Smelling gluten in air or fried gluten food mood reaction?

[Awol cast iron stomach]

I know I get short of breath walking in a full gluten infested bread aisle and avoid it as much as possible. Thankfully the average coworker eating a sandwich from home on store bought gluten bread is ok. the whole store aisle a problem for me. 

I do have a bizzarre question do any of you or have you ever experienced irritability and low mood after being around people eating gluten infested fried fast foods? My boss had some yesterday, thankfully near the end of my shift , how I had hope she brought" home food" after my cranky evening.

I became very irritable last night and moody for no reason. I'm starting to wonder on the days they bring in gluten laden  fried foods if it affects me. There is no separate cafeteria they eat in a half wall partitioned area off of the open floor plan office so I'm exposed like it or not.

I initially thought at my former job  maybe I got upset when people ate what I couldn't but now I question if it is that or something physiological to me. Eating gluten by me can include these symptoms but can being environmentally exposed to gluten cause these symptoms? At my old job  I was mocked for taking walks outside instead of partaking in gluten infested pizza work parties. I now wonder if I was instinctively protecting myself and my job, my line of work is always people based so I work hard to be in the right frame of mind to deal with the good and the bad.

Now since its arising again at a new job (this job I can't take a walk outside  to get air when they eat, I am p.t.) I'm wondering if it's gluten and the olfactory system affecting the brain? I am 2 months from my gluten challenge and vulnerable already but after her eating a fried gluten lunch I later on became tired, cranky , low mood, and today I slept 3 hours as if I ate gluten. Very unproductive. No I didn't get cc I won't even sit where they eat I stand and eat finger foods from home or bring a liquid smoothie from home since my gluten challenge.

My husband was wondering why when I work too much it's as if something effects me . He was concerned  something in the environment effects me, makes me sick.  He notices a difference if I work too much. This is bizarre but can coworkers/boss eating gluten laden fried foods have a psychological/brain effect on a celiac/ncgs?

The more gluten eating out / take out they bring in the office the more tired and irritable I get. They all eat together usually . The light bulb just went off today after I woke from my nap . A nap I don't usually need unless gluten ed. It occurred to me upon waking that I only started to feel like crap get moody after exposure to her food. I however can't spend my days off sleeping off and fending off gluten mood from others food.

Please say this will improve when I heal more. I can't believe I'm going to have to quit a job over people eating. I can't control people eating !  I can't be irritable like this !

it rang a bell for me also because my one sister always has gluten Italian food at her parties and quite frankly she annoys me but it might be the gluten more than the person . Some of my worst moods are at her gluten home and now I'm discovering at workplaces when people bring in take out. What I casually assumed was them annoying me (as interacting with people can occasionally do throughout the day)  I realize might be amplified by coworker/family party gluten laden food. I'm actually a really pleasant person and am always put in people roles even if I apply for another so I know it can't just be people annoying me.

I feel like I'm going bonkers between the lack of clarity on my long over due diagnosis and the insanity this lingering damage causes down to being effected by people's food. 

Please say this is possible cause I'm at wits end. I have no idea how to remain employed given my new discovery. As Dorothy says there is no place like home and for me it might be frighteningly true. 

any support on this appreciated and advice on how to stay employed is needed.

 

 

[ravenwoodglass]

Just being able to smell gluten food souldn't be an issue. What are you eating for breakfast and lunch? Are you getting enough protein and carbs for those meals? If you aren't that could contribute to you being irritable and tired.

[Ennis-TX]

I have issues walking through or near the bakery at supermarkets, I sometimes get a gluten like reaction with the mood swings, numbness, fog, tightening neck and swollen lymph nodes. I was informed by others that this could be flour in the air, as it tend to float around a bit in that area. Unsure of the exact responses or why but I assume since celiac is a autoimmune issue, perhaps inhaling the flour is triggering my immune response and still triggering the ataxia part of my issue without all the gut pain.

I will admit I also get overly protective and aggravated when I see someone eating gluten, I look at them like they are some monstrous being from outer space eating poison. Just me thinking about how sick it can make me puts me on the defensive and hostility seems to surge in my mind recalling the days of being deathly sick from gluten.

[chocominties]

I'm sure it's possible to have a kind of physiological reaction from the resentment one feels about other people eating things they can't have.   I know I had a terrible reaction every time I had to walk to work in the cold because my mom had stolen my car and wouldn't give it back.  (Made worse those mornings where it was below 0 and she would email to tell me to "bundle up".

 

I digress.  

