What Did I Do Wrong This Time?!?!?!?

[Walter S]

Hello All. I had another party yesterday. It was a second birthday for my friend's son. I have a lot of friends with young children and many godchildren, so I attend a lot of parties. Well, I thought for sure I had everything planned out to be safe this time. I brought all of my own food (wrapped) and onl ate what I brought. I had a gluten free bagel before the party (I was there very eraly helping set up for the party and picking things up because the boy's mother and I are very close friends and she is going htrough a divorce so I try to help her as much as possible!) So then during the party I had a plain baked chicken cutlet (which I cooked at home) on gluten free bread. I drank decaf tea (black), which I have been drinking right along, and water. The only other thing I had was a handful of blue organic corn chips which I understood to be gluten free as per the literature I received from my nutritionist. I have been having blue corn chips on accassion for a snack or with a sandwich at lunch. The only thing different is that I got a different brand at the supermarket when I was picking up the food for the party. Could that be the problem? The fact that it was a different brand. I was doing ok most of the day, but after most guests had left I was helping to clean up when the diarrhea struck very bad. I was running in and out of the bathroom and just barely making it. Eventually I had to leave without being able to help finish cleaning up. I felt bad about that, but of course I couldn't help it. Basically anytime I eat away from home (even though I bring my own food) I still get sick. It's frustrating and embarassing. I'm not sure what else to do or what I am doing wrong? The only thing I can think of is that the brand of blue corn chips was different and so next time I will take care of that, but is that likely to be the culprit here? I'm just not sure. Thanks in advance for any input you might offer. I know people have said I should give it time becasue it takes months to heal and feel better, but it doesn't seem like a coincidence that everytime I eat away from home that I get sicker than usual. Perhaps it is just a matter of time, but I wonder if I am doing something wrong and not realizing it.

[wowzer]

Maybe CC. From maybe shaking someones hand. Also check the ingredients on the bag. I'm sure that has to be so frustrating, especially when you bring your own food.

[Teacher1958]

Hello All. I had another party yesterday. It was a second birthday for my friend's son. I have a lot of friends with young children and many godchildren, so I attend a lot of parties. Well, I thought for sure I had everything planned out to be safe this time. I brought all of my own food (wrapped) and onl ate what I brought. I had a gluten free bagel before the party (I was there very eraly helping set up for the party and picking things up because the boy's mother and I are very close friends and she is going htrough a divorce so I try to help her as much as possible!) So then during the party I had a plain baked chicken cutlet (which I cooked at home) on gluten free bread. I drank decaf tea (black), which I have been drinking right along, and water. The only other thing I had was a handful of blue organic corn chips which I understood to be gluten free as per the literature I received from my nutritionist. I have been having blue corn chips on accassion for a snack or with a sandwich at lunch. The only thing different is that I got a different brand at the supermarket when I was picking up the food for the party. Could that be the problem? The fact that it was a different brand. I was doing ok most of the day, but after most guests had left I was helping to clean up when the diarrhea struck very bad. I was running in and out of the bathroom and just barely making it. Eventually I had to leave without being able to help finish cleaning up. I felt bad about that, but of course I couldn't help it. Basically anytime I eat away from home (even though I bring my own food) I still get sick. It's frustrating and embarassing. I'm not sure what else to do or what I am doing wrong? The only thing I can think of is that the brand of blue corn chips was different and so next time I will take care of that, but is that likely to be the culprit here? I'm just not sure. Thanks in advance for any input you might offer. I know people have said I should give it time becasue it takes months to heal and feel better, but it doesn't seem like a coincidence that everytime I eat away from home that I get sicker than usual. Perhaps it is just a matter of time, but I wonder if I am doing something wrong and not realizing it.

[Teacher1958]

Hi,

I'm assuming that you checked the label on the new chips. If not, it could certainly be the chips. I haven't been doing this very long (only a month), but I have found that I have to be very brand specific when I purchase products. For example, I love to eat hummus, and the store where I shop has several varieties. I have been buying the one kind and doing fine, but I wanted a smaller quantity the last time I shopped, so I picked up another brand. I decided to check the label just to make sure it was okay. I was shocked to find that it was made on machinery that processed wheat. I went ahead and checked all of the other brands and flavors and found that the only one that was gluten free was the one I had been buying all along. I am going to just put out a few questions for you to think about:

1) When you heated up the chicken at the party, what did you put the chicken on to heat it up?

2) There were lots of little ones at the party, and you know how thorough (not) small children are about washing their hands. Is there any chance that you might have dried your hands on a towel that had a hidden residue of cake frosting or something like that?

3) Also, check all cups and dishes before you use them. My dishwasher sometimes kicks up crumbs onto cups and dishes, then during the drying cycle, the hot crumbs stick to the dishes. If you're using a dark colored dish, you might not see one.

4) I assume the tea was the same brand you always use.

5) You didn't toast the gluten free bread before you ate it, did you? That's something I didn't even think about until I was ready to eat my toast, and my husband said, "No, don't do it!" Duh. The toaster was filled with wheat crumbs.

This disease is so frustrating. We have to be on our toes every time we open our mouths. Yesterday I just plain lucked out. I decided to try some restaurant food at a Thai restaurant, so I ordered steamed vegetables with tofu. Well, the food arrived, and the tofu had been deep fried. I had already asked the waitress if the tofu would be breaded, and she said 'no.' I ate a bite of the tofu and then panicked!! What if the tofu had been deep fried with other breaded foods??? I gave the tofu to my son and waited for the agony to begin, but it never did. My son reminded me that Thais don't usually bread their food. However, if it had been a Japanese restaurant, I would have been in a world of hurt, because they bread and deep fry their foods very frequently. I was reading Living Gluten-Free for Dummies, and they recommended that we have our own separate colanders and pasta spoons, because the residue of pasta is very difficult to totally remove in the cleaning process.

Oh well, I'm getting long winded again, so I will sign off. I hope you can find out what went wrong. Eating is such a social event, and it's hard to be in situations where we can't partake like other people.

[happygirl]

Walter,

Did you check the ingredients on the chips? Unless you KNOW it is safe, don't eat it.

My two main guesses are:

In cleaning up, helping, etc you might have touched something, ad then touched your mouth.

My hunch though, is that since you are still new to the diet, you haven't healed, so your body isn't properly digesting food yet. So even if you are gluten free, you can still be getting sick.

Pick up some immodiums to keep with you and take whenever you are out/when you start feeling ill.

[kbtoyssni]

I would also be suspicious that someone ate something with gluten, then reached into the chip bag and contaminated everything. It's pretty risky eating anything at a party if there are gluten foods around.

[JEM123]

I would also be suspicious that someone ate something with gluten, then reached into the chip bag and contaminated everything. It's pretty risky eating anything at a party if there are gluten foods around.

[/quote

That's my thought too. CC from someone else handling the chips.

[Karen B.]

This may be a dumb question, but kids can be enthusiastic. Any of them kiss you on the mouth after eating cake or grab your hand with cake crumbs on theirs?