Bad Diarrhea

[MKat]

My major symptoms before going gluten free were D and major bloating. I went gluten-free in the spring for 3 weeks and it was good. I went back on for 3 months for testing and I was so sick w/D 10-15 x a day. All tests came back negative. I went gluten-free anyway and felt pretty good for 2 1/2 months. I ate gluten-free oats 10 days ago and the diarrhea won't stop. It's been 7 times already today ( and I even finally took an immodium today). I usually don't feel bad at all, just have the watery D. Today I've actually felt icky too. What comes out is pale, watery w/my undigested food (sorry for the gross details).

I'm sure the next step everyone will tell me is to try eliminating dairy. I don't eat a lot of dairy anyway - cheese about 1 x a week on gluten-free pizza and a few small pieces of chocolate a day...and occasional yogurt. Can that little amount of dairy produce this awful D? Can you be as sensitive to little amts of dairy as you can be gluten? Most gluten-free stuff I eat is casein free as well.

I have racked my brain to figure out if I'm still glutening myself (because this is the same way I was during my testing time when I was back on gluten). I've checked vitamins, CC, foods, beauty products...the only thing I could possibly be taking is that darn Synthroid that they can't guarantee is gluten-free anymore.

[lizard00]

Many celiacs cannot tolerate gluten-free oats. That appears to be the catalyst for this reaction, so maybe take this as your hard lesson learned. You can try to eliminate the remaining dairy in your diet, but I would think if you were going to react to it, you would have by now. Oats have a very similar protein to gluten, which is why many react. A dietician at a support group meeting I went to said that even after years of being gluten-free, her experience has shown that the celiacs who could eat oats could tolerate, at most, 1/4 cup cooked. Oats make me feel pretty icky, too.

[MKat]

Many celiacs cannot tolerate gluten-free oats. That appears to be the catalyst for this reaction, so maybe take this as your hard lesson learned. You can try to eliminate the remaining dairy in your diet, but I would think if you were going to react to it, you would have by now. Oats have a very similar protein to gluten, which is why many react. A dietician at a support group meeting I went to said that even after years of being gluten-free, her experience has shown that the celiacs who could eat oats could tolerate, at most, 1/4 cup cooked. Oats make me feel pretty icky, too.

But for this long - 10 days? I just can't seem to recover and I don't know what to eat while I"m trying to recover - maybe just some chicken and cooked vegies??

[AliB]

Over the last 2 years or so that I have been on this forum I have seen so often those who get a bit better after dumping gluten then seem to regress again for no apparent reason.

What they all seem to have in common is that they generally are reacting to other carbohydrate foods, whether oats or corn or soy, etc.

I have long suspected that this may be due to microbial activity in the gut, with the beasties just transferring their food to another source as we start to eliminate them from our diet.

However, recently I have had a bit of a change of thought on it, and whilst I do feel that pathogenic bugs in the gut can be instrumental, I now feel that much of this added intolerance may well be due to underlying dehydration.

You might think, how can I be dehydrated when this liquid is constantly pouring out of me, but when you think that constipation is often due to a lack of water in the gut for mobility, if the water shortage is so bad that it is now impacting on the actual digestive process then the body is going to use the water it does get to bypass digestion and get the food straight out of the gut.

From that point of view, diarrhea is actually the next step on from constipation. That kind of figures. When I was on gluten I was like you with it just running straight through me. I dumped the gluten, and then most carbs and dairy because my digestion still couldn't cope with them and started following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

That helped quite a bit, but didn't answer all the questions. I had then ended up with constipation instead and couldn't figure out why, when I had had diarrhea before.

What the diet did was remove all the hard to digest foods from my diet - the foods that need lots of water for digestion, grains, starches, sugars and dairy. Back at the beginning I couldn't even cope with meat, eggs or nuts, but gradually that has improved and I can now eat most things although I am still restricting the carbs at present. The veggies and fruits work ok because they provide the body with a supply of water for their own digestion. The honey in moderation is ok because it does not deplete the body of too much water unlike sugar which needs a huge amount for digestion.

But although these things worked I still wasn't addressing the underlying dehydration. Now I have realised what is going on, I have recognised that this has been an issue for me for the last 40 years. I never have been an avid drinker - thinking I was ok because my pee was fairly light coloured. But that only tells you about immediate dehydration, not underlying. It is the underlying that shows up in other health issues - the digestion, the skin, the joints, the eyes, the hair, etc., etc.

