Help! I Got Glutened!

[xpaperbackwriterx]

Okay. So two weeks ago I ate a TINY bite of chocolate cake because, initially I never thought I had Celiac Disease, just a slight gluten intolerance, so I went gluten free (i've been gluten-free for about four months now and ive felt GREAT, no adhd meds anymore or anxiety or headaches or stomachaches). I didn't think the cake would hurt me because people without Celiac can usually eat a tiny bit of gluten (when on a gluten-free diet)and be fine. Well....I think I must have Celiac. Because my main symptoms before were serious constipation, ADHD, acid indigestion, anxiety and migraines, and I just generally felt like crap all the time. I ate that gluten and the very next day I got a really bad headache, terrible heart burn, and became so incredibly constipated its ridiculous--stool softeners and eating extensive fruits and vegetable wont help like it used to. This is like no other constipation I've ever had. And its been two weeks, and I've only gone a couple times. Its becoming dangerous. PLEASE someone tell me any ideas they have about how to recover from such awful constipation. Herbs? meds? special diet??? ANYTHING?! Thank you so much!

[georgie]

Exactly my symptoms and also why I think I am Coeliac and not just Gluten Intolerant. I know some people that are GI and they sneak bits of Gluten and do not get bowel blockages.... Miralax. Get thee some Miralax and use that. I ended up with Diverticulitis, antibiotics and a water diet for a week ... and that is not fun... and all caused by some mis labelled lollies that had wheat starch....so be careful and get to a Dr if worried. My Dr said if this had not worked then it would have been hospital and an IV.. The dose my Dr told me to take for this I should not say here - but it was a 'lot' of Miralax. Try a fluid diet and Miralax. If you go to hospital it will be similar treatment.

[glutenfreesavvy]

I am so sorry! I can relate...that's a problem I have to deal with when glutened too. At this point, this is what I'd do.

1. Eat dried fruits, like apricots & prunes

2. Lots of water - at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces - more if you're really active

3. Drink herbal tea that have senna, but be careful it can cause some cramping if you overdo

4. Take some slippery elm - it coats the gi tract & is soothing, as well.

Hope this helps...I feel your pain. :-)

[GFinDC]

Milk of magnesia from the drug store can help. I also suggest looking closely at everything you are eating to be sure it is gluten free. That includes all vitamins, meds, sodas, coffee, teas etc. Staying off processed foods for a while might help also. Being gluten free is not easy if you eat food made by other people. You really need to know what the ingredients are in everything you eat. Wash your fruit and veggies before eating or cooking them also, just in case the picked up some gluten in the grocery store during storage.

[Kim27]

Try a combination of the Miralax and Magnesium Oxide pills. You can get those at any pharmacy, even WalMart, it is usually held behind the counter but is not a prescription.

[anabananakins]

Okay. So two weeks ago I ate a TINY bite of chocolate cake because, initially I never thought I had Celiac Disease, just a slight gluten intolerance, so I went gluten free (i've been gluten-free for about four months now and ive felt GREAT, no adhd meds anymore or anxiety or headaches or stomachaches). I didn't think the cake would hurt me because people without Celiac can usually eat a tiny bit of gluten (when on a gluten-free diet)and be fine. Well....I think I must have Celiac. Because my main symptoms before were serious constipation, ADHD, acid indigestion, anxiety and migraines, and I just generally felt like crap all the time. I ate that gluten and the very next day I got a really bad headache, terrible heart burn, and became so incredibly constipated its ridiculous--stool softeners and eating extensive fruits and vegetable wont help like it used to. This is like no other constipation I've ever had. And its been two weeks, and I've only gone a couple times. Its becoming dangerous. PLEASE someone tell me any ideas they have about how to recover from such awful constipation. Herbs? meds? special diet??? ANYTHING?! Thank you so much!

I'm sorry I don't have any tips add but I hope you feel a lot better soon. Getting glutened sucks, whether it's by accident or through something like this. But I would encourage you to try and stay strictly gluten free from now on. Whether or not you have officially diagnosed celiac doesn't make much difference unfortunately to how our bodies react to it. There are people with severly damaged vili who don't have any noticable symptoms... others like me who test negative but feel amazingly better gluten free and who feel sick now at the tiniest crumb. So don't let a lack of a diagnosis downplay how much better you feel gluten free. And I really hope you feel well again soon.

[cctaylor01]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, because I didn't read the entire thread, but when that happens to me (as constipation is one of my major problems), I use senna. I find that nothing else works to give me relief. You can buy it in tea form (yogi, traditional medicinals and some other brands sell it) or in pill form at the drugstore. For me it takes about 12-24 hours to work but when it works, it works.

I like it because it's a natural laxative. None of the chemical laxative stuff works for me.

I hope you feel better soon!

Claire