Stomache Discomfort / Gas

[Bibulousman]

Hello,

This is my first post and I'm hoping that someone here may be able to give me an idea of what is going on with my stomache. Here is the situation:

I was diagnosed as a celiac when I was a baby and until age 8 was on a gluten-free diet. After age 8 I was told that I was in remission and could now eat gluten / wheat, etc.

Fast forward 25 years. A friend introduced me to his small child and he told me she was a celiac. I explained that I had the same disease, but was in remission. He told me that the "remission" thing was based on ancient research and I should STOP eating gluten ASAP. I looked into it and he seemed to be correct so I decided to give up gluten.

Last week I stopped eating all bread products and all products with wheat. Mostly I'm eating vegetables, brown rice, a bit of fruit, fish, and more milk chocolate than usual. Going cold-turkey was no problem but the past few days my stomache has been less than thrilled. I'm passing a lot of VERY smelly gas, and my um... stool lacks um... consistency.

Is this normal? My girl friend doesn't mind giving up pizza, bread, chocolate bars, etc, but I think the farts are going to drive her away!

[Ursa Major]

Hi, and welcome to these boards. Well, first of all the milk chocolate might be the problem. You may have to give up dairy for a little while, because you probably did damage to your intestines all these years of eating gluten. If your villi are damaged, they can't produce the enzyme lactase which allows you to digest dairy.

Your intestinal tract is healing and adjusting, and the gas and stool consistency might be temporary. You could also be reacting to something else you are now eating large quantities of, that you didn't really eat before, like rice for instance.

It isn't likely that the problem is that you need the gluten to be well, obviously. You will have to be a detective and find out what is causing the problem. Plus, be patient, the readjustment will take a little while.

I am sure your girlfriend won't dump you that quickly. If she loves you she'll want to help you figure this out.

[Molecular Dude]

Hi,

It's been 4 years since I started my gluten-free diet and, as a result, I feel pretty well most of the time. Despite this, and despite my being a scientist by vocation, I have yet to 100% identify all of the foods (or food ingedients) that irritate my digestive system. People with gluten-sensitivity tend to have allergies or sensitivities to other foods as well, so don't be surprised if eliminating only gluten doesn't "cure" you. You'll likely have to gradually identify those other bothersome foods/ingredients over a period of time. In my case, what complicates matters is that I tend not to have an immediate reaction to anything. Sometimes it takes 3-5 days for me to have symptoms; especially with trace quantities of gluten! So, figuring it all out can take some serious detective work (keep a food diary if necessary), but hang in there and soon you'll be feeling better.

[Bibulousman]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies. When I wrote the original post I was in a bit of discomfort, which has since passed.

I just find the whole situation ironic. I haven't changed my diet at all except to eliminate wheat and suddenly my gas has weapon grade properties. Usually people notice a problem, THEN go off wheat. I was 100% fine when I stopped eating wheat. I had no stomache discomfort or unusual gas. I just figured better safe than sorry and decided to make a life-style adjustment.

Maybe it is my body eliminating past poisons or something like that? I'll stick with it and see what happens. The people around me are praying for a quick stabilization!