So Confused....

[danikali]

Hi, it's me again, I know, for the third time today! Anyway, I was wondering, I am almost positive that I got glutened by CC of a few balance bars. When I was undiagnosed, and on what I thought a gluten free diet(I was constantly getting sick still and not knowing why- then I learned about cross contamination and hidden gluten), I would get sick about once a month, so bad that I would have a sore throat, ALL OVER body aches, sweats, and a nerve pain on the top of my head, kind of like a flu but the symptoms were ALWAYS the same and very predictable. The GI symptoms that I had before ever trying going gluten free were constant, and everyday. So anyway, now I am having that sickness again (sore throat, ALL OVER body aches, sweats, and a nerve pain on the top of my head) but no GI symptoms. My stomach feels fine, not bloated, no gas, and no "D" or "C." But this all started after eating the contaminated balance bars.........so I'm wondering if anyone could tell me why everything BUT the GI symptoms have come back.....if it were just a case of cross contamination, wouldn't I just feel it in my gut? My GI tract still seems to be on it's road to recovery, but I haven't felt all these other symptoms since when I was doing the gluten challenge about 3 months ago! I've been 'glutened' in these past 3 months, but not so severely and it was only GI issues. Why all of a sudden is my body giving me such a serious all over immune problem again, but no GI pains? I'm so confused! What makes our bodies chose which symptoms and signals to give off? This is really bad.

[danikali]

Okay, if anyone is confused about my topic, does anybody know this answer: Can you get varied symptoms when you are glutened. For example:

Glutened once: GI troubles

Second time glutened: No GI, but tired and cranky

Third time: Knee pains and gas, nothing else

Fourth time: Muscle aches, all over body, throat ache nothing else

Fifth time: just GI, nothing else

Okay, so do you guys understand? I'm sorry to be a little pushy, but I'm scared it's not something else because this is really bad. I'm 21 and feel like I'm 90 years old right now. Does anyone else experienece different symptoms with different gluten experiences? I'm so desparate!

[jerseyangel]

Dani--I hate for you to be this afraid--I know that when I get a gluten reaction, it has always included some GI symptoms. I have had other symptoms that do vary. Last month, I had a terrible time and had muscle aches (especially in my legs), brain fog & wavy sight, anxiety, nausea as well as D. I can only speak for myself, but each reaction is a bit different. I almost always get easily irritated (cranky). Because you ate several of the Balance Bars, maybe the reaction (the same as what you used to get on gluten) is worse because of the number of exposures. Like, instead of getting a little CC, this time it was more of a repeated exposure. Is it possible that you're catching a cold at the same time? Hope some of this helps

[key]

Dani,

I can't explain what is going on for you, but I too feel that depending on the amount of gluten I get the symptoms for me seem to vary. I got gluttened on Saturday. My first symptom is always having alot of burping(weird I know), but I don't do this any other time. Then that evening my belly was bloated and I had heart burn. THen the next morning I had horrible tummy pains in my lower abdomen and I have the crankiness and fatigue. My legs also ached. Then the next day I ended up going to the bathroom way more then normal. We'll see this time ,but it seems that I will end up with "C" after a few days and then that will last a week or two. Usually I get nauseated, but this past time, the worst for me was the stomach pains and heartburn. I don't know, it is crazy. I feel like I can't tell what happens to me each time. I can have severe nausea sometimes.

I did get a sore throat one time and no one else was sick. I also had a fever. Anyway, the reason I thought it may have been gluten was that my stomach hurt like I had had gluten. Also, No one else got sick and I was around a bunch of people. I was getting alot of gluten by accident around that time though and think maybe my immune system was down.

Sorry I am not much help. Just trying to give you some sort of answers, by sharing my own experiences. THere have been many!! LOL!

Monica

[danikali]

Thanks to both of you! Well, I know that I don't have a cold or anything because it just doesn't feel like one. It's the way I used to get A LOT when I was eating gluten a lot. But thanks for telling me that's it's a little bit different everytime for you guys too. I was doing so well for so long too! I haven't had this long of a streak before with feeling really really good! It was like 3 whole weeks! That's amazing for me:) But I guess I have to wait this out again and realize that I can't eat anything that says produced on the same lines as gluten. Also, it always happens around getting my 'monthly friend.' Have you noticed that? It's like, I'm extra hungry and craving things more, and that's what gets me in trouble!

[Jen H]

Hey Danikali,

That's a really good question. Can your body have varying symptoms after being glutened? I'm not sure. Some of my symptoms have been different each time, but I"m not sure if that's typical for everyone.

[CMCM]

  danikali said:

Hi, it's me again, I know, for the third time today! Anyway, I was wondering, I am almost positive that I got glutened by CC of a few balance bars. When I was undiagnosed, and on what I thought a gluten free diet(I was constantly getting sick still and not knowing why- then I learned about cross contamination and hidden gluten), I would get sick about once a month, so bad that I would have a sore throat, ALL OVER body aches, sweats, and a nerve pain on the top of my head, kind of like a flu but the symptoms were ALWAYS the same and very predictable. The GI symptoms that I had before ever trying going gluten free were constant, and everyday. So anyway, now I am having that sickness again (sore throat, ALL OVER body aches, sweats, and a nerve pain on the top of my head) but no GI symptoms. My stomach feels fine, not bloated, no gas, and no "D" or "C." But this all started after eating the contaminated balance bars.........so I'm wondering if anyone could tell me why everything BUT the GI symptoms have come back.....if it were just a case of cross contamination, wouldn't I just feel it in my gut? My GI tract still seems to be on it's road to recovery, but I haven't felt all these other symptoms since when I was doing the gluten challenge about 3 months ago! I've been 'glutened' in these past 3 months, but not so severely and it was only GI issues. Why all of a sudden is my body giving me such a serious all over immune problem again, but no GI pains? I'm so confused! What makes our bodies chose which symptoms and signals to give off? This is really bad.

My symptoms are all over the map and there is no consistency at all. I can get terrible GI one time, nausea another, terrible muscle aches, and so on. My reactions are also affected by casein, and often the casein reaction is worse than for gluten. Casein for me causes terrible GI problems, D, and sometimes muscle aches. The gluten is less well defined. And I think for me, the severity is governed by the amount of exposure...if I get several things in a short time, all the weird stuff happens. My asthma comes back, too. These things are why this is all so difficult to figure out!

[key]

Carole,

That is exactly the way I would describe how I am after getting gluten. I usually do have GI symptoms ,but sometimes I just feel exhausted and don't want to do anything and I can't concentrate. I haven't figured out anything with casein yet. I am finding out I am feeling better off of dairy. I haven't completely eliminated it, but I cut back. Haven't had any cheese, just a small amount of milk in my coffee. I may get stricter and research more stuff if I don't continue feeling better. I was feeling awesome, but I think I got set back by being gluttened one week and then again the next.

Monica

[danikali]

Okay, thanks guys! Good to know I"m not crazy! I'm actually feeling better today. The muscle pains were sooo bad yesterday! I've also noticed that the pains go away within a day or two and before I was gluten free, it would last no less than a week, it was horrible. I would get one little leg cramp and knew it would get worse and worse for about a week and then subside for another couple days after that. Thank God it's not like THAT anymore!

[jerseyangel]

Glad to hear you're feeling better today, Dani--I was worried about ya

[danikali]

  jerseyangel said:

Glad to hear you're feeling better today, Dani--I was worried about ya

Thank you Patti! That's so sweet!