Is It Normal To Still Feel Nauseous/stomach Pain After 2 Weeks Gluten Free?

[cctaylor01]

Hi there,

I'm new here. I've been gluten and dairy free for almost two weeks now. Though I have not been diagnosed with celiacs, I had been dealing with a whole slew of celiac/gluten sensitive type symptoms which, for over 8 years have never been resolved. An acupuncturist I was seeing to help with this said that she had all the same symptoms that I have and went gluten and dairy free, which has since made her feel like a normal human being again. I figured I would try the diet and see what results I got, considering I am willing to try anything at this point. It seems to be helping in many regards. Luckily the daily headaches/migraines seem to be subsiding pretty well already, along with a great energy level increase, less brain fog, less knee pain, somewhat better moving bowels, etc.

The problem is that I am still experiencing nausea and horrible stomach pain for hours after each meal. Is it normal to still be experiencing this. I know I haven't been on the diet for very long, so it's highly likely that I am just panicking and this is totally normal.

How long should it take for the stomach pain/gastro problems to start feeling better. I am sure this depends on the length and severity of symptoms, but does anyone have any words of wisdom for me?

Currently feeling super nauseous (sort of like there is food just sitting in my stomach) after eating only cucumber salad and some hummus 4 hours ago. Had gluten/dairy free waffles for breakfast with honey and 2 eggs and was nauseous shortly after that as well. Every couple days I am still taking the senna laxative to help move along my system, as the constipation is still a problem. Could that be causing a problem? The brand is Rite Aid's Senna Natural Vegetable Laxative.

Please help! Is it normal to still feel the stomach symptoms?

Thanks!

[Chakra2]

It sounds like some of your symptoms are improving but others are not, right? That can be so frustrating. I'll pass on my general chronology of feeling better in case it might help. The basic message is that feeling better on a regular basis took a long time for me. At 2 weeks in I still felt rotten every day, even though some of my symptoms were already noticeably better.

MONTHS 1-3: Went gluten-free in January, undiagnosed (I didn't know anything about celiac disease, was just doing an elimination diet to find food allergies). GI symptoms improved within days (no more D, no more gas, pain or bloating). Other symptoms, like fatigue, mood issues and joint pain still present. GI symptoms would return frequently. I felt "allergic" to everything I ate. GI improvement was enough to keep me going though. Gradually I saw other improvement. I would have 2-3 good days, then 2-3 bad days. Or even more like 2-3 good hours, then 2-3 bad hours! Roller coaster for sure.

MONTH 3: BIG turnaround! After learning more about celiac disease and gluten intolerance, I dropped all dairy, soy, and corn. Also started probiotics and other supplements. Mood and energy issues improved. Joint pain got worse.

MONTH 4: honestly thought I had RA because joint pain getting so bad (and I'm only 33). Tested negative. Read about nightshades, dropped those. Pain vanished within days. Turned out those gluten-free subtitute foods had a lot of potato in them! Also started to absorb more of the info about how to avoid gluten. I started eating out less and being more careful to ask questions when I did, I got gluten-free dog food and treats, and switched all my bath products to gluten-free versions. Slowly but surely, started having way more good days than bad. GI symptoms return when accidentally glutened.

MONTHS 5-8: Life is good! I finally feel good for weeks at a time. I feel like it's such a new development though that I'm a little paranoid --don't eat out right now, don't eat at friend's houses. I know I'm probably being stricter than necessary but I've just felt bad for so long that I am cherishing my good days and don't want to do anything to mess them up! I'm hoping I get less paranoid about gluten as I go along.

To summarize, my advice is to keep up the good work! Your intestines might take months to truly heal and until they do you might still feel all kinds of lousy symptoms on and off. Check into other common food intolerances, and think about dropping those foods temporarily while you get better. A lot of the gluten free processed foods unfortunately have ingredients in them that can be related to other common intolerances. (FWIW, I have nausea as one of my symptoms and it took months to really go away -- now if i get a little gluten or a lot of potato it comes back.) Keep reading this board and other resources to learn more about how to avoid gluten in all its forms and how to avoid cross-contamination. I wish you luck -- the next few months may be your turning point too!

