Am I Starting Over Everytime Time I Get Glutened?

[Mike212]

I am 15 and was diagnosed with celiac disease about a month ago and have been gluten free for about 3 weeks until now when i ingested some gluten. I know cuz I started having really bad gas. So my question is everytime i get glutened is it like COMPLETELY starting over with the diet and completely destroy my villi or does it only hurt my progress moderately?

[mommy2krj]

I'm rather new to all this....more so even than you are! But, from what I understand, it's not so much that you're starting over. Your body is attempting to heal itself and getting exposed to gluten hinders that. But I don't think it takes you back to square one.

 

I think of it more like, if you have a cut and it's started to heal but then you do something to tear it open a little bit, it takes a little longer for it to heal completely but the healing process doesn't have to start over completely....just has to work harder on that one area for a little bit longer. But, on the same token....if you repeatedly reopen the cut without any time to heal at all...that will set you back to square one and then some because you keep damaging it.

 

Of course...I could be completely off....but that is the way I understand it all at this point. So, I think you only kind of hurt the healing progress a little bit....depending on how bad your body reacts to the gluten.

[Mike212]

I'm rather new to all this....more so even than you are! But, from what I understand, it's not so much that you're starting over. Your body is attempting to heal itself and getting exposed to gluten hinders that. But I don't think it takes you back to square one.

 

I think of it more like, if you have a cut and it's started to heal but then you do something to tear it open a little bit, it takes a little longer for it to heal completely but the healing process doesn't have to start over completely....just has to work harder on that one area for a little bit longer. But, on the same token....if you repeatedly reopen the cut without any time to heal at all...that will set you back to square one and then some because you keep damaging it.

 

Of course...I could be completely off....but that is the way I understand it all at this point. So, I think you only kind of hurt the healing progress a little bit....depending on how bad your body reacts to the gluten.

thanks for the info, i think u are right despite me being diagnosed earlier lol, and good luck on your gluten-free diet (:

[kareng]

I think it is like " Mommy" said.  You wouldn't want to mess up every day or even every week.  Its OK to make some honest mistakes, especially in the first couple of months as you are learning.

 

 

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"Do I need to have a follow-up test each time I get glutened?

Follow-up tests are intended to test whether there’s significant (and repeated) exposure to gluten. A mistake (or two) may cause symptoms, but they will only activate the disease for a short time, though it must be noted that each celiac responds differently. It’s the repeated exposure for the long-term that keeps the disease active enough to cause damage."

 

 

 

 

 

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"If I accidentally ingest gluten will it show up in a blood test?

No, accidental exposure will not show up in a blood test. Repeated exposure elevates antibodies in the blood and causes damage in the small intestine"

[GFinDC]

I don't think of it as starting over, just more of a hiccup in the road.  The immune process is something that keeps us from being sick due to germs in the environment.  So it isn't a light-wieght kind of system, since there are lots of deadly germs around us all the time.  The immune system has to kill those germs constantly or we become sick.  The autoimmune process is the same thing, it attacks when exposed to a trigger (gluten).  It may keep producing immune cells to attack for quite a while after the initial invaders are gone.  Weeks or even months.  So you may be more sensitive to any stray gluten for a while, because your immune system is already on alert.

 

After a while you get more aware of gluten and can avoid it better.  But it takes time to learn that and get used to how to eat safely.  It's not something we all just know.  Sticking mostly with whole foods is a great way to eat and really makes it simpler to avoid gluten.  It's when we eat processed foods with many ingredients that things get more complicated and risky.

[dilettantesteph]

It isn't like starting over.  I made steady progress despite glutenings as I was figuring stuff out.  You will too.  

[Mike212]

I think it is like " Mommy" said.  You wouldn't want to mess up every day or even every week.  Its OK to make some honest mistakes, especially in the first couple of months as you are learning.

 

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

"Do I need to have a follow-up test each time I get glutened?

Follow-up tests are intended to test whether there’s significant (and repeated) exposure to gluten. A mistake (or two) may cause symptoms, but they will only activate the disease for a short time, though it must be noted that each celiac responds differently. It’s the repeated exposure for the long-term that keeps the disease active enough to cause damage."

 

 

 

 

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

"If I accidentally ingest gluten will it show up in a blood test?

No, accidental exposure will not show up in a blood test. Repeated exposure elevates antibodies in the blood and causes damage in the small intestine"

thanks alot, I understand better now, I am still trying to find the cause of this glutening 

[Mike212]

It isn't like starting over.  I made steady progress despite glutenings as I was figuring stuff out.  You will too.  

thanks, i think that too

[Mike212]

I don't think of it as starting over, just more of a hiccup in the road.  The immune process is something that keeps us from being sick due to germs in the environment.  So it isn't a light-wieght kind of system, since there are lots of deadly germs around us all the time.  The immune system has to kill those germs constantly or we become sick.  The autoimmune process is the same thing, it attacks when exposed to a trigger (gluten).  It may keep producing immune cells to attack for quite a while after the initial invaders are gone.  Weeks or even months.  So you may be more sensitive to any stray gluten for a while, because your immune system is already on alert.

 

After a while you get more aware of gluten and can avoid it better.  But it takes time to learn that and get used to how to eat safely.  It's not something we all just know.  Sticking mostly with whole foods is a great way to eat and really makes it simpler to avoid gluten.  It's when we eat processed foods with many ingredients that things get more complicated and risky.

Yea, thanks for answering, I am getting better and better at this gluten-free diet