Symptoms after eating gluten

[celiac00]

Hi! It has been over a year since my diagnosis, but I'm still struggling to know what my symptoms are after I eat gluten and how sensitive I am (to traces and so on). Yesterday a restaurant messed up my order and gave me something with "traces" of gluten (that is according to them after they saw they messed up). Today I feel terrible like I will have the flu/cold. Some headache, muscle soreness, tired.. just not feeling well at all. Can these symptoms be that I have reacted to gluten? Because if I think in retrospect, there were many times I felt this way without being actually sick with a cold or flu, so I want to know if I should observe those symptoms if I eat out or something. Thank you in advance!

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, celiac00.

Yes, the symptoms you describe could certainly be a gluten reaction. Many celiacs do not have classic GI distress symptoms, at least not until the damage to the small bowel villi becomes quite advanced. We call them "silent celiacs".

Please know that eating out poses the number one risk of getting "glutened". Even if you order gluten free menu items, how they are prepared back in the kitchen is likely to cause CC (cross contamination). We strongly advise celiacs to avoid restuarants and fast food places if at all possible.

[celiac00]

Thank you!