Severely Glutened?

[kim26]

hey everyone,

i think my 8 yr old daughter was glutened. on saturday my husband and i went out for our anniversary so my dd spent the day with my sister. we packed her lots of food, but they did go see high school musical on ice lol, anyway she ate a couple of my sister's nachos(just chips and cheese sauce). which im sure has many things in it that are off limits, to say nothing of cc issues! i think they both thought they were ok since there are nacho cheese sauces on the market that are gluten-free. on sunday night she had some french fries from braums, a rare treat that she's never had any trouble with. anyway, by monday morning she started vomiting. she did this from 6 in morning until about 5pm that night :-( with some D mixed in too. no fever, no chills, nothing that would indicate a virus, and non of the rest of the family are sick. could a reaction be this delayed from the nachos on sat night, or should i assume it was the fries? any help would be great, we are new to this as she was only diagnosed this month. thx! ~K

[Ursa Major]

It seems that a lot of people are ill with the stomach flu these days, which causes the same kind of symptoms you describe. Normally nobody will throw up for that long because of being glutened (even though it is possible, of course). I just had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, and then my grandchildren (who I was visiting at the time) got sick a week later.

Hopefully the other kids won't get sick, but it could take them about a week after being exposed to the flu to get it as well.

[OBXMom]

It seems that a lot of people are ill with the stomach flu these days, which causes the same kind of symptoms your describe. Normally nobody will throw up for that long because of being glutened (even though it is possible, of course). I just had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, and then my grandchildren (who I was visiting at the time) got sick a week later.

Hopefully the other kids won't get sick, but it could take them about a week after being exposed to the flu to get it as well.

I wonder, are people with celiac more susceptible to tummy bugs, or does it just seem like it because of the injustice of it all?

[kim26]

It seems that a lot of people are ill with the stomach flu these days, which causes the same kind of symptoms your describe. Normally nobody will throw up for that long because of being glutened (even though it is possible, of course). I just had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, and then my grandchildren (who I was visiting at the time) got sick a week later.

Hopefully the other kids won't get sick, but it could take them about a week after being exposed to the flu to get it as well.

Ursa Major,

thx for the quick reply! i assumed a virus was definitely a possibility, i guess its just throwing me because she had no fever or anything like that, she had frequent bouts of vomiting with no fever etc before we got her diagnosed. gi doc said unexplained episodes of vomiting and diarrhea were most likely related to celiac. im wondering if this is what we are in for any time she gets glutened.

[Ursa Major]

Ursa Major,

thx for the quick reply! i assumed a virus was definitely a possibility, i guess its just throwing me because she had no fever or anything like that, she had frequent bouts of vomiting with no fever etc before we got her diagnosed. gi doc said unexplained episodes of vomiting and diarrhea were most likely related to celiac. im wondering if this is what we are in for any time she gets glutened.

Okay, apparently your daughter is one of the few people who reacts with vomiting to gluten. That makes it much harder to pinpoint the problem!

Not everybody gets a fever with the stomach flu, though. One of my grandchildren threw up several times over the course of a day, but didn't have a fever, either.

I guess you might just have to let it go, how would you know the difference? If she gets sick again with eating the same foods, then you can be sure that somehow there is gluten in them, and will have to avoid them permanently.

[taweavmo3]

My guess would be the fries.....I have found very few fast food places that have safe fries for my dd. Also, if she was just diagnosed, her reactions will most likely get stronger the longer she is gluten free.

My dd didn't react visibly to gluten before getting diagnosed. But after a few months into the diet, she became very sensitive to trace amounts. Now, she vomits for hours if she get glutened. She vomits so much we have for force her to drink small amounts of water just to keep her hydrated.

Someone told me early on that it is best to avoid all fast food in the beginning, which I know is WAY easier said than done with kids, lol. But they were right, b/c until they start to heal...you'll never really know what they are reacting to. It can turn into an endless guessing game and you can drive yourself crazy wondering if it's a bug or gluten. Once they heal.....reactions usually become much stronger and easier to identify.

Hope that helps some! I remember how hard it was in the beginning, I glutened my dd quite a few times before I really got the hang of the diet. Now it's usually pretty easy to tell when she has a reaction to something, and now that she is 6, she is able to notice it herself. She is able to tell me almost immediately if she ingests gluten.....I guess she can feel the effects as soon as it gets into her system. Goodl luck, and welcome to the board!

[kbtoyssni]

It's hard to know. Many nachos are gluten-free, although CC is always a possibility. I don't get very strong reactions to gluten now, but I do pick up every bug going around when my immune system is already compromised from gluten. When I'm not glutened, I rarely get sick.