Can celiac disease be the cause of severe constipation?

Hello, I have been suffering from bowel and digestive issues (severe constipation, bloating, pain in the abdomen) and it has been getting worse and worse. My fastlege just dismisses it as a consequence of the celiac disease and keeps recommending taking more laxatives. It comes to a point when the laxatives don’t help anymore, and my doctor just tells me that I need to combine different laxatives. I have celieac disease and follow a strict gluten free diet, but I eat plenty of fibre (fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetables), drink plenty of liquids and exercise. I have gallstones, but because I am not overweight, don’t consume alcohol or fatty foods my fastlege doesn’t think that could be the cause of my troubles. I know that celiac disease can cause constipation, but I have never heard of anyone with celiac disease that had such severe constipation that keeps getting worse. Can celiac disease really be the cause of by bowl issues? Maria

No, does not make sense. If we consider your CeD as inactive due to long GFD, then there must be another cause for your obstipation. One would, most presumably, consider the possibility that you are suffering from IBS-O, the obstipation variant of the irritable bowel syndrome. Unfortunately, this variant is more difficult to treat and respond poorly on reduction in FODMAP-carbohydrates. There are some more specific diseases that have obstipation has main problem, but these are rare in Norway (like Chagas disease from south America etc). But your long healed coeliac disease is not to be blamed for your obstipation.