Hi, am new to this, have been diagnosed for just over a year now but dont know if I have any symptoms,

[Jaycee]

apart from fatigue, I have now got horrendous tummy problems and am being pushed from from one department to the next, anyone else have this problem?

[Hidden]

Hello Jaycee,

I experience a very uncomfortable bloated feeling after eating and talk about noisy, it's embarrassing! These symptoms come and go and I'm trying to figure out if there's a Gluten connection as I've had this happen after eating wheat bread. Hope you are feeling better, best of luck to you.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hello LoveMyLiver.

My son who is 23 had a few digestive problems last yr and the camera (bowel) showed nothing but explanation was 2 courses of antibiotics in a short period of time. He was advised to switch to gluten-free for some time to see if that helped. So I started with the gluten-free flour for baking, stock cubes for stews, etc and he showed a definite improvement.

Of course it meant that my husband, myself and my brother who eats here once a wk had a gluten-free meal/pudding.

I understand that gluten-free foods are easier to digest (young babies are normally started on rice) and have to say that even tho' I have no problem at all with my digestive system (if you forget the liver) I actually felt a whole heap better somehow for the gluten-free.

Unlike LoveMyLiver by the way, for me I find early morning is when my tummy plays a few tunes but it isn't due to eating, it is telling me it is empty!

I'm no dietician but maybe Jaycee making a few switches yourself like more gluten-free for eg might help. Also I have found that since I was diagnosed with PBC I prefer to heat a sliced peeled apple in very little water and have when just going soft as I'm convinced that all the fruit and veg intake I've had over the yrs may have contributed to PBC due to pesticides on them. Have recently read that people with liver problems shouldn't have citrus peel due to the chemical residue. I have a cheap plastic electric juicer I squeeze oranges and lemons with.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hello peridot,

More foods are now labeled Gluten-free and some restaurants indicate Gluten-free items on the menu. I've known people who have gone Gluten-free and they, like you, feel better. I'm going to give it a try and maybe this would help Jaycee too.

Organic fruits and veggies are an option to reduce pesticide exposure but, they are VERY expensive. We have more markets that sell organics now so hopefully the price will come down.

Best of luck with your health.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the posting LoveMyLiver.

Hope I start another very different debate but I agree re the organic 'stuff' being more expensive.....

BUT I also have the thought that maybe they might not be as wholesome as whole as apparently there's no such thing as organic water so we don't exactly know comes down to feed them (read on certain packets/labels that certain asterisked ingredients 'cannot be certified as organic').

Saying all this, I do find that organic biscuits and even some gluten-free, wheat-free crackers I bought for my son but also enjoy tend to have less of the nasty additives in them, that is what I like about odd processed organic foods.

I recall many yrs ago now a retired lady and her cousin having a debate whilst I was there and one of the ladies told the other 'to stop talking rubbish' on the subject of organic food as she stated that before the war (pre-1940's) eggs and the like were organic as they knew exactly where they came from! Interesting.....

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

peridot,

You brought back an old memory. When I was about 12 years old I was visiting some elderly folks who lived in the country. My relatives were bad-mouthing their neighbors as being "odd" as the neighbors ate mostly fruits and vegtables and never meat. This "odd" couple were working in their garden that day and to a 12-year-old they looked as old as the hills so I asked, "How old are they?" My great-aunt said, "He's 93 and she's 90." I had never heard of vegetarians at that time but remember thinking that fruits and vegetables must be a good thing!

[zipitydoo]

I am not sure what tummy problems you mean Jaycee. Some people have said they get bloated a lot others have said they feel pain round the liver area, I sometimes get the feeling that my insides are going into spasm mode which is very uncomfortable but thankfully doesnt last long.

[janethomas Moderator]

Hi Jaycee,

Some people never get symptoms so I wouldn't worry. You don't have to have symptoms to be diagnosed with PBC they pick it up with a blood test.

[busylady]

Hi Jaycee

dont know if this helps but when I was diagnosed my Cons hepatologist tested me for coeliac disease ( gluten intolerance) he said quite a high proportion of people have it alongside the PBC. I had an uncle who had that and he did get abdominal discomfort, but when he ate gluten free products he was OK

[Jaycee]

Hi all.Thankyou for your help, I was given a celiac test which was clear but I will try some gluten free foods to see if it helps,Once again, thanks for taking the time to reply