Now gluten-free - Now Pain/nausea

[DJ88]

Diagnosed by positive biopsy for intestinal damage, blood tests (taken after) were negative, been on a gluten-free diet for about 8 weeks - not even eating out at all - now I have major pain in upper stomach area and constant nausea, vary with intensity (still no vomiting). I had no celiac symptoms before except for major anemia (3), but after doing 4 iron infusions (iron up to 114), I have the constant pain and nausea. Doctor (who's on vacation for 2 weeks) sent word through the nurse to take Miralax and Pepcid. I'm having a very hard time eating. I know eating is kind of important - should I take pepto or something to coat so I can eat? Any ideas?

[rosetapper23]

Could you please describe the diet you've been following? What exactly do you eat during the day? Perhaps that would shed some light on this mystery, and I know that many of us here would like to help you. Also, what supplements are you taking?

[DJ88]

Could you please describe the diet you've been following? What exactly do you eat during the day? Perhaps that would shed some light on this mystery, and I know that many of us here would like to help you. Also, what supplements are you taking?

Before the pain...

breakfast: typically (1) grits with fruit, (2) gluten free waffles, cottage cheese, fruit, or (3) rice chex with almond milk

lunch: (1) salad - spinach/greens, (2) Amy's gluten free frozen vegetarian meal, or (3) gluten free rice wrap, mushroom/rice patty, spinach & veggies

dinner: (1) salad - spinach/green, (2) Amy's gluten free frozen vegetarian meal, or (3) rice/vege pasta salad

snacks: Greek yogurt, home-made gluten free ice cream, Larabar bars, fruit

drinks: water, almond milk, chai tea w/ almond milk, iced tea

Supplements: vitamin D, multi-vitamin

Doctor didn't even give me a plan to follow. Most of the info I have is from celiac.com, books or other website information. I saw a nutritionist who knew much less than me.

[rosetapper23]

Okay, my personal suspicion is that you might be sensitive to soy. For me, that means lots of digestive pain...to the point that I always think I have appendicitis and need to be driven to the hospital emergency room (first time that I ate it, that's exactly what I did, too).

Were the gluten-free waffles Van brand? If so, they use soy flour (which is crazy if they're trying to target the celiac population). Amy's tends to use a lot of soy in their products. too.

I noticed that you are depending rather strongly on gluten-free processed foods. This is very common for newly diagnosed celiacs; however, it's not the best approach for healing. Processed foods contain a lot of stuff that can make you feel ill (such as xanthan gum, guar gum, soy, etc.). Therefore, we generally advise newly diagnosed folks to eat only natural foods; e.g., fruits, vegetables, rice, potatoes, nuts and nut butters, meat, and dairy (if tolerated). There are easy casseroles that can be prepared in a slow cooker that can feed you for several days. Simply augment with a salad with oil and vinegar, a potato, or gluten-free pasta. It's very important to consume healthy fats, too, because they'll help you digest fat-soluble vitamins. Nuts, nut butters, and avocados will help you in that regard.

Hope you start feeling better soon!

[squirmingitch]

I agree. Too much processed food & soy. Soy kills me. Take it all the way down to very simple stuff & those salads --- use your own oil & vinegar. Salad dressings, even gluten-free ones are generally heavily dependent on soy. Better to simply use wine vinegar & olive oil. Check the ingredients on the almond milk too. It might have soy in there &/or carageenan which is a kelp product & could possibly be causing some distress at this point.

[Mom-of-Two]

There are several possibilities which are common, such as issues with dairy or soy. I would also wonder if your gallbladder is giving you trouble, since upper pain and nausea are very common, indigestion and gas as well. It is not always severe attacks from a stone, you may have general inflammation of the gallbladder which can leave you feeling that way a long time.

Or, you simply have not healed enough.

Keep a food diary and see when the symptoms are the worst.

Also, I can't do gluten free grains, processed gluten free foods. I stick to whole foods, it helps many people.

[DJ88]

Thank you so much for all your suggestions. I will try whole foods - I'm ready to start with one item at a time, will get back to the journal and monitor reactions. All suggestions are much appreciated!

DJ