Ten Months Gluten Free And Still Having Slight Digestive Issues Regularly

[tfrankenberger]

I am a mother of a teen with Celiac, so I thought I'd get some teen feed back on this. My 15 year old son has been gluten free for ten months and dairy and soy free for five months. He says that every night after dinner, within an hour, he still has issues. Most of the time they are minor and he doesn't even ask for pepto or anything like that. Sometimes he takes Pepto to get it to go away. Any idea why he would still be having digestion issues and only after dinner most of the time? We are very, very strictly on the diet. Our whole house is gluten free and we NEVER eat out.

[Wolicki]

Have you checked your vitamins, medicines, lotions, deodorants, toothpaste for gluten? Is there a food he has for dinner that he does not have during the rest of the day?

[tfrankenberger]

We have checked all those things. This week we're going to try switching his "dinner" meal to lunch and his lunch meal to dinner time. If he still has issues only at the same time of day, we may at least be able to say it's not the food. The only thing I do differently at dinner is make things with a bit more in them such as seasoning, vegetables, etc. I've checked and double checked all seasonings we regularly use. He generally likes his meals more on the bland side, so I don't go too far with seasonings.

[emcmaster]

Just a thought - when you say that he has digestion issues after dinner within an hour, I assume you mean he has to go to the bathroom? If so, could it be not that the dinner is causing a reaction but that it is stimulating him to have to go? For some people, eating makes their bowels move.

[tfrankenberger]

What I mean by digestion issues is he will tell me his stomach is slightly upset and ask for Pepto or Tums. Sometimes that makes him feel better and sometimes it lingers until he goes to bed. There are nights he doesn't ask for anything, but he says he feels it most every night.

[mysecretcurse]

Its either 1) something he is eating or 2) everything he is eating, meaning that his body is just so broke down and damaged that digesting ANY food causes him problems.

If its the first option- have u thought about corn? I was gluten free for a long time before even considering that I had other sensetivies. I healed a lot just from being gluten free but still was having a lot of problems. I suspected dairy and soy but ended up giving up dairy, soy and corn all at once so I could test them individually for a reaction. I am still unable to tolerate all three but I find it interesting that out of all of them, CORN gives me the most violent reaction. I had no idea. It really sucks because corn is in everything. Soda, medications, candy... blah.

The only other thing I can think is maybe he is sneaking something somewhere and not telling you...?

[tfrankenberger]

I try to vary all his grains and I keep a very detailed food journal. I don't give him straight corn because that's difficult to digest. When he has corn in things, like sprite or gluten-free cornbread, etc., he doesn't seem to have problems with it.

I'm positive he is not sneaking food. He is extremely strict on himself and will avoid all possibilities of contamination. He is very afraid of getting gluten accidentally. We home school, so I know everything he eats.

[Ahorsesoul]

He could try a glass of oj, lemon water or a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (not flavored but real apple cider vinegar) before eating. It may help him.

[emcmaster]

I'm thinking it is a secondary intolerance of some sort. I'll be interested to see what you find when you switch his lunch and dinner foods around.

Sometimes it's a good thing to completely change your diet. We get into such a routine with what we eat.

[GFinDC]

You could look at the top 8 allergens lists to see if there might be something there he is reacting too.

McCormick single ingredient spices are ok, but spice blends (any brand) are possible problems.

Vitamin pills and medicines, sodas, tea, coffee, all that good stuff should be checked or eliminated by a trial abstinance.

There is most likely something sneaking in his diet daily that is affecting him.

Some of us have problems with oats also. Not Hall and Oats, but the kind you eat.

Preservatives and food colorings affect some people as well.

Then there is fructose malabsorption to consider.

Nightshades bother some people, and rice.

Just throwing out some ideas.

[ang1e0251]

I have a hard time with alternate grains. I've eating a little saurkraut lately and that is helping with my digestion. If he's eating grains at dinner, that could explain it. That would be pasta, crackers, breads or anything with grain. Also some of those products have small amounts of gluten in them even though they are considerd gluten-free. You might stop anything like that for a bit and see how it works.

[Chef16]

Ask his doctor about taking digestive enzymes with his meals. I was having the same problem after being gluten free for a while, to the point where I couldn't even eat an apple without feeling sick. For some people (including me) your body is so damaged from eating gluten that is partially loses the ability to digest food properly and absorb nutrients. The digestive enzymes don't mask the symptoms, but rather help the body digest food until it can do it on its own. I noticed a difference right away and I could eat full meals without a problem. And after just a few months of thaking them with my meals I didn't need them anymore. Hope this helped!

[emilyailish]

I'm having a similar problem although ive only been gluten free for 2 months. could anyone tell me how long it usually takes? I was told ten days

[Squidge]

I'm having a similar problem although ive only been gluten free for 2 months. could anyone tell me how long it usually takes? I was told ten days

Who told you that? It could take months depending on how much damage there already was. Your digestive tract can take more than ten days to heal. Furhtermore, there are other sensitivities that could be causing problems. Try eliminating milk, soy, and things that can irritate a healthy digestive tract, like corn, especially popcorn, and nuts. Start a food diary where you record everything you ate, every ingredient, and every allergy warning with dates and times. Also record how you feel, again with dates and times. Then look for patterns between feeling ill and what you ate. Eliminate possible causes and then if you feel better reintroduce what you eliminated to see if you get worse. Keep in mind that things can take some time to get where they cause problems, so look for time delayed symptoms as well. You have to figure the timing out on your own, because it can vary from person to person.

[Squidge]

I have a hard time with alternate grains. I've eating a little saurkraut lately and that is helping with my digestion. If he's eating grains at dinner, that could explain it. That would be pasta, crackers, breads or anything with grain. Also some of those products have small amounts of gluten in them even though they are considerd gluten-free. You might stop anything like that for a bit and see how it works.

If that's the case try mainly rice products. Alternate grains often acquire trace amounts of gluten from cross-contamination. Grains are usually processed close to where they're grown, and rice isn't grown anywhere near wheat. Wheat doesn't like quite as much wet as rice does. Also, General Mills, which includes Betty Crocker, has a rather novel, pretty much fool-proof way of dealing with cross contamination. They use a different building for all of their gluten-free products, including Rice and Corn Chex.