Constipation as a Symptom

luvrdeo · September 19, 2012

Many with Celiac have chronic constipation rather than diarrhea. Many are overweight rather than underweight. Those with Celiac Disease come in ALL ages, shapes and sizes. Although I weighed more than I should - healthy diet and tons of exercise stopped controlling my weight in my 20s - all of my nutrients were far below normal. My body was not absorbing nutrients because the damage to my small intestine was severe. Some theorize that the body goes into starvation mode because it is trying to retain as many nutrients as possible thus causing the weight gain. Celiac Disease and Thyroid problems often occur together. If you are heavier than you should be - your thyroid should be tested. TSH along with Free T3 and Free T4 - the TSH is not enough.

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I went in for a follow up yesterday after having been gluten-free for a month now - and feeling worse than I have in my entire life...I asked for some more blood tests to be done, specifically thyroid. Well I just looked at what they sent off for and it is only TSH...you just answered my question as to whether this is enough? The doctor/nurse seemed like they were in shock when I told them all of the problems I'm having...all they could say was, "make sure you aren't eating any gluten"...really?!! Anyone that knows me knows I'm beyond strict when it comes to diet, and as sick as gluten makes me, I'd be stupid to not 110% eliminate it! Ok, that's my frustration of the day. Thanks for answering a question I was about to ask

GottaSki · September 19, 2012

On 9/19/2012 at 5:54 PM, luvrdeo said:

I went in for a follow up yesterday after having been gluten-free for a month now - and feeling worse than I have in my entire life...I asked for some more blood tests to be done, specifically thyroid. Well I just looked at what they sent off for and it is only TSH...you just answered my question as to whether this is enough? The doctor/nurse seemed like they were in shock when I told them all of the problems I'm having...all they could say was, "make sure you aren't eating any gluten"...really?!! Anyone that knows me knows I'm beyond strict when it comes to diet, and as sick as gluten makes me, I'd be stupid to not 110% eliminate it! Ok, that's my frustration of the day. Thanks for answering a question I was about to ask

Forgot to add Thyroid Antibody Tests to rule out Hashimoto Thyroiditis.

luvrdeo · September 19, 2012

On 9/19/2012 at 5:59 PM, GottaSki said:
Forgot to add Thyroid Antibody Tests to rule out Hashimoto Thyroiditis.

I knew there was more to it than just one test! I have a feeling I'll be finding a new doctor very soon. Feeling the way I do just isn't ok!

GottaSki · September 19, 2012

On 9/19/2012 at 6:00 PM, luvrdeo said:

Feeling the way I do just isn't ok!

While it is important to make sure you have everything tested...you also need to remember that it took a long time to for Celiac Disease to cause damage, so it can some time to heal. Celebrate even very small improvements - sometimes those are all we have during the healing.

It is great that you are very strict with your gluten-free diet - if you don't see any improvement in the coming months, you'll want to make sure you haven't developed other intolerance - it can happen -- but important to give some time to see if removing gluten is enough to repair the damage.

Hang in there

luvrdeo · September 19, 2012

On 9/19/2012 at 7:47 PM, GottaSki said:

While it is important to make sure you have everything tested...you also need to remember that it took a long time to for Celiac Disease to cause damage, so it can some time to heal. Celebrate even very small improvements - sometimes those are all we have during the healing.

It is great that you are very strict with your gluten-free diet - if you don't see any improvement in the coming months, you'll want to make sure you haven't developed other intolerance - it can happen -- but important to give some time to see if removing gluten is enough to repair the damage.

Hang in there

I know it takes time, and I've accepted that, especially because I've been sick half my life. But I can hardly get out of bed these last few weeks, and have gained entirely too much weight. There is so much more going bad, with absolutely nothing going good.

GottaSki · September 19, 2012

On 9/19/2012 at 7:58 PM, luvrdeo said:

There is so much more going bad, with absolutely nothing going good.

I am so sorry - unfortunately that was the case for me as well - very frustrating when docs are telling you all you have to do is remove gluten. For those of us that went undiagnosed for years - decades in my case - removing gluten is not enough to heal the damage. The only improvement I had during my first three months gluten-free was slightly less bloating and my nails/toenails became healthier/stronger. Every other symptom got worse.

