Confused

[jennyj]

I am confused about something. There is a guy in our town who(m) I have known all his life and he has celiac and crohns. We share alot of food and recipes and it is nice to have someone to talk to about things. Recently he told me that he can cheat and eat pizza, sandwhiches, pastry, etc. every-once-in-a-while and it doesn't bother him. I have stuck very close to my diet and don't want to chance getting sick but if others can do it would it hurt if I tried? I am so confused, I wany my body to heal but there are some foods I miss Help!

[Guest nini]

NO!!!! You cannot cheat, and you will be doing your friend a favor if you point him in the direction of this site...

Even occassional cheating is like not being on the diet at all and increases your risks of lymphomas and other autoimmune diseases... and increases your risk of early death because of it... it is just not worth it.

Cheating is a bad bad idea and anyone that thinks they can cheat is sadly mistaken, just because you don't have outward symptoms of a reaction, it does not negate the fact that it is still doing damage to your insides...

[mommida]

Don't cheat! He is truely hurting himself. If there are foods you miss, look a little harder or try making them yourself. There are so many recipe websites on-line you can convert any recipe you want to gluten free. The gluten free foods that are available have increased by 300% in the past few years. You can even by little cake mixes and such that you pop in the microwave.

L.

[gfp]

The bottom line is noone knows.

The question is if you have a breadcrumb or CC by mistake is this worse than eating a pizza?

I don't find any correlation between symptoms and amount... a breadcrumb can knock me flat the same day or a whole gluten pizza can do nothing for 2-3 days....

Is a small amount of CC (200 ppm of less) any less damaging? More importantly is CC on a regular basis worse than a pizza once a year?

This gets more complex when Dr's ask for gluten challenges ? They suggest eating enough to damage us everyday. If its OK to do this then is it worse to have a pizza on my birthday?

I think the risks are all different ... on one side cancer is mainly time related and forced replication of damaged cells , ataxia and neuropathy the same though through buildup...

[jennyj]

Thank you. I think I already knew the answer but it is so hard at times to not tnink " oh one little bite won't hurt" I did tell my friend that I didn't think it was a good idea and how much support I get from this site. I hope he comes to check it out. Again THANK YOU.

[Ursa Major]

Jenny, it is frustrating when you see people like that who seem to be doing fine when cheating. It makes you think you can do the same thing. But as others mentioned, it's a terrible idea, and your friend may have to face the consequences of his cheating some day. Don't risk it.

And gfp, I disagree with you. So, sometimes a crumb will cause immediate symptoms, and a whole pizza will cause a delayed reaction. So what? A delayed reaction is still a reaction, and just as bad.

And doctors who order a gluten challenge are just ignorant in my opinion, because to ORDER somebody to make themselves very ill, just so they can get a positive biopsy is bad medicine, as far as I am concerned, and stupid in the extreme.

[gfp]

Jenny, it is frustrating when you see people like that who seem to be doing fine when cheating. It makes you think you can do the same thing. But as others mentioned, it's a terrible idea, and your friend may have to face the consequences of his cheating some day. Don't risk it.

And gfp, I disagree with you. So, sometimes a crumb will cause immediate symptoms, and a whole pizza will cause a delayed reaction. So what? A delayed reaction is still a reaction, and just as bad.

Yes, but that's not what I meant... what I meant is which is worse for you?

Specifically if I eat out and get glutened by CC is it actually any worse to just say what the heck... I'm poisioned now and its going to take me a minimum of a week to get back to normal. Eating a whole pizza at this point is unlikely to make any difference to how long it takes to get better nor how bad the symtoms are.

What we don't know is are the hidden symptoms any worse....

Considering many of us do take risks like eating out (which in my opinion is ALWAYS a risk) which is worse .. getting caught out by tiny amounts say once a month or not getting caught out and then getting a pizza and beer to round it all off! Would doing this cause more damage or just the same? In other words might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb.

This is something I consider ... would I risk a resto for something convenient ? No never... if Im going to take the risk of eating out I'm damned well going to make the risk worth it. But other things make me question this .. last year on vacation in Italy I managed not to get glutened for a week then of course I made a mistake somewhere and got some CC. I knew I would be on immodium for the rest of the vacation and it would take a week to get better ... and we had basically booked cheap accomadation and were forced to eat out ... I was forced to choose, should I say to heck with it until I got home or try and keep gluten-free. Since there was a good chance I could do my best to be gluten-free and still be caught out i opted for the former... I only lost 1 day where I literally couldn't leave the hotel room out of the 14 ..

And doctors who order a gluten challenge are just ignorant in my opinion, because to ORDER somebody to make themselves very ill, just so they can get a positive biopsy is bad medicine, as far as I am concerned, and stupid in the extreme.

