Digestive Recovery

[Sarajs]

It seems that most celiac disease sufferers experience diarrhea. I have the opposite problem. When I hit bottom, I was so backed-up that I looked like a pregnant skinny person. I only ate one meal every two days. Before I was diagnosed with celiac, a body worker discovered that I had 2 areas of restriction in my intestines. I've been gluten-free for a little over a year now, but still experience moderately severe constipation and bloating. Its' not the hard., painful bloating that I suffer when I eat gluten, but it's still bloating all the same. I experience discomfort inside, and can feel that the waste wants to move through me but has a hard time. Taking miralax helps, and I almost always use suppositiories. I also juice. I just wonder if there is more I need to be doing or if my body just needs more time to heal. I did suffer for 8 years before I was diagnosed. I would like to connect with others who have experienced this issue and some advice on how to help myself heal.

[YoloGx]

It seems that most celiac disease sufferers experience diarrhea. I have the opposite problem. When I hit bottom, I was so backed-up that I looked like a pregnant skinny person. I only ate one meal every two days. Before I was diagnosed with celiac, a body worker discovered that I had 2 areas of restriction in my intestines. I've been gluten-free for a little over a year now, but still experience moderately severe constipation and bloating. Its' not the hard., painful bloating that I suffer when I eat gluten, but it's still bloating all the same. I experience discomfort inside, and can feel that the waste wants to move through me but has a hard time. Taking miralax helps, and I almost always use suppositiories. I also juice. I just wonder if there is more I need to be doing or if my body just needs more time to heal. I did suffer for 8 years before I was diagnosed. I would like to connect with others who have experienced this issue and some advice on how to help myself heal.

I tend to suffer from constipation too even after all this time if I don[t take certain measures. I usually take a little extra magnesium citrate with my other minerals and vitamins plus often drink dandelion tea before or around meal times--both of which help out a lot.

The dandelion root is very good for the liver by the way, which helps it process carbohydrates, protein, and cholesterol better as well as get rid of toxins. It puts the potassium back in that you otherwise pee out by the way. It also stimulates the intestines by releasing bile, thus also increasing fat absorption--which is often poor for us due to damage of the intestinal villi.

Juicing is a good idea, however I think blending is even better since that way you are eating more of the fibre your body really needs.

I personally can't tolerate flax seeds any more due to my salicylate sensitivity, however it would likely be helpful for you. Put a little bit (1/4 tsp) of apple pectin powder with the 1 tablespoon of raw flax seeds before grinding in your coffee grinder and it will be even more potent. Put in a glass of water, mix and drink, chased by another glass of water. This way you get lots of roughage as well as Omega 3's and a way to pull out toxins from the lining of the intestines.

I think probiotics are important to this whole process as well as soured foods. I now am making home made yogurt fermented for 24 hours to get all the lactose fermented out. It also increases the probiotics in it. I usually use a little Greek yogurt as starter.

I am now also experimenting with making my own lactose fermented cabbage. I put in a little live whey from the yogurt to get it started. I will let you know the results when I get there. So far it looks pretty good however. By putting the whey in it it speeds up the fermentation process. I read about it being very good for repopulating the gut with good bacteria and healing it from dysbiosis--which state is common amongst celiacs.

I don't know about you, however I have had far too many antibiotics in the past which I am certain were not good for my gut. I plan on getting the book "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon so I can ferment a variety of foods.

Good luck. I hope some of these ideas are helpful for you.

Bea

[IrishHeart]

Water, water, and more water.

Really, celiacs are often dehydrated and the bowels need more water to function without straining. Everyone always want to add more FIBER, but that often just jams up the works more if there is not enough water.

PROBIOTICS are absolutely essential to celiac guts. Take it first thing in the AM with about 16 oz. of water.

Try some dairy-free Culturelle and see if that helps. IMHO

I did a ton of research on the GI tract (I know--what a silly thing to want to know about ) but I was determined to stop being a slave to the toilet and made it my mission. And the one thing I do know is---your gut flora needs to be balanced for all systems to be "running smoothy".

I had what they deemed "IBS" all of my life--I either had D or C--when it was really the celiac at work. Now, it's "all good" and it's great to be "normal".

Best wishes to you!

