Survey Of Symptoms

[TTNOGluten]

In an effort to sift through my symptoms I thought I would survey others on what they felt and time following their gluten free diet.

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

I am sure some of these have been asked before, just curious to get insight from as many folks as possible

thanks

[Michelle1906]

As far as my stomach pain after I eat the only way I can explain it is when you've had to pee really bad but had to wait for a long time to go. The feeling of your bladder hurting after you do finally go...thats what my entire abdominal area feels like. Its not all the time but I'd say 80% of the time after I eat something with gluten in it and it would happen within about 30 mins. A heat pad helps.

My other problems are a lot of gas, abnormal BM's, light in color and float.. I wouldnt have D all the time but when I'd eat a lot I would within 2 hours. My hair is thinning, my knees, elbows and back of my neck itch so bad and sometimes I get bumps in those areas. I have headaches all the time. Crabby...man, am I crabby. The mood swings are out of control and I'm depressed for no reason really {as far as my life besides feeling like this all the time} I eat and within an hour or so I want to sleep and do nothing but sleep for days.

But with saying all this I've had blood test come back negative, but I hadnt ate for a few days before that because I was feeling so bad.

Just had an upper scope and today found out it shows nothing wrong.

Right now I just want to cry. What else could this be???

[kwylee]

In an effort to sift through my symptoms I thought I would survey others on what they felt and time following their gluten free diet.

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

I am sure some of these have been asked before, just curious to get insight from as many folks as possible

thanks

My symptoms were largely neuro so the only time I felt abdominal discomfort at all (even prior to going gluten free) was when I went through a bit of gluten withdrawal within a week after removing every bit of gluten from my diet. It felt like someone had taken a fork to my entire intestines. And the dizziness that I felt prior to the removing gluten was greatly enhanced - luckily I also found quickly that dairy and soy gave me just the same foggy feeling so I removed those as well. My enhanced symptoms lasted for a few days to an uncomfortable degree, say from a Friday to a Monday and then for a couple weeks getting better each day. I must say that I was eating things hard to digest at first, like beans, for instance, and once I cut that out and switched to potato and steamed veggies, etc., my GI discomfort was greatly improved.

Other than that, gluten hasn't really affected my GI tract (certainly nowhere near what others report), and after the "fork feeling" abated, I had no other problems initially. I will say that I had a bout of cross contamination recently, mostly with soy, and that gave me an upset stomach for a number of weeks before I figured it out, but that's it.

Like I said, my only chronic symptom of gluten intolerance was fatigue, brain fog and a feeling as if my head were floating all the time, which was totally gone with a couple months into the new way of eating.

[Strawberry-Jam]

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

- Never had abdominal pain as a symptom. Always pain was in the throat (reflux). sometimes gas pains if my gas was particularly bad.

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

- unrelenting acid reflux that responded to no medications. bloating and gas. back-and-forth between C and D.

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

- headaches, fatigue, nausea, muscle aches, depression and crying spells out of nowhere (later linked to soy), and other neuro issues.

[bartfull]

No GI symptoms except loose, pale stool.

Other symptoms: psoriasis, HORRIBLE insomnia, some brain fog, and I have discovered that anything else that is wrong with my body, unrelated to Celiac, gets a lot worse when I have gotten into one of my "poisons".

Oh, and I just read in another thread that someone's child had trouble dealing with being in crowds. I never even thought of that, but I have "claustrophobia" when I am in a crowd. Bad. So bad that I'm not even willing to test it by exposing myself to a crowd.

I mean, I actually moved from the crowded East Coast to a little tiny town in the West/Midwest where the population is so small that if we all got together in the same place, it STILL wouldn't constitute a crowd.

[pondy]

In an effort to sift through my symptoms I thought I would survey others on what they felt and time following their gluten free diet.

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

** Pain was/is mostly underneath ribcage - both sides.

** It was/is intermittent.

** Still comes & goes after 8 months gluten free & the occasional cc.

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

** Constipation (chronic)/Slow GI transit.

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

** Memory loss, difficulty concentrating

** Increased Blood Pressure

** Increased Anxiety

** Tingling in extremities

** Vitamin deficiencies

** Fatigue

** Bone pain - all over - but frequently in forearms, wrists, joints (hips, knees, elbows).

** Hope this helps Good luck to you in sifting it all out - I'm still trying to do the same!

I am sure some of these have been asked before, just curious to get insight from as many folks as possible

thanks

[rainer83]

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get there?

At first my pain was intermittent. Only after I ate, and for a few hours. At first I thought it was a stomach ulcer, and was given meds and it didn't go away, and got worse. I then thought it was indigestion, so I'd always be taking antacids and pepto. Then a few months later it was getting worse, and it was constant. I lost so many days of work because I'd be in the bathroom for hours and I'd have to call in sick. The pain was mostly abdomen, rarely in my stomach. The only time my stomach was bothered was when my abdomen was so swollen, it would put pressure on my stomach. It was unbearable by the time I went gluten free. When I went gluten free, EVERYTHING went back to normal. In fact, I'd never felt so healthy in all my 26 years (at the time). It took about 6 weeks to feel 100% better though. It was a long process to heal, but even in the first few weeks of being gluten-free, I wasn't in nearly as much pain as I had been.

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

Loose, greasy, abnormal BM, I was either C, or I'd be in the bathroom for hours with D as well. And it was like an emergency if I did have to go, to a point where I'd be on my way home, and couldn't even wait so I'd run into a coffee shop or restaurant. Literally, I'd run out of my car and bee line to the bathroom.

