Can Celiac Disease Cause Ulcers?

[glutefree]

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone has had a problem with ulcers. I get cankersores regularly, and I know these can be a sign of celiac disease, but I have recurring duodenal ulcers.

All the literature out there says that duodenal ulcers are likely caused by heliobacter pilori bacteria (I have tested negative for this twice) or by NSAID or steroid medication use (I have not used either of those regularly and haven't used them in a loong time).

Anyway, I am wondering if somehow my celiac disease has manifested itself somehow to make me more suseptible to ulcers. I have had painful ulcers at least 3 times in the last few years and it is horrible. I want to find the cause of my ulcers so that I can once again sleep at night and eat a regular diet again.

Thanks!

[Welda Johnson]

Hi, I have a long history with Celiac and intolerances to milk & dairy, egg whites, yeast, casein, whey, msg and a couple of other food additives, and for many years I also suffered with duodenal ulcers. As you say, it was truly "horrible." I likened it to a blow torch being turned on in your stomach. However, once I went SERIOUSLY gluten free and stopped all the other foods and additives that I mentioned above, the ulcers went away. That's been about 8 years now, and believe me, it's worth sticking to the diet just for the sake of getting rid of the ulcers, but, fortunately, there are so many other health benefits (less depression, more energy, less asthma, better sleep, a new zest for living, less colitis and digestive upsets, and on and on...) that I will always stick diligently with eating this way. Hope this helps you. Good luck. Welda

[glutefree]

Hi, I have a long history with Celiac and intolerances to milk & dairy, egg whites, yeast, casein, whey, msg and a couple of other food additives, and for many years I also suffered with duodenal ulcers. As you say, it was truly "horrible." I likened it to a blow torch being turned on in your stomach. However, once I went SERIOUSLY gluten free and stopped all the other foods and additives that I mentioned above, the ulcers went away. That's been about 8 years now, and believe me, it's worth sticking to the diet just for the sake of getting rid of the ulcers, but, fortunately, there are so many other health benefits (less depression, more energy, less asthma, better sleep, a new zest for living, less colitis and digestive upsets, and on and on...) that I will always stick diligently with eating this way. Hope this helps you. Good luck. Welda

Thank you so much for your reply! I was starting to think I was crazy. I think I have been very good about being gluten free. I have in the last few weeks gone dairy free. I also have a problem eating most nightshades as well (For now I have kept potatoes in my diet, but I am thinking of eliminating those as well). How did you decide to cut out the egg whites, yeast, casein, whey, msg and food additives? Did you know that you were reacting to those items?

My husband tells me not to eliminate random foods. I like to have him onboard as a support system so I like to give him reasons when I can. I think he is afraid that if I cut too many foods that I will waste away. I do have a problem keeping weight on with the wonderful ulcer problem and all.

Thanks again for any advice. Also, how do you stay on such a restrictive diet? Do you have a cookbook that you use or do you just eat lots of veggies, fruits and meat?

[ravenwoodglass]

For my daughter ulcers were her primary symptom and I have had them also so it certainly isn't unusual for us.

I used Pepto Bismal for relief from the pain without messing with my normal acid production and for myself and my DD the ulcers were gone soon with the diet. I did have to also stop dairy and soy but I was able to add dairy back in after a couple of months.

I would suggest dropping, of course the gluten but also dairy at first and perhaps also soy. Give it a little while and if you are still having issues then you may need to drop other foods. If you restrict too much at once it is hard to pinpoint what you were reacting to.

Enterolab can do testing for intolerances to casien (protein in dairy), yeast, eggs and soy in addiiton to gluten if you want to be tested for those intolerances. You may find them helpful.

[Ivy]

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone has had a problem with ulcers. I get cankersores regularly, and I know these can be a sign of celiac disease, but I have recurring duodenal ulcers.

