Starting eating gluten-free a few days ago and feel a lot better already?

[ibssis]

I had a negative blood test for coeliac's disease last year, but after suffering with recurrent stomach issues I started keeping a food diary and realised that my symptoms tend to coincide with eating a lot of gluten. Even on a 'normal' day, my stomach never seemed happy and I had a lot of stomach cramps.

I decided to trial a gluten-free diet for a week or so to see if it had any impact. It's only been a few days and my stomach seems to have completely settled, and my bowel movements seem normal for the first time in ages. It might just be the placebo effect or a coincidence, so I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced this kind of thing with their IBS?

It may be another coincidence but my eczema and TMJ has also calmed down. I also feel less foggy headed, which I had always attributed to anxiety.

The blood test isn't always accurate and isn't diagnostic in itself.

I could have written your post ten years ago! I also had a negative blood test but one of my parents had coeliac disease and I also did the dietary changes. Wow, I noticed a difference in only two days! Coeliac disease is also related to skin so I’m not surprised that your eczema has improved. Sadly, I don’t stick to it fully and suffer the consequences when I don’t, but that’s my choice I guess with no formal diagnosis. Hope you get the relief you need. X

Yes I had lots of issues, failed to qualify as celiac when tested, gave up gluten anyway, my whole body recovered and is better, from my mouth to my arse.

yes . I was the same. I've been gf for a year now. I'm not a celiac but gluten definitely makes my ibs worse as does dairy caffeine and alcohol. It's not all plain sailing though I still get really bad flairups even when I cut out the other triggers.

I was advised to for endo and I was astounded at the difference it made.

The blood tests quite often miss coeliac disease.

Is your eczema definitely not dermatitis herpetiformis - a coeliac related skin issue?

Perimenopause it all kicked off. Gluten free, lactose free milk, high protein low carb works for me

And watch out for gluten free breads with shitloads of ingredients and additives in them.

Warburtons rolls make me ill - I think it's the apple extract, pea protein and all the additives, can't be sure. I'm going to try g-f Boss Bagels recommended on another thread.

Candida overgrowth in the gut and thyroid problems are just two of the many other things that gluten also affects. Just like celiac disease, thyroid blood tests are massively floored and many doctors won't acknowledge candida problems in the gut.
Although it can take months for the antibodies that gluten triggers to leave your body you will feel the affects straight away of giving it up. I did.
Your body is giving you a massive thank you.

The blood test only Ickes up the most common mutation causing coeliac disease. Afaik it misses 1/10 cases. The only accurate test is an endoscopy checking for the characteristic gut damage, but that's deeply unpleasant and it can be hard to persuade the nhs to pay for it. And you'd have to keep eating plenty of gluten until you had the rest.

It's possible you have an allergy instead (non ige mediated allergies are what we used to call intolerance, and it affects the hot most obviously).

My DD has had the same experience. After years of struggling through GCSEs and Alevels battling stomach issues and extreme fatigue she is finally feeling well just in time for year two of Uni, thank goodness. I agree with PP, avoid ingredient heavy gluten free too. Listening to a very interesting piece on radio4 the other day by someone who thinks emulsifiers are just as bad as gluten.

Yes it’s great isn’t it? After about 6 months of gluten free my periods went regular after 30 years of being irregular too!

I wonder what is causing all these food intolerances.

There was no such thing when I was a child.

@Cheerfulcharlie same here! I felt better after a week or so.

Additives. We ate more simply then. Less ingredients.

Maybe you simply ate better food. A lot of food is overprocessed now

On the off chance that anyone might know.
My daughter was having lots of the usual symptoms stomach cramps, gas, constipation, runs etc. She cut out dairy because she thought it seemed worse after milk. Another big flare up and so this week has cut out gluten and seems to have improved. I read that the lactose intolerance could be due to gluten damaging the gut lining and once on a gluten free diet the lining will repair itself "in time" and she will be able to have lactose again.
Does anyone have experience of this and have an idea of what sort of time scale they mean.

When were you a child? Has the prevalence of highly processed foods increased since then? It certainly has since I was a child in the 70s. UPFs may have just about been available but they certainly wouldn’t have made up the majority of the diets of most of my contemporaries. Apparently they account for 50% of calories consumed in the UK now.

I’m nearly 50 and have had a nut allergy as long as I can remember.

There was, it's just that the public didn't know much about it. Same goes for hay fever, which used to be called a 'summer cold'.

I don't believe you.

Oh goodness such nonsense.

Hay fever was common, so many people had that.

But there was no food intolerances, no nut allergies, no asthma

No-one had food intolerances during the war, no-one. They were just grateful for what little food they had.

Care to cite your sources for that assertion, @EmilyBrontesGhost?

The vicar 😂😂😂

I only managed gluten free for I think it was 3 months. My periods were so much better during it. Hardly any pain at all! Unfortunately it was too expensive and difficult to keep it up with rest of family not being gluten free.