gluten intolerance - symptoms

Thanks Cassandra - I'll probably do that eventually.
But in the meantime, as I've written in another thread, the surgeon has agreed to do my hernia repair urgently on the NHS, after waiting all this time. So get that over first.

Fennel - suggest make appointment with qualified nutritionist at whichever of your local pharmacies or health food centres/shops allow them to practice. My DH, having had IBS for years, was given allergy tests for over 100 common foods - it took about half an hour, and small acupuncture type needles were used. He could hardly feel them so it was not an unpleasant experience. He was diagnosed as intolerant (not allergic) of wheat,dairy and also refined sugar. Since then it has been possible to manage the condition - plenty of 'free from' foods in supermarkets now - and his quality of life has much improved. It will probably cost you in the region of £50-£60 to have done - but our experience is that it was money and time well spent.

As a ps - family (mainly husband) persuaded me to find out how to have my hernia ops. done privately. We have a small amount of savings. so I rang the secretary of the surgeon today and he has just rung me back. I explained the main problem and he said he will treat me as an emergency, to go in soon under the NHS. So good news . I made sure husband spoke to him as well.
The NHS try their best after all.

Happy60s. Bon Courage
Your story is similar to mine, but mine's on a much smaller scale thank God!
Perhaps when we get older all our health systems start to pack in at the same time, so everything gets mixed up.
I even feel sorry for our GPs trying to sort us out. And it makes me realise that we older people need to do our homework to present our problems to them as clearly as possible.
eg I've now tried 2 days without bread etc and it didn't help. But this morning I took 30mg of Lansoprazole insted of 15 and it does seem to have helped.
Planning to make another appt. with the GP to ask for stronger anti- stomach acid meds.

About 25 years ago I had my gall bladder removed. The surgeon said afterwards I would probably have 'digestive' problems in the future but was very vague about what they might be. Fast forward 10 years and I began having suďden and unexpected attacks of diarrhoea, very infrequent at first but then increasing and accompanied by mucous, wind, acid reflux, heartburn and bloating. My doctor reluctantly said it might be IBS, even though he admitted that he didn't really believe IBS even existed. It was his opinion that 'we women' were not careful enough about what we ate and drank! The only help he offered me was to buy Loperomide for the diarrhoea. And so I just had to learn to live and cope with this debilitating and hugely embarrassing condition. I retired early because continuing in my job was becoming impossible. At about the same time I was also diagnosed with allergic rhinitis and asthma, and I am now convinced that there is some sort of link between all three conditions, odd though it may seem. As far as the IBS is concerned I sometimes feel like a prisoner in my own home. The shortest journey has to be carefully timed and planned, keeping appointments is a nightmare, and we haven't visited our children in their homes for over three years - I can't face the 100 mile journey and staying in hotels - they always come to us. But for the last 3 months I have changed to gluten free foods and lactose free milk and I have noticed a slight improvement, the acid reflux and heartburn has practically been illiminated and bouts of diarrhoea are a bit less frequent. My Asthma on the other hand has got a lot worse and I am taking courses of antbiotics and sterroids every few weeks to stabilise it. The antibiotics cause diarrhoea so I also take a daily probiotic supplement. I feel like I'm going round in circles, I'm either stuck indoors because of the diarrhoea or because I can't breathe well enough to walk anywhere!! It's very depressing. But I'm pleased to sèe that more people are now prepared to speak openly about IBS and to help and support other sufferers, it can be a lonely and isolating condition to live with.
Fennel I hope your doctor is knowlegable and sympathetic if your diagnosis is IBS and that you are able to find solutions that work for you. Wishing you well

I think I read somewhere that very few people are actually seriously allergic to gluten. It´s just that for most of us, especially as we get older and our immune systems are a bit worn out, eating lots of wheat and sugar can lead to all those symptoms described by above posters. I found that just cutting down on carbs and sugar and replacing wheat bread with rye seemed to do the trick.

You can have a food in tolorence test done by Yorktest Laboratories. Look them up at www.yorktest.com. I had it done and was intolerant to wheat,, gluten, sheep,s milk cow,s milk goat.s milk & egg white. I have been much better since I have been on t
his diet. They also give you advice.

The first symptoms for me was constant diarrhoea. I had never heard of Coeliac. Everything I ate went straight through me. I was losing a pound a day so in two weeks I had lost a stone. I went down to under seven stone.

Tests at hospital showed I had Coeliac disease. Dietician said not to eat any food containing gluten so had to read the labels on all foods. After months I didn't improve. Dietician suggested to cut out all dairy. A slight improvement but still having issues with food. I seemed to be worse if I had gluten free and dairy free bread.

So eventually I seem to be intolerent to yeast, gluten & lactose. I have to watch fat too as that can upset my tummy. All this is caused by autoimmune of which I have a few.

I'm still not 100% and leaving the house can stress me wondering if my tummy will behave. If I'm worried I will take a Loperamide just in case.

It was a very long steep learning curve for me. If I can be of any help with all this to anyone please just get in touch. Best wishes to you all.

It’s the bane of my life too but added to this on going problem of constantly feeling so ill I feel afraid to plan anything .It was thought there was a stone retained but it wasn’t lI am beginning to suffer with my nerves because of the uncertainty of never knowing from day to day how I will feel .I will buy some gluten free to morrow and give it a try

I have all these symptoms . Four out of seven days I can’t eat and thought it was the results of my gall bladder op .However ver I am now thinking this could be the problem as I had a piece of white crusty bread and have been ill for two days . It’s worth trying the gluten free just to eliminate something else .

