Relieving pain?

New to being Celiac and very confused! I am trying to be gluten free. Thought I was doing good but last 2 days the constant abdominal pain that never goes away. It is so overwhelmingly uncomfortable. Is there anything I can do to make this pass and start feeling better. Also do you know how long it will take for it to go away I can hardly stand this anymore and REALLY need relief. Thanks for any help to relieve this.....

[beentrying2quit]

I too have the same problem with constant abdominal pain but have yet to figure out what the cause is.  I can go a few days gluten free and still suffer from the pain and then I wonder if celiac/gluten is what I am actually suffering from.   Try some kind of antacid like Tums...see if that helps.  It could also be gas that is blocked in your colon so gas pills may help as well.  Hope you get better.

[Soonerman]

Well 1) you have to be completely gluten free, and 2) It will take time.  You guys are talking about a few days.  If you ingest gluten it is not abnormal to have stomach pain for 5 or so days afterwards.  If you are absolutely gluten free your bodies will detox and stop attacking itself, and it will get better.  Also dairy is a common problem in celiacs that needs to be eliminated at least initially.

It can help to speed it up by supporting the detox process; liver supporting supplements, fiber to promote bowel movements, taking a probiotic, reduce the inflammation (omega-3s, turmeric/curry), saunas...but none of those things are necessary and if they are used they must be gluten free.  A good book to read that can help to learn about this and even a guide on how, why, when is the UltraSimple Diet.  I have personally used this book and it does help speed things up and relieve some of the inconveniences, but the main thing is completely gluten free.

Beentrying2quit, from what you have said you go a few days gluten free, so I wouldn't expect to see any results if you are eating gluten every once in awhile.  

[5thave]

If i have to eliminate Gluten and dairy what can I eat. I have to take all my food for the day with me for work. I am afraid to put anything in my mouth because this pain is awful, but yet I know I need to eat. I really don't want to lose any weight. It has taken me 2 years to get down to this ideal weight and much lower would not be very good. I am literally afraid to even take my vitamins, have coffee or anything for fear that the pain will persist or get worse. I have had the pain now for 2 days, today I am uncomfortable but not as bad. One thing I noticed is if I am up and moving all the time it seems to subside is this usual? Beentrying2quit glad I am not alone trying to figure this out. It is nice to know someone else is feeing the same way. Soonerman you are a wealth of information thank you. I am starting to keep a food diary now and also I am only eating one thing and nothing else for a few hours to see how it goes before eating something else. Good idea??? Any other suggestions to prevent the pain? Thanks both of you...

[5thave]

I was wondering the same thing if there is something else that could be wrong. It hurts constantly and I am sick of it.

[Soonerman]

Well not all celiacs have trouble with dairy, but most do at first and then can tollerate it once the intestines heal.  I substituted Soy Products at first and am fine with dairy now.  And you can maintain and gain weight being gluten free; eat all the chicken, fish, beef, steak, vegetables, rice, potatoes, corn tortillas, corn chips, fruit...you want.  I also take my food to work with me, and I know it is difficult at first because it is so much of a change in lifestyle.  I have a question for you, since going gluten free, have you had regular bowel movements or have you even had one since?  Most of my pain was relieved when I had to help myself have bowel movements in the beginning.

I know everyone is different in how they react to gluten, the severity of the reaction, and pains/reactions when eliminating gluten.  My stomach pains weren't as bad as yours sound and only lasted 1 day, but my energy levels and mood was affected adversely at first and then got dramatically better.  I think it may help you and others to visit www.glutenfreeforum.com, that way you can hear from other Celiacs that have been through alot and know alot.  It helps to hear from several people especially those that have had the same severity of problems that you have.  There are a ton of people with knowledge on all Celiac Issues.  That website almost has too much information, and also has alot of people with other food intollerances in addition to being a Celiac, so don't feel overwhelmed or get caught up in some of the other stuff that may not apply to you.

[5thave]

It is 3 days now and the pain is still there just more tolerable. My energy level is coming back up and I feel yes happier. I have regular bowel movements, always have because I eat very healthy normally, lots of fiber, water and exercise. This is bringing my exercise down i have to force myself and some days I just can't do it. I was wondering if it could be something else. I am trying to be strict on the diet and journaling now every day. I will try this for a week or two and if things don't get better I may go in for further tests. What a pain having a pain. I will certainly check out the website.

[miro51]

Do you remember when you had an episode whether or not you felt like you were going to pass out,dizzy or like if you turned too sharply you felt like you were going to fall and had to hold on to something?

I take along my foods wherever I go..if am staying out a little later than usual I will make some pancakes to have then because I realize too that if I get hungry I feel really bad..I do not get abdominal pain anymore since I eliminated dairy and gassy foods from my diet but I still don't go to the bathroom as often as I should with all of the fruits, veggies and water that I consume...I eat lots of pasta, just started the gluten free breads, I eat potatoes, chicken, turkey and fish(seasoned with the McCormick seasonings and sea salt..I also use real lemon and limes and not the bottled lemon juice, I drink chamomile tea only..I try the ginger tea but somehow it messes up my stomach after a few cups..so I drink lots and lots of water.

