Attending Gatherings

[kevsmom]

Is it me...or am I crazy?

I went to a Christmas party at work yesterday (I normally "Don't do parties"). I brought my own food, knowing that there was not going to anything there that I could eat. I had to get up from the table and leave the room several times, due to nausea. Could it be because of the rolls and stuffing that people near me had on their plate?

The last time I went to a family picnic, I packed my own salad and brought my own salad dressing. Everyone else was eating KFC, passing the fried chicken and rolls around the table (Right past me). That day I was excusing myself because of the big D.

Cindy

[mamaw]

I hope you are feeling better. I know when I walk pass a Auntie Anne's Pretzel place I get a very ill feeling in my stomach & my head instantly feels like I breathed in some dangerous toxin... light headed ........

So I think you certainly could get ill when smelling the gluten food....

mamaw

[tarnalberry]

Unless you're working in an area of loose flour, I'm inclined to believe the symptoms are usually psychosomatic. That's not to say that you aren't really feeling them, of course, but the gluten has to be ingested to cause damage, and the aromatics that you get from baked goods and the like aren't the heavy, gluten-containing proteins that can make you sick.

If the maker left flour loose on the dishes, and there's a commotion around it, I could see that.

[hathor]

I am inclined to think it is your mind playing tricks on you, unless there is some way there could be flour in the air or CC in what you were eating or drinking. I don't know for sure, though.

I'll tell a story on myself. A recent Economist magazine had a cover that was simply a piece of toast, looking like a bite had been taken from the corner. There were some crumbs pictured. I actually felt strange picking up the magazine And I think I still held it by the edge, not wanting to touch the picture. How weird is that When I go out to eat, I want the bread basket well away from my food and drink. And if my husband has been eating bread, I don't want him pouring wine for me, thinking a tiny crumb might fall in.

I suspect my fear of gluten is now lodged in a more primitive part of my brain, one that isn't amenable to logic. It is similar to my fear of heights. I can intellectually know that something is safe, but I physiologically experience the fear and I can't talk myself out of it.

Of course, a little paranoia probably serves us well when it comes to avoiding gluten

[loco-ladi]

I used to like the smell of restraunts and have found I now find those smells horrible and it makes my stomach turn.... its not something that happened all of a sudden itst happened over time and I figure its becuase my brain has been trained that I cant eat what I am smelling anymore so its a "turn off" rather than a "turn on"

[sneezydiva]

Unless you're working in an area of loose flour, I'm inclined to believe the symptoms are usually psychosomatic. That's not to say that you aren't really feeling them, of course, but the gluten has to be ingested to cause damage, and the aromatics that you get from baked goods and the like aren't the heavy, gluten-containing proteins that can make you sick.

If the maker left flour loose on the dishes, and there's a commotion around it, I could see that.

I agree, not to say your symptoms aren't real. My DH is still eating whole grain Thomas's English muffins, and I can't stand the smell now. The body is an amazing thing, and it doesn't want you to eat things that hurt you. So now your intelectual brain knows what the problem is, your instinctal, subconscious brain is also making sure you never want to eat it again.

[VioletBlue]

I have the same reaction to most restaurants and to frozen dinners. The boss loves to microwave frozen meals for lunch. The smell makes me nauseous, particularly the pasta meals. Whether it's all in my head or not I do not know. Now that I realize how many chemicals and how much crap is in most restaurant food just thinking about how I used to eat that stuff makes me sick. But the frozen dinner thing is just the smell. It's an almost suffocating smell. I often have to step outside or open a window. It's not a gluten response, I just now find the smell highly unpleasant. I don't know.

Violet

I used to like the smell of restraunts and have found I now find those smells horrible and it makes my stomach turn.... its not something that happened all of a sudden itst happened over time and I figure its becuase my brain has been trained that I cant eat what I am smelling anymore so its a "turn off" rather than a "turn on"