Chakra2

[Heidi S.]

It is different for everyone but there is a long detox and healing period if you are Celiac or gluten intolerant. It is not just a diet but a lifestyle.

2 suggestions:

1. start with an elimination diet. Boiled chicken and rice with water for 2 weeks. It is terrible but it is the best way to reset your system then add one food every couple days and see how each food makes you feel. Me I found out egg whites were another problem making me feel nauseous on top of being gluten free for example.

2. check everything you use. Being gluten free means head to toe, it is an exhausting process. Check all products, anything touching your skin or ingesting, for wheat or wheat derivatives. This can take a long time, living gluten free takes purging your world of gluten as much as possible to limit exposure. You may be eating gluten free but are your pots, pans, silverware sterilized with no scratches in the coating?, shampoo, make-up, lotion, containing vitamin E (tocophernol)etc exposing you? Do you have crumbs in your silverware drawer? Dedicated new gluten-free butter, jam, etc? Do not stress, I am just trying to point out that two weeks is just the beginning, the fact that you ARE feeling better is a good sign. From what I read healing from each glutening takes the body up to 3 months to repair!!

Side note, I have never experienced constipation as a problem...so I can not comment on your stool softener, but from my experience watch out for "all natural pills" they can contain gluten in the binding of the pill.

[sandsurfgirl]

It takes time to heal. There is a withdrawal period. The best thing you can do is use the search function and search for old threads on withdrawal. All sorts of crazy stuff happens for awhile.

I had improvements slowly over tim, but I didn't feel really good and pretty much symptom free until 6 months. Sorry to tell ya! I had like you do. Certain things improved and it was one step at a time.

Eat a clean healthy diet of veggies, meats, fruits, etc. Don't go nuts with gluten free carbs until you feel better. Let your body heal. Give it the raw materails to rebuild your gut.

At 2 weeks I was still bedridden, pooping literally 12 or more times, per day, having horrible crazy pains, dizzy spells so bad I couldn't drive, nausea, D then C and everything in between. The first two weeks I accidentally got glutened by things I didn't know contained it too so I guess I can't really say I was entirely gluten free yet at that point.

[cctaylor01]

Very helpful to have someone describe specific changes over time. Very reassuring and encouraging. Thank you! I'm sticking to it and look forward to feeling as good as you do someday.

Claire

[Skylark]

Also, keep a food diary. I had to go off gluten, soy, and dairy at first to stop the stomachaches. I developed tolerance again to soy and dairy once things healed up after maybe 6-9 months.

[Marz]

Stimulants cause havoc in my stomach - nausea, stomach pain, cramps... So maybe go easy on the senna (if it is a stimulant, don't know the "Rite Aid's Senna Natural Vegetable Laxative" brand) - you really shouldn't need it now that you've possibly figured out your problem. Stimulant laxatives are bad to take long term anyway, as your intestine becomes dependant on the stimulant to "keep things moving" so to speak.

Try magnesium supplements (if you don't have kidney problems) and natural fiber like psylium husks, prunes etc. If that brand is a fiber type laxative then ignore this comment

Soy and dairy could also be problems, I react to soy in the same was as gluten - terrible stomach pain. You could try an elimination diet or just keep track of all foods your eating and try find a pattern.

[Marilyn R]

I'm new to the forum as well and greatly appreciate the wise words of encouragement from the previous posters on this thread. You give a wonderful gift of hope!

I work with the elderly and a couple of RN's from the West Indies ... they all swear that the best laxative is about four oz. of HEATED prune juice once a day when you're having that problem. And interestingly, I learned that blueberries contain the same ingredient as Kaopectate when D is the problem. I'm trying to stick with "real" nature and real foods vs. labelled stuff and that seems to help.