Vomiting Reaction?

[Robert Brown]

[Forgive the long post, the gist is - I've started vomiting from gluten ingestion. Skip to last paragraph for summary.]

I'm new to this board, though I've used the site resources since I was diagnosed two and a half years ago. I've been gluten-free for that long, after a diagnosis of "total villus atrophy due to celiac disease" from the wonderful Dr. Francesco Sylvestre at Hartford Children's Hospital in Connecticut. Usually, my reaction to gluten consists of between a half hour and two hours of excrutiating pain in my lower abdomen. I believe this begins within hours of ingestion of the offending material, and soon after the pain stops I need to use the bathroom.

However, an alarming change has occured for me. I believe I am beginning to have vomiting reactions to glutinous foods. I never vomited in my life before fall last year, and you could imagine I was quite surprised when it happened! It was a couple of hours after I'd eaten a glutinous food. I didn't make the association then, being somewhat inebriated, and it didn't happen again for some time. A few months later, it happened again. These first two times were of course nerve-wracking to someone who'd never vomited before, but AFAIK they were pretty normal vomiting experiences.

I would vomit two or three times more, one horrifying vomiting spree accompanying a terrible dish at Six Flags and accentuated by a rollercoaster - which defiled four trash cans and left me in the first aid building for two hours. Another time was after eating half a small bag of cheetos, which mystified me for they are gluten-free.

More recently, things have become violent. Yesterday at my graduation party (which consumed most of my savings to throw and was catered professionally, with a great band) I must have eaten something illegal (my term for gluten-containing) and I didn't notice for at least an hour. I believe the french fries were floured or something, which was absolutely NOT something mentioned to me! About an hour later, I felt a sudden knot in my stomach. I hoped it would pass in a few minutes, but it just kept growing. Sure enough, I was in the bathroom in minutes and coughed up everything I ate since that morning. Then, after I was long empty, I continued to heave for an hour, extremely violently... Felt like I was dying, and couldn't stop the vomiting until I finally kept a glass of ginger ale down. That was it, for me, I was dead, the party was over.

Has anyone else gotten vomiting reactions from eating gluten? I can't handle this any more... throwing up for hours on end positively ruins me. This recent spell has scared me into yet another Rice Week.

Rob

[moonmaiden]

Gosh Rob, Your story sounds a lot like mine lately. I am pretty much self-diagnosed and stopped eating gluten about four months ago. I have felt great and have been taking a ton of nutritional supplements since January. I credit these two things with turning my health around.

Since I'm self-diagnosed, I guess I'm not as careful as I should be or gluten has "snuck" in when I wasn't looking or it's something else entirely.

I have had exactly the same vomiting episodes that you described - about 5 incidents in the past month or so. The very first one, I had to drive myself home from an art class that I direct - vomiting all the way.

I've never been a big "thrower-upper" either! These episodes have been so severe, though, it's like I've been poisoned I vomit everything I've ever eaten in my life and then I vomit absolutely nothing for hours. It's a horribly scary and miserable experience and it puts me out of commission for half-days at a time - now I worry about where I'm gonna be when this happens again. You have my utmost sympathy.

I blamed it on my nutritional supplements at first because I take most of them after eating. Now, I'm thinking that it's gluten and I'm trying to be more vigilant.

I actually came on this board to ask the same exact question as you - so I'll keep checking your post for other responses.

Here's a weird thought - you don't live that far away from me, maybe there's some kind of weird stomach virus going around - I haven't heard about it if there is. Feel better. moon

[Guest nini]

vomiting has always been one of my signals of being glutened... it truly sux and usually leaves me with blotches all over my face from burst blood vessels from my face straining when I puke. Not fun.

[key]

I have never actually vomited from being gluttened, but one time I was gluttened and had the urge to vomit for over an hour. I sat by the toilet with cold rags on my neck and face. It was enough to frighten me. I have had that urge several times. I do think it could definitely be gluten. I think people's reactions can change over time for sure. My two year old used to react more violently then he does now. Now I haven't "noticed" him reacting in about 9 months. I know he has to have been gluttened though.

I have been sick from Cheetoe's too. I think it is possible that that is what made you sick. It took me months to figure out I couldn't eat them. I avoid anything on shared lines. I was definitely in denial that it could possibly be making me sick, but I became more sensitive the longer I was gluten free.

Just curious, but does everyone have the same exact reaction everytime they are gluttened?? For me it seems to vary, depending on how much I have gotten.

