Advice please

[Widget]

I'm on week 5 of going gluten free & this week I've had what I call a 'grumpy stomach' is this normal when changing the diet. It scares me as the pain is the same as I had when I was really ill with IBS and that's why I switched over to gluten free and also because I have rheumatoid arthritis & fibromyalgia. I'm new to this so any advice would be very much appreciated.

[Penel]

Hi Widget

If you have started eating the ready-made gluten free foods from the supermarket, there are additives in some of them that may be disagreeing with you. Best to stick to plain veg, fruit and protein to start with. If you have changed your diet drastically, this may be affecting digestion anyway.

Try keeping a food / symptoms diary to see if you can identify any particular problem foods. Perhaps have a look at advice on FODMAPS if the grumpy stomach continues. You could also try taking a probiotic to help your digestion cope with the change. Going gluten free shouldn't give you pain.

[Rosie11011]

Have you been advised to also cut down/cut out dairy for a time. A lot of coeliacs are lactose intolerant at first. Usually you can start to reintroduce dairy when you have given your body a chance to heal, but lactose intolerance can certainly cause a 'grumpy stomach'.

[upnabout]

It took a good few months for my gut to recover from gluten. Sometimes it feels like you have stopped gluten for nothing, but it does improve, gradually. I also made a few mistakes with gluten and it turns out I am very sensitive, so each mistake meant a week or so of misery. In the beginning I found I was quite sensitive to lactose too, as are many with gluten issues, so it's worth avoiding or at least cutting down on lactose too. Good luck. It can be a bit of a slog but it's worth it in the end.