Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Let My Guard Down...

Glutina

By Glutina
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

Glutina Rookie
Glutina
Posted

Hi everyone!

It has been a while wincw I last wrote, not really by choice, but due to 2 jobs and moving etc. So I hope everyone is doing well!!

Well it is currently 4:15am and I am wide awake in a state of full-fledged glutening. And I have noone to blame except myself!! Not even the wonderful thanksgiving meal that my fiance's mother cooked up...and she tries very hard to always cook gluten free and read labels. Nope, it wasn't someone or something else that got me this time but it was me. Ugh.

Fiance and I were at the grocery store before going over for dinner and I decided that I wanted to bring my own pre-dinner munchies for when we were playing monopoly (tradition haha). So, I went to my usual section where I buy gluten-free Cheechas (really good light munchies!) and saw a flavour on sale: Salt and Vinegar. mmm sounded good. So, assuming that they were also a gluten free flavour, I grabbed a bag and we paid and left.

Fast forward to about half-way through our monopoly game, which also leaves me half-way through the bag of Cheechas! I was noticing my brain getting "foggy" and I was having trouble concentrating/people were even making fun of me for missing collecting my rent all the time haha and my tummy was unusually gurgly. My fiance's brother was interested in my snack of choice and asked if he could see the bag. As we was reading the ingredients, he read "blah blah blah...wheat flour...blah blah"...and he stopped and said, "um...doesn't wheat flour have gluten"...and that's when things started going south. My gurgling stomach soon started to turn crampy/gassy, and I had to ask for a heating pad. Nothing says thanksgiving like a heating pad and stomach troubles, huh???

Because I had just assuuuumed that this flavour was also gluten free because several others say it right on the bag, I had failed to actually read the label. I had gotten lazy!!! Oh noooo!!! And I paid for it...and still am. I can't sleep as the pain is coming in waves...bathroom issues are doing the same...I am puffed up and bloated like a blow-fish and look about 4 months pregnant. I am finding some relief from the IBS drugs I was given during my last trip to the hospital about half a year ago before diagnosis (I'm still kinda a newbie...diagnosed severe gluten intolerance in January) called "Dicetel"....but not much. Just seems to dull the pain a bit, almost like it's foggy...but the cramping and gas are still there. I bet if I hopped on the scale I will have magically gained 5 pounds...I am a "gainer" when eating gluten. Not pretty.

I am supposed to work this morning...but since I haven't slept and can hardly walk I will now have to call in sick (not good) and miss out the subsequent holiday pay. Boo.

I also teach music lessons/am a singer, and this has given me such bad reflux that my throat feels raw and almost like I am getting sick now.

So all in all...LESSON LEARNED. I know better than to assume that things are gluten free, and I admit I got lazy.

I am in such a food rut ( little to no time to cook...2 jobs...) that I think I just simply got lazy. Maybe this is a wake-up call that I need to do more cooking and prepare good, tasty food for myself on a regular basis so that I can have food to bring with me on occasions like this...or at least not be tempted to just buy without reading labels.

I hope all of you reading this are feeling better than I am, and I'm wishing all you Canadians a great thanksgiving monday too!!!

-Glutina

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


MollyBeth Contributor
MollyBeth
Posted

I'm sorry you are not feeling well and that your holiday isn't going well!!! I hope you are on the road to recovery!

ShayFL Enthusiast
ShayFL
Posted

Dont beat yourself up too badly. We all make mistakes. That is how we learn. Hope you are better soon.

DarkIvy Explorer
DarkIvy
Posted

I've done the exact same thing with flavored potato chips before. It seemed like a harmless flavor, so I started munching on them. A little while later I started to think "hmm, I never actually bothered to read the label"... sure enough, there was barley something or other on them!

Even more recently, I got sick off of tomato paste. I love the stuff and was eating it out of a jar with the spoon (yeah, I'm weird, I know)... I read the label and realized that it was the "Italian" flavored kind (instead of the regular tomato paste that doesn't really have much in it besides tomato) and was full of spices and wheat. Whoops. I usually grab two or three cans of it at a time at the store just so I have it on hand for cooking (or eating, lol!) and I think I may have just accidentally grabbed a can of the Italian stuff that was mixed in with the regular stuff in the bin. Now every time I shop, I look at every can to make sure I didn't accidentally grab a flavored kind. It was completely inadvertent, I know, because I've always checked the labels on canned foods before I buy them. Once I read one label and knew it was safe, I must have just grabbed a couple more, not making sure each one was the same.

It sucks but it happens, and I'm sorry you got sick! It's the worst when you make a tiny mistake like that and feel really bad about it. I get really hard on myself over this sort of thing, we work so hard to keep gluten our of our systems and the tiniest mistake over something as silly as chips or tomato paste ruins it. After the tomato incident, I cried for about thirty minutes, ranting to the BF about how no one gets it, and how frustrating it is to try so hard to stay healthy, how unsupportive outsiders are, how someone had gotten in my face and said "but I thought you couldn't *eat* bread!" one day when I was munching a sandwich on gluten free bread, etc, etc.

Bah, this stuff is rough. I hope you feel better soon though, and next time you'll know :)

Glutina Rookie
Glutina
Posted
  • Author

Thanks everyone, you already made me feel better :)

Actually it is still affecting me a bit today...feeling "off" and irritable for no otehr reason, despite getting enough sleep and eating well. I am still kinda bloated as well...probably me least favorite of the lovely side effects of glutening.