I am so happy to have found this forum...new to all of this about April.

[rozehr]

A son-in-law and a dtr-in-law both have celiac disease.  They absolutely must avoid all gluten.  She ordered a salad at a sub shop, became very ill next day...there must have been a crumb of gluten in it, maybe the clerk used the same gloves she'd used in making sandwiches!  WalMart has some gluten free foods; find a health food store...they will have cereals, cake mixes etc.  Unfortunately, it is a life-long life style, be careful, there is gluten in rye flour and I forget what other grains.

[triskit82]

As far as what to eat, if you're going gluten and dairy free:

Vegetables
Meats
Fruit
Non-gluten grains - rice, corn, quinoa
Eggs

You can come up with quite a few tasty meals with those options. Once your system has "re-set" you can reintroduce dairy products. But be sure to read the labels, some cheeses, cream cheese, yogurts etc. contain gluten or may be gluten contaminated.

Philly cream cheese is gluten free, so are most of the organic brands.

Make a habit of reading labels.

[Khooma]

I feel you man. I just recently found out I might be gluten intolerant, ate a big plate of tortellini and was just depressed and fatigued and had low energy levels. I have now stopped eating gluten, has only been around 4 days though,, yet the discomfort that I usually feel in the bottom right corner of my abdomen has not gone away. It feels like gas is trapped, it doesnt necessarilly hurt, its just uncomfortable and rises a lot of irritability in me.  Does anyone else have anything like this? What should i do?

[tialee15]

Food intolerances are a nasty thing. Try a paleo diet, it's kind of an elimination diet but with tons of support. the paleo community is huge. Basically what you eat is fruits, veggies, meat, (Some eat dairy depending on your tolerance but good to cut out at first) fish, healthy oils such as olive oil and coconut oil, nuts and seeds. Cut out grains, legumes and dairy (At first) dairy really bothered me at first, i can't drink milk now but can eat cheese and yogurt with no problems. Try coconut milk instead of regular milk.. try to avoid processed foods. I know it's overwhelming, but you aren't alone and you have tons of support in the paleo community.. with many many people going through the same thing and trying to figure it out just like you. It could be a number of intolerances. Some people the longer they go without figuring out they have 1 intolerance develop additional food intolerances. Once your start healing some actually do get better but gluten is not a food that should be consumed by anyone. It is a genetically modified food that bares no resemblance to the gluten our grandparents even ate... it's the cause of a host of health problems.. it is also something that will stay in your system for 15 days after consuming it. So eating just a little bit could cause you problems for a few weeks.. stay away from it completely and you will heal and start feeling better. ****.com is a good resource so is ****.com they are both great sites and **** actually has a forum like this so you can ask questions as you go along.. I cook meals and snacks in bulk, freeze them and bring them to work. hope this helps!

[kevieb]

Bette Hagman has some excellent books for gluten free cooking with multiple flour mixes in them.  When my 3 daughters were diagnosed with celiac disease---I had several meltdowns and wished it was me instead of them.

One night one of my daughters made bette's fetherlight bread---when I pulled it out of the oven and cut it hot and put butter on it---I couldn't tell the difference from regular bread---i quit crying after that.

We buy gluten free flour in bulk from Bob's red mill and make our own flour mixes---I like to use some sorghum flour because i feel like it has more nutrition in it.  We always use xanthan gum to replace the gluten and keep our baked products from crumbling.

We have gone back to mostly using our old betty crocker cookbook and just replace the regular flour with our gluten free mix and xanthan gum---we have had very much success with baking and have been able to reproduce almost anything we used to cook before we had to cook gluten free.

We make pancakes, muffins, cookies, cakes, fruit and cheese danish, bread---i have even made frog eye salad using whole pearl tapioca---and you can't tell the difference.

NO ONE is able to digest gluten well, but it doesn't do intestinal damage to those of us without celiac.  My gilrs never had a problem with milk when they were first diagnosed--i think we caught it early before enough damage was done to cause lactose intolerance--which will usually go away once the intestines heal.

Our present day wheat is so far from what wheat originally was before they kept "modifying" it to make food light and fluffy.

I have chronic pain (possibly caused by central hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency)  but i have heard enough people say that going wheat (or gluten) free and dairy free helped with their pain.  I tried it once, years before our girls were diagnosed, but i didn't have enough other foods in the house, so my blood sugar kept dropping!!!  I had to give it up.

Since we make all our meals gluten free now, it should be much easier for me to try it again and see if it will do me any good.

By the way, My twins were 14 and my other daughter 10 when they were diagnosed with celiac.  They twins learned to cook gluten free and have gotten quite good at it!