Hidden Gluten

[Laura P63]

I'm going nuts trying to figure out how I'm getting glutened! Or perhaps my body mistakes something for gluten... Has anyone ever felt glutened by eating certified gluten-free chocolate candy? From sharing a Keurig? Besides flare of severe pain, I'm having a return of hypothyroidism. Thanks for any ideas?!

[cyclinglady]

If you recently have experienced a gluten exposure, know that this means that your immune system is ramping up and attacking your small intestine.  Anything you consume, gluten free or not, can cause your pain or irritation.  

Coffee might be irritating you now as it is acidic.    Make sure your coffee is gluten free (flavored coffees can be suspect).  Celiacs do develop additional food intolerances.   That chocolate is processed and it might contains soy or milk which you might be reacting to.  Try to stick to a bland non-processed diet until you feel relief which could take a week(s).  

Hang in there!  

[Ranchers Wife]

If you've gone through your food sources very carefully looking for gluten, or cross contamination, and come up with nothing...

Look at environmental exposures. 

Do you have cats or dogs? Wheat or barley are pretty common ingredients in dog and cat food. I use a grain free formula for my dogs, and don't have to obsess about touching the kibble, dog bowls or affectionate doggie licks after they just ate. 

The commercial feeds for rabbits, hamsters, and other little critters usually has wheat as it's first ingredient. I think there was a child cleaning the hamster cage at school, having trouble, possibly from the fine dust remaining from the feed, being cleaned from the cage.

Wheat proteins are easily dispersed in the air when you have flour, or wheat straw. My husband and I have been exposed on the ranch, by putting out wheat straw bedding. You inhale some dust, the cilia in your respiratory tract catches it and sends it down your esophagus.

Chickens? Horses? Also sources of wheat in the feed or bedding that you could inhale.

You can also potentially inhale wheat dust in a pizzeria or bakery that is actively creating wheat dust.

If you live in farm country, wheat harvest could cause a problem for you, or living near a grain elevator that stores and handles gluten grains.

If you can't otherwise find a source of gluten, you could go on the very strict Fasano diet for a few months.

Otherwise, you might have new sensitivity to a particular food item or items. An allergy elimination diet, or a food diary, could help identify that.

You could have a new and different autoimmune condition in addition to Celiac.

Anyway, I hope you get to feeling better, and that you can identify your issue. Sometimes it takes a while, or a different perspective. But if you're persistent, I think you'll eventually figure it out.