[burdee]

It seems that most celiac disease sufferers experience diarrhea. I have the opposite problem. When I hit bottom, I was so backed-up that I looked like a pregnant skinny person. I only ate one meal every two days. Before I was diagnosed with celiac, a body worker discovered that I had 2 areas of restriction in my intestines. I've been gluten-free for a little over a year now, but still experience moderately severe constipation and bloating. Its' not the hard., painful bloating that I suffer when I eat gluten, but it's still bloating all the same. I experience discomfort inside, and can feel that the waste wants to move through me but has a hard time. Taking miralax helps, and I almost always use suppositiories. I also juice. I just wonder if there is more I need to be doing or if my body just needs more time to heal. I did suffer for 8 years before I was diagnosed. I would like to connect with others who have experienced this issue and some advice on how to help myself heal.

I never had diarrhea before I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I had chronic constipation, bloating and gut pain. However, going gluten free and then eliminating my other 6 diagnosed allergens did not affect my constipation. I had to keep doing the high fiber, lotsa liquids, magnesium, probiotics, etc. routine to have regular (albeit hard) stools every day. ONLY after I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism and got an effective thyroid dose (which took 15 months of experimentation), did I finally have regular, normal (soft) stools (without as much fiber or magnesium).

Get a full thyroid panel of blood tests. Don't settle for TSH only, because many docs use an outdated 'normal' range. Request TSH, free T3, free T4, Reverse T3 and TPOab (thyroid peroxidase antibodies which indicate Hashimto's). Many people with celiac or gluten intolerance also have Hashimoto's. Chronic constipation is a standard symptom for hypothyroidism.

[IrishHeart]

Good call, Burdee!

I did not mention it to the OP because she only listed C as a problem, but if she also has other symptoms of hypothyroidism in addition to the C, she would be wise to be tested!

[burdee]

Good call, Burdee!

I did not mention it to the OP because she only listed C as a problem, but if she also has other symptoms of hypothyroidism in addition to the C, she would be wise to be tested!

Before I was dx'd with Hashimoto's, I also had many other typically Hypothyroid symptoms (like fatigue, low core body temp, loss of outer edge of eyebrows, etc.). However, I attributed the fatigue and eyebrow loss to age and had been cold when everyone else was warm all my life. The only bothersome symptom was constipation. Many people with undiagnosed Hashimoto's just assume fatigue and hair loss are age related and low body temperature is normal for them, like I did.

[YoloGx]

I had a doc years ago who thought I had a low thyroid and put me on thyroxin. I developed too high a thyroid that year as a result. My eyes were even bugging out. I ended up having to take Pituitone from my naturopath up in Oregon to get my pituitary to release the necessary hormones to stimulate the thyroid. Since then I have a medium thyroid going halfway towards the high side.

I have nevertheless had a low body temperature and constipation, without extra help that is.

Now however that is all changing due to treating my sluggish liver and gall bladder with some detox herbs and feeding my gut with live foods like the home made yogurt, gluten free miso and the home made sauerkraut plus more fish and adzuki beans plus lots more veggies.

Finally my elimination is happening effortlessly. I would have never believed it before. I even woke up this morning with some actual energy despite not having slept my usual 8 to 9 hours.

I do think the constipation I had was due all those antibiotics I took since I was 4 months old due to infections I got (starting off with pneumonia) as well as later misdiagnosis -- since after age four I had untreated celiac. I don't think I am alone here in having had a stressed liver and dysbiotic intestines as a result of all the ill health I had and the standard treatment: antibiotics.

Whereas it is true that a low thyroid will cause these same kind of problems of sluggishness, it is not the only cause. A blocked up liver and dysbiotic intestines will do the same without the low thyroid. Interestingly enough, I recently read that one of the first things (due to celiac disease etc.) that the damaged villi cannot absorb are fats. This then really does a number on adding the the burden of the liver etc. etc.

The fact I also have salicylate sensitivity hasn't helped my liver any either, though now staying off high and most medium salicylates has. Witness my improving skin...and better ability to sleep at night as long as I also continue to take epsom salt baths.

So, OK its a balancing act for many of us. Often there is no one answer. However if we keep trying we eventually may discover our path(s) to better health.

Bea

[IrishHeart]

Before I was dx'd with Hashimoto's, I also had many other typically Hypothyroid symptoms (like fatigue, low core body temp, loss of outer edge of eyebrows, etc.). However, I attributed the fatigue and eyebrow loss to age and had been cold when everyone else was warm all my life. The only bothersome symptom was constipation. Many people with undiagnosed Hashimoto's just assume fatigue and hair loss are age related and low body temperature is normal for them, like I did.

