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

Vitamins Not Digesting

Newbee

Recommended Posts

Newbee Contributor
Newbee
Posted

I take a lot of vitamins and I noticed recently that some of them are going completely through my body without being digested. I'm trying to figure out what to do about this. I'd heard hard tablets can do this but I think it is some of the capsules I'm taking as I took some toilet paper and pressed it against it and white powder came out (sorry this is kind of gross). I thought capsules were supposed to be easy to digest. I can't digest things like raw vegetables either. Should I just open up the capsules and dump them in my mouth and take them that way or poke them with a knife to try and open them up a little in hopes that the stuff inside can escape? I appreciate the help!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

There are liquid vitamins - they can be quite pricey, but if you aren't absorbing the capsules it might be a good idea to try liquid. Also I know B vitamins are available in sublingual (dissolves under the tongue) form, perhaps other vitamins are available sublingually as well. Can you add the capsules you have to a smoothie? If there are too many it probably would not be palatable, but may be worth a try.

Newbee Contributor
Newbee
Posted
  • Author

I tried taking a liquid multi-vitamin but realized it did not contain a lot of the vitamins that most multis do (was missing things like iron and iodine amongst other things). I am worried about having low thyroid and have heard not getting enough iodine can make this worse. I haven't found an iodine supplement that is recommended. So I went back to a liquid soft gel. I'm not sure if I'm digesting this or not but I've found other supplements that are not being digested (I take a LOT of supplements). I don't do smoothies anymore as they gave me digestive issues. I wonder if I can just take the stuff out of the vitamins and take it straight that way. Anyone know?

kelly97 Rookie
kelly97
Posted

My dietician was just talking to me this last week about vitamins. Because of malabsorpsion, she says we need fat soluble vitamins delivered in a water soluble way. She was going to send me either info about them or a prescription for them. I'm not for sure which. Maybe you should talk to your doctor about them?

Take care,

Kelly

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I tried taking a liquid multi-vitamin but realized it did not contain a lot of the vitamins that most multis do (was missing things like iron and iodine amongst other things). I am worried about having low thyroid and have heard not getting enough iodine can make this worse. I haven't found an iodine supplement that is recommended. So I went back to a liquid soft gel. I'm not sure if I'm digesting this or not but I've found other supplements that are not being digested (I take a LOT of supplements). I don't do smoothies anymore as they gave me digestive issues. I wonder if I can just take the stuff out of the vitamins and take it straight that way. Anyone know?

You should be able to get enough iodine by just using iodized salt. It is also a good idea to have your iron levels tested to make sure you need to supplement it as it can be toxic if you take too much. Are you also seeing a lot of undigested food? Have you talked to your doctor? If you haven't it would be a good idea, IMHO as you may have something going on in addition to celiac.

pricklypear1971 Community Regular
pricklypear1971
Posted

You should be able to get enough iodine by just using iodized salt. It is also a good idea to have your iron levels tested to make sure you need to supplement it as it can be toxic if you take too much. Are you also seeing a lot of undigested food? Have you talked to your doctor? If you haven't it would be a good idea, IMHO as you may have something going on in addition to celiac.

If you do indeed have a thyroid problem, and it is Hashimoto's Disease, there's strong evidence to support NOT taking iodine. Not all hypothyroidism is the same.

Edit:sorry, should have replied to the original post.

Newbee Contributor
Newbee
Posted
  • Author

I see undigested vegetables. I've mentioned this to my doctor before and he told me it was normal to see pieces of vegetables. He hasn't been very helpful. I wouldn't be surprised if something else is going on. I did ask the doc about that but he said he was sure all my issues were celiac related. Blah, may need a better doctor.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Juliebove Rising Star
Juliebove
Posted

I don't know if this could be the case here, but some pills are made in such a way that the casing can come out in the stool. Such is the case with a diabetes med that my daughter is taking. I remember a discussion about it some years back on the diabetes newsgroup but I don't think anyone knew the answer. Then my daughter went on the med. The Dr. whispered something to her about the med which I just barely heard. It had something to do with seeing a "ghost" in her poop and not to be alarmed. It could be that the vitamin is made like that.

