Never Eating Gluten Again!

[reeetz]

Ok...so I made a really stupid decision on Sunday. After getting back negative blood test after being on the diet for 6 weeks, I decided to test myself and see what would happen if I ate gluten. So I did. Now this is what I have been going through the last few days:

Day I ate gluten: Got really really bloated that night and really tired. Nothing too crazy.

Day two: Was extremely fatigued, with a headache and tummy ache. Again...nothing too crazy happened. (I also ate some cereal with gluten this morning but then decided to stop the gluten thing because I felt so bad).

Day three: Felt a little better in the morning and afternoon, then my stomach started cramping again and I got really bloated again.

Day four: Woke up with the stomach ache still that has persisted throughout the day. It got worse halfway through work. Then I started feeling tingling in my butt and legs and that is never a good sign for me. Then the nausea hit. Horrible nausea. I had to leave work. Took a Zofran on the way home hoping it would calm the nausea down. Made it home just in time to run to the toilet and vomit. Have had awful D the rest of the night, and the stomach pain refuses to go away.

Question is: how long will this last? Please tell me it will be over soon! I can't handle this anymore. Clearly I know now that gluten is my enemy no matter what some stupid blood test says.

Has anyone ever had the violent reactions days later though? Any thought and opinions would help since I am pretty much stuck in bed till I'm better.

Thank you.

[ravenwoodglass]

My symptoms are a little different from yours as I get neuro effects also, oh joy, but the timing of the severe pain and D is about the same. I found name brand Pepto Bismal to help a lot with the stomach pain, it does nothing for the intestinal cramps and D though. For me once the D hits, and like with you it hits hard, for me that last about 3 hours then the worst is over tummy wise. I do not medicate the D with anything since I want the 'poison' out as fast as it can get out.

Do stay hydrated with sips of water. Hopefully by the time you read this things will have calmed down a bit for you.

((((((((((hugs)))))))))) At least now you know for sure.

[jerseyangel]

You poor thing Like Ravenwood said, Pepto helps. I also will use Immodium to slow down the D and cramping. I'm never without that.

Sipping hot mint tea is also soothing.

Get as much rest as you can and I hope it passes soon--take care

[txplowgirl]

Everything that was said above plus I take 2000 mgs of L-glutamine. It helps soothe my tummy and helps with my nausea. Hope you get to feeling better.

[flagbabyds]

I've gotten symptoms up to a week and a half later, and being in college it truely SUCKS but you just gotta deal with it.. when I get the awful glutening to the point of me not being able to keep anything down prescription zofran and phenergen do wonders to at least make it so i don't get so dehydrated that I end up in the hospital on an IV drip for 8 hours getting re-hydrated.

You just gotta get through it and now you knowww never ever eat gluten again and you'll be fine.

[reeetz]

Thank you everyone for replying so fast and for the support. Luckily the Zofran is working I think for the nausea and the D has finally come to and end (hopefully). I don't think that there is anything left in me anymore. I still have the stomach pain but it is getting a little better now. I will probably try some Pepto soon to see if that helps.

Flagbabyds....I completely understand what you mean about school. I am in college full time right now too and working a part time job. Getting sick like this does not make going to class easy. I'm just hoping I will feel better in the morning so I can make it to class.

Again...thank you everyone for your advice. Nobody around me truly understands what I am talking about so it's nice to have somewhere to go.

[Nightingale8472]

Maybe you had a negative blood test because you were gluten free for six weeks? Regardless, you obviously feel better off gluten, so keep it up!

Best wishes, and I hope you feel better soon!

[Brien]

I found some solace in this post as I'm in the middle of bringing gluten back into my diet so that I can bloodwork to confirm celiacs or an allergy and that my reactions seeme to be lasting longer than what I believe to have been my last intake.

I knew I ate gluten Wednesday and Thursday. On friday I felt lousy - now my lousy is that I get all nervous, anxious and body starts to feel like its buzzing - it will ebb and flow like this for a day or so. Saturday I began to feel better but by Saturday night I was again all a-buzz and wildly anxious. I had eaten shredded cheese on salads two nights in a row (Fri/Sat) and I've heard about the possibility of that having gluten. Friday night my salad came with croutons and i put them to the side and at the salad - no dressing. I had scallops, they seemed to have been broild and something else - but were good. Second night (Saturday) I had Prime Rib and vegetables. In the afternoon I had some Hillshire Polish Kielbasa and mustard as a snack with my dad. I tried to keep the gluten minimal but on my ride home on Sunday I again went through bouts of nervousness. When I said this to my wife, she thought that it was possible now that I'm tow weeks into my three of weeks of gluten that it is now "in my system" and that reactions might not always be as easy to pin point as it was when I first had to reintroduce gluten into my diet.

[i-geek]

Friday night my salad came with croutons and i put them to the side and at the salad - no dressing. I had scallops, they seemed to have been broild and something else - but were good. Second night (Saturday) I had Prime Rib and vegetables. In the afternoon I had some Hillshire Polish Kielbasa and mustard as a snack with my dad. I tried to keep the gluten minimal but on my ride home on Sunday I again went through bouts of nervousness.

This could have been enough to do it. I haven't blood-tested positive for celiac (doctor didn't run the full panel and I was already on a very low gluten diet) and figured I wasn't too sensitive, that I was okay as long as I avoided, say, bread and pasta. Yeah- no. I accidentally got a crouton mixed in with other stuff on a salad bar. I picked it out and figured "no big deal". Got sick from that one- the crumbs were enough. Never did that again. You also mentioned eating scallops and prime rib- were they marinated or seasoned? With what? Were there sauces? It doesn't take much. A little soy sauce in a marinade (I've gotten hit that way) or flour as a thickener or to dust on the meat before browning, and that's enough to do it. Also, some mustards have gluten in them, from what I've been told.

Best of luck to you. I hope you start to feel better soon. I've found that I do best when we do as much home cooking as possible, so I can control all the ingredients (at this point I only get glutened when we eat out). My husband is also happy because we're eating better than ever.