Bloated all the time.. why?..

Hi I’m self injecting every week at least as my doctor just laughed at me when I asked for more frequent jabs. My problem is I’m very bloated and have stomach pains. I’ve been tested for chrons, bladder stones, celiacs, and my livers ok. Any suggestions please? I look pregnant...

[pvanderaa]

Have you gone gluten and dairy free to see if that is thr cause, even if you tested negative for celiac.

My other thought is repair of damage to the vagus nerve can cause stronger stomach symptoms like hunger and pain.

[Hidden in reply to pvanderaa]

Do I need to see the doctor for tests? I don’t eat bread now or have milk but I’m still bloated.

[Momac52]

You can still be intolerant to gluten and dairy and have symptoms similar to celiac 😔

[Hidden in reply to Momac52]

I didn’t know that. I’ll ask my doctor for tests?

[fbirder in reply to Hidden]

There is no such thing as non-coeliac gluten sensitivity. The person that originally carried out the study that demonstrated (in a study that has been posted in the interwebs many times) did another study (that has been ignored by those same websites).

A group of people with non-coeliac gluten sensitivity were split into three groups that ate snack bars. One group ate a bar with added gluten. One ate a bar with added fructans. The control group ate a gluten and fructan free bar.

Only those who ate the fructans reported gastric symptoms. Yup, the gluten-sensitive people happily ate the gluten with no problems. newscientist.com/article/21...

Fructans are an example of a FODMAP (fermentable oligo, di and monosaccharides and polyols). FODMAPs are found in lots of foods, many of which are avoided by those avoiding gluten.

However, your symptoms are quite likely to be caused by achlorhydria. If you have PA then your immune system is destroying Gastric Parietal Cells. These are responsible for making stomach acid, so those with PA tend to produce too little acid.

This can have the effects you describe - bloating, diarrhoea, etc. The lack of acid affects normal digestion and upsets the normal balance of gut bacteria.

Many people find relief by drinking something acidic with meals. Some choose apple cider vinegar, i prefer 30 ml of lime juice (it goes better with tonic). Taking probiotics also helps. I use Bio-Kult capsules from Amazon.

[Hidden in reply to fbirder]

Thank you for advice. I’m going to try those bio kilt capsules and the lime juice. I did do a FODMAP diet and the only things I haven’t introduced is cows milk and bread.

[Hidden in reply to fbirder]

If this no acid thing continues, will it damage my stomach?

[fbirder in reply to Hidden]

If you do have PA then you have Autoimmune Metaplastic Gastric Atrophy.

When a normal person eats something their body switches on the production of a hormone called gastrin. This stimulates the Gastric Parietal Cells to produce acid. The acid lowers the stomach pH and this switches off the gastrin production.

But if you have AMGA then there are no GPCs, so no acid is produced, so gastrin production isn’t switched off. You can have a blood test to see if you have high gastrin in the blood - hypergastrinaemia.

The high gastrin levels can cause the formation of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) in the stomach. These are normally docile little tumours. But they can progress to stomach cancer. My treatment is to have a gastroscopy every year (recently switched to every two years) just to keep an eye on them. For people in their 60s the five-year survival rate is higher for those with NETs than for those without. I guess we have better health monitoring.

Here’s a detailed article about NETs onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

I would show this to my doctor and ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist so that they can test your gastrin (and a couple of other markers) and have a look inside your stomach. They’ll be able to see if here are any signs of gastric atrophy and take biopsy sample to look for metaplasia (normal cells in the wrong place) and NETs. That should ease any worries.

[Hidden in reply to fbirder]

Ok thank you very much for the info 😊

[Polaris]

I had digestive problems for years but eventually found they all responded to a gluten free diet and taking daily spoonfuls of sauerkraut - the best probiotic I'd tried.

You might find this helpful lizblow:

drknews.com/gut-problems-no...

[Hidden in reply to Polaris]

Thank you very good info. I’ll try the sauerkraut. I believe in pasturized is best if I can find it

[Polaris in reply to Hidden]

Just had lunch with a good helping of Biona Organic infused with juniper berries from the local health food shop (£2.39) It is pasteurised though it seems to work well for me anyway. Polish lady in the health food shop said she puts it in stew once cooled down.

The unpasteurised version is harder to find and more expensive. Many members of the forum make their own 🤗

I hope it works as well for you and helps the bloating. 🤞