I am sorry you were so sick for your party. That is so miserable. Everyone hates vomiting, but I am one of those that rarely ever gets sick that way and can't take it at all.

It sounds like you should contact your doctor though and let him know you are having this violent of a reaction. He may be able to prescribe you something for when it happens, so you don't vomit for so long and so violently.

Hope you are feeling better.

Monica

[jknnej]

Hi there,

Sorry you are so ill. My suggestion for you might not be what you want to hear, but it is what I do. I stay away from mainstream food like Cheetos and I NEVER eat out at unreliable places. You have to make perfectly sure ALL of your food is safe, and be meticulous about it. It is a pain but it is better than being sick. You have to be more careful. If I went to Six Flags I'd pack a cooler, store it in a locker, and go eat my food at lunch time. I eat food that i KNOW is safe.....many mainstream products are not. I would never eat in an amusement park. Except maybe the gluten free restaurant at Disneyland. But remember: when you eat out you are always taking a chance. Period.

In terms of the vomiting, it MAY help you to get a prescription of Phenegran and Zofran from your doctor. These are anti-emetic drugs that stop vomiting. It may not help you if yours is that severe but it has always worked wonders for me and others I know.

If you have a really bad spell you should go to the ER and ask for an IV of Phenegran. It will stop your vomiting right away.

I hope these suggestions help!

Oh and I forgot: for many of us the longer you are gluten free the worse your reactions become when you are glutened, which may explain why you are suddenly becoming so ill lately.

Jennifer:)

[Robert Brown]

Thank you all so much for your informative responses!

Moon - It sounds like we're going through the same thing, and it's good to know I'm not alone here. I guess my body is just completely rejecting the food now - which I guess is a good thing for my intestine, but it still scares the living sneakers out of me. The damn reaction catches me at the very worst times, so I'm going to pay more attention at special events instead of "loosening up."

Nini - Your reaction sounds severe, too! All my muscles hurt after an extended period of vomiting.

Key - Yes, any real volume of Cheetos has resulted in complete rejection. No, I know nobody really has the exact same symptoms as another person, and often doesn't have reliable symptoms between two incidences. It's unfortunate that we are often unable to determine what exactly made us sick.

jknnej - Admittedly I'm reluctant to do that. My basic process since I was diagnosed was to eat mostly normally, but to of course avoid anything with gluten in it. There is a great deal of mainstream foods in my diet, along with plenty of supplementary specialty foods that are made for gluten-free use. I eat out pretty often, and the combination of an assertive manner and knowledge of my condition has kept me well on track. I have exposures very, very rarely. I suppose I'm lucky, but I've got a system that appears to work. And yes, reactions become far, far worse as the gluten-free period continues, because the celiac disease symptoms are augmented by a "foreign substance" entering the body that it hasn't seen for years!

I will admit I have tried one anti-emetic at a friend's suggestion and experienced positive results - but it's not ...publically available.

Rob

[Guest southgoingzax]

You've thrown up six times in how many months? Then it doesn't sound like you're doing so well at avoiding gluten. I don't want to sound unsupportive, but you may want to reevaluate your diet. I also, like Jennifer, almost never eat mainstream food and am extremely careful when I go out to eat (i.e. bringing my own condiments, confirming gluten-free options with the chef, etc.) I also began throwing up if I was glutened, although it was before I was diagnosed (twice, once on a pizza and beer night and once after Thanksgiving dinner).

I think the best thing would be to be more careful - Sometimes we have to admit to ourselves we just can't live like we used to or the way we want to. Good luck,

zax

[Guest nini]

Robert, yes my reactions are severe and I've noticed that increasingly it takes more miniscule amts of cross contamination to get me. My muscles also ache all over after those bouts... not fun is it?

While it's true we have to be more careful and more vigilant, it's not always realistic or possible, especially since I am sharing my kitchen with my non gluten-free hubby. He tries to keep his gluten foods separate, but accidents happen... cross contamination happens and I'm just incredibly sensitive to miniscule amt.s of gluten.

[Robert Brown]

The six incidents I am referring to happened over the course of one year and two months, the latter three in the last six months. I like to think I'm pretty good at picking out safe mainstream food. But if a vomiting reaction is to become the norm, I can't risk it any more. The reaction I had for the first two years or so was mild enough to be acceptable, but with my move into a college dorm I suppose it's a good time to change other lifestyle choices as well.

Rob