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Experiencing Diarrhea With gluten-free Diet....help

kymom

By kymom
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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kymom Rookie
kymom
Posted

Hi, my husband has celiac and has been on a gluten-free diet since April. We are still learning but he seems to be doing good. He has gained 20 pounds since his diagnosis and looks so healthy :D but he is experiencing some diarrhea. We cut out bananas because we heard that they are loaded with acid...something we did not know! :huh: That was a bummer cause he loves them! He eats alot of meat and veggies, not much fruit. Could it be that he needs to eat more raw foods like fruit and raw veggies i.e. carrots, broccoli????? I'm confused on what is causing this. It only occurs in the mornings. He goes a few times then he is okay the rest of the day. Please help. Thanks! :)

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KristyUK Newbie
KristyUK
Posted

That is exactly what I am experiencing, although I am barely 2 weeks in to being gluten (and dairy) free. For the first few days, that was all that I got, but now I seem to have settled down into the D in the morning several times, followed by normal behaviour.

I don't know what it is. I don't even feel that I am suffering as I feel so much better than I did before, I have lost weight (I was one of those abnormal people who were overweight with it!), I sleep better and I have tons of energy.

I can't tolerate bananas now - I had one and it made me feel as if I was back on the gluten again. I am eating *a lot* of raw fruit and veg, plus lots of nuts as well, in addition to meat/fish. I have tried cutting back on the fruit to see if that is it, but no, I still get the same thing. I have also noticed that I don't seem to be able to digest tomatoes as well as I could (if you see what I mean). I don't eat any of the 'gluten-free' products you can buy - to me they seem nutritionally poor, so I'd rather just eat unprocessed food (but that's just me).

So in short, it seems as if me and your husband are having the same symptoms, but for different reasons! But then, everybody is different! For me, I think that my insides were coated in gluten and dairy and so all of a sudden, they are now experiencing what it feels like to come into contact with all this good food - plus all of my food intake is 'real' food rather than all the bread/pasta/cereal/dairy I was eating before.

Maybe it just takes time...

I hope your husband continues to do well.

ranger Enthusiast
ranger
Posted

Maybe cut out the dairy -that's a problem for many of us. And, if you're not used to a major increase in fruits and veges, you're not used to a lot of fiber. Try going slowly on that. Good luck to both of you.

Susan

mbrookes Community Regular
mbrookes
Posted

I've had to learn that not all tummy upsets are Celiac related. Example: I had diarrea during a course of antibiotics (normal) and too much wine (also normal) It is easy once diagnosed to blame everything on gluten, but that is not always the case.

ENF Enthusiast
ENF
Posted

I take Probiotics, the nondairy types because I don't want to ingest any casein. It seems to help.

KristyUK Newbie
KristyUK
Posted

Yep, I think I can narrow mine down to eating things that I haven't eaten for a *long* time, so my body is going 'what on earth is THAT?!'. I've always eaten fruit and veg, but new things (to me) like avocado and certain types of pate are certainly new kids on the block to my healing insides. As I said though, for me I feel absolutely great, so I'm not too worried.

kymom Rookie
kymom
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for all your responses. I guess we will keep trying things....overall he seems to be doing great considering that when he was diagnosed he was hospitalized with a low blood count of 5! He had to have blood transfusion of 4 pints....felt like a new man after about a week. All your comments are greatly appreciated!

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    • catnapt
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By catnapt · Posted

      after several years of issues with a para-gland issue, my endo has decided it's a good idea for me to be tested for celiac disease. I am 70 yrs old and stunned to learn that you can get celiac this late in life. I have just gradually stopped eating most foods that contain gluten over the past several years- they just make me feel ill- although I attributed it to other things like bread spiking blood sugar- or to the things I ate *with* the bread or crackers etc   I went to a party in Nov and ate a LOT of a vegan roast made with vital wheat gluten- as well as stuffing, rolls and pie crust... and OMG I was so sick! the pain, the bloating, the gas, the nausea... I didn't think it would ever end (but it did) and I was ready to go the ER but it finally subsided.   I mentioned this to my endo and now she wants me to be tested for celiac after 2 weeks of being on gluten foods. She has kind of flip flopped on how much gluten I should eat, telling me that if the symptoms are severe I can stop. I am eating 2-3 thin slices of bread per day (or english muffins) and wow- it does make me feel awful. But not as bad as when I ate that massive amnt of vital wheat gluten. so I will continue on if I have to... but what bothers me is - if it IS celiac, it seems stupid for lack of a better word, to intentionally cause more damage to my body... but I am also worried, on the other hand, that this is not a long enough challenge to make the blood work results valid.   can you give me any insight into this please?   thank you
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