Do You React Differently To Different Forms Of Gluten?

[Brrrandy]

It seems that I have a pretty consistant reaction to gluten overall, but it's always amazed me how much the severity can vary. Have you ever noticed that the form that gluten changes the way you react? Even if they are both essentially flour?

 

For example, there have been times when I've ingested what I know was a very tiny amount of gluten yet reacted very severely-- like when a friend served soup several years ago and included a teaspoon of flour, or when I had sushi with a tiny amount of sauce that contained a tiny amount of soy sauce.

 

Yet there are other times when I've had what would seem to be larger amounts of gluten, and haven't reacted to them almost at all-- like last year, when in a moment of weakness I ordered a breakfast sandwich, took two bites and immediately came to my senses and threw it away.  

 

It kind of seems like when it's in liquid it is way worse. But maybe I am just looking for patterns here. 

 

Curious to know if anyone else has noticed different types of reactions?

[gatita]

I can't say why. but I've noticed the same thing. I've gotten severely sick from what must have been an eighth of a teaspoon of pure wheat gluten (from a can of so-called tomato paste) in a friend's soup... but on my attempted gluten challenge, a few Triscuits didn't do as much damage.

 

Maybe it depends on how concentrated it is? After all, bread isn't pure gluten, it has other stuff in it like fiber etc.

[nvsmom]

I've noticed this from the few times I've glutened myself over the last 8 months. I had a pretty serious reaction to a supposedly gluten-free beer (it was gluten-free to 3 parts per million). It hit really fast... I didn't even finish half of the bottle before i realized what I'd done.  was it the barley? was it because it was liquid? Who knows.....

 

Over the last 2 months I have been repeatedly, accidentally, glutening myself every other week with some store bought fries (wheat starch) that i thought I'd checked the label on. I wasn't having immediate reactions, in fact it was worse the next day, but i've been steadily getting sicker and sicker. It was very slow in growing which is why it took 2 months to figure out.

 

I have no idea why the reactions were so different... hopefully I won't have the opportunity to cmpare to more glutenings in the future.  LOL

[flowerqueen]

I must be very sensitive as I notice even a small amount if gluten almost straight away, and the effects last for ages before I feel better.

[cavernio]

The reaction in regular soy sauce would probably have been from barley hordein, whereas triscuits would  be regular gluten.

 

But there's a lot of stories on here about people who accidentally or purposefully eat whole servings of gluten and seem to feel fine, while tiny amounts on some unknown thing make them feel sick for days. One theory of mine is that an immediate sick feeling from  eating gluten might not be the gluten itself, but rather your leaky gut flaring up, allowing something else into your bloodstream that makes you feel so sick.

This wouldn't hold true for non-celiac gluten intolerant people though, since they don't experience leaky guts like celiacs. (Maybe in other ways they have leaky guts, like in CFS, but not the 'I eat gluten and therefore my intestinal cells will spread out and leave giant gaps'). There's a lot we don't know about celiac disease and gluten intolerance. There's a medical reason these discrepancies, I'm sure.

 

I don't have any of my own stories about this though. I've finally figured out that I get nerve pain from gluten, but it might not be immediate. I suppose I got a rash once from what I think much have been gluten on nuts. I've never knowingly eaten anything that should contain gluten though, not since eating it daily for the intestinal test where, again, immediate symptoms weren't apparent at all.

[pretty in paleo]

Yes I seem to get different symptoms every time and sometimes nothing at all. I found out early on that rye doesn't affect me (on the surface) but avoid it anyway since I'm 99% sure I have celiac. Barley makes me feel pretty gross though.

It seems that I have a pretty consistant reaction to gluten overall, but it's always amazed me how much the severity can vary. Have you ever noticed that the form that gluten changes the way you react? Even if they are both essentially flour?

 

For example, there have been times when I've ingested what I know was a very tiny amount of gluten yet reacted very severely-- like when a friend served soup several years ago and included a teaspoon of flour, or when I had sushi with a tiny amount of sauce that contained a tiny amount of soy sauce.

 

Yet there are other times when I've had what would seem to be larger amounts of gluten, and haven't reacted to them almost at all-- like last year, when in a moment of weakness I ordered a breakfast sandwich, took two bites and immediately came to my senses and threw it away.  

 

It kind of seems like when it's in liquid it is way worse. But maybe I am just looking for patterns here. 

 

Curious to know if anyone else has noticed different types of reactions?

[Psyche]

I do notice different types of reactions. The more sugar (glucose, fructose, sucrose, etcetera) with it the quicker I react. Also in liquid form I have a faster absorbtion time. I get rashes if it is in anything I put on my skin - the itchies hit really fast with that.
 

In the past, I have kept journals with what I consumed/used and my reactions. That helped to isolate reactions and track patterns.