I have gastroparesis. That means that I don't digest my food properly. I know that it is common for all people to eat corn or even peas and have some of that come out undigested. And perhaps that could come down to not chewing as well as we should. I will occasionally have trouble with undigested food going through me. Not often, but occasionally if my stomach is acting up this will happen.

1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

I have been puzzling over the same issue. I have been opening capsules and chewing tablets. One could also put tablets through a blender to crush them.

I asked of my health pros and they said that I either had too short of transit time, or not enough hydrochloric acid. One thing if you ever try to take hydrochooric acid do not grind them!

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I see undigested vegetables. I've mentioned this to my doctor before and he told me it was normal to see pieces of vegetables. He hasn't been very helpful. I wouldn't be surprised if something else is going on. I did ask the doc about that but he said he was sure all my issues were celiac related. Blah, may need a better doctor.

There are some doctors that once we are diagnosed will then consider any issues to be related to celiac. I agree it might be time to consider a different doctor. This is especially the case if you have been strict with your diet.

Mom-of-Two Contributor
Mom-of-Two
Posted

I am unsure of the vitamin issue but just wanted to comment that it can be hard to find a very supportive dr- I am lucky that I did, and she really treats me with the full spectrum- meaning, she tetss my vitamin levels, looks for any other complications of celiac, follows up every 3 months (it will go to once a year after this next visit, assuming it shows normal antibodies), she takes a lot of time and listens to everything, gives advice about nutrition, diet, what supplements, reads labels of ones I take to ask her about, etc etc. I am not saying this is the norm for a physician, I am just saying that having celiac disease, you need a good deal of support to really heal- and it can be a frustrating process. You need a good dr, particularly one that knows celiac disease and all its manifestations.

Good luck to you!

bartfull Rising Star
bartfull
Posted

Before I went gluten-free I had undigested vegetables in my stool every day. For YEARS. If I ate a salad the night before it looked the same the next morning as it did when I ate it (minus the bowl of course). It seemed the only thing I could digest was meat and bread. Even french fries would show up the next morning. Going gluten-free changed all that and as long as I stay away from gluten I poop like a normal person now.

Newbee Contributor
Newbee
Posted
  • Author

Juliebove, what do they tell you to do about gastroparesis? I wonder if I have that. As the vitamin I keep seeing will squash out white powder once it has gone through my digestive system, I don't think I'm absorbing what I'm supposed to. Maybe the coating on this one is extra difficult to digest for some reason. I hope it is not all vitamins that are going this way, but I really don't know.

kittty Contributor
kittty
Posted

I see undigested vegetables. I've mentioned this to my doctor before and he told me it was normal to see pieces of vegetables. He hasn't been very helpful. I wouldn't be surprised if something else is going on. I did ask the doc about that but he said he was sure all my issues were celiac related. Blah, may need a better doctor.

I mentioned the same thing to a doctor several years ago, and she also told me it was normal. Current doctor asked me recently about BM issues, and I mentioned that. She wondered why I hadn't mentioned it before...well, because I thought it was normal :rolleyes:

It went away after a month or so of being gluten free, but unfortunately it came back again after a glutening and hasn't gone away again. Not sure why that is. I haven't been glutened in over a month, and it's really bad again now.

Archived

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

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


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,964
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Cbear
    Newest Member
    Cbear
    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
      Does anyone here also have Afib

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      If black seed oil is working for his Afib, stick to it, but if not, I can say that ablation therapy is no big deal--my mother was out of the procedure in about 1 hour and went home that evening, and had zero negative effects from the treatment. PS - I would recommend that your husband get an Apple watch to monitor his Afib--there is an app and it will take readings 24/7 and give reports on how much of the time he's in it. Actual data like this should be what should guide his treatment.
    • Jacki Espo
      Covid caused reoccurrence of DH without eating gluten

      By Jacki Espo · Posted

      This happened to me as well. What’s weirder is that within a couple hours of taking paxlovid it subsided. I thought maybe I got glutened but after reading your post not so sure. 
    • Mari
      New Celiac Mama in My 30s

