How To Cope With The Stomach And Intestinal Pain.

[SergeTrigger]

Hello,

I have been recently diagnosed with Celiac's Disease, before I went to get medical help my stomach and intestines really hurt, they use to make weird draining sounds and my stomach made wave like motions. I couldnt absorb anything and I would vomit everyday because of the pain. My small intestines were inflamed and constricted in 100's of places. After spending a week in the hospital I am now able to eat gluten-free foods. But Im always so tired and I cant do my school work. Im a college student. My intestines still hurt even when easy foods pass thru it. Does anyone have any good tips on getting rid of this pain fast. I fell so behind in my work :[.

[YoloGx]

Recently I stumbled upon the specific carbohydrate diet (scd). It really might help you to heal more quickly. It is making a huge dif. for me. Its particularly good for someone in a crisis such as yourself.

Basically it means going off all grains and anything mucilaginous as well as complex carbohydrates and sugars. The good news is that with home made 24 hour yogurt and/or cabbage your gut gets populated by much needed microorganisms--esp. acidophilus in a form that is easy to ingest. Its important apparently to also avoid FOS and Bifidus--which you often get with pro-biotic capsules.

This diet is more strict than just the gluten free diet, but if you are in pain it could quickly reverse your condition; as a result you could actually end up having a larger compliment of things to eat without adverse effect. For instance I couldn't eat any fruit previous to this scd diet but now can with relative abandon. Ditto with certain cheeses as well as honey. Sugar however is still a no no since its too complex molecularly for me and others like me to digest very well at all.

You may or may not need to stay on a diet such as this for a while, but in the meantime it could really help.

You can look it up on the Internet, and/or get the book: Elaine Gottschall's "Stop the Vicious Cycle." There is a scd thread here on celiac.com originally started by Ali. You might want to look it up!

[ang1e0251]

That's really good advice. I was still having intestinal pain until I really restricted the alternate grains. I was surprised how much better I felt. Since you've had more serious problems than I, the SCD might be a good way for you to get everything calmed down. Cabbage really is very good for digestion, I used to eat a small amount of sauerkraut every day to help. Of course, it didn't completely work as I was still eating gluten.

[goatmilkpower]

Hi,

My heart really goes out to you. I too am a college student and have really struggled these past few years to get through school. I went on an elimination diet that's similar to the SCD a few months ago and am truly feeling a whole lot better than I was, if not 100% yet. What's been best to relieve the pain for me has been a hot water bottle over my tummy- it helps move everything along and sort of dull the hurting. I really hope you start to feel better soon, I know how frustrating and difficult it can all be. Feel free to contact me with any other questions- I know it's especially hard to manage Celiac while a student- especially when most college students can be so carefree with health issues.

Best

[Gfresh404]

  SergeTrigger said:

Hello,

I have been recently diagnosed with Celiac's Disease, before I went to get medical help my stomach and intestines really hurt, they use to make weird draining sounds and my stomach made wave like motions. I couldnt absorb anything and I would vomit everyday because of the pain. My small intestines were inflamed and constricted in 100's of places. After spending a week in the hospital I am now able to eat gluten-free foods. But Im always so tired and I cant do my school work. Im a college student. My intestines still hurt even when easy foods pass thru it. Does anyone have any good tips on getting rid of this pain fast. I fell so behind in my work :[.

Man do I know exactly what you're going through. I missed nearly a month of classes because I did not know I was gluten intolerant (all the tests for celiac disease were coming up as negative). And this all happened to me freshmen year. It IS a lot to deal with, but it's certainly not impossible. For better or for worse I seem to be a pill popper or an herb junky if you will. I can't stop searching for that "one" pill that will cure me and just make the pain/fatigue go away. Well I can't say that I have found "the pill" but I have found a couple that are pretty darn close. First off, definitely get a good probiotic. I take Acidophilus Pearls by Enzymatic Therapy, they're cheap and am very pleased with them. Secondly, try to get a good multivitamin. If you can afford it, definitely spend the extra cash for a food based one. I take New Chapter's Every Man's One Daily. Food based vitamins are said to be more easily absorbed and assimilated than synthetic vitamins. Thirdly, consider taking some anti-inflammatory herbs. I just started taking slippery elm bark and it really helps to calm and sooth the intestines. Here is a short article on it:

Slippery elm has a soothing, calming effect on inflamed and damaged gut lining. It is used widely for a range of gastrointestinal disorders. This soothing action can be attributed to its antioxidant action in the gut which has been proven in a number of clinical studies, some on inflammatory bowel disease patients where severe inflammation is present12,13. In addition, slippery elm provides mucilage which coats and protects the intestinal lining from toxins and pathogenic organisms.

