a question for the ladies

Hi i was wondering has any of you found that going gluten free has stopped or eased period pains and calmed down your periods in general, i.e. not so heavy anymore?? or less bloating etc

Thanks in advance

paula x

[Hidden]

yes, absoutely. I had nightmare periods for decades, offered hysterectomy (which my sister had for same problem). GF meant regular mild periods and only one day with a hot water bottle in two years. (previously three weeks out of each month was miserable in different ways.

[FionaGFG Administrator]

Sadly no. Post GF worse pains & discovered have suspected endometriosis with Gyny Prof has said they are now becoming to believe is actually a problem with the immune system as the lining should be shed & not continue to grow or appear in odd places. Hope others have the opposite problem and feel better post GF.

[Hidden]

thanks for the reply ladies, im sorry to hear that Fiona, i hope you can get it sorted soon.

Lois, im only 5 days in GF and this morning i woke up to a little surprise!! normally i have a week before of vey bad stomach pains and am very heavy, but no pains, no bloating and so far fairly light, also since being GF i dont feel the urge to eat alot (hungry or not) whereas before i constantly wanted to eat even if i felt sick, is this normal?

Paula x

[katluck]

fiona i have had a full hysterectomy after years of painful periods and couldnt get to empty my bowels because of this then i got a laparscopy ablation done i had endometrosis and was told it grows and sticks to ure organs e.g bowels,bladder i still have pain and shooting pain in rectum and my sister and daughter have heavy .painful periods and my daughter has loose bowels there is alot of history with this between .bowels,periods,i.b.s and my gran had similar probs i am trying to get my .g.p to listen and see that there is a link and that endometrosis can still grow when u have no womb ,tubes etc i think it has something to do with the genes and immune system and now i have to avoid all wheat.dairy,and even crisps,choc hope my answer is helpful

[katluck]

fina also meats, all types of cooking oils,and veg,fruit

[FionaGFG Administrator]

Thanks Katluck - yes that's why Docs are loathe to do a Lappy on me as they say that can irritate adhesions even though they can remove what they can. I get the same pains with bowel movements but have had a sigmoidoscopy to check that out and all appears fine.

In the scheme of things I'm luckier than a lot of other women - many as you say like yourself have had a full hysterectomy and it has still returned. My mum, grandmother & also my niece all have had period problems and IBS type systems. I often wonder how may poor women are told they have IBS when it's Coeliac Disease and/ or endometriosis? There's still a lot more the medical profession is learning about the body. Until then it's more tri-cycling the pill for me which at least helps mostly and back to codeine for the painful twinges and days.

I don't know if I could also give up crisps and chocolate though? I've looked on the other Endo group here on healthunlocked and so many women find that a strict Endo diet hasn't worked for them it makes you wonder if it's any good. Although I'm sure cutting down on processed foods is good for us all ; )

Hope you're managing with yours.

[Antonia]

Yes, definitely! I went on the pill at 14 as my periods were so bad I was laid up in bed for about 3 or 4 days every month, periods lasted about 14 days, were stupidly heavy and I would get terrible cramps, headaches and flu-like symptoms each month. The pill helped until I had to be taken off it because I also suffer from migraines but since being diagnosed and starting my diet my periods are much lighter and down to lasting about 5 days longest!! I still suffer from cramps, but nowhere near as bad as they used to be, and I still get especially lethargic and headachey at 'that time of the month' but considering how much I used to suffer I am not complaining!

What annoys me the most is that when I was younger my doctor just thought I was being a silly girl who couldn't cope with 'becoming a woman' (his words!) and refused to look into my problems further. My sister also had similar problems to me and since (years later) I have been diagnosed with CD (plus aneamia, low bone density and other deficiencies) and my sister had been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries, sadly so many cysts by now that to remove them would mean to remove both her ovaries.