Death By Chocolate?

[DestinyLeah]

I had a great lunch out today at Semolina's, where I had rice sticks and sauce and never get glutened. They are very careful with my meals. Then I went to Mountain Chocolate and got a huge peanut butter cup. I think that was the issue. I almost immediately started feeling nauseous and fell asleep when I got home.

I at some point woke up, broke up with my fiance' Ben, put a 6' pump through the wall, accused Ben of cheating and stealing, told our landlord I hated him and did not want to live here, then took a bite of pizza, which Ben made me spit out and then made me brush my teeth. I then fell down and cried for 30 minutes until I passed out, so he carried me to bed and waited for me to wake up. I have no memory of this, but there is a half-eaten slice of pizza and my favorite shoe in the wall.

I now have a horrendous headache, am weak and shaky, have had bad diarrhea, and cannot think to save my life.

Who puts gluten in a cute little peanut butter cup?!?!

And how can I feel better soon?

[Lisa]

Sorry Sweetie, I guess you had a bad day. Gluten sucks some time and it can bring out the dreaded beast. Good for Ben for trying to help.

[jerseyangel]

Oh gosh--you poor thing! That was quite a day you had....

I hope you feel better real soon

[ravenwoodglass]

I had a great lunch out today at Semolina's, where I had rice sticks and sauce and never get glutened. They are very careful with my meals. Then I went to Mountain Chocolate and got a huge peanut butter cup. I think that was the issue. I almost immediately started feeling nauseous and fell asleep when I got home.

I at some point woke up, broke up with my fiance' Ben, put a 6' pump through the wall, accused Ben of cheating and stealing, told our landlord I hated him and did not want to live here, then took a bite of pizza, which Ben made me spit out and then made me brush my teeth. I then fell down and cried for 30 minutes until I passed out, so he carried me to bed and waited for me to wake up. I have no memory of this, but there is a half-eaten slice of pizza and my favorite shoe in the wall.

I now have a horrendous headache, am weak and shaky, have had bad diarrhea, and cannot think to save my life.

Who puts gluten in a cute little peanut butter cup?!?!

And how can I feel better soon?

Oh how I wish I had a magic wand and could help you feel better.

It concerns me that you seem to have no memory of doing this. Am I correct? Do you have other neuro celiac features like migraines, depression, anxiety, extreme PMS? Balance, learning or memory problems? Has this ever happened before? Had you had anything to drink, in particular gluten derived alcohol like vodka?

I used to get the explosions prediagnosis, my bathroom had perfectly round holes from my throwing a shaving cream can at through the drywall. (Don't you repair that hole by the way, drywall and spakle have gluten) It can be very scarey. After EEgs and such they decided I was having seizures in the area of my brain that controls emotion. Lots of nasty meds later and years later it turned out it was gluten all along. It will get easier, if you are new to the diet there is also a bit of a withdrawl aspect as well.

Right now, if you are newly diagnosed the last thing you should be doing is eating out. You shouldn't even be eating processed foods for at least a couple of months. Go with Mother Natures naturally gluten free foods. Meats, beans, nuts, seeds, fruit, unfortified rice, veggies, eggs etc. and no processed foods with more than 3 ingredients.

Make sure you get enough fluids and sleep if you can. Sometimes an anti-inflammatory like a gluten-free asprin (St Joesphs Baby asprin is for sure ok) or Tylenol can help if you get muscle and joint pain. Pepto Bismal is gluten-free and can help soothe the tummy especially if you get 'ulcer' type pain.

Be prepared for some ups and downs for a couple of days. I try to think of the neurotoxic effects like a 'drug overdose' that I know will wear off. It can help make it easier to cope with the guilt that comes with a emotional blowout if you know that it was the toxin that caused it. And it can help the rational mind overtake the irrational and put the brakes on to try and prevent them.

I hope you feel better soon, sounds like you have a good supportive partner and that helps a lot.

[DestinyLeah]

I have a long list of lovely related problems:

40 ovarian cysts

Migranes

Seizures

Depression

Stomach Ulcers

Mood swings with hormone fluctuation

Severe damage to 3/4 of my small intestine

Lactose intolerance

Respiratory issues from constant inflammation of inner organs

Low Iron, potassium, vitamin K, A, E and B vitamins

Low bone density

Nerve damage along the spine

Inflammation in the spine when glutened

Eczema & Psoriasis

Swelling and bloating

Low salt

Peripheral nerve damage (stripping of nerves in the legs and feet)

Anxiety and panic attacks

Partial renal and liver failure at one point

No immune reaction to certain bacteria (staph included)

IBS

Asthma & chronic bronchitis

Bladder mucus breakdown and infections

The list is horribly wrong. It was a long time coming for me to be diagnosed. I turn 18 in July, and have had Celiac since I was a baby, but was just diagnosed. I have two roommates besides the fiance' who try to be careful, but Thai Kitchen soup kits are the closest I can get to gluten free in my own kitchen. It is safer for me to eat out than eat in because the kitchen at home is so contaminated. They butter toast over my frying pan or borrow my peanut butter, and it makes for a very unsafe place. My groceries are now kept in a dedicated cabinet or taped off area of the fridge, but it is still safer for me to use sealed containers that are made in the microwave.

