Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Acid Reflux Vs. Celiac

kerrera

By kerrera
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

kerrera Rookie
kerrera
Posted

HI everyone! A quick question for ya. My diet is totally gluten-free and my antibody numbers have gone down drastically, yea! So why am I still in excruciating stomach pain? I have severe reflux and just consulted with a surgeon about the lap nissen procedure. But I've never heard of stomach cramps being a side-effect of reflux. Not only is my stomach burning, it's also crampy and I have really bad gas pain. It hurts so bad! I'm so sick of this. I'm sorry to vent but why won't the pain go away? Sometimes I just lose my patience and reach my breaking point. Does anyone else have severe reflux? My GI says that it's completely seperate from celiac. Just when I thought that I had figured it all out, the cramps have returned full force. There could be cross-contamination of course but this hurts too bad and happens to frequently to be cc. HELP!!!! :(

Kristy

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


higgins Newbie
higgins
Posted

Kristy:

I have read that celiac disease may be accompanied by any assortment of digestive disorders. I continued to be symptomatic after going gluten-free, only to discover the symptoms were now being triggered by a lactose intolerance - which I am told is a common deal with us.

Sometimes I get symptomatic apparently for no reason. Perhaps it's just another un-discovered intolerance.

Richard

JoeB Apprentice
JoeB
Posted
HI everyone! A quick question for ya. My diet is totally gluten-free and my antibody numbers have gone down drastically, yea! So why am I still in excruciating stomach pain? I have severe reflux and just consulted with a surgeon about the lap nissen procedure. But I've never heard of stomach cramps being a side-effect of reflux. Not only is my stomach burning, it's also crampy and I have really bad gas pain. It hurts so bad! I'm so sick of this.  I'm sorry to vent but why won't the pain go away? Sometimes I just lose my patience and reach my breaking point. Does anyone else have severe reflux? My GI says that it's completely seperate from celiac. Just when I thought that I had figured it all out, the cramps have returned full force. There could be cross-contamination of course but this hurts too bad and happens to frequently to be cc. HELP!!!! :(

Kristy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Kristy -

Aside from celiac, I had a peptic ulcer about 15 years ago and I've been treated from reflux for the last 10 years, so I can sympathize with you.

I've never had cramps with reflux. It bothered me at night, mostly between midnight and 4 am and it was basically stomach acid coming up my throat. The only pain was the burning in my throat. So I don't think your problem is reflux.

The pain I got from the ulcer was sharp and I generally felt it in stomach and in the area of my liver. That's because ulcer pain can really appear anywhere - your stomach, shoulder, hips, etc. The ulcer never gave me cramps, only sharp pain. Eating made the pain go away. Unfortunately, I used to go on a "white" diet when I had ulcer attacks - bread, pasta, milk, etc. This was before I was diagnosed with celiac. I'm sure you know what the result was!

You don't mention if you've had a gastroscopy. If you haven't you should. Aside from confirming that your celiac disease is under control, it will also confirm whether you have an ulcer. If you do, it's pretty easy to cure with the variety of different medications available now.

Good luck!

kerrera Rookie
kerrera
Posted
  • Author

Thank you guys for getting back to me so quickly :) I've had an endoscopy, colonoscopy, ultrasound, bloodwork, and a barium swallow and have been told that their is no ulcer. I can't believe that this pain is from lactose, but maybe it's one of the casues. I should probably be tested for other food allergies since I've been on allergy shots my whole life for other thing, pollen, dust, etc. After you guys found out you had celiac were there other tests done for other digestive disorders besides the ones I've had done? What's a gastroscopy? I took Pepto about an hour ago and it did nothing! Ugh! Man, I'm cranky.....

JoeB Apprentice
JoeB
Posted

Kristy -

Gastroscopy is just an endoscopy of your stomach, so it sounds like you already had that. Check to see if the doctor biopsied your stomach as well as your small intestines. The stomach biopsy can be positive even if the ulcer isn't visible.