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

I'd always get sores in or around my mouth. I couldn't keep weight on. My brain was very foggy. I was always tired, no energy, and I had severe insomnia. Very low iron. I just had the look that I was ill. My friends and family were very concerned. I'm very pasty white naturally, but this was just down right pasty white because I'm ill. I was always in pain, too. No matter what. I started doing stretches and yoga, and I still felt like I was a 90 year old trapped in the body of a mid 20 year old.

[mushroom]

#1 Not everyone has abdominal pain - I didn't; I had gas and bloating which caused pain elsewhere - arms, neck, shoulders, head, had me writhing.

#2 Diarrhea, steatorrhea (fatty, mucousy stooll) often

#3 Psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, fainting, atrial fibrillation, weight gain, nutritional defiencies, hypothryoidism, "wired" feeling and insomnia, hair loss.

[AVR1962]

I had terrible GERD, pain was constant, 5 months of Nexium and a low acid diet.

Gluten response:

generally sick stomach

headache

brain fog

tired

dizzy

the first week is the worst. By week 2 I normally only have the dizziness left and that will last over 3 weeks total.

The rest of my symptoms are related to lack of absorbsrtion.

[NateJ]

In an effort to sift through my symptoms I thought I would survey others on what they felt and time following their gluten free diet.

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

I am sure some of these have been asked before, just curious to get insight from as many folks as possible

thanks

Ab pain was mild, mostly nausea, constant nausea. GERD. Reflux. D all the time every day no matter what I ate.

other symptoms included migraines, kidney stones, and fatigue. some severe bloating towards the end and weight loss.

I lost 40 lbs over 15 years from 20-35

[Reba32]

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

My pain was all through my middle, shooting up and down and across. After a while though, the intestines became so inflamed that it was just a constant dull ache, with intermittent shooting pains directly after meals. Improved within days of going gluten-free, and now I think (after almost 2 years) is almost entirely healed. Though I haven't had a new endoscopy with biopsy, my recent blood work indicated no vitamin deficiencies, healthy cholesterol levels, and no anti-gliadin antibodies.

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

Constant constipation, with intestinal bleeding, bloating, noxious gas

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

all over achiness, migraines, irritability, brain fog, everything associated with malnutrition and vitamin deficiency. I had so many years of undiagnosed Celiac, that the overall damage to my body is likely irreversible. I also had Grave's Disease undiagnosed for several years, which also caused some damage.

[granolagal]

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

-no pain really...just from stomach distention

-I've only been Gluten-Free for 3 weeks. So far, no real noticed improvement.

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

-chronic C

-chronic bloating to the point, sometimes, of serious distention

-one time, pain so bad in my right side I ended up in ER

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

-chronic infections

-nutritional deficiencies (the worst being my iron deficiency)

-fatigue

-mood issues

-TERRIBLE hair loss

-joint issues (PFS in my right knee)

-dizziness

-poor immune system in general (always get any flu/cold bug going around no matter how hard I try to avoid it)

-migraine headaches

-memory loss

....that's all I can think of for now...

[T.H.]

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

No gut or ab pain at all. Afterward, however, I developed ab pain periodically in response to food allergies. These seemed to start being an issue after going gluten-free only.

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

Periodic bouts of constipation, but nothing bad enough that I even mentioned it to the doctor except during pregnancy.

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

This is where most of my issues were. Things that have gone away on my gluten-free diet are: Chronic sinusitis, vertigo, nerve pain down arms and legs, multiple repetitive stress issues in feet, hands, and arms that never fully healed, fatigue, insomnia, sensory issues (lights too bright, sounds too loud, touch unpleasant, taste strongly bitter or sour. Not all the time, just frequently), irrational anger, anxiety attacks, depression, frequent soft tissue injury, slow healing, low immune system (constant illness, including some usually contracted by those with lowered immune system), memory issues, concentration problems, and I was easily concussed (4 concussions within a 5 month period, for example, from minor head bumps).

I know there are more, but that's all that I can think of right off the top of my head. :-)

[SuzanneT]

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

I had no abdominal pain.

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

Nausea

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

Palpitations, fatigue, headaches, weak/jelly legs feeling, lightheadedness, general feeling of being unwell.

[atan91]

In an effort to sift through my symptoms I thought I would survey others on what they felt and time following their gluten free diet.

#1 What did your abdominal pain feel like and where was it primarily located, constant or intermittent? And what % has it improved, if at all after being gluten free, and time frame to get their??

#2 Other symptoms related to Gi tract that you had?

#3 Other symptoms in general that you may have had?

I am sure some of these have been asked before, just curious to get insight from as many folks as possible

thanks

1. My whole stomach hurt and would bloat a ridiculous amount. My stomach aches were constant, severe and debilitating and would last for at least 2 hours at a time. My stomach aches cleared up in the first few days after cutting gluten.

2. Gnawing intestinal pain, passing mucous in BMs, (especially right after a glutening).

3. Inflamed joints, achy muscles all over, achy bones. Right arm and left leg get it the worst. Severe brain fog, difficulty communicating, looking for a word but another word gets in the way. Feels like someone is sitting on my chest when I breathe. Heart palpitations. Serious lethargy.

[Hungry Hope]

Mine is almost identical to atan91. Just add stiff neck and minus breathing difficulty. My stomach pains felt like what I imagine a appendix bursting would feel like, only on the left side instead of the right. I wound up in the ER several times through the years (with no solutions).

Since being as gluten and lactose free as I know how I feel about 80% better. Best part is brain fog is gone.