I have IBS and it’s the bane of my existence! I’m also gluten and wheat intolerant. Symptoms are: bloating, flatulence, diarrhoea/constipation, colon spasms. You have my sympathies!

A friend was diagnosed about two weeks ago. She had a lot of digestive problems and a huge tummy. Within days of being gluten free, she has a flat tummy. She’s thrilled with her appearance and loss of symptoms but struggling with the diet as it’s early days.

I just cannot eat bread or pasta without a rush to loo with pain and diarrhoea. I have been tested left right and centre over the years and had colposcopy last week after a particular bad 6 months, still waiting for the result of this one. So I now avoid most things with gluten in, the wheat used in bread has a very high gluten content, as does pasta so I avoid these but can eat the odd one or two biscuits from time to time without the need for the loo afterwards.. The Dr seems to think its inflammatory bowel disease but we will know for sure when then next lot of results come through. Its all very well to have to eat gluten for 6 weeks before a test but its really hard to do and have a life outside the loo.

I was diagnosed as Coeliac 2yrs ago - on my 66th birthdaty - so please don't be thinking that it's 'something that you must have been suffering from all your life'. In many cases a person can have the 'Coeliac Antibodies' in their system, but it can take some kind of bodily trauma - ie operation, accident, broken bone, even pregnancy - for Coeliac to become acutely active.

Also, do not think that you have to be small/underweight/frail/sickly before diagnosis. I have always been tall and had weight-management issues - what you'd have called 'a strapping lass' as a teenager - so I was absolutely stunned to be told 'You're Coeliac'. I was diagnosed due to being severely anaemic following Knee Replacement surgery.

On the other hand, my cousin - also a coeliac - has always been the total physical opposite of me. She was diagnosed after becoming very ill following the birth of her second child at the age of 22.

If you're going to go to the GP about it, please be aware that you MUST be actively consuming gluten for at least 6wks before an Endoscopy/Colonoscopy can give an accurate diagnosis - please don't just 'cut it out' because it makes you feel better to live without gluten in your diet. You MUST wait until AFTER any official diagnosis from the Enterology Dept at your local Hospita.

Good Luck!

I also am gluten intolerant and wheat. Have been gluten free for about 5 years, also helped with headaches . I know when I have been glutened usually by my mum ?she is getting better though! Dr diagnosed mine

Fennel - I cut out bread and potatoes last year and never had a problem since. (but I do dream about a cheese roll from time to time!).

Both my daughter and I are coeliac and for both of us this happened in the last 10 years.

Our symptoms were dramatically different. She had severe sickness and diarrhorea and lost a huge amount of weight. She went from being a fit young woman to having a grey complexion and hardly being able to walk. Her blood test was negative for coeliac and in the end she became so ill she was admitted to hospital. It was diagnosed with an endoscopy.

For me it was the opposite. Several months of intermittent pain and constipation. Eventually my bowels stopped working altogether and I was in severe pain. I could not eat, lie down or even clear my throat without being in agony. Eventually I went 2l days without going to the loo and ended up in hospital. After diagnosis, and going gluten free, my symptoms cleared within a week.

It is a horrible auto immune condition. You soon get used to going gluten free and M&S have brilliant products as do Tesco. I prefer the Schar seeded bread available in most supermarkets.

My symptoms included and I hope you have a strong stomach!!

pain, excess mucus, constipation, tiredness,severe mouth ulcers

All totally cleared since avoiding gluten, and much more energy.

I’ve never actually been diagnosed, but I’m happy with the way I am now.

I noticed in my local pharmacy a selection of tests for food intolerances. I don't know how reliable they are but you could give one/some a try.

Thanks for the replies. My symptoms are lots of gas, both ends, and last night I had a dramatic attack of diarrhoea. Don't ask!
I think I'll try cutting out wheat products for a while and see if it helps. Maybe eat more potatoes to fill up.
I don't want to go back to the Dr. again about it yet, I have so many other minor problems I'm sort of juggling with.
Can you self-refer to a nutritionist?

For me it’s bloating, flatulence and severe constipation if I eat more than a tiny amount of wheat or gluten. It began after a 6 month course of antibiotics. A nutritionist was a big help in the early days so worth considering as a first step. kitty I find prebiotics do help for a short time, once my system gets used to them I stop for a while then start again. It allows for a slice of toast, my big treat .

A hysterectomy when I was 50 seemed to be when my symptoms started but it didn't dawn on me really for a while. We went to Japan for DS1's wedding and I realised that I was plotting every journey to include public toilets with western facilities.

My symptoms were excessive bloating and diarrhoea. Stopping anything containing wheat really helped. Wheat is in all sorts of things you wouldn't expect.

I have recently started taking prebiotics with a view to trying to reintroduce bread because I really, really miss good bread!

Gf bread is awful!

Hi, I have coeliac disease, see this link www.coeliac.org.uk/coeliac-disease/about-coeliac-disease-and-dermatitis-herpetiformis/symptoms/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_vDNn8qi4gIVh6ztCh1k-wrkEAAYASAAEgIwffD_BwE
I was diagnosed age 4, but you can get it anytime in life. Please ask me if you need further help.

My DD, now 47, suffered with pain and bloating since her early twenties. Laparoscopy, gastroscopy and colonoscopy revealed nothing so the doctors washed their hands of her calling it IBS. A few months ago she cut out gluten and has been well ever since, apart from when she accidentally ate something with wheat, which caused the return of her symptoms immediately.
It is so easy to buy or make GF foods these days, and if you feel better it will be well worth it.

My Friend ruined her digestive system by cutting out different food items , wheat was one , seems better to see a nutritionist and get a proper diagnosis