I am a 24 year old female who since I was in high school, I burp every day almost continually. I can suppress to an extent but it makes me uncomfortable, and I cannot stop burping. It only relieves me a tiny bit to burp - it feels like I am never getting the gas out. Luckily, I don't vomit from this but once in a while. I often have diarrhea and almost never am regular or don't feel bloated. . . I do fairly often have fat in my stools. Mostly the burping drives me crazy. . . When this first was onset in late high school, I went to my family dr., and they tried me on various acid reflux type meds. . . This was several years ago so I do not remember it all, but I do think I tried prevacid. Those did nothing but frustrated me more.
Just the other day I heard that this might be a gluten intolerance and I am considering cutting glutens on a trial basis to see if I feel better. My symptoms are pretty much daily, and I have learned to live with them but I'd rather not! Any advice or comments are totally welcome! I appreciate it and wish everyone the best of luck and blessings!

Welcome,

Reflux and like symptoms can be associated with food tolerances including gluten. I would suggest that you try to go gluten free for a week or two and see if you symptoms improve. Gluten free does not mean just giving up wheat products. It includes rye, barley and malt. Gluten can hide everywhere from soy sauce to shampoos. It can be quite a challenge.

IF, you choose to be tested for gluten intolerance or Celiac Disease, you MUST remain on a gluten diet in order for the most accuracy in testing.

This is a great site. Take a walk around.

Two other things to consider - bacterial imbalance in the gut and not enough stomach acid in the stomach. Try taking digestive enzymes or a little Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar with your meals or if you are feeling "burpy". If this helps then you probably just don't have enough stomach acid. If this is the case this could lead to the digestion problem in the gut.

If the apple cider vinegar makes it worse then you know you have excess stomach acid.

Gluten can be hard to digest and when your digestion is all funky then its best avoided until you get it straightened out. Gluten intolerance can be due to many things other than just celiac.

Probiotics might help the Diarreah and replenish the good bacteria in the gut. I use HMF by Genestra. Natren and Healthy Trinity are good brands as well.

April

The celiac blood test is fairly easy if you wanted to do that before you change your diet. I just had my test and I think now I have an intolerance vs celiac as I've been eating small amounts of gluten for 3 days now and it's just barely effecting me today. I'm not sure what I'm going to do as of right now, but I have thought about going back on probiotics and looking at digestive enzymes to see if it helps.

Hey Peach and Aprilh

After 3 days of a gluten challenge the first major thing I noticed was excessive burping. My kids are loving it! Not me so much. I did not have this symptom before but it sure is here now!

I have been back on gluten for almost a week and it took 3 days before the symptoms came back and they are back with a vengence!
My energy levels have not dropped off too much but I am definelty not feeling as well as I did a week ago when I was still gluten free.

Two days is not enough to tell.
I am hoping to do another blood test sooner than later as I just found out it will be a least half a year before I can go see a GI. My family can't wait that long. My husband is totally convinced and wants to go talk to the doctor with me!
Anyways, good luck
Heather

Could you please explain more about things other than celiac that can cause gluten intolerance? I would love to find out more. My blood work biopsies were negative, but the gluten-free diet makes me feel so much better. Could it be something other than celiac?

Here is some information regarding gluten intolerance vs. allergy.
http://www.celiac.com/articles/179/1/Aller...n-MD/Page1.html

The Celiac Blood Panel (antibody testing) can be unreliable as can the biopsy through hit and miss sampling. The only sure test for Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance or gluten allergy is a positive dietary response. If you remove gluten from your diet and you feel much better, you have your answer. It's sort of like beating your head against a wall....it feels so good when you stop.

What specific test did you have? Do you have the results?

In July 2007, I had a blood test (anti-endomysial? spelling) done which came back negative. I was unable to schedule an endoscopy until the week after Thanksgiving, and I knew I had to stay on wheat until the biopsies were done. So I did, and really did it up...I couldn't wait for the test to be done so I could stop eating wheat...that's how terrible I felt!

My symptoms include: chronic fatigue (verging on narcolepsy really), brain fog, joint and bone pain, excessive gas, occasional constipation, depression/anxiety, severe PMS, tingling feet and hands (I also have carpal tunnel), sleep problems, and more (including a miscarriage).

Through the Xmas holidays, I started going gluten-free with a big push in the past few weeks, I am feeling better already, not perfect (I am not 100 percent gluten-free), but when I do have too much, the worst symptoms come back in force. For some reason, organic bread did not really seem to bother me, but I am unsure at the moment whether I had just cut back enough to handle the wheat at all.

I still have to work on whether rye and barley make me feel as bad. I have an inkling that rye does not make me feel too good. My food allergy tests were completely negative.

My first grader is lactose intolerant since age one or earlier? He is being evaluated for a learning disorder. His lactose intolerance started after a bad virus (so it seemed), all within one month of introducing wheat to his diet. So I am really going through all of this to determine whether both he and I are gluten intolerant.

Sadly, medical tests have gotten me nowhere in the past year, only that gluten-free makes me feel better. I would like a definitive diagnosis for insurance reasons and for my son. So I feel like I need to try other things.

The Univ of Chicago Celiac Disease Research Center lists under its Research pages a study by Dr. Bana Jabri that seems to focus on whether gluten sensitivity is indeed a early and independent stage that could precede celiac disease (if I am reading it correctly). Would love to learn more about it.