Am I Crazy Or What?!

[BamBam]

I still had some gluten items in my house and the school my husband works at wanted to have a bake sale so two weekends ago I spent te whole day making glutened goodies for this bake sale. I didn't eat or sample anything. I made date bars, granola bars, lemon bars and a raspberry shortbread bar. They all looked fabulously delicious but I didn't taste a thing.

This past weekend I had to bake pies for a pie auction, used corn starch as a thickener, but used store bought glutened pie crusts. The pies turned out great and sold for $90.00 each!

Each week after I have worked with gluten my anxieties get really bad, especially that first time. I thought I was going crazy again. My depression kinda sneaked its way back in, but then felt a little better towards the weekend.

I haven't felt too bad after this second time, maybe because I didn't have to measure flour for all the things I made that first week. I never got the big D but just felt very tired, depressed sort of state.

Do any of you work with flour and if you do how do you feel afterwards?

[Guest cassidy]

My mother did this. She loves to bake and baked like 100 loaves of bread (I'm not kidding) around Christmastime. She won't be doing that again.

She feels like her throat is closing when she eats gluten. She also get DH and the usual intestinal symptoms. After baking the bread she couldn't understand why she was having so many "attacks" when she was at home. The flour must have been in the air because she was sick for several weeks after that.

I go to great lengths not to eat gluten because it isn't worth it. If I'm going to get sick because of gluten that I'm intentionally around then it is going to be because I ate a Papa John's pizza and a beer. I love to bake also but it just isn't worth it to me to get sick so I can make food for other people.

So, as long as you know that you can get sick by inhaling gluten then you aren't crazy, you are making a choice to do something that could get you sick.

Hope everything turned out well and that you didn't get that sick.

[Guhlia]

Those sound like definite signs of being glutened. I personally have removed all gluten-containing flours from my house to reduce my risk for cross-contamination. Gluten can most definitely cause damage from being inhaled. Actually, IMO it seems riskier if you're using the wheat flour because not only could you be glutened when you're actually baking, but also the next day and the next and the next from the risidual flour in the air as cassidy suggested. If I were you, I would stay as far away from "real" flour as possible. If you choose to make baked goods, I would go with gluten free flour. If you buy it in bulk, it's not terribly more expensive and there are tons of recipes out there that are every bit as good as the gluten filled ones, if not better.

I hope you're feeling better soon.

[tarnalberry]

Yep, if I'm going to make baked goods for people, they're going to get gluten free stuff. :-P

[jerseyangel]

I only bake gluten free, also. I don't even keep wheat flour in the house--no need to! I agree with Julia--wherever the flour lands (everywhere), that surface is contaminated. Too big a risk, in my opinion.

[NicoleAJ]

Even if you could safeguard against all cross contamination, which would be virtually impossible, emotionally you might feel as though you are doing a great thing, but it might only add to your feelings of being isolated when it comes to partaking in particular foods. When I was first diagnosed, I had people come over for a presidential debate party, and I hadn't figured out how to make many of the gluten free goodies I know about now. Consequently, I baked pre-made cookie dough because I felt the risks would be less if I weren't mixing the flour--I felt some effects, probably from not washing my hands or the pans well enough afterwards, but emotionally I couldn't help but feel left out in my own home.

There are so many delicious things we can make for others that there's no sense in taking the risk, physically or emotionally. I teach at a univesity and a few weeks ago I took in the chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sauce that's listed in the recipe forum, and my students ate every last crumb and thanked me for bringing it in--they had no idea it was gluten free and they didn't care--they were just getting a decadent dessert and thought it was nice that their English teacher would bake for them.

[CarlaB]

I don't do the baking around here. My kids have me leave the house for the day near Christmas, then they have a bake-fest. When I come home, there is no flour dust anywhere to be seen! The only time I cook anything with gluten is the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving (I've changed everything else to gluten-free, but there's nothing like those fried onions so I make it for everyone else) and occassionally pasta if I'm just making it for the kids, and I'm sure to use the "gluten spoons" for it! Fortunately, it's never bothered me that I can't have certain foods ... not having a sweet tooth helps. If there's something I really like, I just savor the smell!

If I had to bake, I'd do it gluten-free, why take chances? Hmm, almost sounds like a bumper sticker ...

[acousticmom]

I had the same bake sale dilemma: my kitchen is now gluten-free, and I didn't want to spend a fortune on ingredients, so I defaulted to rice krispy treats with regular rice krispies (cheaper than gluten-free). Not a very exciting contribution, but at least there would be less stuff in the air.

But if you or your family do sometimes bake with regular flour, would an air purifier help? I have one in my bedroom for dust allergies, and I've occasionally used it in the kitchen to get rid of fish odors--it works great.

Carol

[durhamgrrl]

That has totally happened to me, too! I sell advertising and went to a bakery last December to talk with them and the flour dust was thick in the air. I was sick for weeks after just breathing in there!

[key]

I wouldn't risk baking with flour, because it is so airborn. I do make my other two kids sandwiches out of regular bread and just wash my hands afterwards.

Monica

[jerseyangel]

I wouldn't risk baking with flour, because it is so airborn. I do make my other two kids sandwiches out of regular bread and just wash my hands afterwards.

Monica

Ha! That's the one "gluten" thing I do, too! I make my husband and son's lunches--I wash my hands immediately after, and have been fine. I actually would rather do it myself because I can contain the crumbs, keep everything on the plastic, etc. And when I clean up after, I know it's really clean

[jenvan]

Right after my diagnosis I thought I would cook with gluten again...but I changed my tune quick. Not worth the risk, and it certainly is one. Instead I will just try to strive to prove to people that you can have delicious food and go w/o gluten Bernadette--You could try some good mixes too to help transition. I haven't ever noticed a reaction on my part when being in a bakery, or in a gluten-full kitchen. ...But I know some folks who swear they do...so I err on caution.

[Mo92109]

I had a horrible allergy attack, twice, in a bakery just by being around baking food. After that, I got rid of all my flour and bisquick. I miss my Bisquick.