But now I know for next time, and I have realized that being so hard on myself has no point. It is bound to happen sometimes, right??? Noone's perfect after all of course :)

I hope you all have a great rest of the week and thanks for the caring replies!!!

-Glutina

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      FDA looking for input on Celiac Gluten sensitivity labeling PLEASE READ and submit your suggestions

      Thank you for sharing this — it’s really important. The FDA is actively seeking public input on improving gluten and ingredient labeling, which could directly impact how people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity shop and stay safe. Clearer labeling would help reduce accidental gluten exposure and make it easier to identify hidden sources of gluten in ...
    2. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Low iron and vitamin d

      A low tTG is great news, but it doesn’t always mean the small intestine has fully healed yet—iron and vitamin D absorption can lag behind for months or even years, especially in young children. Many kids need supplements for a period of time while the gut repairs itself, and that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be lifelong. Morning stomach pain is also ...
    3. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      Healthy Gluten Free Foods low sugar that you found?

      A lot of gluten-free packaged foods do rely on extra sugar, starches, or sodium to replace texture and flavor, so focusing on simpler options makes sense. Many people do better with naturally gluten-free proteins like eggs, plain yogurt, nuts, seeds, hummus, beans, and minimally processed protein bars with lower added sugar and higher fiber. Pairing those...
    4. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to lizzie42's topic in Traveling with Celiac Disease
      1

      Trip to Anaheim/Disney

      This article is a few of years old, but my still be helpful.
    5. trents
      - trents commented on Scott Adams's article in Winter 2026 Issue
      14

      Can You Really Trust Gluten-Free Menus? What Every Celiac Needs to Know Before Eating Out

      This is likely dependent on the sensitivity of the individual celiac.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,242
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Maya Baum
    Newest Member
    Maya Baum
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      FDA looking for input on Celiac Gluten sensitivity labeling PLEASE READ and submit your suggestions

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Thank you for sharing this — it’s really important. The FDA is actively seeking public input on improving gluten and ingredient labeling, which could directly impact how people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity shop and stay safe. Clearer labeling would help reduce accidental gluten exposure and make it easier to identify hidden sources of gluten in foods. I encourage everyone here who is affected by celiac or gluten sensitivity to read the announcement and submit their own suggestions — real lived experience matters and can influence policy changes that benefit the whole community.
    • Scott Adams
      Low iron and vitamin d

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      A low tTG is great news, but it doesn’t always mean the small intestine has fully healed yet—iron and vitamin D absorption can lag behind for months or even years, especially in young children. Many kids need supplements for a period of time while the gut repairs itself, and that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be lifelong. Morning stomach pain is also commonly reported in celiac kids and can be related to slow healing, reflux, motility, or even low iron itself. It sounds like the supplements are clearly helping, which is reassuring, and ongoing monitoring with her doctor can help determine when (or if) doses can be reduced as absorption improves. The most common nutrient deficiencies associated with celiac disease that may lead to testing for the condition include iron, vitamin D, folate (vitamin B9), vitamin B12, calcium, zinc, and magnesium.  Unfortunately many doctors, including my own doctor at the time, don't do extensive follow up testing for a broad range of nutrient deficiencies, nor recommend that those just diagnosed with celiac disease take a broad spectrum vitamin/mineral supplement, which would greatly benefit most, if not all, newly diagnosed celiacs. This article has more info:    
    • Scott Adams
      Healthy Gluten Free Foods low sugar that you found?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      A lot of gluten-free packaged foods do rely on extra sugar, starches, or sodium to replace texture and flavor, so focusing on simpler options makes sense. Many people do better with naturally gluten-free proteins like eggs, plain yogurt, nuts, seeds, hummus, beans, and minimally processed protein bars with lower added sugar and higher fiber. Pairing those with whole foods can help you feel more “normal” without triggering symptoms. Subscription boxes can be hit or miss, so checking labels carefully and using them as an occasional supplement—rather than a staple—often works best.
    • Scott Adams
      Trip to Anaheim/Disney

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      This article is a few of years old, but my still be helpful.  
    • knitty kitty
      Accuracy of testing concerns

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @McKinleyWY, For a genetic test, you don't have to eat gluten, but this will only show if you have the genes necessary for the development of Celiac disease.  It will not show if you have active Celiac disease.   Eating gluten stimulates the production of antibodies against gluten which mistakenly attack our own bodies.  The antibodies are produced in the small intestines.  Three grams of gluten are enough to make you feel sick and ramp up anti-gluten antibody production and inflammation for two years afterwards.  However, TEN grams of gluten or more per day for two weeks is required to stimulate anti-gluten antibodies' production enough so that the anti-gluten antibodies move out of the intestines and into the bloodstream where they can be measured in blood tests.  This level of anti-gluten antibodies also causes measurable damage to the lining of the intestines as seen on biopsy samples taken during an endoscopy (the "gold standard" of Celiac diagnosis).   Since you have been experimenting with whole wheat bread in the past year or so, possibly getting cross contaminated in a mixed household, and your immune system is still so sensitized to gluten consumption, you may want to go ahead with the gluten challenge.   It can take two years absolutely gluten free for the immune system to quit reacting to gluten exposure.   Avoiding gluten most if the time, but then experimenting with whole wheat bread is a great way to keep your body in a state of inflammation and illness.  A diagnosis would help you stop playing Russian roulette with your and your children's health.      
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.