Taken from: Open Original Shared Link

Aloe, Milk Thistle, Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice, and Echinacea are also very powerful, calming, and soothing anti-inflammatories that you could try.

Lastly, I would recommend cutting out all grains for a while. The only grain I would even try to consume is white rice. That is still the only grain I am eating and I have been gluten free for almost 9 months. Try to get most of your carbs from fruits and vegetables, I eat a lot of potatoes. I'd also recommend staying away from any type on insoluble fiber, this can cause the intestines to spasm since it technically is just a very rough laxative. (Slippery elm actually does contain insoluble fiber but it does not seem to bother me that much.)

I would have also told you to try the SCD but when your in college it is nearly impossible imo. You just do not want to put that much effort into eating.

You could also try Glutamine, but definitely do your own research and form your own opinion about its safety. It has caused some strange side effects in myself.

For now, I would try to stick with the top four recommendations. Feel free to PM me any further questions.

I know it is tough but things will only get better in time, just keep reminding yourself of that fact. Good luck!

[YoloGx]

I agree with GFResh--try the slippery elm, marshmallow root and probiotics first, however if the herbs etc. don't work, or don't work enough, then consider going off grains, and if that isn't enough try the SCD. No matter what however I would also suggest making your own 24 hour home made yogurt and/or fermented cabbage if you can. The probiotics from home made fermented foods like that seem to be the best.

[blueshift]

  SergeTrigger said:

Hello,

I have been recently diagnosed with Celiac's Disease, before I went to get medical help my stomach and intestines really hurt, they use to make weird draining sounds and my stomach made wave like motions. I couldnt absorb anything and I would vomit everyday because of the pain. My small intestines were inflamed and constricted in 100's of places. After spending a week in the hospital I am now able to eat gluten-free foods. But Im always so tired and I cant do my school work. Im a college student. My intestines still hurt even when easy foods pass thru it. Does anyone have any good tips on getting rid of this pain fast. I fell so behind in my work :[.

It depends upon what you are eating for a gluten-free diet. Everyone makes mistakes at first and I had to realize that I have to control my own cooking. No energy implies that your food is too much processed although some of that isn't all bad.

Do you get constipation or diarrea? That can make a big difference in what you eat. I have found that adding flax meal and flax seed to my diet is of great help. I get constipation die to two bowel obstruction surgeries leaving scar tissue thoughout my colon. If I had diarrea I would add something like bananas and honey to the diet to slow things down. I have found that cooking vegetables properly is of great help. I stir fry hard vegetables like cauliflower (cut into slices like a loaf of bread)

in olive oil and cover it, uncovering only to stir, for five minutes before adding zucchini for the last five minutes. You want to stir/steam it.

When I eat the cauliflower raw with zucchini I add Daddy Sam's Slop It On Barbeque Sawce. It tastes better than any sauce on the market and has no fat but enough sugar to slow down the rumbles. I eat a lot of East Indian food because a lot of it has no gluten or wheat. Throw away any prejudices you might have. The number of cuisines in East India that have no curry exceeds the number of days in your life multiplied by 3. Many people there make it a goal to go 63 years without eating the same meal twice. Tandoor chicken has everything backed off the map and the tecture of their potatoes and bell pepper dishes made me ask them about cooking techniques.

My energy level is just great and yours will be as well when you experiment on your own. Your body is not the same as everyone's on this message board. Good luck!

[ben-s]

there are a number of alternatives outside of the commercial market with medicines, vitamins etc, with herbs, teas etc, that i am only beginning to look into myself

this thread is a good source for me just as much as the original poster, but i can tell you that even plain peppermint tea off the shelf (as long as it doesn't have any additives, flavorings, colorings etc) gives me great relief for stomach comfort

only because it wasn't mentioned in this thread, Ginseng Tea is another option to consider which has a number of different uses for headaches, digestion, fatigue, athritis relief, asthma relief, reducing the effect of Crohn's, stomach ulcers and others