1 Week Gluten-Free And I Have The Worst Gas Please Help!

[sallyb]

I'm 1 week into a gluten-free diet and for the past 3 days I have been experiencing the worst most constant and smelly gas. The bloating is killing me and the cramps hurt. I'm embarrased to go anywhere for it smells so bad, and it's about every 10 to 30 minutes.

Is this just my body adjusting to no gluten?

Please for me and the sake of my family please help

[Looking for answers]

Are you eating anything new to replace gluten-containing foods? Do you take probiotics or digestive enzymes?

[JonnyD]

I'm a month gluten-free and don't think I can tolerate broccoli right now (same reaction you describe). Too many beans are bad too. It might be something you are eating.

[ciavyn]

Oh yeah, good times. Go through everything you are eating -- try to make sure as much as possible that you aren't getting cross-contaminated or anything with gluten. For me, I cannot eat any vegetables for a day or two, but stick with bland carbs. Oh, gosh, I remember those days. I went through it when I first went off gluten -- well, I had it bad BEFORE going off gluten, but then after I did, it was brutal for a few months. I never knew when something was going to set my system off. And then finally, it eased up, and now it's gone. So it does get better. But it is tough to go through. In the beginning, it's hard to know what you are reacting to as your gut heals. It also could be something that you are eating that you don't know has gluten. Avoid processed foods if possible.

[sallyb]

Okay so far I have been eating alot of baby carrots, Envirokids cereal bars, gluten-free Bread and Bagels, gluten-free Cereal, gluten-free cookies, gluten-free pasta with gluten-free sauce, apples, nut thins, tortilla chips with cheese, Eda mame, soy chocolate pudding, chicken and rice, and gluten-free pizza.

It has been so annoying that today i had an apple and will probably have chicken and rice for lunch and steak with mashed potatoes for dinner. I am hopefull that this will eventually pass (literally) and I can start adding one or two other foods a day and see what happens. I'm going to try to get the almond milk for cereal, It's possible that i could be lactose intolerant so maybe i should buy lactose pills, and I will try beano, or gas x. Thank you for all of the responses and please keep them coming! By the way this forum has saved me from much grief, and is keeping me sane somewhat Thank you all soooo much.

[MsCurious]

Okay so far I have been eating alot of baby carrots, Envirokids cereal bars, gluten-free Bread and Bagels, gluten-free Cereal, gluten-free cookies, gluten-free pasta with gluten-free sauce, apples, nut thins, tortilla chips with cheese, Eda mame, soy chocolate pudding, chicken and rice, and gluten-free pizza.

It has been so annoying that today i had an apple and will probably have chicken and rice for lunch and steak with mashed potatoes for dinner. I am hopefull that this will eventually pass (literally) and I can start adding one or two other foods a day and see what happens. I'm going to try to get the almond milk for cereal, It's possible that i could be lactose intolerant so maybe i should buy lactose pills, and I will try beano, or gas x. Thank you for all of the responses and please keep them coming! By the way this forum has saved me from much grief, and is keeping me sane somewhat Thank you all soooo much.

Have you ever noticed issues with dairy? This will cause huge bloating and gas, also.

[ciavyn]

Woot -- that is a lot of packaged food, which is tough to avoid in the beginning. If you can get away from it, and dairy, it may help. Good luck -- it is tough and frustrating when you are fist starting out, but it does get better.

[txplowgirl]

Wow, that is way too much gluten free packaged food for your system to handle at the begining. You need to be on a more whole foods diet right now. Gradually ease into it. You are shocking your system big time. Also, by the way, Beano has wheat. And you may want to get rid of the dairy also.

[sallyb]

Okay, I went shopping today (after more research) and bought more veggies, fruits, and rice. I also started Gas x and Lactaid. So today's diet was really good and I have less gas and bloating then yesterday. Hoping to keep eating more pure raw foods and will add more food next week to see if i can't find out the problem. Thank you for all of the help.