I agree completely ... the question is what is the medical evidence?

I have a suspicion that long term effects are the most dangerous ... the fact most of us have eaten gluten most of our lives is perhaps a bigger risk than 1-2 times a year ... at least I think that is the medical justification for challenges .... but I really believe noone actually knows. I honestly think the worst case is people who continually cheat even on the slightest amount... the villi are under constant attack and the gluten builds up... of course the ideal is to never be glutened but that is unrealistic.

[mama belle]

I have a question, actually a couple. I was just diagnosed and have been on the diet for a week. After several days I started to feel really, really good. So I am wondering if this change is just because I am eating much healthier anyway or if my body can really respond to being gluten free in such a short time? I imagine it is a bit of both?

Also, last night I made some guacamole, being careful to not contaminate it, because I love guac and I could treat myself to as much of it as I wanted. About ten minutes after I started eating it, I discovered that my mom and fiance had both dipped their gluten crackers into the guac (they are new to this diet too and totally spaced it out-they felt awful). I immediately stopped eating the guac (which I had looked so forward to) but knew that I had eaten some of the guac after it was contaminated but before I realized it. I figured the small amount of gluten that I might have consumed surely couldn't have hurt me. But, as it turns out I had excruciating gut pain all last night (just like the symptoms I had before I my dx) and today my gut is still in distress. Is it really possible that after having only been on the diet for a week and having such a small exposure, I could actually respond like this because of the gluten? Or is this just a coincidence?

[jerseyangel]

Mama Belle--What more than likely happened was that you were glutened by the crackers that were dipped in the guacamole. Frequently, the longer we're off gluten, the more sensitive we become to much smaller amounts. It dosen't take too long away from gluten for this to happen.

[skbird]

Is it really possible that after having only been on the diet for a week and having such a small exposure, I could actually respond like this because of the gluten? Or is this just a coincidence?

Hi! I think it's probably both. I have reacted to that small of an amount, and others have, too. So it could certainly be the CC. But it's also possible it's from just being on the course of healing. Though I'd be inclined to believe it's the food, since you were feeling so great before.

It's a dance at first, finding out what works and what doesn't and how you react to it. At some point it will be second nature.

I'm sorry that happened - I can identify with making something REALLY good and then having it rendered inedible to me by some simple accident.

Take care-

Stephanie

[mama belle]

Thanks guys. It really is a dance, trying to figure everything out.

[Ursa Major]

Is it really possible that after having only been on the diet for a week and having such a small exposure, I could actually respond like this because of the gluten? Or is this just a coincidence?

It is definitely not a coincidence. The same would happen to me. I started to have a miraculous turnaround by the next day after eliminating gluten. And that small amount (just a few crumbs, really) would have made me just as ill.

Next time after making something yummy like that, you will need to separate it into two dishes, one for you and one for the rest of the family, and LABEL yours as such (I would put on it, "MOM'S, you touch, you die!" ). That would assure they left it alone.

Yes, but that's not what I meant... what I meant is which is worse for you?

I believe that larger amounts would likely be worse for you. So, even though it is tempting to just 'go for it' when you're already glutened anyway, I think that is a terrible idea (even though I have to admit that I've done it, I chalk it up to 'my brain not functioning on gluten, and not being responsible for my actions at that point )

[CarlaB]

I have a question, actually a couple. I was just diagnosed and have been on the diet for a week. After several days I started to feel really, really good. So I am wondering if this change is just because I am eating much healthier anyway or if my body can really respond to being gluten free in such a short time? I imagine it is a bit of both?

Also, last night I made some guacamole, being careful to not contaminate it, because I love guac and I could treat myself to as much of it as I wanted. About ten minutes after I started eating it, I discovered that my mom and fiance had both dipped their gluten crackers into the guac (they are new to this diet too and totally spaced it out-they felt awful). I immediately stopped eating the guac (which I had looked so forward to) but knew that I had eaten some of the guac after it was contaminated but before I realized it. I figured the small amount of gluten that I might have consumed surely couldn't have hurt me. But, as it turns out I had excruciating gut pain all last night (just like the symptoms I had before I my dx) and today my gut is still in distress. Is it really possible that after having only been on the diet for a week and having such a small exposure, I could actually respond like this because of the gluten? Or is this just a coincidence?

I went gluten-free the week before Christmas and on Christmas Eve sliced some cheese that others had been using on crackers. I spent Christmas Day feeling pretty yucky, so I'd say yes, you could feel that bad in that short of time. Don't worry, you'll get used to it all and it becomes second nature.

[jennyj]

I had a reaction once to an egg and couldn't figure out why until I saw my DH dip his knife into the butter container I had used to fry my egg, and then butter his toast and put the knife back. I have my own container now and he will not use it.