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Intestinal Nerves Hearling?

Jeff In San Diego

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Jeff In San Diego Rookie
Jeff In San Diego
Posted

Hi,

I'm brand new here. Actually was lurking on and off for a few weeks but just joined today.

Brief introduction:

50 yr old guy who got obese late in life. Had a gastric bypass (MGB style - www.clos.net) 2 years ago. It actually worked way too well. Weight went way too low. Finally realized it was the bypass coupled with celiac disease. Recent evidence is suggesting that life long wheat intolerance can be caused to turn into full blown celiac disease by a gastric bypass operation. Weight is already dangerously low and still going down, and I can't wait around for months for it to stop going down, so I'm going to have my bypass reversed soon (a unique feature of this kind of gastric bypass is that it can be revised or reversed).

Now on to my question:

I've been gluten free for about 7 weeks now. For about the past two weeks, my intestines (mostly just my "unused" stomach and my whole small intestine I think) seems as if it has sort of "woken up", but in a bad way. It doesn't hurt, it just seems "agitated". Difficult to describe. If it were a person, it would be as if they were making a nonsense noise very loudly and continuously. No message, just "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here" or maybe "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" nonstop and rather loudly.

I'm wondering if this is a matter of the nerves inside the intestines having been damaged by the celiac disease over the years, and now they are growing back? I'm thinking my brain isn't used to having all that "information" coming in, and doesn't know what to do with it. In a normal person it would perhaps be routed off to some relevant part of the brain and not even shared with me consciously.

Does this sound familiar to any of you? If so, how long did it take to go away?

It is really quite annoying. Makes it hard to feel like it is safe to eat. Never feel "quite right" down there. Please tell me that most people feel "comfortable" fairly quickly???? (another week or two?)

thanks,

jp

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Tigercat17 Enthusiast
Tigercat17
Posted

Hi,

I'm brand new here. Actually was lurking on and off for a few weeks but just joined today.

Brief introduction:

50 yr old guy who got obese late in life. Had a gastric bypass (MGB style - www.clos.net) 2 years ago. It actually worked way too well. Weight went way too low. Finally realized it was the bypass coupled with celiac disease. Recent evidence is suggesting that life long wheat intolerance can be caused to turn into full blown celiac disease by a gastric bypass operation. Weight is already dangerously low and still going down, and I can't wait around for months for it to stop going down, so I'm going to have my bypass reversed soon (a unique feature of this kind of gastric bypass is that it can be revised or reversed).

Now on to my question:

I've been gluten free for about 7 weeks now. For about the past two weeks, my intestines (mostly just my "unused" stomach and my whole small intestine I think) seems as if it has sort of "woken up", but in a bad way. It doesn't hurt, it just seems "agitated". Difficult to describe. If it were a person, it would be as if they were making a nonsense noise very loudly and continuously. No message, just "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here" or maybe "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" nonstop and rather loudly.

I'm wondering if this is a matter of the nerves inside the intestines having been damaged by the celiac disease over the years, and now they are growing back? I'm thinking my brain isn't used to having all that "information" coming in, and doesn't know what to do with it. In a normal person it would perhaps be routed off to some relevant part of the brain and not even shared with me consciously.

Does this sound familiar to any of you? If so, how long did it take to go away?

It is really quite annoying. Makes it hard to feel like it is safe to eat. Never feel "quite right" down there. Please tell me that most people feel "comfortable" fairly quickly???? (another week or two?)

thanks,

jp

Hi Jeff! Welcome to the board! You're in a good place!

I've had a "noisey stomach" before when I was healing and now it comes back when I get gluten. I'm not sure if it's the nerves or not. Since you only been gluten free for 7 weeks, it going to take some time to get better - unfortunately. And since you're still losing weight you might want to eat naturally gluten free foods like fresh meat, veggies, fruit and maybe some rice if it's gluten free. I also start to lose weight if I get any gluten cross containment, so you really might want to re-check everything. It took me a whole year to feel 100%. I'm not saying it's going to be like that for you and hopefully it won't -everyone's different. I had to even stop eating a lot of gluten free processed grain food and I had to buy all new pots and pans in the beginning.

If you haven't already, I would also stay away from milk products. Since the enzyme to digest milk is at the tips of the villi in the small intestines most of us have to drop milk for awhile until we're healed and the villi grow back. Dropping milk really might help you a lot.

Make sure you call about any medications and recheck vitamins. I've been glutened by both even though they said they were gluten free. Sometimes gluten free doesn't mean completely gluten free. There still could be trace amount of cross contamination that we could react to.

I hope you feel better soon! :)

eatmeat4good Enthusiast
eatmeat4good
Posted

I had the very same stomach and intestinal distress. It was like my stomach was waking up. It was uncomfortable and rumbling and loud and constant and started just about 3 weeks into being strictly gluten free. At first I thought I was getting glutened. Then I realized it was just my "Baby Villi" growing back. At least that is how I visualized it. There was so much action and movement that I asked the Dr. for Promethazine to deal with it and it helped me a lot. It went away after a few weeks of healing.

I think it can part of the healing process for some people. Or maybe just you and me ;)

Welcome to Celiac.com and I hope things get better for you and you start to feel good again soon.

Debbie B in MD Explorer
Debbie B in MD
Posted

I would like to think that the pain in my abdomen is my intestines healing. I have never had it before the last couple of weeks. I have been gluten free since 1/17/11, except for a few mistakes. Above my belly button, below my sternum. I hope that is what it is. It comes and goes. It ususally goes after I do. sorry for TMI. Any opinions?

quincy Contributor
quincy
Posted

I would like to think that the pain in my abdomen is my intestines healing. I have never had it before the last couple of weeks. I have been gluten free since 1/17/11, except for a few mistakes. Above my belly button, below my sternum. I hope that is what it is. It comes and goes. It ususally goes after I do. sorry for TMI. Any opinions?

