Hi Folks, I'm New Here.

[Pete1961]

I'm not convinced 100% its celiac disease, but at the very least I have some awful debilitating irritable bowel symptoms. Ive had it for years - now its just so bad it makes me often worn out and tired, bloated, depressed and jittery at the same time. I nned to see a doc - this week I'm making an appointment to see a GP. Frankly I'd have gone already but the insurance makes it a pain inthe neck. First I see a general practitioner - then a GI doc I suppose. Whats been making me put it off is the way doctors work it'll be a good two months before I finally get any ground covered. I'm making an appointment this week though.

I was doing well. I tried the gluten free diet thing and for a couple of days my stomach and rest of system was rather unusually quiet. No burning and bloating and - you know. Then last night I had some Breyers ice cream and everything went to hell. Im even suspicious of the gluten free pancakes as they made one uncomfortable exit. Since this morning, all Ive had is fatigue from the over reacting intestines.

I had french fries for lunch from a local seafood joint [good actually] and my tract has been noithing but overly warm, bloated... everything it wasnt yesterday.

I dont know... did the Breyers kick it off? They deep fry a lot of junk at the seafood place [ the seafood in any form there rocks though] . Did the french fries do it because of the deep fried batters they fry in the same oil?

I was refreshingly calm yesterday. I woke up today and its been not nice. It started with the exit of the gluten free pancakes from the day before.

Can gluten free prodcuts cause cramps and such like msg? I bought expensive spagheti thats gluten free.

I'm double thinking it now.

Help.

Pete

[psawyer]

Welcome to the board.

My first guess is the fryer oil. If they fry battered stuff in the same oil as the french fries, some gluten will transfer to the oil and then to the fries.

If you are new to the diet, and have damage to the villi, then digestive issues are likely to continue until the villi heal, even if your diet is 100% gluten-free. Many of us need to avoid dairy, at least at first. There may be other intolerances that exist besides gluten. Some of these may pass. Prior to my diagnosis and gluten-free diet, I knew I had an issue with eggs--I could only have them in small quantities. Since my body has healed on the gluten-free diet, it seems I can eat as many eggs as I want with not adverse effects.

It will take time for your body to heal.

[Mother of Jibril]

Hi Pete,

Before you dive into the gluten-free diet you really should get the blood test for celiac disease. It's easy and not too expensive... any GP can order it. Once you get the results you can post them on here and get more advice.

A couple of quick thoughts about your experience so far... french fries are off-limits unless you know for sure that things with gluten (wheat, barley, rye) are never fried in the same batter. I would be waaaay too scared to try the french fries at a seafood restaurant. The Breyers might have gluten (I don't know... I'm off dairy products right now). If your intestines are damaged... whether from celiac or another bowel disorder... then I wouldn't be surprised if you have a hard time digesting things like dairy, soy, corn, or even grains in general. Just because it's gluten-free doesn't mean your body can tolerate it (at least not yet)

There's a lot to learn... welcome to the group!

[Foxfire62]

I would say you should first decide whether or not you want to be 100% diagnosed with celiac disease. If so, you need to stay on a gluten diet until blood tests and biopsies of your small intestine confirm you have the disease. I would highly recommend you have this done. I understand how long it can take to confirm. I started having the strangest symptoms in April 2008, and I wasn't officially diagnosed with the disease until August 2008; that's a long time.

Get referred to a GI immediately. Request the celiac blood panel, and even if results are negative, push at the same time you get your blood panel to be scoped and biopsied. Once you are confirmed, go on a strict, VERY strict gluten-free diet. How quickly you recover will be determined by your age and the severity of damage. It can take an adult anywhere from 1-2 years to recover. Young adults or children can take far less.

Until you are recovered, stick with the very dry basics; fresh fruit, vegetables, salad (I'd even stay away from dressing at first), and the freshest of meats. Stay away from processed food!!! Eat only gluten-free breads and pastas. Eat a lot of rice/brown rice/quinoa. I would recommend initially staying away from restaurants and fast food joints, even if they offer gluten-free menus. The reason I say this is because you will be new to all of this, and you should concentrate on recovering and learning more about what you can and cannot have. It is apparent by your post that you aren't too familiar with some of the possible "hidden" sources of gluten (i.e., french fries). Learn about cross-contamination, because this is extremely important.

Do this until you are healed. You can always experiment later once your system is working properly and you understand all the hidden sources of gluten. Then, you should slowly venture out and try restaurants and introduce other gluten-free grocery items in your diet.

Another thing to understand is, if you are indeed a celiac, you can develop intolerances you've never had before to some of the more common allergens, such as lactose, soy, eggs, nuts, etc. You might want to stay away from these until your intestines are fully healed as well.

I am still recovering. I've gone from severely blunted villi to mildly blunted villi, but I continue to have problems digesting fats. It can be a rough road to recovery, and you needn't complicate it, which is why I recommend you stick to the very bland basics before venturing onto foods you believe to be gluten-free. This way, once you are healed, you will know immediately when you are glutened and understand its affect on you.

Those are my recommendations. Good luck!