[Cinnamongirl]

I found probiotics to be very helpful for me in eliminating gas issues. I also avoid dairy, but I do use butter. I still have issues with certain vegetables so I avoid them now. And it's news to me that Beano isn't gluten free. I never thought to check that!

[MsCurious]

I found probiotics to be very helpful for me in eliminating gas issues. I also avoid dairy, but I do use butter. I still have issues with certain vegetables so I avoid them now. And it's news to me that Beano isn't gluten free. I never thought to check that!

Butter is dairy!

[MsCurious]

I found probiotics to be very helpful for me in eliminating gas issues. I also avoid dairy, but I do use butter. I still have issues with certain vegetables so I avoid them now. And it's news to me that Beano isn't gluten free. I never thought to check that!

Butter is dairy!

[Tahlia]

Oh my god I am living through this right now!! I’ve been gluten free for a while on and off I find I react mostly when I eat bread which contains wheat, I usually am fine with other gluten not sure why, I always thought it was because bread has the most in it, but tonight I ordered a vegetarian burger with a gluten free bun and for some reason whenever I do this I still react to something! The pattie just had potato, starch, pumpkin, peas, sweat potato and beetroot and spinach and I googled this and so so many of these ingredients can cause bloating and gas, I also have reflux but I ge5 that always if I over eat and I definitely did and then thought I could get away with going to sleep LOL I’ve been up for hours just hoping my bloating and gas goes away, there was some sneaky cheese on it and I always react to dairy and lactose, I’m super tired I have to get up early and I’m going to be so sleepy, I honestly hate this you don’t eat the food that makes you feel shitty and so you go and buy the expensive food that’s free of everything and you still find a way to react to it, I’m pretty sure it’s  the spinach and potato and corn flours in it all, just annoying... makes me wonder why me... 

[cyclinglady]

4 minutes ago, Tahlia said:

Oh my god I am living through this right now!! I’ve been gluten free for a while on and off I find I react mostly when I eat bread which contains wheat, I usually am fine with other gluten not sure why, I always thought it was because bread has the most in it, but tonight I ordered a vegetarian burger with a gluten free bun and for some reason whenever I do this I still react to something! The pattie just had potato, starch, pumpkin, peas, sweat potato and beetroot and spinach and I googled this and so so many of these ingredients can cause bloating and gas, I also have reflux but I ge5 that always if I over eat and I definitely did and then thought I could get away with going to sleep LOL I’ve been up for hours just hoping my bloating and gas goes away, there was some sneaky cheese on it and I always react to dairy and lactose, I’m super tired I have to get up early and I’m going to be so sleepy, I honestly hate this you don’t eat the food that makes you feel shitty and so you go and buy the expensive food that’s free of everything and you still find a way to react to it, I’m pretty sure it’s  the spinach and potato and corn flours in it all, just annoying... makes me wonder why me... 

Why not go back on gluten and get tested for celiac disease?  It might get you off the gluten free diet roller coaster ride.  It can make it easier to adhere to a life-long gluten free diet when you have lab results that confirm a diagnosis.  Learn more:

http://www.cureceliacdisease.org/screening/

[Ennis-TX]

3 hours ago, Tahlia said:

Oh my god I am living through this right now!! I’ve been gluten free for a while on and off I find I react mostly when I eat bread which contains wheat, I usually am fine with other gluten not sure why, I always thought it was because bread has the most in it, but tonight I ordered a vegetarian burger with a gluten free bun and for some reason whenever I do this I still react to something! The pattie just had potato, starch, pumpkin, peas, sweat potato and beetroot and spinach and I googled this and so so many of these ingredients can cause bloating and gas, I also have reflux but I ge5 that always if I over eat and I definitely did and then thought I could get away with going to sleep LOL I’ve been up for hours just hoping my bloating and gas goes away, there was some sneaky cheese on it and I always react to dairy and lactose, I’m super tired I have to get up early and I’m going to be so sleepy, I honestly hate this you don’t eat the food that makes you feel shitty and so you go and buy the expensive food that’s free of everything and you still find a way to react to it, I’m pretty sure it’s  the spinach and potato and corn flours in it all, just annoying... makes me wonder why me... 

