What Exactly Do The Symptoms Mean?

[roddi]

Hey everyone. I got some tests done, blood work, doc says, everything normal.

I went completely gluten-free, been feeling much much better..

here are some important questions i have been unable to answer, your help would be appreciated

1. many people say diarrhea is common for those with celiac disease. Now, being lactose intolerant, i know if i ingest lactose, i often head for the washroom within a short period of time. With celiac disease, is it the same, or is it, that one generally can go more often etc.. and have ibs symptoms, i.e. incomplete movements etc

2. pasta would always make me sick, ..running to the washroom eventually, yet, sometimes, most breads dont.. i can eat 10 buns in a row and be fine..

why is this? this confuses the hell out of me..

going gluten-free, i have less morning sickness.. i would always feel the urge to go to the washroom right in the morning.. is this common

3. healing process. one goes gluten-free.. sure, ive noticed improvements.. is there a common standard for the time it takes to see improvement, is 2 weeks to early..is 2 months too long etc. i understand it varies.. im just curious.

Has anyone seen progressive improvement over months, how so, i'd like to know

they thought it was ibs.. then had an ulcer.. im 29, had these probs since.. 21 or so.. more prevalent every year.

thanks for your time, your posts have really helped me.

rob

Toronto, ON

www.v2r.ca/me

[darlindeb25]

hi rob--so many questions and you will get just as many answers here----diarrhea is different for many--some had it all the time, some had it sometimes and some never did--as for going gluten-free and the speed at which we heal--that is different for everybody too--many feel a change right away, they feel less bubbly inside, a calm so to speak--depending on the damage already done can determine how long it takes to feel better--its not a perfect science--i can say, that the longer you are gluten free the faster you will know if you ate something with gluten--i hope i answered some of your questions deb and welcome to the forum

[celiac3270]

Remember that whether or not you have symptoms, it will still affect your body just as much to eat the rolls. Symptoms aren't always dependable or predictable--before being diagnosed, I would eat a huge bagel every morning and be fine, but if I ate a slice of pizza, I'd get really sick. The bagel still damaged my intestines just as much, but for some reason, it didn't provide external symptoms.

Two weeks is usually too soon to heal entirely, but some have their symptoms vanish after two weeks on the diet. I think most common is the 2-5 month range for symptoms to vanish if one had symptoms in the first place. It is not terribly uncommon, though, to follow a strict gluten-free diet and still have symptoms many months in--some take over a year to feel totally healed. I'm still feeling sick 10 months in....and I am ultra-paranoid about contamination and everything, as well.

Anyway, welcome to the boards.

-celiac3270

[MySuicidalTurtle]

1. Everyone is really different. I know my mother rushes to the bathroom after eating gluten but still has IBS symptoms and all where as my brother and I (all of us have Celiacs) don't have the IBS symptoms and such.

2. This is the same with me. Before being diagnosed I would eat chicken breasts on buns. My fav. where whole wheat ones and I'd get sick after eating them but then when I would use regular buns I wouldn't be ill at all or maybe have symptoms the next morning. I could eat regular white bread without being sick but then Saltines would go right though me. Our bodies react to different things in different times.

I was ALWAYS sick every morning. It was just how things were. It has takeb me a long time to get used to not being sick in the mornings. In High School (when I was most sick) I woud feel awful in first hour and would leave home early (so I wouldn't be caught in traffic) just so when I got sick I was near a restroom. If I had places to go I would be sure to wake up with plenty of time since I knew I'd be sick as soon as I woke.

3. I stopped getting sick right away. However, I was at the point where anything I ate made me sick. I had to go on a "Don't eat anything that makes you sick" diet and then could slowly introduce things like lettuce and tomato then cheese and so on and on and on. Now I can eat everything if I wanted (but I don't eat animals and try not using milk products). This way of doing it helped me a lot. I have been on the gluten-free died for over a year and a half.

Nice to meet you, Rob.

