sit there kind of dazed and out of it for some time.

I'm wondering if others have gone through this, and, if so, how long it took for your body to adjust.

[cruelshoes]

What you are describing could be the Open Original Shared Link, which can cause fainting. We learned in a CPR class I took last year that the vasovagal reflex can cause fainting during a BM. Here is some info from WebMD.

Fainting is caused by a drop in blood flow to the brain. After you lose consciousness and fall or lie down, more blood can flow to your brain so you wake up again.

The most common causes of fainting are not dangerous. In these cases, you faint because of:

The vasovagal reflex, which causes the heart rate to slow and the blood vessels to widen, or dilate. As a result, blood pools in the lower body and less blood goes to the brain. This reflex can be triggered by many things, including stress, pain, fear, coughing, holding your breath, and urinating.

I remember when I had my first few solid BM's after my diagnosis, it was a bit of a shock. It had been 18 years since I had felt that.

If it continues, I would mention it to your doctor.

[silly celiac]

I'm still pretty new to all of this myself- about two months into it, but in my experience, the BMs that really suck the life out of me are the ones after consuming gluten. Pardon my bluntness here, but those are the ones that start out painful inside, cause me to break out in a sweat right before, and though they are fast, furious, and easily passed, they leave me feeling dead, empty, and exhausted. Although the normal, gluten-free, solid ones may take a bit more effort, I feel fine when they're over. So for me, if I was experiencing what you are, I would be wondering what glutened me. But this is only based on my own experiences.