How To Help Family Cope!

[sheilaamistone]

I have been gluten free for about 5 years. I am a female who needs advice from men who get severe cramping followed be diarrhea, on how to compare the pain of the cramping to other pain a man might feel. My husband is great, but I just can't explain the cramping pain I feel. Monday night of this wk, I had an experience with cross contamination. I had severe cramping for 12 hours and now my stomach and ribs still hurt from all the cramping. I have nothing to compare the experience to so my husband doesn't fully understand why I don't like to "RISK" the possibility of cross contamination to eat out at places I used to be able to eat at. He understands the medical issues, but not how I feel when it happens.

[eers03]

Tell your husband it is the equivalent of getting the worst possible cramp from eating a 12 ounce steak with sides, washing it down with a bottle of beer and then going for a brisk run immediately following.  Its sharp, it lingers, and the worst problem is, you're not running on a steak--you were merely cross contaminated!!!  

 

It's basically like that but worse because it sits lower, hurts worse, and if you're running you can usually just stop and it goes away...  Gluten related cramping can last awhile...  Like hours or for some, days...

[kareng]

Has he never had a bad stomach virus?

 

Even so, The fact that you are in obvious pain should be enough for him.  I have never had open heart surgery, but I understand it hurts like hell.  And then there is the fact that gluten starts to damage your intestines....   I guess he won't believe that child birth hurts either?  

[NoGlutenCooties]

I'm also a female, but this might help....  It doesn't sound like he doesn't believe that it hurts, he just doesn't have anything similar to compare it to.  Has he ever had a bad charlie-horse?  It's like that, only rather than being in an extremity it is eminating from the center of your body.  And there is no way to stretch it and relieve the pain.  And similar to a severe charlie-horse, even after it starts to go away it comes back if you move wrong, breate deeply, etc.  And the soreness lingers well after the sharp pains have gone away.

[IrishHeart]

I ran this one by my hubs ( although it is EXACTLY what I was going to say, honest!)

and he said "tell him to imagine being hit in the jewels.... and then having them squeezed for several hours". 

 

Any man can relate to this pain.

[bartfull]

Great minds think alike, Irish! I was just thinking the same thing because from what I have heard, that pain is also accompanied by cold sweats and nausea, which also often accompany celiac pain.