Hi Debbie B,

the location of your pain is exactly where my pain was that led me to the endoscopy which led to my diagnosis. The biopsies showed no barretts or h pylori but alot of inflammation of the lower esophagus where it meets the stomach. I could press in the spot and feel pain. I also had a slight hiatal hernia. All this inflammation extended to the duodenum. When the villi are blunted and intestines inflamed, perhaps the gall bladder is sluggish and your fat digestion isn't happening, and pieces of undigested food and fat are passing into large colon, it just makes for big bacterial overgrowth festival down there.

the key is patience to allow this whole chain reaction of bad symptoms to undo themselves. However, make sure all your tests are being done, stool, endo, colonscopy (mine is next month), blood work to determine other intolerances as well as vitamin deficiencies.... It's alot I know, but if you had years of undetected celiac and perhaps gall bladder malfuncion your best bet is to stop any proton pump inhibitors and get on a good digestive enzyme that has the ox bile in it to assist fat digestion. and no dairy for awhile!!

Debbie B in MD Explorer
Debbie B in MD
Posted

Hi Debbie B,

the location of your pain is exactly where my pain was that led me to the endoscopy which led to my diagnosis. The biopsies showed no barretts or h pylori but alot of inflammation of the lower esophagus where it meets the stomach. I could press in the spot and feel pain. I also had a slight hiatal hernia. All this inflammation extended to the duodenum. When the villi are blunted and intestines inflamed, perhaps the gall bladder is sluggish and your fat digestion isn't happening, and pieces of undigested food and fat are passing into large colon, it just makes for big bacterial overgrowth festival down there.

the key is patience to allow this whole chain reaction of bad symptoms to undo themselves. However, make sure all your tests are being done, stool, endo, colonscopy (mine is next month), blood work to determine other intolerances as well as vitamin deficiencies.... It's alot I know, but if you had years of undetected celiac and perhaps gall bladder malfuncion your best bet is to stop any proton pump inhibitors and get on a good digestive enzyme that has the ox bile in it to assist fat digestion. and no dairy for awhile!!

Wow, thanks Quincy! I am having bloodwork this week for thyroid and vitamin deficiencies. Thanks for the info.

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Could be healing. After I went gluten-free my gut started to have spasms. It didn't seem to be a reaction to anything I ate. I figured it was part of the healing process. They did go away after a while, several months. I do get them if I get cc now or get glutened. But not as intense as when I was first gluten-free 3.5 years ago.

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Jeff In San Diego Rookie
Jeff In San Diego
Posted
  • Author

Could be healing. After I went gluten-free my gut started to have spasms. It didn't seem to be a reaction to anything I ate. I figured it was part of the healing process. They did go away after a while, several months. I do get them if I get cc now or get glutened. But not as intense as when I was first gluten-free 3.5 years ago.

Thanks all.

Wow, as a new guy reading all this it seems to me you guys must have had your patience grow back long before your villi did. :)

jp

rj7388 Newbie
rj7388
Posted

Hi Debbie B,

the location of your pain is exactly where my pain was that led me to the endoscopy which led to my diagnosis. The biopsies showed no barretts or h pylori but alot of inflammation of the lower esophagus where it meets the stomach. I could press in the spot and feel pain. I also had a slight hiatal hernia. All this inflammation extended to the duodenum. When the villi are blunted and intestines inflamed, perhaps the gall bladder is sluggish and your fat digestion isn't happening, and pieces of undigested food and fat are passing into large colon, it just makes for big bacterial overgrowth festival down there.

the key is patience to allow this whole chain reaction of bad symptoms to undo themselves. However, make sure all your tests are being done, stool, endo, colonscopy (mine is next month), blood work to determine other intolerances as well as vitamin deficiencies.... It's alot I know, but if you had years of undetected celiac and perhaps gall bladder malfuncion your best bet is to stop any proton pump inhibitors and get on a good digestive enzyme that has the ox bile in it to assist fat digestion. and no dairy for awhile!!

Is this the "infamous Stomach Pain On The Lower Left Side" symptom ?

Am I just healing?

Debbie B in MD Explorer
Debbie B in MD
Posted

Is this the "infamous Stomach Pain On The Lower Left Side" symptom ?

Am I just healing?

Gee, I didn't realize this was common. As long as it is related to healing I am good. Mine is actually MUCH better this week than when I posted this. Hopefully, it was just a hurdle. I am expecting ups and down as healing goes and I am looking forward to more ups than downs as we go.

rj7388 Newbie
rj7388
Posted

Gee, I didn't realize this was common. As long as it is related to healing I am good. Mine is actually MUCH better this week than when I posted this. Hopefully, it was just a hurdle. I am expecting ups and down as healing goes and I am looking forward to more ups than downs as we go.

Debbie- I have no idea if this is part of healing process ( I've read it several times while goggling left side pain)

At least it's not PITA anymore!

sandsurfgirl Collaborator
sandsurfgirl
Posted

I had so many weird symptoms, including the one you describe while I was healing. It took me 6 months to have ONE symptom free day, although I was always getting a little better here and a little better there. So don't panic just yet. 7 weeks is still baby time. LOL You're just a new kid on the block to the celiac thing. Very few people get the gluten free diet perfect right away, so most likely you've only been truly gluten free for like 3 weeks or something like that.

There was about a week or two when I could not digest a thing around week 10. I freaked out because every single thing I ate made me sick. Then it just went away. I have no clue why my gut did that but it did. Withdrawals and healing are just a crazy time.

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