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Strange Symptom-- Flu Or Gluten?

Lisa16

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Lisa16 Collaborator
Lisa16
Posted

Hi all-- I have a wierd symptom (for me, at least.) I am wondering if what happened was gluten related (I ate some rotiserrie chicken from the supermarket and I may have gotten some of the marinade from the skin at 6pm the previous day) or if it is the flu. It has not happened to me before. I definitely have the flu that is going around-- aches and respiratory symptoms. But others who got this flu at work did not report the stomach part... just stomach pain.

Basically, my stomach swelled up with gasses that worked their way out with painful burps, starting in the middle of the night. This increased until I finally threw up at noon. It was almost like a valve in the stomach got stuck shut or something. I am much better today-- felt much better after getting sick too.

Usually gluten just results in diarrhea for me and it happens within about half an hour of eating the offending food, so if it was gluten, this is a new one. Or could it be that because things are messed up from the celiacs that the flu affected me like this?

Lisa16

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hayley3 Contributor
hayley3
Posted

So, do they have the stomach flu at your work place? Since they have stomach pain, I'm assuming they do but just want to make sure.

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted
Hi all-- I have a wierd symptom (for me, at least.) I am wondering if what happened was gluten related (I ate some rotiserrie chicken from the supermarket and I may have gotten some of the marinade from the skin at 6pm the previous day) or if it is the flu. It has not happened to me before. I definitely have the flu that is going around-- aches and respiratory symptoms. But others who got this flu at work did not report the stomach part... just stomach pain.

Basically, my stomach swelled up with gasses that worked their way out with painful burps, starting in the middle of the night. This increased until I finally threw up at noon. It was almost like a valve in the stomach got stuck shut or something. I am much better today-- felt much better after getting sick too.

Usually gluten just results in diarrhea for me and it happens within about half an hour of eating the offending food, so if it was gluten, this is a new one. Or could it be that because things are messed up from the celiacs that the flu affected me like this?

Lisa16

"I may have gotten some of the marinade from the skin ..." Lisa, I certainly hope that you did not take the skin off the chicken and ate just the meat. If so, you most definately could have gotten glutened. Many rotiserrie chickes do contain gluten and it will contaminate the meat.

Also, you may find, as you continue with your gluten free diet, that you symptom may change after being glutened.

Lisa16 Collaborator
Lisa16
Posted
  • Author

As for work, I am the only one with anything besides stomch pain-- nobody else reported vomiting or diarrhea.

And I am afraid I did take meat from below the skin, thinking if there was gluten it would be on the skin. I am a newbie and it sounds like I messed up. It was one of those social situations (a holiday party) and it looked like about the only option and of course they did it after work and of course I was hungry and of course it smalled really good.

Can gluten cause this kind of a reaction?

dinali63 Rookie
dinali63
Posted

I'm pretty new at all this too, but definitely when I get glutened the reaction has become stronger and the one time it happened recently, I vomited the food that I thought could have been glutened. I ate at a restaurant that had a gluten free menu, but the food must have been cross contaminated. I started feeling ill about a 1/2 hour after eating and felt ill all evening and then got sick around 11:00. I think everyone reacts differently, but I would be concerned that you got some gluten in the chicken. The marinades go into the meat too. I guess we all find some things out the hard way. The most difficult thing for me has been eating out......especially at the holiday parties where everyone is going on and on about how good the food is!

HAK1031 Enthusiast
HAK1031
Posted

I've never thrown up from gluten, but my stomach often gets horribly painfully distended like that...I look like I'm nine months pregnant! And I can't get rid of the gas in my stomach for a few hours, but it usually comes out the other end :-/

Ginsou Explorer
Ginsou
Posted

The chicken may have been gluten free, but was it lactose/dairy free? I noticed you have a problem with lactose....I recently discovered the lactase enzyme that I had been taking for about 10 years has wheat in it, and also soy!! The company has recently changed their ingredients, and I'm wondering if these ingredients were in it all along thru the years. No wonder I was sick in spite of taking the enzyme pills.

Tests at Enterolab show that in addition to gluten problems, I also have casein and soy problems. The results stunned me....I never would have guessed.

Since going gluten,lactose,casein,soy free I feel much better, but still have some problems. Ten days ago I went out to eat and brought my own salad dressing for the salad. The salad had cooked shrimp in it, and I started getting sick within 12 hours. Fortunately, I don't vomit.....I just get intestinal pains for a long, long time. Hmmmmm,wonder if I'm going to develop a shellfish problem next!!!

whoops, sorry Lisa...I wasn't paying attention and just noticed that you do not have a lactose problem...but the info is good for someone else!

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dionnek Enthusiast
dionnek
Posted

Well, first of all, don't beat yourself up for making a mistake - we've all done it and you will make many more :) And this is the hardest time of year! I've learned to either go hungry at stuff like that or bring my own snacks - I won't eat anything that I don't know exactly what's in it and how it was prepared (i.e. cross contamination) anymore :)

Second, I had the flu and was vomitting and D for about 5 days just last week, and my husband had the gas/burps that you were describing, but that was it (I'm the celiac in our family), so it could have just been the flu, but it could have been gluten - you just never know. My symptoms vary so much I can never tell. Good luck and try to make it through the holidays :)

VioletBlue Contributor
VioletBlue
Posted

Um, yeah, ditto that. Sucks too. My symptoms of accidental glutening have been up till now mostly neurological. I become a head case. But the last accidential gluten via white chocolate - who knew - resulted in nausea and stomach pain. That was a surprise.

Violet

Also, you may find, as you continue with your gluten free diet, that you symptom may change after being glutened.
blueeyedmanda Community Regular
blueeyedmanda
Posted

I can say I know a good handful of people I work with and am friends with you just had the stomach flu and it sounds almost identical to your symptoms. All the people I knew, including my DH had the stomach pain. At one point he was curling up into a ball....Thankfully I dodged that bullet :)

loco-ladi Contributor
loco-ladi
Posted

I am going to go with ya got both problems.......

flu cetainly and ya glutened yourself accidently :(

Cant just take the skin off to make it gluten-free sorry but now you know :(

Concider it a lesson learned and hope you feel better soon!

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