As cycling lady said get tested for celiac, after which we can help you a bit better I see several things that might help.

Many with this disease and some without are prone to issues like SIBO and Candida, either of these in your gut will react to starches/sugars and cause bloating, gas, and generally uncomfortable with other symptoms varying from person to person. They have a similar and easy treatment to, of starving the offenders with a low carb and high fat/protein diet, and taking stuff to regulate your system.

It could also be a food intolerance, digestive enzyme issue, or a food sensitivity. Lactose intolerance is very common with celiac with damaged villi your not going to be able to produce and work with the enzymes to break it down.

I might also suggest for now to start taking notes, keep a food diary, write down everything you eat and how you feel hours later, Try to keep to a whole foods only diet nothing processed and rotate the diet to track down culprits eating only a few foods each meal for a few days then removing them for a few days.

[GlutenTootin]

On 3/22/2011 at 5:40 PM, sallyb said:

Same here; after many months decided to stop eating gluten-free bread as the gas is disgusting and may cause me to sleep in a different bedroom as my partner can't stand the stench! Awful situation. Seriously; no more gluten-free baked products for me!

"I'm 1 week into a gluten-free diet and for the past 3 days I have been experiencing the worst most constant and smelly gas. The bloating is killing me and the cramps hurt. I'm embarrased to go anywhere for it smells so bad, and it's about every 10 to 30 minutes.

Is this just my body adjusting to no gluten?

Please for me and the sake of my family please help"

 

[Ennis-TX]

@GlutenTootin As mentioned above, limit your carb intake, removing starches, and sugars. Many gluten-free bread/baked products are mostly starches which will be fermented in your gut into gas. Seriously look at the ingredients, all those grain flours, starches etc. Look for nut-based ones with NO starches if you want to enjoy something without the gas.

For the most part stick to a whole foods diet, leafy greens, low carb veggies, and meats. Cook them til they are super soft and tender like a roast, stew, soup. Ease the burden on your digestive system. Keep a food diary to see if certain foods make it worse.

Also note that it can take weeks for the microbiome in your gut to regulate to a change in diet, more so if you have an overgrowth of bad bacteria  or something like SIBO or Candida which grow out of control on sugars/starches and will have to be starved off and then deal with die-off til it is under control. Stuff like this can set up in a damaged gut easy.
 

[Peace lily]

I feel your pain. I too have been struggling ,the first couple of weeks I burped a lot and some gas also it’s been a month now it’s has let up a little . But every one’s body handles things differently so hang in and believe me when I say you have to read all the ingredients in the food packaging.Ive got a long way to myself.And being gluten free is very expensive, I’m trying to make tortillas and nothing seems to be that great but I’ll still try tho. Hang in there.

[RicePasta]

I was experiencing similar symptoms after going gluten free and had a hard time pin pointing the issue. After a lot of trial and error with foods I singled out a common ingredient in most gluten free baked goods and a variety of other gluten free items. Tapioca, cassava, and arrowroot. I did some research and found out that these foods are related to the same plant that is used to make rubber latex and can cause food sensitivities in people with latex allergies or fruit latex-syndrome. I do suffer from fruit-latex syndrome and once I took the tapioca out of my diet the wretched gas became SO much better and my stomach and GI system improved significantly.
 

Also, be aware of ingredient lists that contain “modified food starch” as this will most likely contain tapioca, but is not specifically stated or listed within the ingredients. I’ve emailed several food companies about this. For example, ‘Impossible Burgers’ have modified food starch and a representative from the company was able to confirm that there was tapioca in this ingredient, but it is not specifically included in the label. 
 

I hope this information is helpful to anyone struggling with these issues! 

[Scott Adams]

Many gluten-free foods and baking mixes contain xanthan gum or other gums like guar gum. Although they are both gluten-free, they may cause IBS-type issues in some people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity:

 

 

[brian1]

I got the gas but never smelled of anything just odourless