Kristina

[roddi]

Guys, wow. your posts/replies really were great, and really validated some of my thoughts. My blood work didn't show signs of celiac.. but i have been feeling better much better being gluten-free..

for people with celiac disease.. can other things still upset u.. i.e. i had mcdonalds fries last nite and have been so ill for 24 hours.. and i look on their site.. and well, nope.. no gluten in them! odd !!!

anyhow. i look forward to reading about your experiences and things. thanks for sharing.. it was really great!

rob

www.v2r.ca/me

[akcandle]

McDonald's Fry's...I can't eat them either. I am going out on a limb here, as I am new to this. However, all the research I have done points to the fact that it's difficult for gluten damaged intestines to digest fat, and the fry's are deep fried in Oil which would kind of "slide right through you".

I also can't eat their hamburgers. I react violently to them. I don't know if it's just the bun or a combo of the bun and whatever they put in their burger. I assume there is a ton of "filler" in them.

Just my newbie two cents.

Carla

[Mosaics]

My children and I were diagnosed about 18 mos. ago and have been gluten-free since then. I've found that I learn something new about celiac disease almost every time I read on this board. One of the things I learned from reading this thread was that the morning sickness isn't unique to me and is just another strange symtom of celiac disease.

In high school and beyond, I used to frequently feel sick in the morning. I would have to get up and start to get ready for school/work, then have to lay down for a while, then get up for a little while longer, then lay down, etc. My 21 year old daughter has to do the same thing. I usually didn't eat breakfast because of it. But if I did...it would be toast. How ironic is that?

To answer some of the questions in the OP, my oldest bro. has celiac disease, but didn't find out until about the time I did. He was having terrible digestive problems and acid reflux so badly that he had a nodule on his vocal chords. Since we here on the celiac disease board tend to speak frankly about sensitive or personal health issues, I'll let you all know that he had an internal hemorhoid (sp?). It was causing so much pain that he could hardly eat anything for fear of the BM. Anyway, when he went on the gluten-free diet, he said he was 99% better within two days. And his acid reflux is gone.

I personally did not have any terribly bothersome symptoms, but I did have acid reflux enough so that I had to take Zantac frequently at bedtime. When I went gluten-free, I never had to take another Zantac and over the next few months, my acid reflux went away completely.

Also, you may find that things that you thought were normal or that you may not even have taken notice of will slowly get better or go away.

My brother told me this. When he went gluten-free, it was like a person who didn't know he was loosing his sight put on glasses and suddenly could see clearly. He thought that all his problems were just age related (he's 48 now) and something that he just had to endure.

[celiac3270]

McDonald's Fry's...I can't eat them either. I am going out on a limb here, as I am new to this. However, all the research I have done points to the fact that it's difficult for gluten damaged intestines to digest fat, and the fry's are deep fried in Oil which would kind of "slide right through you".

I also can't eat their hamburgers. I react violently to them. I don't know if it's just the bun or a combo of the bun and whatever they put in their burger. I assume there is a ton of "filler" in them.

McDonalds fries are gluten-free, but you need to make sure that they're cooked in a designated oil...or only with hashbrowns. I don't know if every fastfood joint run by McDonalds runs the same way and I doubt it, so that's something to be careful of.

Fat is difficult on the system...my doctor suggested that I limit fats in my diet, as they are hard to digest.....just wanted to verify that . For those with persistent diarrhea, try limiting or eliminating sugars, which can affect bowels. Acidic foods can be tough on the system as well, in addition to the particularly-hard-to-break-down-and-digest sugars of the watermelon and grape. Finally, the skin of an apple is something to avoid.

To my understanding, McDonalds burgers (w/o the bun) are gluten-free. When you say "I don't know if it's just the bun or a combo of the bun and whatever they put in their burger..." are you saying that you eat the bun? If so, there's your problem! That's pure gluten!! If you remove the bun or you think the burger touches a bun behind the counter before you get it, then that's still the problem--cross-contamination from the crumbs. The burger itself is supposedly gluten-free, so the problem has to be in the staff's handling or preparation of your food. If you think that there's a lot of filler in them or something, you shouldn't eat it, though.

I usually didn't eat breakfast because of it. But if I did...it would be toast. How ironic is that?

Lol...I know...if I was sick (from gluten, I now know), I'd eat saltines, toast, and cheerios!

-celiac3270