What is causing this bloating???

[mapacha]

Hi, I have chronic bloating (I look 9 months pregnant) every time I eat. It's been going on for years and sometimes it causes me to double over. I am relatively thin and my stomach being so distended causes it to hurt... not to mention that it's embarrassing. I have IBS-C and a few months ago I was tested for Celiacs Disease by a blood test and it came back negative. I had a colonoscopy and it revealed that I have a tortuous colon. For that reason, I take Miralax and Amitza every day.

Some other things about me that are noteworthy:

I am a 38 year old female
I eat a vegan diet and have done so for 10 years.
I don't drink soda or beer or any alcohol.
I had allergy tests done and I am negative for soy, corn, wheat, beans.
I walk about 5-7 miles per day and I do Tai Chi 4 days per week.
I drink close to a gallon of water a day and have for years.
I am lactose intolerant.
I have gained 10 lbs in the past 9 months.

Is it possible I have an intolerance  to wheat even though my allergy tests and Celiacs test came back negative? What else could cause bloating. Corn? Are there any other conditions that could cause such distension?

Thank you.

[mapacha]

Oh, and I am lactose intolerant. I was tested for it years ago. That is what prompted my vegan diet. I was a vegetarian and would get horrible diarrhea. As soon as I gave up dairy, the problem went away and I didn't have GI problems for a while.

[mapacha]

Thank you for your response.

I am not sure what test the doctor did for Celiacs. I just know it was a blood test and he said I didn't have the genetic marker for it. Does that help? He did say, however, that if the problem persists he would like to do an upper endoscopy to check for Celiacs. He said the blood tests aren't the only indicator.

As for the allergy test, I had the skin tests at the request of my GI. He said they produce less false positive and false negative results. I'd be willing to talk to him about ELISA allergy testing, but probably not RAST. My friend works at a laboratory and told me not to waste my time or money.

As for casein, I don't eat it. I am vegan, have been for 10 years. I don't eat any animal or dairy products. I am great at reading labels and I try not to eat anything that has more than a few ingredients in it. I did a gluten-free diet for a month after my allergy testing (as per the allergist) and it did nothing. The GI said it can take 3 months to notice a difference in a person like me who has a chronic GI problem. Right now I am trying to do the gluten-free again. I haven't eaten any wheat or gluten in 6 days. I don't notice a huge difference except for losing 3 lbs. this week. I'm willing to try just about anything at this point.

[CalGal]

Yes, it is possible you could have an issue with gluten even thought the tests were negative. A lot of people have found that out the hard way - after years of being miserable. The most reliable tests - IMO - currently are the fecal antibody test and the gene test. You can read about them at enterolab.com

But also consider checking out whether or not you might be casein - the major protein in diary - intolerant. Many believe they have problems with the lactose - which would typically cause diarrhea - but don't realize casein could instead be the problem. For those with casein issues, the major side-effect is typically constipation.

If you had skin tests done as the form of allergy testing that was done, they're not reliable indicators of GI issues. The blood IgG tests for allergies are better.

Which blood test was done? Was it IgA/IgG gliadin, transglutaminase, and total IgA................at least? If only the transglutaminase test was done, it's not enough.