I'm Likely About To Lose My Job

[Leslie-FL]

I've been in the same job for almost 11 years, and during the three-or-so years leading up to my discovery that gluten was my biggest problem, the "brain fog" and lack of focus caused huge problems with my ability to do my job properly. Once I went gluten free just over a year ago, my job performance improved and things got better and better, until about three months ago, when I noticed a decline happening, along with some almost constant glutening symptoms. It took me three months of trial and error to figure out the problem has been the probiotics I was taking, which are labeled "gluten free" but obviously either aren't or are produced on shared equipment. (The company couldn't answer the shared-equipment question and then never got back with me on it like they said they would.)

I'm improving again, but during that three months, my productivity went down and I made some mistakes. My boss let me know today - one more mistake and I'm out. He's been more patient with me over the years than I would have been in his position, and he has a company to run and needs to be able to count on his employees to do our jobs right. I don't blame him and won't hold it against him if he does have to let me go. I'm terrified, though, because there are no other jobs in my area that I'm qualified for and I have no back-up plan.

Has anyone else had problems at work because of the mental-focus problems?

[Guest Happynwgal2]

I've been in the same job for almost 11 years, and during the three-or-so years leading up to my discovery that gluten was my biggest problem, the "brain fog" and lack of focus caused huge problems with my ability to do my job properly. Once I went gluten free just over a year ago, my job performance improved and things got better and better, until about three months ago, when I noticed a decline happening, along with some almost constant glutening symptoms. It took me three months of trial and error to figure out the problem has been the probiotics I was taking, which are labeled "gluten free" but obviously either aren't or are produced on shared equipment. (The company couldn't answer the shared-equipment question and then never got back with me on it like they said they would.)

I'm improving again, but during that three months, my productivity went down and I made some mistakes. My boss let me know today - one more mistake and I'm out. He's been more patient with me over the years than I would have been in his position, and he has a company to run and needs to be able to count on his employees to do our jobs right. I don't blame him and won't hold it against him if he does have to let me go. I'm terrified, though, because there are no other jobs in my area that I'm qualified for and I have no back-up plan.

Has anyone else had problems at work because of the mental-focus problems?

Leslie, I am so sorry that your boss is thinking about firing you. I hope you have told him about your gluten problems and your latest challenge with a suplement/medication, must be so difficult.

I have had similar problems, but I have a union job, work for a large company, and have been able to keep my job - but even I was afraid for a while that I might not have. It is a horrible feeling. Could you perhaps get your doctor to write something to your boss and explain that the problems have now been taken care of? I wish you the very best and hope you can work this out with your boss.

[ShayFL]

Im very sorry to hear this Leslie. Might you consider sitting down and talking with him about your health and what has been going on. Explain how much you want to keep your job and get healthy and that you are working hard to insure both????

[JNBunnie1]

I've been in the same job for almost 11 years, and during the three-or-so years leading up to my discovery that gluten was my biggest problem, the "brain fog" and lack of focus caused huge problems with my ability to do my job properly. Once I went gluten free just over a year ago, my job performance improved and things got better and better, until about three months ago, when I noticed a decline happening, along with some almost constant glutening symptoms. It took me three months of trial and error to figure out the problem has been the probiotics I was taking, which are labeled "gluten free" but obviously either aren't or are produced on shared equipment. (The company couldn't answer the shared-equipment question and then never got back with me on it like they said they would.)

I'm improving again, but during that three months, my productivity went down and I made some mistakes. My boss let me know today - one more mistake and I'm out. He's been more patient with me over the years than I would have been in his position, and he has a company to run and needs to be able to count on his employees to do our jobs right. I don't blame him and won't hold it against him if he does have to let me go. I'm terrified, though, because there are no other jobs in my area that I'm qualified for and I have no back-up plan.

Has anyone else had problems at work because of the mental-focus problems?

I have too, fortunately, my job isn't that 'important', it's ok if I screw up some. Would you be willing to tell me the name of the probitoic you're taking? I'm thinking about switching and don't want to switch to the wrong one.

[home-based-mom]

Someone posted in another thread that celiac falls under the ADA requirements. In addition to the other suggestions, look into that. Your boss may be required by law to work with you to overcome the issues you face. It will be much easier to deal with while you are still employed than it would be to have to file a wrongful termination lawsuit.

[ShayFL]

I dont think you have an official Dx do you Leslie??

[melmak5]

I agree with what others have posted. I think its easy to be embarassed or not want to admit how much gluten does affect us. Its also hard to communicate this to others. The "but you don't LOOK sick" response is common.

I think it would make sense to reach out to your boss and perhaps to HR and set up a meeting. Explain that you understand that you made mistakes, but also try to educate them on what you are living with and going through. Perhaps together you can work towards a protocol that would enable some checks and balances to help catch mistakes or prevent them in the first place.

Also, big hugs! You are not alone. There was a week last year when I could not transfer a phone call. I kept transposing digits. I felt so stupid and upset and frustrated. Its really hard to ask for help, but I think its really important to do so.

[Nancym]

You might want to look into this book: Open Original Shared Link. It is a neurological surgeon that has a program of supplements and dietary practices to help you get back your focus and concentration and memories. I've been taking his recommended supplements and I feel like my brain is working a bit better.

Someone made a web page with his recommendations and links to where you can purchase them: Open Original Shared Link

[Leslie-FL]

Thank you for the supportive comments, everyone.

ShayFL is right - I don't have an official diagnosis, but the company I work for is very small and casual, so there is no HR to go to - my boss is the owner and he IS HR. lol.

