12 replies to this topic

[cornygirl]

I'm wondering how long it takes people to notice symptoms after eating something with gluten?

When my stomach's hurting and I fell spacey and lightheaded, is it because of the chili I just ate, from sauce at dinner last night, from the half beer I had two nights ago? I'm trying to keep track of what bothers me but it's hard to tell. It seems like I immediately start having stomach cramps (well within 30 min) after eating something with wheat. Is this possible? Am I crazy?

I haven't been diagnosed with anything and I have a doctor appointment on monday, my second in two months. I'm really nervous that it's going to be a huge battle to find out what's wrong so I'm trying to pay close attention to what I eat and how I feel.

I feel so much better on a bascially gluten-free diet that it's unbelievable, so I really think I might have celiac. But I don't want to totally eliminate it in case that will screw up any testing I can manage to convince the doctor to do.

Last time I went to the doctor after my hands, feet, face and tongue swelled up for several days, she acted like I was crazy for suggesting gluten intolerance and told me to start eating normally again.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any observations or advice.

[Roz]

Yes, symptoms can occur almost instantly. They certainly do for me. You may want to try another doctor. I am planning a visit to a homeopathic MD not to far away from my home.

Roz

[seeking_wholeness]

cornygirl,

Time between gluten ingestion and symptoms seems to vary a bit. If I have an accident at dinner, I usually discover it late in the evening (gas and bloating) or first thing the next morning (diarrhea), but just last week I had a contaminated lunch and developed an intense stomachache and headache even before I had finished eating! Sometimes I suspect contamination while I am still eating (like last night) because I lose my appetite.

It is good that you have not completely eliminated gluten from your diet yet, since being gluten-free can interfere with testing. I hope your doctor doesn't give you the runaround! Have you investigated Enterolab yet? Enterolab performs a whole panel of testing related to celiac disease, and although these tests are not (yet) accepted by most conventional doctors, they DO seem to be reliable--and MORE accurate than blood tests! If you can't convince your doctor to test you, these tests would give you a definite answer while you search for a better doctor.

Good luck!

[wclemens]

Sometimes I have reactions of wheezing and being unable to breathe within 15 minutes of a meal, but recently, I had a bad reaction the next morning, and I am still trying to figure out what could have been in the meal that was poisonous for me. I had a strong feeling of irritability, and slight depression, and those are sure signs for me that the restaurant meal the previous night must have included lettuce washed in some chemical, or the fish contained some hidden spice or something. That is why I like to eat at home--I KNOW what I am putting in my food.

Three cheers for Enterolab. They diagnosed my newest little grandson with gluten sensitivity and allergies to milk and dairy at less than a month old, and my sister, brother, husband, and three grown children are all now in the processing of having the test to see if they are gluten sensitive. There are a total of 22 other family members (children and grandchildren) connected to us, who may also have celiac, and, amazingly, many of the spouses exhibit celiac symptoms. Do you suppose that celiacs have small little magnets within which attract other celiacs, or is celiac just more widespread than anyone suspects? My grandson's other grandma even has signs similar to celiac, so hopefully, as time goes by we will all get tested.

Welda

Welda

[tarnalberry]

My reactions are subtle, but very quick. Dizziness within about 15 minutes, followed by two days of looser stools, three or four days of abdominal cramping, and up to a week of tiredness, fogginess, and irritability.

[seeking_wholeness]

Do you suppose that celiacs have small little magnets within which attract other celiacs, or is celiac just more widespread than anyone suspects?

Welda, I have just been wondering the same thing! I am pretty sure my husband has celiac disease, but I could chalk that up to random luck of the draw. The thing that gets me is that out of my relatively small circle of friends and acquaintances, I can think of 5 people (and 4 of their kids) who I think should DEFINITELY be checked for celiac disease! I don't know 500 people (probably not even 50!), which is about how many I would have to know for that number to make sense statistically. Gee, if I could only convince them all to get tested, I could have a ready-made support group!

[Lily]

I think it definitely varies depending on the amount of contamination and your body on how sensitive you are. Sometimes my stomach will cramp up before I finish eating, or I can bloat within 30 mins after my meal. Other times, I don't notice anything until later suddenly my heart is racing and I feel like I could hysterically cry! Some mornings I'll think I had a day with no contamination until I get out of bed and suddenly feel nauseous and then the best way I can describe it is it feels like I have a hangover and my eyeballs ache, like they are going to bulge out of the sockets. I can't wait to feel better
Hope this helps.
Lily

[tonileet]

Hi,

My symptoms seem to surface within 2 or 3 days. My bowel movements become loose and mouth ulcers begin to erupt. My bowel remains irritated for about a week. The mouth ulcers last a bit longer. The severity depends on how much gluten I've ingested. These are my main symptoms. There are several others that seem to take turns.

Happy gluten-free Day, all - Toni

[kejohe]

Hi all, just dropped by to add my two cents on reaction times. My son (celiac disease/gluten-free for 2 years) takes a while to have a reaction when he gets contamination, sometimes as much as three days. But he stays sick for a very long time, a couple of weeks usually. He gets the typical diarhea, and he gets moody, and towards the end he tends to suffer from flu like symptoms. He never had a lot of skin issues before but the last two times he has had any contamination, he has developed a very light rash on his tummy. When he was still in diapers, his diaper rash was so bad it made me cry, open sores would erupt almost instantly after a bowel movement. Now that he is potty trained, thankfully, that doesn't seem to be a problem anymore.

One last thing, I do not have a dx of celiac disease for myself (my blood tests were neg), but I have always had a tempermental stomach and I process foods in record time so when I get something that doesn't agree with me, gluten or other, I get sick within 20 - 30 minutes. My husband is sure I am also a celiac, and my mother is also wondering, but since my blood tests were neg, my doc isn't interested in continuing with any further testing.