symptoms after being glutened

[newto]

if you've consumed something containing gluten (and have experienced some reaction), is it possible that later (even next day), other foods which do NOT contain gluten, still upset your stomach?

[knitty kitty]

35 minutes ago, newto said:

if you've consumed something containing gluten (and have experienced some reaction), is it possible that later (even next day), other foods which do NOT contain gluten, still upset your stomach?

Yes.  

Gluten damages the villi in the small intestine starting the immune response.  The immune response can carry on for days or weeks.  

I've heard in simplest terms an exposure to gluten is like getting a carpet burn in your intestines and you wouldn't want to pour more irritating things on top of a carpet burn.  So no spicy things, no alcohol, no dairy, etc.  

I'll be glad to go into a more detailed explanation if you like.  

[newto]

27 minutes ago, knitty kitty said:

Yes.  

Gluten damages the villi in the small intestine starting the immune response.  The immune response can carry on for days or weeks.  

I've heard in simplest terms an exposure to gluten is like getting a carpet burn in your intestines and you wouldn't want to pour more irritating things on top of a carpet burn.  So no spicy things, no alcohol, no dairy, etc.  

I'll be glad to go into a more detailed explanation if you like.  

thanks so much! i havent tested for celiac yet; and the idea of eating gluten for at least 6 weeks before the test scares me, bc that means i have to deliberately inflame/irritate my body, right?  im not ready for all the stomach aches 😕 

29 minutes ago, knitty kitty said:

Yes.  

Gluten damages the villi in the small intestine starting the immune response.  The immune response can carry on for days or weeks.  

I've heard in simplest terms an exposure to gluten is like getting a carpet burn in your intestines and you wouldn't want to pour more irritating things on top of a carpet burn.  So no spicy things, no alcohol, no dairy, etc.  

I'll be glad to go into a more detailed explanation if you like.  

and would canned beans (not containing gluten) be counted as irritating? 

[knitty kitty]

Beans would be counted as irritating, yes, because they contain Lectins which are hard to digest.  

The AutoImmune Protocol Diet is helpful in healing the intestines.  It eliminates grains, legumes (beans), and dairy.  Fresh veggies and grass fed beef mostly.  

Most doctors use endoscopy as the gold standard for Celiac diagnosis.  Some can not do the gluten challenge, and opt to get tested for the most common Celiac genes in a DNA test.  The evidence of genes for Celiac and notable improvement on a gluten free diet may be used for diagnosis by some doctors instead.

Some will argue just the genes for Celiac doesn't mean activated Celiac Disease, but improvement on a gluten free diet covers that point.  

Doing a gluten challenge is like telling someone to continue hurting themselves until damage can be seen.  That doesn't make sense to me.  

I couldn't do the gluten challenge, but I do have two Celiac genes and do much better on a gluten free diet.  

[newto]

1 hour ago, knitty kitty said:

Beans would be counted as irritating, yes, because they contain Lectins which are hard to digest.  

The AutoImmune Protocol Diet is helpful in healing the intestines.  It eliminates grains, legumes (beans), and dairy.  Fresh veggies and grass fed beef mostly.  

Most doctors use endoscopy as the gold standard for Celiac diagnosis.  Some can not do the gluten challenge, and opt to get tested for the most common Celiac genes in a DNA test.  The evidence of genes for Celiac and notable improvement on a gluten free diet may be used for diagnosis by some doctors instead.

Some will argue just the genes for Celiac doesn't mean activated Celiac Disease, but improvement on a gluten free diet covers that point.  

Doing a gluten challenge is like telling someone to continue hurting themselves until damage can be seen.  That doesn't make sense to me.  

I couldn't do the gluten challenge, but I do have two Celiac genes and do much better on a gluten free diet.  

"Doing a gluten challenge is like telling someone to continue hurting themselves until damage can be seen." - exactly!! thanks so much! 

as i know, for endoscopy you need to eat gluten for less period of time right? is it as accurate as (if not more) than blood test?

I haven't been eating 2-white-bread-amount of gluten even in the past (when i wasn't aware that i was sensitive to gluten), so i dont really know how i can do that now  

[knitty kitty]

Yes, I believe it's two weeks of gluten before an endoscopy and six to eight weeks before blood antibody tests.  

Doctors do blood tests first and if positive, they do an endoscopy for confirmation.  Blood tests can have false negatives, so an endoscopy might be done to see what else is going on.  

An endoscopy looks for damage to the small intestine.  (If spread out flat, the small intestine would cover a tennis court!)  Biopsy samples are taken.  Sometimes the damage is microscopic.  Sometimes the damage is patchy and can be missed.  Sometimes the damage can be seen with the naked eye because the changes are so severe.  The amount of damage does not correlate to the severity of symptoms.  

Like you, I didn't consume a lot of gluten to begin with, just naturally preferred other foods.  So by the time I suspected Celiac Disease, I couldn't tolerate gluten enough to do a proper gluten challenge.  And my doctors were clueless about Celiac Disease and proper testing.  Celiac wasn't on their radar at all.  So, genetic testing was best for me.  

Everyone has to make their own decision as to what is the best route for themselves to take.  Whatever you decide, know that we here on the forum will support you and keep you encouraged.  

🐱

[newto]

16 minutes ago, knitty kitty said:

Yes, I believe it's two weeks of gluten before an endoscopy and six to eight weeks before blood antibody tests.  

Doctors do blood tests first and if positive, they do an endoscopy for confirmation.  Blood tests can have false negatives, so an endoscopy might be done to see what else is going on.  

An endoscopy looks for damage to the small intestine.  (If spread out flat, the small intestine would cover a tennis court!)  Biopsy samples are taken.  Sometimes the damage is microscopic.  Sometimes the damage is patchy and can be missed.  Sometimes the damage can be seen with the naked eye because the changes are so severe.  The amount of damage does not correlate to the severity of symptoms.  

Like you, I didn't consume a lot of gluten to begin with, just naturally preferred other foods.  So by the time I suspected Celiac Disease, I couldn't tolerate gluten enough to do a proper gluten challenge.  And my doctors were clueless about Celiac Disease and proper testing.  Celiac wasn't on their radar at all.  So, genetic testing was best for me.  

Everyone has to make their own decision as to what is the best route for themselves to take.  Whatever you decide, know that we here on the forum will support you and keep you encouraged.  

🐱

thanks a lot!! yes, i will think about it and talk with my gp. not feeling that scared anymore ❤️