Gluten/allergy Reactions - Psychosomatic?

[crimsonviolet]

I've been gluten-free for almost 2 weeks. I started gluten-free mainly due to my "arthritis" (not dx - joint pain in chest and feet) and because of my kids' teeth issues (and mine.) I've never had any significant gut issues that I'd pin on gluten.

I have felt pretty good so far. My foot pain seems to have lessened, and I haven't had any chest pain. My mood seems better and I do feel like I have a bit more energy. Oddly I haven't craved any gluten. I have done some experimenting with gluten-free baking and that has satisfied my need for carby foods just fine.

Yesterday, I ate a "honey-roasted peanut" from a can I had in my desk at work. I popped one in my mouth and then began reading the label. Yup, wheat in there somewhere, so I didn't eat any more. A few minutes later I began to feel the tightness in my chest that usually precedes an attack of pain. I also started to feel a little faint and my throat felt scratchy and a bit tight. The symptoms lasted probably 20 min, nothing too acute, and then they subsided, though for the rest of the afternoon I had trouble concentrating or focusing on my work.

Today I was shopping in Sam's Club, and I walked over to the bread section to see if they had anything gluten-free. They didn't of course. My path then took me past the bakery, where the smell of fresh bread/pastry was really strong. I had an interesting aversion to the smell, which was weird b/c I have always really LOVED the smell of baking bread. Less than 5 minutes later, I began suffering major tummy troubles. I had the rumbling, pain, dizziness, the works. This too lasted about 20 min and since then I've been ok, but very fatigued.

Is this all in my head or am I seriously reacting already to such small amounts of gluten?? And such quick reactions! It must be in my head, but it's really interesting anyway. Anyone have a similar experience?

[Ahorsesoul]

You will find doctors (and some people here even) will say you can not have gut reactions from smelling bakeries. But I have seem too many people here say they have reactions. So forget about it being all in your head. So avoid those smelly bakeries. Flour supposedly stays in the air for about 24 hours so you could have inhaled it.

[rdunbar]

just because it is "all in your head" doesn't mean it's not real.(the pain, reaction)

Robb Wolf mentioned in his podcast 'the paleolitic solution' that when someone looks at sugary food they can actually have an insulin spike that is measurable using blood tests.Our vision can effect us very strongly; i've heard cigarette smokers are equally addicted to watching the smoke as inhaling it, and are'nt satisfied when they are forced to smoke blindfolded! the human body is capable of many amazing and mysterious things.

I've had the same experience with getting sick at the smell of bread/bakerys, so I just cross the street; maybe it's all in my head, but I definately feel better when I avoid smelling/seeing it. it's as easy as that i figure, and who cares what people think may think about it.

[Takala]

Only "psychosomatic" to the pharmaceutical companies and certain pesky relatives.

Yes, you can react to something in very small quantities, after being off of it for a long enough period of time that your immune system isn't constantly reacting and you haven't gotten used to that constant state of hyperreactiveness.

No, it's not in your head.

Part of the physical reaction is a brain and body chemical reaction, that does produce, as a result, a feeling of anxiety.

[T.H.]

Personally, I don't think it's in your head, and you can definitely react that quickly, especially if you are inhaling something in the air. If you can smell it, that means there have to be molecules enough in the air to create the smell. However, based on that small an amount, plus the scratchy throat and other symptoms, I wonder if it might be an allergic-type response rather than an intolerance or celiac disease.

As far as I knew, I had no allergies to food. Never had any reaction to any food whatsoever (hives, itching, etc...). After I went gluten free, I started reacting to wheat and other foods within a few days. I thought it was in my head (I think my family did too!) but about 2 weeks after going gluten free I ended up in the ER with my throat starting to swell closed.

After that, I figured it WASN'T just in my head.

At this point, if I inhale the steam from certain foods, or wheat flour or other flours in the air, I become very ill. Sore, scratchy throat which will eventually start to swell if I don't leave the area. I can have stomach pains, body aches, dizziness, feel run down and flu-ish. It's even worse if I eat the food.

I'd say, trust yourself. I tried a few times to just stay near the food that seemed to be causing this, because it just seemed so unreal. Like it couldn't be happening, or it HAD to be all in my head. And I just ended up very, very sick and miserable.

The symptoms, for me, tend to dissipate quickly, as well, if I leave the area. But if I stay, or if it's one of my more 'severe' foods, the effects can last longer, up to a few days, ugh. And if I get hit more than once in a short period of time, like going to a bakery and walking by a bakery section of another store an hour later, then the reaction will be more severe the second time. Also, the smell of these foods is now VERY unappealing to me, even though some of these foods were ones that I used to love!

I remember reading once about how our bodies react to poisons. If we vomit after eating a food, our body will tend to make that food unappealing later so we don't eat something 'poisonous' again. The smell is nasty to us, etc... But if we happen to get the stomach flu at the precise time we ate a food, our bodies don't know the difference. You will often still have an aversion response to that food for a while, because you were sick so soon after.

I wonder if our bodies do something similar to other reactions to foods, you know?

And the weird thing about my reactions? Most of the things that make me react this way don't test positive as allergies - my doc thinks my body is just kind of going hyper-reactive since going gluten free, and it will likely fade after a few months to a couple years, as long as I stay away from the foods. Perhaps that is your case, as well. However, it might be worth your while getting tested for allergies.

As an aside, it's hard to track down the info, but some people only have an allergic reaction when the allergen touches the digestive track, and not anywhere else on the body. *raises hand*

Also, you might want to check out something called OAS - oral allergy syndrome. It might apply. :-)

Good luck!

[Skylark]

"In your head" is not a helpful way to think about your reactions, as your mind and body are rather intimately connected. Try something like EFT that's designed to "shut down" anxiety quickly. Open Original Shared Link I have a psychologist friend who swears by it for patients who experience the sort of things that are happening to you. Note that you may actually be treating a mild allergy with EFT. Mild allergies are intimately linked to mental states, much more so than people realize, and you can manipulate your immune system with your thoughts and make reactions stronger or milder.

There was a classic 70s paper where people were rubbed with silk leaves and told it was poison ivy, and some of them broke out. In the crossover some of the people rubbed with poison ivy and told it was silk did not react.

[sandsurfgirl]

No it's not in your head. There's probably flour in the air all over the place in that bakery.

Once you are gluten free the reactions to gluten are faster and stronger. It sucks but it's the way it is.

I got CC'd by some fries they said were in a dedicated fryer but later found out they weren't. After a small handful, 10 minutes later I had a major anxiety attack, dizziness and tight throat, all my first symptoms when I get glutened.