I have explained gluten intolerance to him (kind of the short version explanation) and he seems to understand pretty well. He asks questions and seems to take me seriously. The thing is, no matter how understanding he may try to be, he has a company to run and needs to be able to count on me, and I really do get that. I have a lot of respect for him and don't want to cause problems for the company. He's a good guy and has worked really hard over the years to get the company where it is.

I worked so hard to redeem myself after going gluten free, and during that time, I'd gotten to be on top of things and was doing really well. It was the last three months of daily glutening that put me back to the point of messing things up and forgetting important things. Now that I have that mystery solved (and in the process have changed some other things that I hadn't changed before, which should only help - like not licking envelopes anymore, making sure my cat's food is gluten free, getting rid of porous items in my kitchen, etc.), and I'm healing from the damage that was done physically, I believe I can expect to get back to the level of work-quality I had reached before (or better). The part that scares me is that I can't promise this will never happen again. I can be very careful and hope I've finally gotten any major glutening potential ruled out, but I understand my boss' concern that this could happen again.

So I'm going to work on redeeming myself once again, update my resume, and start checking to see what job opportunieis might be out there, just in case. I don't know of anything else to do.

Someone asked what brand of probiotics I was taking -- they're made by Enzymedica, the people who make Gluten Ease. The bottle says it doesn't contain gluten, but when I did a live chat on their web site and asked if they used shared equipment, they couldn't answer my question and told me they would check and email me. I never heard from them. I was taking them daily for about 3 months, the same length of time I was having the constant glutening symptoms, and after I stopped taking them, I started to get better. I even took one a couple days after I stopped, just to make sure, and I had a distinct reaction.

So anyway, thanks again for the supportive comments! I'm hanging in there.

[Leslie-FL]

Oh, P.S. Thank you for the info, Nancym, about the supplements. I've actually been taking some really good supplements and amino acids for awhile, and I notice a big improvement. All I have to do is forget to take them or get off schedule and I can feel the difference. I learned about them a couple years ago, when I was researching to find out what to do about my symptoms (going with what I knew at the time about Fibromyalgia and depression, but I didn't know yet about my gluten problem). They helped a little bit then, but until I went gluten free, I was kind of just spinning my wheels. I can really see the benefits now. It's very, very worth it.

[ShayFL]

I take their digestive enzymes without issues. You know their whole deal is helping people with intolerances (especially gluten). So there is a possibility that you were reacting to something else in them.

I hope work stays stable for you Leslie. Try not to stress about what could happen and focus on each day, one day at a time.

[ShayFL]

Im doing a little research for you Leslie.

The main bacteria in there is: baccilus. subtilis

While it is not considered a human pathogen; it may contaminate food and can cause food poisoning.

It has a natural fungicidal activity (Might you have Candida???? And your reactions were a constant low level "die off")

The enzymes it produces are used in laundry detergent.

***Just my 2 cents here***But this is a powerful bacterium. It can cause food poisoning. So my guess is that you might be sensitive to it. Or you have candida die off as a result of it.

[ive]

I take their digestive enzymes without issues. You know their whole deal is helping people with intolerances (especially gluten). So there is a possibility that you were reacting to something else in them.

I react to their V-Gest enzymes as well. I stopped taking it and now take a different more powerfull digestive enzyme and I don't have any side effects, no die-off effects. I thought it was a die-off effect in the beginnining, may be because of Candida. But no, I am fine with different digestive enzyme. I suspect I react because it contains 300 Dp of Maltase and Maltase can be derived from barley. There was a topic recently about it here: Open Original Shared Link

Also my V-Gest bottle says that "Manufactured for Enzymedica, Inc". I might be wrong, but judging by this statement they do not actually produce their enzymes themselves; they might outsource their manufacturing of enzymes to some other company so they might just not know about whether their equipment is shared with wheat / rye / barley / oats. May be I am reading too much into this statement. They test their enzymes and therefore consider them to be gluten free, but some sensitive people like Leslie and I do react to them.

[Leslie-FL]

Thank you so much, ShayFL, for doing that research for me, and also to ive for sharing your experiences. I have been feeling bad about pointing a finger at the company that makes GlutenEase, but whatever it is that is causing the problem, whether I am ultra-sensitive to the bacteria itself or whether there is cross-contamination, I just know I can't take them anymore. (BTW, ive, I just checked the bottles, and both the Pro-Bio and the GlutenEase say "Manufactured for Enzymedica" as well.)

I took regular acidophillus for years (varying brands) and never had any problem with them, but they must not be as strong as what is in the Pro-Bio. I don't know if I have Candida, but I feel so much better while not taking the Pro-Bio that I guess I would prefer Candida, if I have it, to the solution. lol. The symptoms were exactly like glutening, though, every step of the way, and the way my poor work quality came back, gradually getting worse, it was just like before I was gluten free.

I even noticed another weird little thing (please forgive me if this is gross) -- before I went gluten free, my nose ran every single time I ate anything, even if it wasn't spicy. This went on for years and years. Both my parents and several other relatives have the same problem. After being gluten free for several months, I suddenly realized one day that I couldn't remember the last time my nose ran when I ate. Well, not quite a month ago, I noticed my nose was running when I was eating again, and it stopped abruptly after I stopped taking the Pro-Bio.

Today at work, things seemed better. I've been feeling better and better now for about a week, and my work has been improving all week. Today my boss seemed to be his regular self around me and we even joked around a little. So, for now at least, and as long as I can keep improving, I think it's going to be ok.