Disclaimer: This post was written to share my experience with starting a gluten-free diet. I am not a doctor, and everything written in this post is to be used for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
When you have endometriosis, it is common to develop food sensitivities that you never had before because endometriosis isn’t just a bad period and can affect your entire immune function. People with endometriosis are more likely to develop autoimmune conditions such as celiac disease and rheumatoid arthritis than someone without the condition. I have had food sensitivities my entire life because when your bowels don’t work properly, sometimes your body has a harder time digesting certain foods. Lately, I have been having more digestive issues than I have ever had before, which has made a huge negative impact on my life. As a disabled person, I don’t usually go on restrictive diets because I can only cook some meals by myself, but I knew something had to change, so I started a gluten-free diet with the hopes of getting some relief from some of the digestion issues I was having. What symptoms was I experiencing that made me want to make changes to my diet? In this post, I am going to talk about a few symptoms I was experiencing that made me want to make a change to my diet and go gluten-free.
I was constipated all the time- It is not unusual for me to get constipated because my bowels don’t work properly, and I have struggled with it for my entire life. When I get constipated, it is not always a red flag, and I expect that to happen sometimes but not being able to get rid of the constipation is not normal even for me. I was experiencing bowel pains throughout the entire day, and it didn’t matter how clean I ate or how much I exercised; I could not get rid of it. It is normal for me to occasionally have a bowel flare, but it was not occasional, and I was having multiple bowel movements a day when I normally have one or two a week, which is not normal. Frequent constipation should never be ignored because it can be a sign of a bigger issue, but it often is a food sensitivity. I didn’t know what food sensitivity I had, but I did get a small amount of relief when I eliminated gluten from my diet. Painful bowel movements are common amongst people with endometriosis because it can affect your bowel function. Bowel movements were becoming unbearably painful, and still do cause pain, but I did see a small improvement.
I was having more skin issues- I have always had sensitive skin and limited sensation on certain areas of my body, and it is not usual for me to have skin issues, but I was having more than usual. Skin reactions can be a sign of a medical condition such as eczema, but what a lot of people don’t know is that it can also be a sign of poor gut health. I have been improving my skincare routine, but I was constantly getting skin rashes, and it didn’t matter how much water I drank; they never seemed to go away. I made dietary changes to see if my skin health would improve, and it has because skin issues are often signs of a gut problem.
I was bloated all the time- Endometriosis is often misdiagnosed as IBS because it can affect your bowels, and you can experience bloating like you would if you had IBS and eating can be a very painful experience. I have been experiencing painful bloating after most meals, and at first I thought I was eating too fast, so I started to eat more slowly, but still no relief. I started to become afraid to eat a meal because of the pain, and that is when I knew I had to do something about it because not eating is not a solution and will create other problems. It is hard for me to know when bloating is not normal because my bowels don’t work properly, and sometimes I get constipated, but this level of bloating did not feel normal. I still sometimes get bloated after meals, and that is never going to change, but since removing gluten, it doesn’t happen as often, and sometimes you have to take progress over perfection.
My stomach always hurt- Stomach issues are common when you have Spina Bifida because your organs are more compressed than those of someone without Spina Bifida, which can cause more pain. I have always had more frequent stomach issues than someone without my disability, but I have been experiencing more than usual. Stomach pain is common for people with endometriosis to experience, but mine hurt all the time, which was making my appetite almost non-existent because the pain was blocking my ability to sense hunger. It was easy for me to undereat calories, and the only reason I was eating enough was because I put myself on an eating schedule. Stomach pain doesn’t just affect your ability to eat enough, but can also make it more difficult to move. My stomach still hurts constantly, and as long as I have endometriosis, I don’t think that is ever going to change, but I have gotten significant relief since making diet changes.
Endometriosis causes a lot of inflammation throughout your entire body, and your best defense at lowering inflammation to get some pain relief is to take a look at your diet. Diet changes do not cure endometriosis, but it does play a major role in pain management. I have not been tested for any autoimmune conditions and don’t know if I have one, but you don’t need to have a diagnosed medical condition to make lifestyle changes. You know your body better than any doctor will, and if not eating gluten or dairy makes you feel better, then do that and don’t wait around for a test to confirm you have a problem. Medical tests don’t always give you the results you hoped for, and negative results don’t necessarily mean you have no problem because they aren’t perfect and don’t always detect things. People with endometriosis often experience a lot of food sensitivities, and not everyone will need to eliminate gluten or will get relief from and I am only sharing my personal experience. Have you gotten symptom relief from a gluten-free diet with endometriosis? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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