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First-time Glutened - 8 Mths gluten-free - Help/advice?

tiffj

By tiffj
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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tiffj Newbie
tiffj
Posted

Hi all - i'm brand new here but have been diagnosed celiac disease and have been strictly gluten-free for about 8 mths now. I have been extremely careful right from the get-go & have found family & friends to be very supportive & accomodating when cooking for me etc.

Unfortunately 2 nights ago i went to friend's house for dinner & she used a Worcesteshire sauce that she thought was safe but actually contains malt vinegar & wheat.

This is the first time since i started eating gluten-free that i have been 'glutened'. I started feeling really nauseous about 4-5 hours after eating & before long was vomiting & had a temperature, breaking into a severe cold sweat. I haven't been well now for 2 days & have suffered a mix of C & D, as well as extreme fatigue, the constant nausea, pounding headache, dizziness, a real "out-of-it" feeling (that from reading some posts on here i think is the "brain-fog" you all refer to perhaps?) , quite emotional (perhaps even a bit depressed?)and an anxiety that i'm not sure is a physical reaction or a more emotional one given that this is the first time this has occurred since i went gluten-free & it has me a little freaked.

I'm still feeling really awful & am even more concerned now since i've already had to take 2 days off work & can't see myself feeling well enough to go tomorrow either (i'm in Australia and it's just after 1am now as i post). While everyone at my work is aware i have celiac disease, i'm worried they're not going to understand this reaction to accidentally ingesting some gluten & that they may think i'm exaggerating my symptoms - i had no idea it would be this bad myself?! Once i realised what had happened i expected the sypmtoms to go away within 24 hrs or so... As it was late at night when symptoms started & i was a bit worried i went to the hospital where the doctor gave me some tablets to help woth cramps & some to help with nausea but other than that they couldn't do much.

Can anyone offer any advice, or help please???

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kenlove Rising Star
kenlove
Posted

In my almost 2 years of being gluten-free, it's happened a few times. When it does it just deepens my resolve to be more vigilant in being gluten-free and not taking chances. At friends it's always very difficult no matter how hard they try. They just need to understand

the fine points or you have to get together with them when it does not involve food. Sometimes cross contamination can happen even from pots and pans etc or compounded by flour in the air -- thats the worse for me. I can't walk into a kitchen where flour has been used in the past few days.

Hope your feeling better soon

Ken

Hi all - i'm brand new here but have been diagnosed celiac disease and have been strictly gluten-free for about 8 mths now. I have been extremely careful right from the get-go & have found family & friends to be very supportive & accomodating when cooking for me etc.

Unfortunately 2 nights ago i went to friend's house for dinner & she used a Worcesteshire sauce that she thought was safe but actually contains malt vinegar & wheat.

This is the first time since i started eating gluten-free that i have been 'glutened'. I started feeling really nauseous about 4-5 hours after eating & before long was vomiting & had a temperature, breaking into a severe cold sweat. I haven't been well now for 2 days & have suffered a mix of C & D, as well as extreme fatigue, the constant nausea, pounding headache, dizziness, a real "out-of-it" feeling (that from reading some posts on here i think is the "brain-fog" you all refer to perhaps?) , quite emotional (perhaps even a bit depressed?)and an anxiety that i'm not sure is a physical reaction or a more emotional one given that this is the first time this has occurred since i went gluten-free & it has me a little freaked.

I'm still feeling really awful & am even more concerned now since i've already had to take 2 days off work & can't see myself feeling well enough to go tomorrow either (i'm in Australia and it's just after 1am now as i post). While everyone at my work is aware i have celiac disease, i'm worried they're not going to understand this reaction to accidentally ingesting some gluten & that they may think i'm exaggerating my symptoms - i had no idea it would be this bad myself?! Once i realised what had happened i expected the sypmtoms to go away within 24 hrs or so... As it was late at night when symptoms started & i was a bit worried i went to the hospital where the doctor gave me some tablets to help woth cramps & some to help with nausea but other than that they couldn't do much.

Can anyone offer any advice, or help please???

JerryK Community Regular
JerryK
Posted

Interesting to read your symptoms, because they so mirror mine. Although not formally diagnosed Celiac, the symptoms I am very familiar with ;) About three days is what it takes for me to start feeling better after a glutening.... I've been doing my best to stay gluten-free for quite some time now, and it's always a shock when I eat something I shouldn't have and the symptoms return. You will feel better soon :)

kitten37 Newbie
kitten37
Posted

I'm so sorry you have to be in that terrible place :(

As far as work is concerned education is the key to solving misunderstandings. Educate your employer/coworkers as this is probably foreign to them. Inform them of what celiac does to the body and how after being gluten free the symptoms and reactions are worsened. Explain to them the steps you have taken to manage the disease. I think once they see how much it takes to avoid the sneaky gluten they may be able to come to understand it.

I hope you feel better soon :)

MDRB Explorer
MDRB
Posted
Hi all - i'm brand new here but have been diagnosed celiac disease and have been strictly gluten-free for about 8 mths now. I have been extremely careful right from the get-go & have found family & friends to be very supportive & accomodating when cooking for me etc.

Unfortunately 2 nights ago i went to friend's house for dinner & she used a Worcesteshire sauce that she thought was safe but actually contains malt vinegar & wheat.

This is the first time since i started eating gluten-free that i have been 'glutened'. I started feeling really nauseous about 4-5 hours after eating & before long was vomiting & had a temperature, breaking into a severe cold sweat. I haven't been well now for 2 days & have suffered a mix of C & D, as well as extreme fatigue, the constant nausea, pounding headache, dizziness, a real "out-of-it" feeling (that from reading some posts on here i think is the "brain-fog" you all refer to perhaps?) , quite emotional (perhaps even a bit depressed?)and an anxiety that i'm not sure is a physical reaction or a more emotional one given that this is the first time this has occurred since i went gluten-free & it has me a little freaked.

I'm still feeling really awful & am even more concerned now since i've already had to take 2 days off work & can't see myself feeling well enough to go tomorrow either (i'm in Australia and it's just after 1am now as i post). While everyone at my work is aware i have celiac disease, i'm worried they're not going to understand this reaction to accidentally ingesting some gluten & that they may think i'm exaggerating my symptoms - i had no idea it would be this bad myself?! Once i realised what had happened i expected the sypmtoms to go away within 24 hrs or so... As it was late at night when symptoms started & i was a bit worried i went to the hospital where the doctor gave me some tablets to help woth cramps & some to help with nausea but other than that they couldn't do much.

Can anyone offer any advice, or help please???

Hi!

I'm in Australia too!

I recently missed out on two really important exams at uni because I got 'glutened', so I feel your pain!

I had a medical certificate for the day before the exam, but the lecturer didn't believe that I could still be sick from eating: in her words 'a tiny little bit of wheat'. Grrrrrr

I find that I am usually sick for at least a week when I get glutened.

Good luck, I hope yours doesn't last that long.

tiffj Newbie
tiffj
Posted
  • Author

thanks to everyone for the replies!

i didn't feel a LOT better for prob about 5 days or so, it's now 1 week since i was glutened & i feel almost back to normal - i had NO idea it would be that severe a reaction?!

Certainly reiterates to me how vigilant i need to be.... thankfully work have been very understanding, i even found out that one of my bosses did some research into Celiac Disease to get a better understanding of what i was going through!

Anyway, just wanted to thank everyone for your thoughts & well-wishes... was kinda freaked out since it was the first time...i'm hoping it's the last for a long time!

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