Grrrr...

[AmandaD]

All right. I need some advice from a old hat Celiac.

So I haven't been sick in like quite some time and this weekend I went out and I had a chili and baked potato from Wendy's and on another day I had a huge strawberry milkshake from McDonald's.

Yesterday a little and today, more so, I've been dealing with the celiac D. Has anyone ever been cross-contaminated? Has anyone ever been stumped by what made you sick?

And if so, how do you make everything stop?!!!!!!!

Aggghhh....Thanks, AmandaD

[jerseyangel]

All right. I need some advice from a old hat Celiac.

So I haven't been sick in like quite some time and this weekend I went out and I had a chili and baked potato from Wendy's and on another day I had a huge strawberry milkshake from McDonald's.

Yesterday a little and today, more so, I've been dealing with the celiac D. Has anyone ever been cross-contaminated? Has anyone ever been stumped by what made you sick?

And if so, how do you make everything stop?!!!!!!!

Aggghhh....Thanks, AmandaD

Hi Amanda,

It seems like I'm more often than not stumped by what has made me sick

My guess for you is the meal at Wendy's. I stopped going there (only went once in a great while) because although I watched them put my uncut baked potato in the dish, and place my plain hamburger on a clean, separate dish, I still got sick! The people there really tried, and were so nice, but it happened anyway. I guess it's just that the CC risk is so much greater in a place like that.

How to make it stop? I try and just let it run it's course. I'm lucky, though--I don't work outside the home right now. If I have to be somewhere, and have D (or feel like I will), I use Immodium--2 caplets. I find that, for me, it works fast and well. Some people don't use it and have other remedies that they like--I think you have to figure out what works best for you, but the Immodium works for me..

[CarlaB]

I think it's the beans in the chili that bother me, it's not the same feeling as I get from glutening.

However, if you have been glutened, I would suspect the potato more than the chili. Did they cut it in half for you? What was the knife used for before and where did they keep it?

Otherwise, are you sensitive to dairy?

[Queen Serenity]

Hi, Amanda!

I agree with Carla. You could have been contaminated by the knife. Or, maybe, you could have glutened by something else. For instance, believe it or not, a lot of food, especially fast food, harbor hidden gluten. My advice is really to stay away from fast food all together. As far as the milkshake, do you have reactions to dairy products? A lot of people with Celiac's are lactose intolernent. Do you feel sick after a bowl of ice cream? Or, maybe having a glass of milk? If you do, then you have the sensivity to dairy. If you pay attention to your body's reactions, then you will feel better in the long run. I wish you good luck with figuring it out.

Vicki

gluten-free for 11 years and still counting!

[AmandaD]

May I say - you're both brilliant this morning. Thank you for your responses!!!!!

I think it was Wendy's too. I never thought about the potato sliced - but yes, it was opened and sliced. I can also be sensitive to dairy in larger amounts. I've noticed that over this last year I've been able to tolerate more and more things like hard cheeses and butter, etc...but I think straight plain old milk does me in for some reason.

I've never used Immodium before. I may have to go get that. I also have the luxury of being able to be at home - the bathroom only feet away )...

(P.S. I haven't eaten out in months and I've been doing great. I was starving, we were in Milwaukee and I was desparate. Damn that fast food!)

Vicki -

11 years??? OH my gosh. I just got diagnosed last September...). I'm a young'un on this diet )!

[jerseyangel]

Amanda,

If you get the Immodium, get the caplets--the liquid, I've heard, has gluten in it.

[AmandaD]

Sounds good.

I swear! This diet can be so time consuming some times!!!!

[happygirl]

Amanda,

I'm sorry to hear you are feeling ill! What a pain!

Before I started having issues with other foods, I would notice I would get sick after eating at Wendy's, McD's, all those places (even with super safe foods). I finally just had to stop, and started making 99.9% of my food, and the reactions stopped. I'm one of the 'super sensitive' ones. So my guess is it is cc at those places, although it sounds crazy! (I was determined I was over reacting, that it couldn't be cc on a POTATO, etc etc....well, I learned!)

I now can't eat out due to multiple intolerances, but I would definitely recommend limiting your eating out, as much as it sucks. For me, the reactions were too costly to continue doing it.

Hope you feel better, girl!

Laura

[AmandaD]

Laura -

My family doc is actually sending me to an allergist to see what kinds of allergies, food issues I might have (or if there are even any in addition to the Celiac immune issue).

How did you figure out you had other intolerance; did you doc test you or was it trial and error?

[TinkerbellSwt]

I only go to one Wendys and its so far away from us that I really dont frequent it at all. I go on the way back from CHOP in Philly. Now we always go inside to eat... we are usually starving by then.. as we were with doctors all day by that point. I dont know if this happens in any other wendys or not.. but the potatoes come cut.. as we know.. but they use a special plastic contraption to cut the potato. It is just for the potato, there is nothing else they could use it on. It kinda cuts the potato and opens it at the same time.

I guess I have been lucky there. I have never gotten sick. I only go to that one. I dont even go to the one near me. Its an emergency hunger thing by Philly. I usually get the taco salad, sans tortilla strips and their dressing. I use the chili as dressing. I also sometimes will get a baked potato with that fake cheese (love that stuff) and bacon.

Sorry I dont feel like I have helped anything! I hope you feel better soon though!

[Michi8]

Laura -

My family doc is actually sending me to an allergist to see what kinds of allergies, food issues I might have (or if there are even any in addition to the Celiac immune issue).

How did you figure out you had other intolerance; did you doc test you or was it trial and error?

Just so you know, having an allergy panel done will not show you what you are intolerant to, just what you are allergic to.

You can have an intolerance test for lactose, but I'm not sure if an allergist does that type of testing...it's probably a test that a GI would do. I've never done an intolerance test myself as I already know that lactose is a problem for me, and I'm not up to ingesting a large amount of lactose just to see what my reaction would be...or worse, so some doctor can see what my reaction would be.

Michelle

[CarlaB]

Sometimes the chili bothers me, but then my husband reminds me that sometimes it bothers everyone! I think that sometimes I can handle the beans and sometimes I can't. It's always a risk eating out ... one I don't take right now.

[arc]

Is Wendy's chili supposed to be gluten-free? I have found all of one canned chili that didn't have gluten (it sucked) so I have always assumed that chili in a restaurant wasn't safe.

Doesn't matter for me anyway, since I can't eat beans since going off gluten. I just make my own all-meat chili. Purists would say chili shouldn't have beans anyway.