It probably won't make a big difference, but I used to take Pepto until the doctor told me it contains aspirin. I stay away from all types of aspirin products now, just to be safe. Try switching to Maalox instead - 1/2 hour after meals and before bed. If it is some kind of stomach irritation, stay aware from alcohol and caffeine, too (including chocolate).

I have the dust and pollen problems, too but they never affected my stomach.

I've done the lactose-free diet along the way and I found it more restrictive than the gluten-free diet, but give it a try to see if you get good results. Milk can be a big problem if you can't tolerate it. Just don't give up - I've had stomach problems since I was a kid (I'm in my 50's). I've had to do all those tests you've taken (most of them multiple times), but I'm finally at the point where I don't have pain and I feel the best that I can remember. It's not going to take you that long because the science is so much better - just keep talking to your doctor (or change doctors if you need to) until you find a solution.

blueshift Apprentice
blueshift
Posted

I get a feeling in my stomach area as well...However, it is coming from the colon. When the small bowel gets cramps and does any twisting or obstructing, it will not be felt in the colon first, but up in that same area that you feel is a stomach problem..

Water gives my cramps and can twist my gut up really big time. I can only drink water in the early A.M. and again late at night...During the day....forget it..

East Indian food gets rid of my "stomach" or reflux symptom and that tells me right there that the stomach is not the issue..Some foods besides wheat and gluten are the problem...I just had a very bad episode today..My lunch was too bland and not hot and spicy enough to relax me..I cannot take down any flours at all...All of them constipate me...Downing carrot juice several times each day is great...for me anyway..

I would elimiate more foods from the diet to start and get a thorough exam dealing with allergies..

slickfox Newbie
slickfox
Posted

I have in the past had acid reflux real bad, I take Prevacid for the reflux, works well. However for the cramps I had these real bad when I was younger, before my wheat allergy, I was diagnosed through a breath test as having Helicobactor Pylori, may want to look into it.

Open Original Shared Link

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,397
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Megannnnn
    Newest Member
    Megannnnn
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Coeliac UK Research Conference 2025

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Thanks for sharing this!
    • Scott Adams
      Shingles - Could It Be Related to Gluten/ Celiac

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I had the same thing happen to me at around your age, and to this day it's the most painful experience I've ever had. For me it was the right side of my head, above my ear, running from my nerves in my neck. For years before my outbreak I felt a tingling sensation shooting along the exact nerves that ended up exactly where the shingles blisters appeared. I highly recommend the two shot shingles vaccine as soon as your turn 50--I did this because I started to get the same tingling sensations in the same area, and after the vaccines I've never felt that again.  As you likely know, shingles is caused by chicken pox, which was once though of as one of those harmless childhood viruses that everyone should catch in the wild--little did they know that it can stay in your nervous system for your entire life, and cause major issues as you age.
    • trents
      Blood tests low iGA 4 years later digestive issues

