Gluten Csi

[quincy]

ok, I need some feedback on my most recent slip-up.

I have been diagnosed about 5 weeks now. When I eat at home and stick with my chicken, potatoes, meat, rice pasta, bananas, peanut butter, and apples, I make progress.

went to an Italian place that served gluten free pasta in marinara sauce. They assured me it was safe. I ate it thinking I was taking a chance.

stomach discomfort started shortly after I ate the whole plate. my third BM yesterday was major D by around noon time. Darn that restaurant.

but I recently started drinking Ensure with high protein and another drink called Mix (1) berry drink. both say gluten and lactose free on the label. Also started to take Lactaid so I can have plain non-fat greek yogurt, which I ate a container of.

any seasoned gluten CSI people out there what would be the most logical culprit: cc from "gluten free" restaurant pasta, the protein drinks or the yogurt...?

any advice, please respond. getting D really sucks, it makes me feel like I am not getting better when it occurs.

[jerseyangel]

My first thought is that you got cross contaminated at the restaurant. Any time you eat out, and especially at an Italian restaurant, you take that chance.

Hopefully you will begin to feel better soon and the diarrhea will subside. If it doesn't, then you might want to look at the dairy you are eating but given the timing, I think it was that one restaurant meal.

[gabby]

When I go to a restaurant and they tell me that something is gluten-free, I always ask a few questions to see how gluten free things really are. For example: at a restaurant where they offered gluten-free toast, I asked if they have a dedicated toaster and they said they did not. At an italian restaurant, I asked if they cook the gluten-free pasta in a separate pot of boiling water. They said no. Do they use a dedicated pasta strainer? Is the sauce also kept in a dedicated spot with a dedicated ladle (sometimes it is easy to touch the ladle to the pasta when adding sauce to the dish).

There are lots of little questions to ask beyond: is it gluten-free. Just like CSI: they've got to ask lots of questions before making a decision.

It sounds overwhelming at first, but don't let it scare you. It will become second nature to poke around and ask more questions.

Now, to answer your question about where you got glutened: without more evidence, it will just have to remain a mystery. Hope that you are feeling better though, and that you eventually track down the perp!

Hope that helps!