All the literature out there says that duodenal ulcers are likely caused by heliobacter pilori bacteria (I have tested negative for this twice) or by NSAID or steroid medication use (I have not used either of those regularly and haven't used them in a loong time).

Anyway, I am wondering if somehow my celiac disease has manifested itself somehow to make me more suseptible to ulcers. I have had painful ulcers at least 3 times in the last few years and it is horrible. I want to find the cause of my ulcers so that I can once again sleep at night and eat a regular diet again.

Thanks!

I have a very long history of duodenal ulcers. I have been on proton pump inhibitors for at least 18 years. They check every time I've been scoped about every 4 years, but no pilori. No medicine as cause for explanation. Have always been told that I plain pump too much stomach acid. Have been gluten free about 4 years. Recently removed corn from diet also. With most I've known, it is true that at least one other food intolerance will pop up. Took me a while to figure out it was corn. Think I may finally be ready to try going off proton pump inhibitors again but frankly am not holding my breath. Tried a year and a half ago, didn't go well. I don't think the two (celiac and ulcers) are related in my case.

As for a restricted diet, I have a gluten-free house and I rarely eat out. Have taught my two adult kids to carry their snacks so they can "join in" when friends decide to stop somewhere to grab a bite. There are many good cookbooks out (like Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts) and a wealth of good recipes on the web.

Good luck.

[glutefree]

I have a very long history of duodenal ulcers. I have been on proton pump inhibitors for at least 18 years. They check every time I've been scoped about every 4 years, but no pilori. No medicine as cause for explanation. Have always been told that I plain pump too much stomach acid. Have been gluten free about 4 years. Recently removed corn from diet also. With most I've known, it is true that at least one other food intolerance will pop up. Took me a while to figure out it was corn. Think I may finally be ready to try going off proton pump inhibitors again but frankly am not holding my breath. Tried a year and a half ago, didn't go well. I don't think the two (celiac and ulcers) are related in my case.

As for a restricted diet, I have a gluten-free house and I rarely eat out. Have taught my two adult kids to carry their snacks so they can "join in" when friends decide to stop somewhere to grab a bite. There are many good cookbooks out (like Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts) and a wealth of good recipes on the web.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping to get off the proton pump inhibitors soon as I feel that they affect my nutrient absorbption and tend to make me feel a bit icky at times. I have to admit though that they are a Godsend for ulcers because I was not sleeping and barely eating before I went on them. It's good to know I am not the only one out there with mysterious ulcers. If you find out the magic cure, let me know.

[glutefree]

For my daughter ulcers were her primary symptom and I have had them also so it certainly isn't unusual for us.

I used Pepto Bismal for relief from the pain without messing with my normal acid production and for myself and my DD the ulcers were gone soon with the diet. I did have to also stop dairy and soy but I was able to add dairy back in after a couple of months.

I would suggest dropping, of course the gluten but also dairy at first and perhaps also soy. Give it a little while and if you are still having issues then you may need to drop other foods. If you restrict too much at once it is hard to pinpoint what you were reacting to.

Enterolab can do testing for intolerances to casien (protein in dairy), yeast, eggs and soy in addiiton to gluten if you want to be tested for those intolerances. You may find them helpful.

Thanks so much for the tips! I may just have to check out the Enterolab tests. Everytime I think I have it figured out, I get rid of something else in my diet. I have been dairy free for a few weeks and I'll see how that goes. It is hard to tell now because I had to go for the proton pump inhibitor medication as the ulcers were too bad.

[ravenwoodglass]

Thanks so much for the tips! I may just have to check out the Enterolab tests. Everytime I think I have it figured out, I get rid of something else in my diet. I have been dairy free for a few weeks and I'll see how that goes. It is hard to tell now because I had to go for the proton pump inhibitor medication as the ulcers were too bad.

When you decide to go off the PPIs do talk to your doctor about how to taper off. One reason I chose not to take them is that when stopped they often have a 'rebound' effect which can make it difficult to get off them. I hope you get things figured out soon and are feeling better.

