Getting Glutenated

[The Glutenator]

I has been about 8 weeks since I was diagnosed with celiac and went gluten-free. I have been very diligent so far, and symptoms are getting better by leaps and bounds. I have, however, been glutenated a 2 or 3 times and would like to know if what I have experienced is indeed a reaction to the gluten, and what your experiences have been. About 2 weeks after going gluten free, I had a small gluten-free relapse and ate a fresh bun (oh how I miss fresh bread) to see what would happen. My symptoms had not completely dissipated yet, and I just felt like I did before going gluten-free with more bloating, gas, and trips to the washroom for the next 2 days. Then after 6 weeks gluten-free I went to a banquet and the only meal option was pasta. I was a very hungry girl, as all I ate that night was a couple large plates of salad. I thought I played it safe but the salad dressing was thick and, well...the next day I lost control of my bowels so completely that I actually "went #2" in my pants. Is it common for the symptoms of being glutenated to get worse the longer you are on a gluten-free diet? Is the reaction to eating gluten always as severe as what I experienced, because now I am petrified. I had a small cross contamination experience a couple days ago when I ate fruit off a platter that also contained sandwiches. The result was lots of bloating, gas, and a headache which lasted a couple days. Thank goodness it was not as bad as the "salad dressing incident". Overall, I am afraid now that my reaction to being glutenated will always be as disastrous as completely losing control of my intestines. Any support, shared experiences, advice on how gluten affects you after longer times gluten-free, and your symptoms when you get cross-contaminated or glutenated would be greatly appreciated!

[ciavyn]

"Glutenated?" I love that! I'm going to use that word from now on.

So, symptoms you ask? I think you and I pretty closely mirror symptoms. I had ONE nacho Dorito...just one lousy Dorito after months of being gluten-free, and daggumit if I didn't get for three weeks. Mine starts out as vicious diarrhea, sometimes not making it to the bathroom in time or mistaking a bit of gas...oh yeah, are we the romantics or what? Then I have TERRIBLE gas. My husband was so mad at me over a single Dorito (we can have other kinds, I just didn't know about the nacho cheese being off limits). Ugh. So for three weeks, air fresheners can't hold a candle to me, migraines on and off, and really weird experiences in the bathroom once the initial runs wears off.

It takes THREE weeks....ONE lousy chip!! But that seems to be my cycle. I do think it gets worse the longer you are off... or maybe it just seems that way now that we know what it is like to feel decent.