Kissed Someone, Sick For Almost 3 Weeks?

[MissMusician]

So I'm relatively new to having celiac and being gluten free/dairy free (almost a year now), but have had a downright horrible time adjusting. 10 ER trips and a hospital stay later, I'm still having more sick days than healthy days.

 

Anyways, I recently had my first kiss since going gluten free and I followed all of the precautions; he had last eaten gluten 4 hours earlier AND he brushed his teeth before we kissed (with gluten-free toothpaste!) Within 30 minutes, the pain started and didn't stop for the next 2.5 weeks. I was nauseous, fatigued, and had what felt like paper cuts all along my intestines and under my ribcage.

 

I know I was not glutened from my own doing because I watch what I eat like a hawk and have severely restricted my diet so I know exactly what's going in my body. Gluten free beauty & hair products, no medication, eating only prepackaged foods and food I prepare for myself only, and haven't eaten out in almost 6 months. So there's no chance I got glutened from anything else besides the kiss.

 

I guess what i'm asking is if it's normal to get sick for that long from a kiss under those circumstances? I know I'm more sensitive to gluten than my family members who exhibit almost NO symptoms (lucky for them!), but I haven't officially been labeled "super sensitive"

[LauraTX]

It definitely is possible for you to get glutened by a kiss, and it is possible that your significant other didn't get everything in his mouth out when he brushed and flossed.  Especially if you were really making out, haha  .   Everyone's reaction to gluten is different, and there are some people who do get sick for weeks from a glutening.  It is possible, however, that it wasn't gluten.  In cases like this it is hard to tell whether it is a gluten reaction or maybe a stomach virus.  If you normally don't get sick for weeks when glutened, it may be possible that you have a stomach bug.  There are some that go around that cause mild discomfort for weeks.  Since you will probably never know, it may be a best practice to not have him eat gluten the day of a date with you.  Also, if he just brushed his teeth and didn't thoroughly floss, there were probably food particles remaining.  But in this case, unless you usually get sick weeks at a time, I am leaning towards another cause.