[glutefree]

When you decide to go off the PPIs do talk to your doctor about how to taper off. One reason I chose not to take them is that when stopped they often have a 'rebound' effect which can make it difficult to get off them. I hope you get things figured out soon and are feeling better.

Thank you so much ravenwoodglass. I am afraid of that rebound effect, so I will discuss tapering off. I really resisted taking them, but after weeks of sleeping sitting up on the couch and not getting sleep and waking in the middle of the night I felt pretty desperate. Since I have been on the PPI's I can at least sleep in a bed now. I am not sure the ulcer is all better yet, but getting more sleep has been nice.

[twinkle-toez]

For my daughter ulcers were her primary symptom and I have had them also so it certainly isn't unusual for us.

I used Pepto Bismal for relief from the pain without messing with my normal acid production and for myself and my DD the ulcers were gone soon with the diet. I did have to also stop dairy and soy but I was able to add dairy back in after a couple of months.

I would suggest dropping, of course the gluten but also dairy at first and perhaps also soy. Give it a little while and if you are still having issues then you may need to drop other foods. If you restrict too much at once it is hard to pinpoint what you were reacting to.

Enterolab can do testing for intolerances to casien (protein in dairy), yeast, eggs and soy in addiiton to gluten if you want to be tested for those intolerances. You may find them helpful.

Not to ask a stupid or naive question, but how long did it take for your (or your daughter's) stomache to stop burning once you went gluten free?

[ravenwoodglass]

Not to ask a stupid or naive question, but how long did it take for your (or your daughter's) stomache to stop burning once you went gluten free?

Pretty quickly. Like about a month. I would still have occasional issues until I stopped the soy but now I only have an issue when I accidentally eat something I shouldn't. The pepto liquid stops the pain in minutes when that happens and I usually don't need to take it more than once.

[debbie in Oregon]

I have a very long history of duodenal ulcers. I have been on proton pump inhibitors for at least 18 years. They check every time I've been scoped about every 4 years, but no pilori. No medicine as cause for explanation. Have always been told that I plain pump too much stomach acid. Have been gluten free about 4 years. Recently removed corn from diet also. With most I've known, it is true that at least one other food intolerance will pop up. Took me a while to figure out it was corn. Think I may finally be ready to try going off proton pump inhibitors again but frankly am not holding my breath. Tried a year and a half ago, didn't go well. I don't think the two (celiac and ulcers) are related in my case.

As for a restricted diet, I have a gluten-free house and I rarely eat out. Have taught my two adult kids to carry their snacks so they can "join in" when friends decide to stop somewhere to grab a bite. There are many good cookbooks out (like Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts) and a wealth of good recipes on the web.

Good luck.

Hi, I also have been having recurrent ulcers, and cannot find the cause. I ended up on this website and now I am thinking I may have celiac disease, although I never thought about it before! I was reading that broccoli sprouts are very helpful with curing ulcers, so I am going to start sprouting some! I have read many good hospitals recommend them! Mayo clinic is one of  them. 

[debbie in Oregon]

Thank you so much ravenwoodglass. I am afraid of that rebound effect, so I will discuss tapering off. I really resisted taking them, but after weeks of sleeping sitting up on the couch and not getting sleep and waking in the middle of the night I felt pretty desperate. Since I have been on the PPI's I can at least sleep in a bed now. I am not sure the ulcer is all better yet, but getting more sleep has been nice.

I have been taking aloe vera and it is helpful. It is found  in heath food store s. Hope this can help you.

[LauraTX]

Welcome to the forum, Debbie.  Do note this thread is five years old and some of the information may be outdated.  Also, if you have Celiac disease, eating broccoli sprouts and aloe vera is not going to cure it, only a gluten-free diet will.  However, before you trial a gluten-free diet, do head to a gastroenterologist to get properly diagnosed first as you must be consuming gluten for the testing to be accurate.