How Careful Do I Need To Be?

[kdonov2]

i have heard that people with celiac have such terrible reactions that they cant have any sort of sources of gluten in the house whatsoever. if i am not celiac, do i still need to be as cautious with my intolerance? i live with 3 non-gluten intolerant guys and all the silver and cook ware is shared. there are usually crumbs on the counter from them and they dont really take many precautions. i try not to use the teflon stuff or the plastic electric boiler (usually used for macaroni), but is it all necessary? should i be doing more? if i only have a gluten intolerance, is it quite possible that i can be around all of this and eat spices with minute cross contamination and kiss my boyfriend after he ate pasta? sorry if im really rambling, i just have so many questions and am confused. i dont know if im reacting still because my intestinal villi have not yet healed or because their is some unknown source of gluten poisoning me. up until recently, i never considered that my gluten sensitivity is as severe as a celiac's.

[Lisa]

If you are having ongoing issues, I think you have answered you own questions.

Have you been tested?

[ENF]

If the villi are damaged from eating gluten, then it's not just "gluten intolerance" - it's Celiac Disease.

[darkhorse]

I tested negative for Celiac, but I am definitely gluten intolerant. I am very sensitive and even the smallest amounts of cross contamination bother me. I have been CC'ed by cast iron cookware, wooden spoons, and I think scratched baking pans (but I'm not sure). I won't buy products that are made on the same equipment as wheat products. I react to the stupidest things and it can be really annoying. I have only had two non-CC dinners out at restaurants. So you don't have to be Celiac to be sensitive to small amounts of gluten. In fact some people that are asymptomatic or silent Celiacs may seem to be less sensitive because they don't notice the CC when it happens. They just have the unfortunate side effect of villi damage when that happens as opposed to GI problems. I would really tighten up especially if you are still having symptoms.

[kdonov2]

my enterolab results said that i have sensitivity to gluten but also secondary to it, i have an autoimmune response to transglutiminase tissue.......i think i worded that properly. they told me that i do not posess the genes that predispose me to celiac but i have 2 of the alleles that predispose me to gluten sensitivity.

[lizard00]

This is worth repeating.

If you are having ongoing issues, I think you have answered you own questions.

Why don't you do an experiment and be very careful about all sorts of contamination for two weeks, and see if you start to feel better. I just had a conversation with a friend of mine about this, who is also gluten intolerant/possibly celiac. She would eat bread occasionally. I told her the same thing and this is the second week of her being truly gluten-free... she told me today that she had no idea how bad she felt until she felt better.

This diet is all or nothing.

[angieInCA]

This is worth repeating.

Why don't you do an experiment and be very careful about all sorts of contamination for two weeks, and see if you start to feel better. I just had a conversation with a friend of mine about this, who is also gluten intolerant/possibly celiac. She would eat bread occasionally. I told her the same thing and this is the second week of her being truly gluten-free... she told me today that she had no idea how bad she felt until she felt better.

This diet is all or nothing.

Amen! And it all depends on how bad you are willing to feel on any given day.

[mysecretcurse]

I do use the same pans, but I scrub them really well. I never thought about wooden utensils. Hmm..

Having a gluten free household is not always possible, unfortunately. I'm sort of in the same situation as you. All I can say is try and do what I do, clean as much as possible. I do have my own cutting board and spatulas but I use the same silverware (it would be impossible to have two sets, there would be nowhere to put it). I personally don't feel that well washed silverware would be as likely to transfer gluten as a cutting board, but you never know. I think it's up to the individual to decide.

As far as the kissing thing, I don't have to worry about it since I'm single and plan on remaining that way, but no, I wouldn't kiss a guy just after he ate pasta or drank a beer. Gross. He'd be expected to brush his teeth before tongue wrestling with me, and if the bastard had a problem with that he can hit the road.

[darkhorse]

I do use the same pans, but I scrub them really well. I never thought about wooden utensils. Hmm..

If it makes you feel better, I have used cleaned wooden spoons without problem (I'm pretty sure at least). The wooden spoon that got me was when my husband used a wooden spoon to make himself regular pasta and then used the same spoon (without washing it) to make my gluten-free pasta. It was at the beginning and he thought CC was "all in my head." I started feeling bad pretty quickly after eating and I walked into the kitchen and saw how he had only used one spoon. He believes me now!

We got rid of all the old wooden spoons except for a few for my husband to use and all the new ones are marked gluten-free. They are usually cheap so I had no problem replacing them.

[kdonov2]

thanks everyone. im going to take more preventative actions now around the kitchen and also stop taking risks. hope i am able to start getting better.