Years before the celiac disease triggered, I was overweight, had a puffy face, major fatigue, thinning eyebrows, major hair loss and the big C (often alternating with D) I wore a sweat suit in summer. I was crazy cold sometimes. My TSH was always "borderline" they told me (those were the days when I did not ask doctors too many questions or keep records of my test results ) but I know one reading was 5.3. My body temp was ridiculously low--like 96.5 sometimes. BP 80/50.

Doctor puts me on Synthroid and I went HYPER! It created a whole slew of problems! I was on meds for 2 years and I kept complaining something was not right. He barked at me "It's not your thyroid! Take the meds!"

Well, in a twisted way, he was right because apparently, the LONG unDXed celiac was causing the thyroiditis and a nodule appeared.

LOOOOONG story short, it appears my thyroid fluctuations were NOT Hashi's as he suspected. Now, I take no medications, my thyroid TSH, Free T4 ad T3 are about as "normal" as can be with no thyroid antibodies present.

I lost 90 lbs. from celiac malabsorption and was very ill for 3 years, but now, I am stable, healing and have none of those symptoms any more. There isn't even a nodule on the ultrasound.

This was just MY experience of course, but often, SOME doctors are quick to prescribe synthroid and it is not always the answer.

Oddly, nearly everyone in my family (mother, sister, niece, cousins and aunts) has thyroid disease. But mine, off gluten, functions perfectly normal. Yet, none of them will be tested for celiac. It's just "me" that was lucky enough to "get this"--they think.

[domesticactivist]

I don't know yet if I have celiac, but constipation (and paradoxical diarrhea, where you are constipated and ALSO have diarrhea at the same time) have been some of my main digestive symptoms. The (low fiber!) GAPS diet really helped!

[YoloGx]

Years before the celiac disease triggered, I was overweight, had a puffy face, major fatigue, thinning eyebrows, major hair loss and the big C (often alternating with D) I wore a sweat suit in summer. I was crazy cold sometimes. My TSH was always "borderline" they told me (those were the days when I did not ask doctors too many questions or keep records of my test results ) but I know one reading was 5.3. My body temp was ridiculously low--like 96.5 sometimes. BP 80/50.

Doctor puts me on Synthroid and I went HYPER! It created a whole slew of problems! I was on meds for 2 years and I kept complaining something was not right. He barked at me "It's not your thyroid! Take the meds!"

Well, in a twisted way, he was right because apparently, the LONG unDXed celiac was causing the thyroiditis and a nodule appeared.

LOOOOONG story short, it appears my thyroid fluctuations were NOT Hashi's as he suspected. Now, I take no medications, my thyroid TSH, Free T4 ad T3 are about as "normal" as can be with no thyroid antibodies present.

I lost 90 lbs. from celiac malabsorption and was very ill for 3 years, but now, I am stable, healing and have none of those symptoms any more. There isn't even a nodule on the ultrasound.

This was just MY experience of course, but often, SOME doctors are quick to prescribe synthroid and it is not always the answer.

Oddly, nearly everyone in my family (mother, sister, niece, cousins and aunts) has thyroid disease. But mine, off gluten, functions perfectly normal. Yet, none of them will be tested for celiac. It's just "me" that was lucky enough to "get this"--they think.

I so relate. Funny how often thyroid disease goes away once one is on a gluten free diet. My co-worker and good friend Graeme used to have Hashimotos. That is not supposed to happen: "Used to". Though he still has a thyroid problem, he no longer has the antibodies for Hashimotos. He has been on a strict gluten-free diet the last two or three years.

My two sisters both take thyroid medicine. One has celiac and salicylate sensitivity (like me). Whereas the other thinks she doesn't even though she has constant D, fainting spells, severe osteoporosis etc. She's a nurse and believes the doctor when they didn't find evidence of celiac. IMHO she at least has severe gluten sensitivity and probably salicylate sensitivity too since she is very sensitive to soaps, perfumes etc.

Shall I gather too that your overall health is improving? Congratulations if that is the case!

Bea

[IrishHeart]

Shall I gather too that your overall health is improving? Congratulations if that is the case!

Bea

Thanks for asking, Bea--I am slowly improving, but it will take years for me, I fear. But it is better than slowly dying and not knowing why!

I'll get there! I never give up. Cheers, IH