If you are not seeing any improvement and feel worse it is time to look to other food intolerance. Many have success with a food log and eliminating problem foods as they can identify them. I tried detailed logs for two years, removing one food item or food groups at a time and never figured out what was causing problems. It is a great place to start, but if you can't identify your problem foods I strongly encourage you to do a full elimination diet for at least a week - a month is better, than trial one food back at a time. I wish I had done this much earlier than I did as I was amazed at the reactions I had to many foods that I had not even considered would be problematic.

Here are the foods that can cause problems for some of us:

Dairy

Grains - this can be all grains including rice. Quinoa is not a grain, it is a seed - yet can still cause problems.

Legumes

Nightshades - potato, tomoato, ALL peppers except black peppercorn and eggplant

Eggs

I happen to win the intolerance lotto - I can't eat anything but meat, eggs, non-nightshade vegies and selected fruits. In addition to the list above I can't eat nuts, seeds, citrus fruits, pineapple and avocado. I never would have figured out everything that was preventing healing had I not done a full elimination diet.

I hope you can find healing by eliminating gluten and eating whole foods - nothing processed - but if you don't improve keep an elimination diet in mind.

NOTE to OP -- you don't need to worry about any of these problems yet - first step is to remove all gluten - that can take a significant amount of time and energy to complete. Many people are able to heal by removing gluten - it is best to eat whole (not processed) foods during the first months, but there is no need to remove other foods unless you don't improve &/or get worse after removing gluten.

Best wishes for healing to you both!

luvrdeo · September 19, 2012

On 9/19/2012 at 8:45 PM, GottaSki said:

I am so sorry - unfortunately that was the case for me as well - very frustrating when docs are telling you all you have to do is remove gluten. For those of us that went undiagnosed for years - decades in my case - removing gluten is not enough to heal the damage. The only improvement I had during my first three months gluten-free was slightly less bloating and my nails/toenails became healthier/stronger. Every other symptom got worse.

If you are not seeing any improvement and feel worse it is time to look to other food intolerance. Many have success with a food log and eliminating problem foods as they can identify them. I tried detailed logs for two years, removing one food item or food groups at a time and never figured out what was causing problems. It is a great place to start, but if you can't identify your problem foods I strongly encourage you to do a full elimination diet for at least a week - a month is better, than trial one food back at a time. I wish I had done this much earlier than I did as I was amazed at the reactions I had to many foods that I had not even considered would be problematic.

Here are the foods that can cause problems for some of us:

Dairy

Grains - this can be all grains including rice. Quinoa is not a grain, it is a seed - yet can still cause problems.

Legumes

Nightshades - potato, tomoato, ALL peppers except black peppercorn and eggplant

Eggs

I happen to win the intolerance lotto - I can't eat anything but meat, eggs, non-nightshade vegies and selected fruits. In addition to the list above I can't eat nuts, seeds, citrus fruits, pineapple and avocado. I never would have figured out everything that was preventing healing had I not done a full elimination diet.

I hope you can find healing by eliminating gluten and eating whole foods - nothing processed - but if you don't improve keep an elimination diet in mind.

NOTE to OP -- you don't need to worry about any of these problems yet - first step is to remove all gluten - that can take a significant amount of time and energy to complete. Many people are able to heal by removing gluten - it is best to eat whole (not processed) foods during the first months, but there is no need to remove other foods unless you don't improve &/or get worse after removing gluten.

Best wishes for healing to you both!

I started the whole-foods diet immediately, as I know how bad processed food is anyway, and have never been much of a fan due to being very health-conscious and a gym rat. I've also cut out dairy and grains - but hadn't gotten as far as the legumes (which I rarely eat anyway), nightshades and eggs. I'll admit I eat eggs everyday, and cut up fresh tomatoes in my salads at lunch.

There isn't much you can eat is there!!??! I'm afraid that's where I'll end up. My stomach is so sensitive to EVERYTHING. I just wasn't sure where to start - what I COULD eat on an elimination diet. Everything has gotten so much worse, it's worth trying right now!