The Western diet is very dehydrating. It is full of carbs and sugar. Not only that but much of what we drink is also very dehydrating. The body needs a lot of water to process the caffeine, tannins and oxalic acids, etc., in tea and coffee, the sweeteners and sugars in squashes and fruit juices, the chemicals and sugars in soft drinks and the alcohol in - well, alcohol.

If the food we are eating is very dehydrating, and the drinks we are drinking are very dehydrating then eventually something's gotta give!

About 75% of the body is water. If you go down to 74.99% then you are in hydration deficit and something will not work properly. Because people often are 'grazing' all day long, the stomach acid is constantly pouring into the stomach and the bicarbonates are constantly being poured into the duodenum to neutralise it when it leaves the stomach and the food is constantly being pushed down the gut. It all needs lots of water to complete those processes.

Usually, water is the last thing it is likely to get!

I am now rehydrating my body. It will take a while, but even after two weeks I am beginning to see the difference. My digestion is improving. My hair has stopped falling out, my skin is softer, my joints feel better, and my sleep is sounder. On top of that, I am Diabetic and have seen my blood sugar levels improving. I am even hopeful that I might be able to reverse it at some point.

Interestingly too, I was exposed to gluten this week but unusually I didn't react. In a few months time when I am more rehydrated I am going to do a gluten challenge to see what happens.

It is early days, but this has been a 'Eureka!' moment for me. I know this is what has been behind most, if not all of my health problems and suspect that I am far from alone.

When you see what children eat and drink these days, is it any wonder that childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes is so rampant in them?

I have replaced most of my drinks with plain water - I just allow myself one hot choc or coffee a day now and sometimes I don't even bother with that.

Dr. Batmanghelidj, who rediscovered the benefit of water recommends drinking one's lbs weight in fluid ounces (so if you weigh say 180lbs you'd drink 90 fl oz) spread throughout the day usually a glass or two about half an hour before meals and some more no less than two and a half hours after eating - so three meals a day and no snacking. But I find with drinking the water I don't need to snack anyway.

He also recommends taking a little pure unrefined Sea or Rock Salt - about a quarter to half a teaspoon sprinkled on food throughout the day to help keep the electrolytes and minerals balanced.

The less carbs we consume the better during rehydration, which can take some months - don't be tempted to try and hurry it by drinking more water - that could be dangerous. If we are eating lots of carbs we are draining the body of the benefit of the water, and rehydration would take an awful lot longer.

So, my thought on your question of whether eating chicken soup would help is yes, and the main reason is because it supplies the body with water!

If you gradually up your water intake hopefully you will find that the diarrhea will stop - you might still be visiting the bathroom pretty regularly but at least it will be for the right reason not the diarrhea!

[ksymonds84]

Have you tried a soy elimination? I recently discovered that I am Soy intolerant as well and that is what has kept me from healing. Now I finally feel great 98% of the time! Soy Lecithin (not everyone reacts to soy lecithin) gets me as well and it is in most chocoloate candy. Hope you can figure it out!

[MKat]

Over the last 2 years or so that I have been on this forum I have seen so often those who get a bit better after dumping gluten then seem to regress again for no apparent reason.

What they all seem to have in common is that they generally are reacting to other carbohydrate foods, whether oats or corn or soy, etc.

I have long suspected that this may be due to microbial activity in the gut, with the beasties just transferring their food to another source as we start to eliminate them from our diet.

However, recently I have had a bit of a change of thought on it, and whilst I do feel that pathogenic bugs in the gut can be instrumental, I now feel that much of this added intolerance may well be due to underlying dehydration.

You might think, how can I be dehydrated when this liquid is constantly pouring out of me, but when you think that constipation is often due to a lack of water in the gut for mobility, if the water shortage is so bad that it is now impacting on the actual digestive process then the body is going to use the water it does get to bypass digestion and get the food straight out of the gut.

From that point of view, diarrhea is actually the next step on from constipation. That kind of figures. When I was on gluten I was like you with it just running straight through me. I dumped the gluten, and then most carbs and dairy because my digestion still couldn't cope with them and started following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

That helped quite a bit, but didn't answer all the questions. I had then ended up with constipation instead and couldn't figure out why, when I had had diarrhea before.