 

Best thing is to really get over it and let it go.  We're busy at work right now and they make us work through lunch once a week. On that day lunch is catered.  It's always something like sandwiches or pizza or Chinese or pasta.  They offered to try to accommodate me, but there are no reliably gluten-free restaurants that deliver and that are within a 1 mile radius.   I'm essentially the only one not being compensated for working this mandatory overtime. And to make things worse, they always put the food at the desk across from mine. 

 

 But what good would it be for me to be mad about it? It's annoying, yes, but I'm more annoyed that I don't have options than that other people get to eat something. And ultimately I would rather be at work and able to work and be paid then be sick AF at home, chained to the toilet and scarfing prednisone like candy.   Maybe it's different for people who are asymptomatic or who get mild symptoms like headaches.   There's no temptation for me when everything is a big plate of poison.  

[Awol cast iron stomach]

Thanks for the input. There are also crumbs galore from the baked goods brought in that they eat.  That why I no longer even try too sit at the table. Ironically when I first started they did not appear to be such big gluten group. A few people retired and a few new ones came on so the shift appears in dietary preferences has appeared  to have occurred.

You have some terrible stories of people stealing cars and working without pay. I send positive thoughts to you both. That is just horrible. I hope you both move on to better things. Better people in your life. Better jobs. Sooner than later.

You have all given me "food for thought".  I thank you for you wisdom and knowledge.

[Beverage]

Your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all drain down the same place to your stomach.  So if loose flour gets in the air and you inhale it, that would be the same as eating it.

[Izz]

I guess it all depends on how sensitive you are. I have had to quit an entire career before it even got started because I will get a full gluten reaction including gut, DH, migraine & body pains from breathing in gluten or touching it. I found this out the hard way when I started working in schools and the kinder kids breathed on me after eating their gluten laden sandwiches. A room filled with gluten based play dough residue was just as bad. Doesn't matter how many people tell me this doesn't happen, it still does. I now explain to others that my gluten 'problem' needs to be treated as if it is a serious food allergy, just like nuts or egg. Like you, one or two people in a well ventilated room is okay, but a room full of exhaled gluten from others (like a classroom where children also eat or large lunch meeting) is very bad. Know your limits and when to leave or ask for help. At the last place I worked, my manager asked others not to eat in our office, use the staff room and to wash their hands before using my computer to help me out. So at least my office space was safer. I also found wiping down surfaces like steering wheels on fleet cars to make a huge difference. In the end a job is no good if it is making you too sick to do anything. 

[Crownroyal]

Do you have any other symptoms? Its very stressful adjusting. Cross contamination is a huge problem and a coworker of mine mentioned she has a family member that is so bad they had to purchase a special filter fan for the kitchen..for flour that was airborne. Over my last 3 yrs  I have converted my kitchen to be almost completely gluten-free.. the hubs now eats gluten free as well. Its hard when people don't understand. If you talk to your Dr these will be one of their first questions. For the first 2 yrs I was so ill I was on pure liquids..it was very frustrating. I had other GI symptoms that were very painful.

I have a lunch bad that is super cute that is thermal. I pack it full of goodies whenever I leave the house...pack alternatives. Find food you like.. learn to cook,,learn to bake. There is the physical, social and emotional. If you aren't getting enough nutrition, you will feel tired and weak..and its easy to get upset and depressed.

Hope this helps.

V

 

[lacey]

I'm so glad to have seen this! Going to the grocery store has become a huge issue for me. I always leave with a swollen belly and tight chest/lungs. I always end up going when they have freshly baked bread all around grrrr. Whenever I am near others who are eating anything with gluten I get extremely nervous. I've had to step away from a culinary career simply because being near the stuff makes me sick. Best of luck to you! I understand ?

[Ennis-TX]

4 hours ago, lacey said:

I'm so glad to have seen this! Going to the grocery store has become a huge issue for me. I always leave with a swollen belly and tight chest/lungs. I always end up going when they have freshly baked bread all around grrrr. Whenever I am near others who are eating anything with gluten I get extremely nervous. I've had to step away from a culinary career simply because being near the stuff makes me sick. Best of luck to you! I understand ?

I also wished to follow a culinary career. I started selling gluten free baked goods and snacks at farmers markets, doing private chef work for a few people, and dream of opening a gluten free food trailer. >.> Fundraiser for this has been a flop so far but I keep wishing for some business partner or philanthropist to show up lol.  I find I can only go to certain markets and I walk the long way around the bakery lol. The funniest thing is the paranoia, I fear a child with a cookie more then a man with a gun.

[lacey]

Ennis_TX, ha ha yes children with cookies are terrifying! So messy?Keep pushing through with your gluten free baking endevours! I'm sure something will work out! At the very least you are blessing those who eat your creations as decent gluten-free products are rare...especially homemade at that!