      By Mari · Posted

      Hi Tiffany. Thank you for writing your dituation and  circumstancesin such detail and so well writte, too. I particularly noticed what you wrote about brain for and feeling like your brain is swelling and I know from my own experiences that's how it feel and your brain really does swell and you get migraines.    Way back when I was in my 20s I read a book by 2 MD allergist and they described their patient who came in complaining that her brain, inside her cranium, was swelling  and it happened when she smelled a certain chemical she used in her home. She kept coming back and insisting her brain actually swelled in her head. The Drs couldn't explain this problem so they, with her permission, performed an operation where they made a small opening through her cranium, exposed her to the chemical then watched as she brain did swell into the opening. The DRs were amazed but then were able to advise her to avoid chemicals that made her brain swell. I remember that because I occasionally had brain fog then but it was not a serious problem. I also realized that I was becoming more sensitive to chemicals I used in my work in medical laboratories. By my mid forties the brain fog and chemicals forced me to leave my  profession and move to a rural area with little pollution. I did not have migraines. I was told a little later that I had a more porous blood brain barrier than other people. Chemicals in the air would go up into my sinused and leak through the blood brain barrier into my brain. We have 2 arteries  in our neck that carry blood with the nutrients and oxygen into the brain. To remove the fluids and used blood from the brain there are only capillaries and no large veins to carry it away so all those fluids ooze out much more slowly than they came in and since the small capillaries can't take care of extra fluid it results in swelling in the face, especially around the eyes. My blood flow into my brain is different from most other people as I have an arterial ischema, adefectiveartery on one side.   I have to go forward about 20 or more years when I learned that I had glaucoma, an eye problem that causes blindness and more years until I learned I had celiac disease.  The eye Dr described my glaucoma as a very slow loss of vision that I wouldn't  notice until had noticeable loss of sight.  I could have my eye pressure checked regularly or it would be best to have the cataracts removed from both eyes. I kept putting off the surgery then just overnight lost most of the vision in my left eye. I thought at the I had been exposed to some chemical and found out a little later the person who livedbehind me was using some chemicals to build kayaks in a shed behind my house. I did not realize the signifance  of this until I started having appointments with a Dr. in a new building. New buildings give me brain fog, loss of balance and other problems I know about this time I experienced visual disturbances very similar to those experienced by people with migraines. I looked further online and read that people with glaucoma can suffer rapid loss of sight if they have silent migraines (no headache). The remedy for migraines is to identify and avoid the triggers. I already know most of my triggers - aromatic chemicals, some cleaning materials, gasoline and exhaust and mold toxins. I am very careful about using cleaning agents using mostly borax and baking powder. Anything that has any fragrance or smell I avoid. There is one brand of dishwashing detergent that I can use and several brands of  scouring powder. I hope you find some of this helpful and useful. I have not seen any evidence that Celiac Disease is involved with migraines or glaucoma. Please come back if you have questions or if what I wrote doesn't make senseto you. We sometimes haveto learn by experience and finding out why we have some problems. Take care.       The report did not mention migraines. 
    • Mari
      My only proof

      By Mari · Posted

      Hi Jmartes71 That is so much like my story! You probably know where Laytonville is and that's where I was living just before my 60th birthday when the new Dr. suggested I could have Celiacs. I didn't go on a gluten challange diet before having the Celiac panel blood test drawn. The results came back as equivical as one antibody level was very high but another, tissue transaminasewas normal. Itdid show I was  allergic to cows milk and I think hot peppers. I immediately went gluten free but did not go in for an endoscopy. I found an online lab online that would do the test to show if I had a main celiac gene (enterolab.com). The report came back that I had inherited a main celiac gene, DQ8, from one parent and a D!6 from the other parent. That combination is knows to sym[tons of celiac worse than just inheriting one main celiac gene. With my version of celiac disease I was mostly constipated but after going gluten-free I would have diarrhea the few times I was glutened either by cross contamination or eating some food containing gluten. I have stayed gluten-free for almost 20 years now and knew within a few days that it was right for me although my recovery has been slow.   When I go to see a  medical provide and tell them I have celiacs they don't believe me. The same when I tell them that I carry a main celiac gene, the DQ8. It is only when I tell them that I get diarrhea after eating gluten that they realize that I might have celiac disease. Then they will order th Vitamin B12 and D3 that I need to monitor as my B12 levels can go down very fast if I'm not taking enough of it. Medical providers haven't been much help in my recovery. They are not well trained in this problem. I really hope this helps ypu. Take care.      
    • knitty kitty
      Does anyone here also have Afib

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Fascinating.
×
×
  • 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.