What the diet did was remove all the hard to digest foods from my diet - the foods that need lots of water for digestion, grains, starches, sugars and dairy. Back at the beginning I couldn't even cope with meat, eggs or nuts, but gradually that has improved and I can now eat most things although I am still restricting the carbs at present. The veggies and fruits work ok because they provide the body with a supply of water for their own digestion. The honey in moderation is ok because it does not deplete the body of too much water unlike sugar which needs a huge amount for digestion.

But although these things worked I still wasn't addressing the underlying dehydration. Now I have realised what is going on, I have recognised that this has been an issue for me for the last 40 years. I never have been an avid drinker - thinking I was ok because my pee was fairly light coloured. But that only tells you about immediate dehydration, not underlying. It is the underlying that shows up in other health issues - the digestion, the skin, the joints, the eyes, the hair, etc., etc.

The Western diet is very dehydrating. It is full of carbs and sugar. Not only that but much of what we drink is also very dehydrating. The body needs a lot of water to process the caffeine, tannins and oxalic acids, etc., in tea and coffee, the sweeteners and sugars in squashes and fruit juices, the chemicals and sugars in soft drinks and the alcohol in - well, alcohol.

If the food we are eating is very dehydrating, and the drinks we are drinking are very dehydrating then eventually something's gotta give!

About 75% of the body is water. If you go down to 74.99% then you are in hydration deficit and something will not work properly. Because people often are 'grazing' all day long, the stomach acid is constantly pouring into the stomach and the bicarbonates are constantly being poured into the duodenum to neutralise it when it leaves the stomach and the food is constantly being pushed down the gut. It all needs lots of water to complete those processes.

Usually, water is the last thing it is likely to get!

I am now rehydrating my body. It will take a while, but even after two weeks I am beginning to see the difference. My digestion is improving. My hair has stopped falling out, my skin is softer, my joints feel better, and my sleep is sounder. On top of that, I am Diabetic and have seen my blood sugar levels improving. I am even hopeful that I might be able to reverse it at some point.

Interestingly too, I was exposed to gluten this week but unusually I didn't react. In a few months time when I am more rehydrated I am going to do a gluten challenge to see what happens.

It is early days, but this has been a 'Eureka!' moment for me. I know this is what has been behind most, if not all of my health problems and suspect that I am far from alone.

When you see what children eat and drink these days, is it any wonder that childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes is so rampant in them?

I have replaced most of my drinks with plain water - I just allow myself one hot choc or coffee a day now and sometimes I don't even bother with that.

Dr. Batmanghelidj, who rediscovered the benefit of water recommends drinking one's lbs weight in fluid ounces (so if you weigh say 180lbs you'd drink 90 fl oz) spread throughout the day usually a glass or two about half an hour before meals and some more no less than two and a half hours after eating - so three meals a day and no snacking. But I find with drinking the water I don't need to snack anyway.

He also recommends taking a little pure unrefined Sea or Rock Salt - about a quarter to half a teaspoon sprinkled on food throughout the day to help keep the electrolytes and minerals balanced.

The less carbs we consume the better during rehydration, which can take some months - don't be tempted to try and hurry it by drinking more water - that could be dangerous. If we are eating lots of carbs we are draining the body of the benefit of the water, and rehydration would take an awful lot longer.

So, my thought on your question of whether eating chicken soup would help is yes, and the main reason is because it supplies the body with water!

If you gradually up your water intake hopefully you will find that the diarrhea will stop - you might still be visiting the bathroom pretty regularly but at least it will be for the right reason not the diarrhea!

Thanks for taking the time to posts that. Interesting thoughts!! I need to do some research and process. Meantime, after my anniversary gluten free meal out on Monday I'm going casein free to see if that helps

[dilettantesteph]

After eating a serving of gluten free oats I was sick for 2 months. I wish that I had paid attention to the warning on the label about some celiacs being sensitive to avenin, the protein in oats that is like gluten. I think that I react worse to oats than I do to gluten. Now I avoid products made by gluten free companies who use gluten free oats. Bob's Red Mill packages their gluten free oats in their gluten free facility. They clean carefully, but I avoid them for fear of avenin contamination.