Are Reactions For One Person Always The Same?

[tka]

I understand that different people can have different reactions when glutened, but can a person react differently from one time to another? I think I'm still in the withdrawal stage, so that may make a difference (It's only been about 6 weeks that I've been gluten free for good.) I have eaten out and symptoms started before the meal was complete, and it has taken a progression of 4-5 days to recover, then at other times, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with gluten because I don't seem to have a problem. But I may wake up in the middle of the night with acid reflux, headache, some gas (but not anything like at other times), needing to spend some time in bathroom.

Could this just be my body trying to straighten itself out or are there different levels of glutening?

[kareng]

Yes. You could have different reactions. Some of it is that you are healing, so the reaction might change as you get your gut healed. Some of it may be what else you ate with the gluten. Was it more fatty or salty or less fiber or more fiber than your normal food?

The real issue here, as I see it, is that you have only been trying to be gluten-free for 6 weeks but it sounds like you have eaten gluten multiple times in that 6 weeks. You can't expect to heal if you continue to make antibodies to gluten.

[dilettantesteph]

I have worse reactions if I get more contaminated and more minor reactions when I get a smaller dose of contamination.  If I haven't gotten glutened in a long while, so I am well healed, my reaction will also be different.

[kareng]

I have worse reactions if I get more contaminated and more minor reactions when I get a smaller dose of contamination.  If I haven't gotten glutened in a long while, so I am well healed, my reaction will also be different.

Yeah! That, too!

Re- read my pre- coffee post - I meant that if you ate more fatty food, for example, you might also be dealing with that stomach upset as well as gluten.

But I'm still back to - stop putting yourself in a position to eat gluten for a few months so you can heal.

[notme]

in the beginning, even if i got a little (by accident!)  it put me backwards - not quite to square one, but far enough back to make me extra vigilant.  

[tka]

Yeah! That, too!

Re- read my pre- coffee post - I meant that if you ate more fatty food, for example, you might also be dealing with that stomach upset as well as gluten.

But I'm still back to - stop putting yourself in a position to eat gluten for a few months so you can heal.

in the beginning, even if i got a little (by accident!)  it put me backwards - not quite to square one, but far enough back to make me extra vigilant.

in the beginning, even if i got a little (by accident!)  it put me backwards - not quite to square one, but far enough back to make me extra vigilant.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have not knowingly glutened myself, but am still struggling with not eating out. It's a big deal in our family dynamic...parents, sister, brothers, kids, ... I guess I'm just trying to stay as "normal" as possible. I have cut down on it considerably because we eat out a lot. I generally have had to work from 7 to 6:30 5 days a week for the last three years. Am pretty exhausted when I get home. Having celiac disease has only made that worse and I have already notified my employers that I won't be able to do the extra for a while...at least until I get things straightened out. I try to cook a few meals up on the weekend for the week. I'll try to work on that more. I'm still figuring things out. This week, I tried oatmeal and now I know it's a definite "No go" for me.

I also have been on vacation part of that time and just did the best I Knew how. I took as much premade stuff with me as I could.

My family has been very good. I have made gluten free dishes and desserts for our family get-togethers and they have actually tried them. They think some are better than the gluten varieties. My sister has made gluten free chili for me when we have gotten together. My daughter and daughter-in-law have made gluten free dishes for me too and are sensitive to my needs. I have tried many knew things. I have a new respect, no actually desire, for mushrooms, zucchini, and yellow squash that I never had before. My husband doesn't like veges; he's a real and potatoes kind of guy, but the celiac sort of gives me license to cook what I want for me more now. My 93 year old mother-in-law, who lives with us, has had many gluten free meals she was unaware of.

I will try to note to see if there is a correlation to some of this if I have had something fatty or salty. Hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense. So far milk doesn't seem to be a problem that I can tell. Spicy or acidy haven't been options for me for a long time.

Thanks again.

[AlwaysLearning]

I've had different reactions. I've never had a full-on dose of gluten, meaning I haven't knowingly eaten anything that contains gluten. But the amount of contamination matters.

Lots of contamination means that my stomach will start to rumble almost immediately, though perhaps not soon enough to stop eating the food that triggers it. 

Any level of contamination means I'll start to get "irritable" an hour or two later which lasts up to eight hours. The migraine headache will set in halfway through that, so 4-6 hours after being glutened and can last as little as a day, to as much as three, and the brain fog and lethargy also vary from two days to four days, starting after the headache starts to subside, or perhaps I just start to notice it after the pain in my head eases up.

I still haven't figured out if getting sneezy after eating is just something that happens with gluten or if I have other triggers as well. It starts about 30-45 minutes later and doesn't normally last more than a few minutes. But no matter, my sinuses normally get inflamed to some degree as part of my reaction.

And depending on the exposure method, my eyes can be affected. Gluten in dust in the air or touching my eyes can bring on an eye reaction too, red, itchy, and watering.

I have given up on eating out. Every kitchen is contaminated. I'm just waiting for the day that a truly gluten-free restaurant opens.