Stomach Pain & Painful "lumps"?

[agorm76]

Hi! I was diagnosed with Celiac from biopsy in July & have been gluten-free since (except I just recently found out my make-up/ shampoo, etc. was not gluten-free...so now working that out of my system). I have severe stomach pains, but besides celiac nothing has shown on CT scans, ultrasounds, etc. I have gallbladder attacks and 4 painful masses in my stomach (2 upper rib cage area, 2 lower pelvic area) that shoot pain after eating--not as much anymore. The drs have looked and looked for the masses, but can't find them--they can feel them though...are they just super-sensitive spots? I was glutened the other day and felt extremely sick to my stomach and the pains started--it really put me out for a couple of days. Is this all part of Celiac? Does anyone else have masses? Will they go away with the pain? How do you know if you need surgery to repair your gallbladder--my biopsy came back looking pretty bad--the GI doctor said my stomach was extremely inflamed & lined in mucous--anyone else? He wasn't the best dr.--he basically told me I had Celiac and it is impossible to live with, but try to go on a gluten-free diet and see you later...Thanks for any help y'all may have!

[MaryJones2]

Before going gluten-free I felt like I had a golf ball in my stomach and a softball behind my naval. My doctors could never find a mass but they really felt like masses to me. They went away after a few months gluten-free and only come back now when I've been severely glutened.

[agorm76]

Before going gluten-free I felt like I had a golf ball in my stomach and a softball behind my naval. My doctors could never find a mass but they really felt like masses to me. They went away after a few months gluten-free and only come back now when I've been severely glutened.

Thank you so much--that helps--I don't feel as crazy now

[jerseyangel]

Trapped gas can feel like that--I used to have that happen too and it's quite painful.

[gfmolly]

Hi! I was diagnosed with Celiac from biopsy in July & have been gluten-free since (except I just recently found out my make-up/ shampoo, etc. was not gluten-free...so now working that out of my system). I have severe stomach pains, but besides celiac nothing has shown on CT scans, ultrasounds, etc. I have gallbladder attacks and 4 painful masses in my stomach (2 upper rib cage area, 2 lower pelvic area) that shoot pain after eating--not as much anymore. The drs have looked and looked for the masses, but can't find them--they can feel them though...are they just super-sensitive spots? I was glutened the other day and felt extremely sick to my stomach and the pains started--it really put me out for a couple of days. Is this all part of Celiac? Does anyone else have masses? Will they go away with the pain? How do you know if you need surgery to repair your gallbladder--my biopsy came back looking pretty bad--the GI doctor said my stomach was extremely inflamed & lined in mucous--anyone else? He wasn't the best dr.--he basically told me I had Celiac and it is impossible to live with, but try to go on a gluten-free diet and see you later...Thanks for any help y'all may have!

The other possibility is inflammation in the valve area between the stomach and the intestines. Mine get very irritated when I get D from gluten.

[April in KC]

I suffer from "C" (opposite of "D") unless glutened, and I tend to get a lump around where the ileocecal valve is that separates the small intestine from the large one...lower right quadrant...I assume this is pretty normal and just something I feel because I'm pretty thin. Eventually it moves. In my experience, it is VERY painful to add an accidental glutening on top of "C". The resulting pressure from Celiac-related gas can be excruciating.

I also get back pain under my right ribs - my gallbladder tests are fine. I actually wear a pain patch when it's bad. I have a thread about it and willl post an update if I ever get a handle on what's causing it.

If you suffer from C, consider taking Miralax or fiber daily for a while to see if it helps with the amount of pain.

Also, if you get glutened, remember that dairy may temporarily be painful to consume since your villi are damaged (lactose is digested at the tips of the villi). We have a 'rule' around our gluten-free house that if you get glutened, you stay away from dairy for several days afterwards.

Have you considered whether you're still getting glutened from food?

Are these masses something that is always there, or something that comes and goes? Do they move, or are they in the same exact places?

[agorm76]

Thanks for all of your help! It probably is inflammation--my stomach was extremely inflamed in the biopsy. The lumps stay in the same place--and I probably do only feel them because I am so thin from gluten--but they only act up when glutened. I actually feel like it is almost impossible to be gluten-free! Am I doing something wrong--it's at least once a week that I have an attack and I'm miserable. I hate it because now instead of mostly "D" and a little "V", it has switched to almost immediate "V"--so I know for sure if I've eaten some. I'm very tired of throwing up. Any suggestions? I really appreciate everyone's comments.

[MaryJones2]

I'd recommend keeping a food diary and also keep notes about how you feel each day. Then you'll hopefully be able to nail down what is causing your problem. Revisit everything in your house and make sure it's all gluten-free. Avoid unprocessed foods and make as much from scratch using fresh foods as you can until you start feeling better.

[caek-is-a-lie]

Wow I've recently had a painful lump between my sternum and my navel, too. Like in the small intestine just below my stomach. No one can figure out what it is. I went in to the dr. for something unrelated, and she found this stomach lump during the exam. They did an ultrasound but didn't see anything like a hernia or a mass. But it's there and you can feel it if you push on it and it really hurts when people push on it. It also hurts sometimes when my digestive tract is sore from eating gluten, or sometimes just when I'm eating or drinking. I sure hope it goes away with more gluten avoidance! (which I also currently feel like it's impossible to do, but I think it's just taking awhile for my body to get rid of it...I'm still new at this.)

[AliB]

Have they checked for Helicobacter? If there is a lot mucous in the stomach it may be masking it.

Check out the Specific Carbohydrate Diet - it is designed to encourage healing by removing the carbohydrates that trigger rogue bacteria and parasites. Rogue bacterial and parasitic activity is often to blame for gut problems. Many of us suffer with things like Candida which has occurred due to gut dysbiosis.

Many things can put our gut flora out of balance - drugs, stress, etc., but the worst culprit is antibiotics that kill the good guys as well as the bad leaving the gut unprotected and open to infestation by pathogens. This is only just being realised and more research is starting to be done.

The benefit of probiotics is also now being realised. Not the sweet sugary drinks that pass for probios - they are counter-productive as sugar feeds the baddies.

We have a Specific Carb (SCD) thread on the 'Other Food Intolerances and Leaky Gut Syndrome' section on this forum if you want to know more and you can get more info from the 'Breaking the Vicious Cycle' and 'Pecanbread' websites. Many of us are really benefitting from the diet.

I hope this helps.

Ali.