Can My Response To Gluten Change With Time?

[rustycat]

The first time that I was accidentally glutened, I had my usual reaction of anxiety, joint pain and severe C.

Yesterday, I think I might have been accidentally glutened, but my reaction was a bit of anxiety and painful gas with no C or joint pain at all.

I'm wondering if anyone experiences very different reactions and what they think can cause them to be so varied. I've been assuming that my reaction would always be the same.

I didn't eat anything yesterday that I hadn't eaten in the past week or so with no problems, so any glutening would have been due to cc in my kitchen from an extremely small amount of gluten. My cooking area, utensils and pots are all dedicated gluten free.

[dhd2000]

Hi, my symptoms have definitely chaged over time. I used to have DH (the skin rash associated with celiacs), heart palpatations, anxiety, the big C... I don't get DH at all anymore, but now I can get stomach cramps, gas, bloating, the big D or C, anxiety... Strangely, it's not always the same symptom and I can't figure out a pattern. I have gotten much better about avoiding gluten at all costs though, so the reactions are rare now.

Dee in NC

[cassP]

i dont know if there's any rhyme or reason to it... i had a few symptoms that were fairly consistent.... (painful gas/"C"/bloating/itchy/irritable/super sleepy or "high"/acid reflux)... but i also had random crazy symptoms like Tachycardia with OVERHEATING & NAUSEA... or CRAZY anxiety..

and of course the BMS were stereotypical but more "C" than "D"... or combined.

before i first went mostly off gluten- i had severe excema on my foot for 5 years- miserable... i would wake up in the middle of the night to itch it... i would have to make myself stop because it would end up bleeding. thank God i never got that again... and now i have a small thing of DH- not too bad.

but ya- symptoms can vary greatly and be very surprising whether on gluten or being accidentally glutened after being gluten free

oh, and there was also a 2 year period where i had the worst Post Nasal drip... ok, i'll stop, lol

[MelindaLee]

I only know of 1 time I certainly had gluten after going gluten-free. That time, I had the full gamet of neurological and gi symptoms. Other times, when I have suspected CC, I have had cramping, and some irregularity, and headaches, not usually my other neurological symptoms. My joints will also get achy...but not real bad. Each time it's similar, but not the same. Not sure if that helps

[rustycat]

Thanks very much for the input. It sounds like I'm not the only one who gets different symptoms.

It has been a couple of months since I became completely gluten free, so I wonder if my villi are healing and maybe that's why my reactions are different. The painful gassy reaction is something that I had years ago (although I didn't know that gluten was the cause), but not recently.

[CMCM]

I absolutely believe your symptoms CAN vary. Mine certainly have! I think possibly the variety of symptoms I experience have something to do with the nature of the food I eat, things in combination, and it's not strictly due to gluten, but rather gluten AND other things I'm sensitive to. I can get gas, or the big D, or heartburn, or joint pain, or sometimes a horrible facial rash, or quite often mouth sores within an hour or two (or sooner). It's all over the board with me, and not usually the same two times running.

On the other hand, my mom, who has the most severe reactions possible to gluten, she gets violent ill within a half hour of accidentally getting any gluten at all, no matter who small the amount may be. I'm glad I don't react like she does!

[SGWhiskers]

My reactions got milder, but were all variations on the symptoms I had before going gluten-free. I did notice that other food intolerances that were not obvious before, started showing up as different kinds of milder non-typical for me reactions. I keep a gluten-free house as well and still manage to cross contaminate myself every month or two from something that should have been safe. Keep up the vigilance and the food diary. Between the two, you will get it figured out.