Argh I Got Glutened!

[sandsurfgirl]

I have been gluten free for 2 weeks now. We ate at Wendy's last night and I think I got glutened.

I had a baked potato but put my own butter on it at home. I had a side salad which doesn't contain croutons and I put my own salad dressing on it at home. But... I also had the chili. It's supposed to be gluten free but I think somehow it was contaminated. That is the only food I can trace it back to.

So... today I had dizzy spells all morning. Alternating between C and D today. Fatigue in the afternoon and brain fog in the evening, as well as horrible bowel pain in my side for a large part of the day.

Wahhhhhh!!! I hate this. I have to eat out sometimes. My life is SO busy. That was my 3rd time eating out and the first two went great. I'm so new at this and a setback like this really stinks.

[ravenwoodglass]

As hard as it is going to be I would strongly suggest that you avoid eating out anywhere for a while. You will be taking less risks and will heal faster. I am sorry you are feeling so badly, it is hard at first. Some of us find it helpful to always carry a supply of safe for sure gluten free snacks and investing in a thermos and a insulated lunch bag can help. That way we can still have something hot or cold that is safe for us to eat. This lifestyle does take some preperation for daily food needs that takes a bit of getting to used to. But you will get the hang of it. I hope you feel better soon.

[TrillumHunter]

It's hard at first to tell if you truly ate gluten or your poor damaged insides just couldn't handle what you ate that day. That's why you'll find so many of us warning the newly diagnosed to avoid gluten-free replacements (cookies, breads and such) and eating out for a while. The damage wasn't done in a few weeks and it's not going to heal in a few weeks. Even eating completely gluten-free, you'll still have periods of gluten like symptoms. That can last months. I didn't listen at first and it wasn't until I gave up dairy and gluten-free replacements that I really started to heal. I had an endoscopy a year after I went gluten-free and I still had spots of mild damage.

Slow down. Give yourself a break and the chance to heal.

HTH

[sandsurfgirl]

I was wondering if it's a glutening or just too complicated food for my system. You are right about not eating out. I've only done it a couple of times when I just did not have the time to pack food.

The gluten free substitutes are really tough for me to digest right now too. I posted on another thread that I was worried about reacting to xanthan gum or tapioca. I am going to lay off those for awhile too.

This healing business is not fun.

[OptimisticMom42]

Hello sandsurfgirl,

Wow chili after only two weeks - you're pretty brave. I've only started eating the chili at our local Wendy's in the last couple of months. The last container of it came with cracker crumbs on the outside of the lid. I ate and wasn't sick but I will talk with the manager the next time I visit them! Anyhow, the first couple of months I had a hard time digesting anything with a lot of carbs in it, had to stick with meats and low carb veggies for a bit.

Hope this helps, RA

[sandsurfgirl]

Hello sandsurfgirl,

Wow chili after only two weeks - you're pretty brave. I've only started eating the chili at our local Wendy's in the last couple of months. The last container of it came with cracker crumbs on the outside of the lid. I ate and wasn't sick but I will talk with the manager the next time I visit them! Anyhow, the first couple of months I had a hard time digesting anything with a lot of carbs in it, had to stick with meats and low carb veggies for a bit.

Hope this helps, RA

I know. What was I thinking? I was hungry and knew the chili was supposed to be gluten free. If I get in a pinch like that again I will be smart and go for a baked potato and plain salad or something easy to digest.

[Tvaculin]

Hi there , Im new to this forum but very excited to have found it. My mother had celiac her whole life and my two daughters have it as well. I'm pretty much gluten free myself and have found that MOST places that say they have a gluten free menu or food actually cook the food in the same kitchen using the same pans etc. With that in mind its almost a waste to go to those places because in my experience my girls always end up sick with gluten symptoms. I definately would stay as far away from fast food places as possible...There is no way they have anything close to a gluten free kitchen. I do think ppl have different levels of sensitivity to gluten as well so what I did with my girls was just slowly introduced them to new (as long as it was gluten free) and see how they do.