Change In Sensitivity And Reactions

[basslady]

Has anyone noticed that their sensitivity and reactions to gluten has gotten worse? I am now reacting to the smallest amount of C.C. The other day I made a homemade gluten-free pudding. I had maybe 1 tablespoon of it and put in the fridge. Then my mom came in the kitchen and asked me what I made. And I told her. She said "I made homemade brownies with that and I used the same spoon for the flour as the coco powder. So don't eat it." But I already tried some. And of course about 2 hours later... well you know. I was my fault for assuming that it was safe because no one bakes but me. I should have put a big gluten-free on it.

[dilettantesteph]

I have become extremely more sensitive. At first giving up bread and cereal seemed to cure me. Then I couldn't tolerate foods processed in the same facilities as those that process wheat. Then it was all processed foods. Now even some produce gets me depending on if wheat materials are used in production. It has gotten crazy, but if I try really hard, I can still stay relatively symptom free. The flour in the bag is not such a big deal compared to all that. Be grateful you don't have to be a crazy lady like me. I hope you feel better soon. It is no fun being glutened no matter what your level of sensitivity is.

[burdee]

Becoming more sensitive to gluten is very typical for people with celiac and/or gluten intolerance, because our reactions are immune responses.

Consider how the body initially responds to a cold virus, which it has never before encountered. We may not even know we're getting a cold, but we get tired before we get the typical cold symptoms of runny nose, sore throat, etc. By the time we get those symptoms our body has released an army of antibodies to fight that virus. However, if we later are exposed to that same virus, our bodies can more quickly respond because they 'remember' the virus. They can make more antibodies even more quickly to overcome the virus.

Likewise when our bodies first recognize gluten as a foreign substance, they take awhile to send out antibodies. However, the next time we're exposed, especially if we abstain from gluten for awhile, our bodies are prepared to respond with a larger amount of antibodies. Remember that those 'antibodies' don't just attack the gluten. They attack our intestinal villae (in celiac disease) or our joints, our thyroid, our pancreas or any other body system or organ (in autoimmune reactions to gluten). So we will experience even more intense and/or long lasting gluten intolerance reactions.

I know that's a very simplified explanation, but it helped me to consider gluten antibodies similar to cold virus antibodies. The last time I accidentally consumed gluten (5 years ago), I suffered 2 weeks of cramping intestinal pain, bloating and gas after eating one tortilla (corn) chip, which was fried in the same fryer as the restaurant fried their flour tortillas. I've eaten at that restaurant several times a year since then and never again got contaminated, because I don't touch their 'homemade' corn tortillas or chips.

SUE

[T.H.]

My entire family (4 celiacs altogether) had our reactions and sensitivity increase, but not all to the same extent. Some increase significantly, some just a little bit, but we all have more reactions now than we used to. :-(