Gluten problem or CPPS

[Richie]

First, let me thank everyone for all the previous help because frankly, I was in an unknown, unbearable condition.

My current best results are from trigger point therapy and avoiding Gluten intake like alcohol. However, I am still not sure if I have gluten problem or chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome or both? How does one tell the difference? Are they directly related? Any input appreciated so please offer ANY thoughts you may have.

I know many of you have the same problems and triggers.

Thank you all in advance for your valuable insight and help!

Richie.

ps, did anyone take the gluten intolerance test?

[webslave]

However, I am still not sure if I have gluten problem or chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome or both? How does one tell the difference? Are they directly related?

I tested negative 12 years ago to coeliac (in the US: "celiac") disease (aka "sprue" aka gluten intolerance) via intestinal biopsy. Those were the dark ages of celiac disease testing. Newer, much more sensitive blood tests are revolutionizing this field. I KNOW I have this disease from my reaction to wheat (diarrhoea, fatigue, depressed mood). Wheat provokes severe IBS in me, and that is one of the possible links to CPPS. Tensing the pelvic muscles to cope with IBS can set of chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome or worsen it. Moreover when your blood is full of the immune complexes that are formed when your leaky gut (caused by gluten) allows semi-digested particles of food into your bloodstream, it exacerbates any mast cell reactions going on in the pelvis as a result of an existing pelvic myoneuropathy.

So yes, there is a relationship, and if you do have any reaction to wheat, I can assure you that eliminating it will drastically change your state of health, although it may take a few YEARS to see the full benefit.

[boudreaux]

webslave,
are the celiac blood tests available through your general practitioner? or do you need to see a certain kind of specialist for these tests? while I don't have any specific, serious reactions to wheat, I have, ever since about age 16, defecated far more than what I thought normal, sometimes 3-5 times a day during certain stretches of time, which could be interpreted as IBS I suppose. and I do eat tons of wheat. it would be nice to rule out gluten/wheat allergies, if only to ease the mind about it. thanks.

[Richie]

I found these but have not tried either yet.

http://www.yorkallergyusa.com/sample1.html

http://www.enterolab.com/Which_Test/

[webslave]

defecated far more than what I thought normal, sometimes 3-5 times a day during certain stretches of time, which could be interpreted as IBS I suppose.

Experiment. Remove gluten (make sure you understand all the foods that contain gluten) from your diet for two weeks, and see if the defecation rate drops. That rate of defecation is a very suspicious symptom!

[boudreaux]

thanks for the reply, webslave. while I'm sure I can find a lot of stuff on the web about non-gluten foods by surfing, do you happen to know about any websites or other sources that contain exhaustive lists and explanations about foods that are tricky, i.e., one might think they don't have gluten but they actually do. thanks.

[webslave]

http://www.celiac.com/
http://www.celiac.org/

[boudreaux]

just curious, webslave: is the nature of celiac disease such that large amounts of gluten would make your symptoms worse? or does it not have anything to do with the amount, but just the mere presence. for example, could eating a cracker once a month possibly produce the same damage and symptoms as eating a big helping of wheat bread every meal...

[webslave]

It's dose dependent. More= worse.

[Ddream]

So yes, there is a relationship, and if you do have any reaction to wheat, I can assure you that eliminating it will drastically change your state of health, although it may take a few YEARS to see the full benefit.

Years? Dang. I was hoping to see an improvement after a couple of months but so far there has been no change in my pelvic pain while being on a gluten free diet. I have not had any tests yet so perhaps I am not gluten sensitive. Since tests are not always accurate, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try a gluten free diet for awhile.

How long do you think a person should stay on a gluten free diet before improvement in pelvic pain can be expected?

[webslave]

You should see some improvement in a few weeks. I suggest the blood test if you have any suspicions, because some cases are mild and cannot be diagnosed by diet alone.

BTW, many foods contain gluten including wheat, bran, flour, cereal, rye, barley, durum, burghul, triticale, spelt, farina, semolina, starch, oats, pasta, noodles, vermicelli, bread crumbs, liquorice, and couscous.

A gluten-free diet helped me immensely )

I haven't had any wheat products for 5 1/2 years now. I used to get constant sinus infections and digestive problems. Since cutting wheat out of my diet (and most oats, barley, malt and rye too) I've found that the digestive probs/pain is now down to a bare minimum. It might seem hard at first to follow this kind of diet but with the help of a good cookbook (Betty Hagman's gluten-free cooking) you can do it too. Eventually you won't miss wheat one bit, and you'll find that rice/tapioca/soy/amaranth and other flours are just as tasty and versatile. )

[timberdoodle]

With Celiac sufferers, I'm not sure that years are necessary to change symptoms or reverse damage. My son was literally near death at 15 months because of malabsorption. He was admitted to the hospital after losing weight and being diagnosed with "failure to thrive." After blood tests suggested Celiac disease, the small bowel biopsy comfirmed it, showing damage to the small intestine villi, the fingerlike projections that help with absorption. He was fed with an ng tube for about a month, and then after another month or two of being gluten-free, he returned to completely normal health. He is now a healthy, and vibrant six-year old and remains gluten-free.

All of the Celiac resources I've seen suggest that even small doses of gluten can do what they refer to as "silent damage." The major symptoms may not happen (like weight loss in the case of my son), but hidden things are happening in the gut, which can later cause cancer or other problems down the road. The best course of action is to avoid all gluten in any amount if diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

[webslave]

Young children recover much more quickly than adults. BTW, if your son has celiac disease, you may be a candidate too.

[Carlton Higgins]

I was tested for Celiac Disease 3 days ago, but I don't have the results yet.

My doctor is suspicious because my mother and sister were both diagnosed with IBS, and my brother was diagnosed with Celiac when he was 4. My parents put him on a gluten-free diet, and he recovered, but then he started eating wheat, and he's fine now.

I had "failure to thrive" as a baby, but the reason was never discovered.

So there is a history of GI problems in my family. Diverticulosis is another one. My cousin and aunt both have it.

I put myself on a gluten free diet to see what will happen. There is a store a few miles from my house that sells only gluten-free food.

[GP2]

Webslave,

I have read that gluten intolerance & celiac disease are one in the same and that even a tiny amount of gluten can damage the intestines. Yet this post says that it is dose dependent?

What is the distinction?

Greg