      By trents · Posted

      Keep us posted.
    • Clear2me
      Gluten free nuts

      By Clear2me · Posted

      Thanks for the info. I recently moved to CA from Wyoming and in that western region the Costco and Sam's /Walmart Brands have many nuts and more products that are labeled gluten free. I was told it's because those products are packaged and processed  in different  plants. Some plants can be labeled  gluten free because the plant does not also package gluten products and they know that for example the trucks, containers equipment are not used to handle wheat, barely or Rye. The Walmart butter in the western region says gluten free but not here. Most of The Kirkland and Members Mark brands in CA say they are from Vietnam. That's not the case in Wyoming and Colorado. I've spoken to customer service at the stores here in California. They were not helpful. I check labels every time I go to the store. The stores where I am are a Sh*tshow. The Magalopoly grocery chain Vons/Safeway/Albertsons, etc. are the same. Fishers and Planters brands no longer say gluten free. It could be regional. There are nuts with sugar coatings and fruit and nut mixes at the big chains that are labeled gluten free but I don't want the fruit or sugar.  It's so difficult I am considering moving again. I thought it would be easier to find safe food in a more populated area. It's actually worse.  I was undiagnosed for most of my life but not because I didn't try to figure it out. So I have had all the complications possible. I don't have any spare organs left.  No a little gluten will hurt you. The autoimmune process continues to destroy your organs though you may not feel it. If you are getting a little all the time and as much as we try we probably all are and so the damage is happening. Now the FDA has pretty much abandoned celiacs. There are no requirements for labeling for common allergens on medications. All the generic drugs made outside the US are not regulated for common allergens and the FDA is taking the last gluten free porcine Thyroid med, NP Thyroid, off the market in 2026. I was being glutened by a generic levothyroxin. The insurance wouldn't pay for the gluten free brand any longer because the FDA took them all off their approved formulary. So now I am paying $147 out of pocket for NP Thyroid but shortly I will have no safe choice. Other people with allergies should be aware that these foreign generic pharmaceutical producers are using ground shellfish shell as pill coatings and anti-desicants. The FDA knows this but  now just waits for consumers to complain or die. The take over of Wholefoods by Amazon destroyed a very reliable source of good high quality food for people with allergies and for people who wanted good reliably organic food. Bezos thought  he could make a fortune off people who were paying alot for organic and allergen free food by substituting cheap brands from Thailand. He didn't understand who the customers were who were willing to pay more for that food and why. I went from spending hundreds to nothing because Bezo removed every single trusted brand that I was buying. Now they are closing Whole foods stores across the country. In CA, Mill Valley store (closed July 2025) and the National Blvd. store in West Los Angeles (closed October 2025). The Cupertino store will close.  In recent years I have learned to be careful and trust no one. I have been deleberately glutened in a restaurant that was my favorite (a new employee). The Chef owner was not in the kitchen that night. I've had  a metal scouring pad cut up over my food.The chain offered gluten free dishes but it only takes one crazy who thinks you're a problem as a food fadist. Good thing I always look. Good thing they didn't do that to food going to a child with a busy mom.  I give big tips and apologize for having to ask in restaurants but mental illness seem to be rampant. I've learn the hard way.          I don't buy any processed food that doesn't say gluten free.  I am a life long Catholic. I worked for the Church while at college. I don't go to Church anymore because the men at the top decided Jesus is gluten. The special hosts are gluten less not gluten free. No I can't drink wine after people with gluten in their mouth and a variety of deadly germs. I have been abandoned and excluded by my Church/Family.  Having nearly died several times, safe food is paramount. If your immune system collapses as mine did, you get sepsis. It can kill you very quickly. I spent 5 days unconscious and had to have my appendix and gall bladder removed because they were necrotic. I was 25. They didn't figure out I had celiac till I was 53. No one will take the time to tell you what can happen when your immune system gets overwhelmed from its constant fighting the gluten and just stops. It is miserable that our food is processed so carelessly. Our food in many aspects is not safe. And the merging of all the grocery chains has made it far worse. Its a disaster. Krogers also recently purchased Vitacost where I was getting the products I could no longer get at Whole Foods. Kroger is eliminating those products from Vitacost just a Bezos did from WF. I am looking for reliable and certified sources for nuts. I have lived the worst consequences of the disease and being exposed unknowingly and maliciously. Once I was diagnosed I learned way more than anyone should have to about the food industry.  I don't do gray areas. And now I dont eat out except very rarely.  I have not eaten fast food for 30 years before the celiac diagnosis. Gluten aside..... It's not food and it's not safe.  No one has got our backs. Sharing safe food sources is one thing we can do to try to be safe.        
    • Mmoc
      Blood tests low iGA 4 years later digestive issues

      By Mmoc · Posted

      Thank you kindly for your response. I have since gotten the other type of bloods done and am awaiting results. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.