There is much to be said for quitting my job and moving out to a safer home, but I have to help cover rent, and New Orleans is too expensive to move around in. Right now, I have to stay here. I stick to 3 restaurants I know are safe and tried the PB cup today as a treat, making it the easily identifies culprit.

For now I am eating Thai Kitchen's Ginger soup for my tummy, and seeing the doc tomorrow to have a panel run to assess the damage done.

Coming of age in the world of a Celiac is no fun.

Oh, and I do not drink or smoke due to the damage caused to my lungs and liver and kidneys by Celiac over 17 years.

~Destiny

[Nancym]

put a 6' pump through the wall,

Dang, that's quite a high, high heel!

I hope you're feeling better now. You're going to need a lot of physical prowess to walk on those heels!

[NoGluGirl]

I have a long list of lovely related problems:

40 ovarian cysts

Migranes

Seizures

Depression

Stomach Ulcers

Mood swings with hormone fluctuation

Severe damage to 3/4 of my small intestine

Lactose intolerance

Respiratory issues from constant inflammation of inner organs

Low Iron, potassium, vitamin K, A, E and B vitamins

Low bone density

Nerve damage along the spine

Inflammation in the spine when glutened

Eczema & Psoriasis

Swelling and bloating

Low salt

Peripheral nerve damage (stripping of nerves in the legs and feet)

Anxiety and panic attacks

Partial renal and liver failure at one point

No immune reaction to certain bacteria (staph included)

IBS

Asthma & chronic bronchitis

Bladder mucus breakdown and infections

The list is horribly wrong. It was a long time coming for me to be diagnosed. I turn 18 in July, and have had Celiac since I was a baby, but was just diagnosed. I have two roommates besides the fiance' who try to be careful, but Thai Kitchen soup kits are the closest I can get to gluten free in my own kitchen. It is safer for me to eat out than eat in because the kitchen at home is so contaminated. They butter toast over my frying pan or borrow my peanut butter, and it makes for a very unsafe place. My groceries are now kept in a dedicated cabinet or taped off area of the fridge, but it is still safer for me to use sealed containers that are made in the microwave.

There is much to be said for quitting my job and moving out to a safer home, but I have to help cover rent, and New Orleans is too expensive to move around in. Right now, I have to stay here. I stick to 3 restaurants I know are safe and tried the PB cup today as a treat, making it the easily identifies culprit.

For now I am eating Thai Kitchen's Ginger soup for my tummy, and seeing the doc tomorrow to have a panel run to assess the damage done.

Coming of age in the world of a Celiac is no fun.

Oh, and I do not drink or smoke due to the damage caused to my lungs and liver and kidneys by Celiac over 17 years.

~Destiny

Dear Destiny,

I am stuck living with my parents, and they are not considerate about my disease, either. They do similar things like eat crackers and toast near my drink, then do not tell me, then I get violently ill. They do not take Celiac seriously at all. It is infuriating. Then they go out and tell me to get a job. If I am getting sick from being glutened all the time, how can I? My health issues began when I was born. I am now 24. I do have good news, though. When you are in the mood for a treat, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are safe! So are 3 Musketeers Bars, Baby Ruths, M&Ms (milk chocolate and peanut), Skittles, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (all flavors except the cinnamon toast flavor), Snickers Bars, Kraft Caramels, Starbursts, and Kraft Marshmallows. These are just a few of the treats we can have! I also have a little present for you:

I have a list that should really help. This is overwhelming. I went through this with myself six months ago. You spend most of your day cooking and cleaning obsessively. The rest you are on the phone with reps from companies trying to find out what is safe. I decided to save you the trouble!

1. There are a number of things in the regular grocery that are safe. Some things are labeled already. Wal-Mart's Great Value brand has numerous things you can eat.

2. For the love of God use Coupons on items you are allowed to eat. People can get them and print them out online even. Call some of the local stores and ask if they accept online coupons.

3. Check the ads online and in the newspaper. You would be surprised how many people do not do this.

4. Some items like rice flour and rice noodles are safe to buy at the Chinese or oriental market. The merchants are more than happy to help you if you cannot read the label.

Now, here is my list of great things to get you started:

Condiments:

Smart Balance Margerine*

Crisco Shortening

Crisco Oil

Pompeiian Olive Oil

Great Value soy sauce

Heinz Ketchup

Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce (all Lea & Perrins Products are safe)

Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce

Kraft French Fat-Free Salad Dressing

Kraft Thousand Island Fat-Free Salad Dressing

Pace Picante Sauce

Ortega Salsa

All Classico Red and *White sauces

All Jif Peanut Butters including Smooth Sensations

Welch's Grape Jelly

Cool Whip*

Philadelphia Cream Cheese*

Miracle Whip

Daisy Sour Cream (fat-free, low-fat, regular)*

Snack Foods:

Utz Potato Chips (Found at Sam