Went To The Hospital Last Night

[jess-gf]

So last night I had a trip to the hospital at about 1:30am and I'm a bit baffled as to what happened to me. I was feeling nauseous and my stomach was hurting as I was trying to fall asleep, but that isn't news to me. But at about 1am I started feeling worse, the back of my head had that white-noise sparkler feeling like if I moved I would pass out, my heart was beating rapidly, I was sweaty, nausea was worse, stomach pain was worse. It reminded me of how I felt a couple years ago when I had what I suspected at the time was food poisoning after eating a prepared salad from Whole Foods - only that time I DID pass out and I had D all night. This time I didn't have D right away, I didn't end up having any until I was at the hospital and then it was only a few times.

The doctor there basically couldn't give me a reason why I was sick. He gave me a script for some nausea pills, which helped to take the edge off a little bit. I did feel a little better after going to the bathroom but that's about it. He said that I could have a stomach virus that's going around, but he didn't know and he wants me to follow up with my GI.

I've been wracking my brain to see if I was glutened at Thanksgiving. But I was so careful, as were my hosts! I ate the quinoa salad that I made, a bit of the gluten-free pumpkin pie I made, a few bites of ham that said it was gluten-free when I looked it up online, and a few bites of some roasted veggies that only had salt and olive oil on them. That was at about 2pm. At around 9pm I felt a little hungry so I made scrambled eggs with 1 piece of bacon. None of these things send any red flags, and I've been Gluten-Free for about a week. I thought about food poisoning, but my boyfriend along with other people ate the same stuff I did and are fine.

What the heck happened to me??

[txplowgirl]

Hey Jess, that happened to me on new years day. I thought I was having a heart attack. Heart palpatations, dizziness, nausea, chest pain, left arm want numb, hardly able to breathe. I posted about it back then.

Anyway was in the er for about 4 hours. They did every test imagineable but nothing was wrong. Until I mentioned something about being gluten free. The dr asked me what I had ate the night before. We had taken my mom out to Golden Corral for New Years day celebration. According to the dr I had either glutened myself or got some kind of cross contamination. He was betting it was cc because I did my best not to eat anything with gluten. He gave me an iv of mylanta I think it was. Not sure, I would have to look that post up to be sure because I can't remember what all he gave me. He also told me that don't be surprised if the next morning my chest feel like it might be bruised when I got up. Sure enough it was.

So, you either got some gluten or cc, i'm betting on the cc, in my opinion. Hang in there. I know what you're going thru. (((hugs)))

[Skylark]

Food poisoning can be spotty too, so one person gets it and others don't. I hope you feel better soon!

[burdee]

I agree with the food poisoning (gastrointestinal bacterial infection) idea. I had 8 different gastro infections over the past 4 years. My husband and I ate many of the same foods. He never got any of those infections. However, I also previously took acid blocker meds after I was misdiagnosed with gastritis (instead of celiac disease) years ago. Those drugs and other problems depleted my natural stomach acid. (A Heidelberg capsule test diagnosed my deficient stomach acid production.) Normal amounts of stomach acid can kill many food born bacteria. Less than enough stomach acid will allow food born bacteria to go to the intestines, proliferate and make someone very sick. Other really pathogenic bacteria (like E. coli, salmonella, etc.) may not be killed by even adequate stomach acid. So some people are just more susceptible to food born bacterial (and parasitic) infections.

I suspect having celiac disease could also lower your resistance to those infections by affecting your immune systems. Even though I stopped getting gastro infections after I started taking HCl supplements with meal, I've had one cold after another for the past 3 months, because my white blood cell count is too low. That could be the result of too many gastro infections without adequate time for the WBCs to regenerate or from other autoimmune conditions probably linked to celiac disease.

[wildwood]

I noticed the food you ate included ham and bacon. My daughter has the same reaction when she eats nitrates as she does if she is accidentally glutened. Nitrates are in bacon, hot dogs, corned beef, some cold cuts, and I am not sure as we do not eat it, but maybe in ham. I don't know if you eat these things often, but just thought I would throw that out there as a possibility.

If you feel this may be a possibility, you can by nitrate free bacon and Hormel has a line of nitrate free cold cuts.

[jess-gf]

I noticed the food you ate included ham and bacon. My daughter has the same reaction when she eats nitrates as she does if she is accidentally glutened. Nitrates are in bacon, hot dogs, corned beef, some cold cuts, and I am not sure as we do not eat it, but maybe in ham. I don't know if you eat these things often, but just thought I would throw that out there as a possibility.

If you feel this may be a possibility, you can by nitrate free bacon and Hormel has a line of nitrate free cold cuts.

The ham I had was Open Original Shared Link but I only had a few bites. I don't eat that much - not much of an appetite for these past few months. I only started eating meat recently since my diagnosis so I haven't had any hot dogs or cold cuts or anything. The bacon I had was from Trader Joe's and said it was nitrate/antibiotic/etcetc free, and I've been eating a slice a day or so for the past week without any issues. So confused.

[jess-gf]

Last night was troublesome again, but not as bad as the previous night.

All I had to eat that day was some instant grits at about 1pm (slept in late sine we didn't get home from the hospital until about 6am) and then at about 9pm I had a baked potato with some salt and butter, and a gingerale since I had been feeling nauseous.

When we went to bed I had a hard time falling asleep, my stomach pains were worse, nausea was worse, and had several trips to the bathroom. During the day however I didn't have any of that. It's worse at night I think, and when I'm laying down. I have tried sleeping while sitting up but it doesn't quite work out :/

Is it normal that with food poisoning you'd feel sick but then slightly better during the day, and then sick again at night? I'm kinda scared to eat anything today.

[ravenwoodglass]

Last night was troublesome again, but not as bad as the previous night.

All I had to eat that day was some instant grits at about 1pm (slept in late sine we didn't get home from the hospital until about 6am) and then at about 9pm I had a baked potato with some salt and butter, and a gingerale since I had been feeling nauseous.

When we went to bed I had a hard time falling asleep, my stomach pains were worse, nausea was worse, and had several trips to the bathroom. During the day however I didn't have any of that. It's worse at night I think, and when I'm laying down. I have tried sleeping while sitting up but it doesn't quite work out :/

Is it normal that with food poisoning you'd feel sick but then slightly better during the day, and then sick again at night? I'm kinda scared to eat anything today.

Are those instant grits from a gluten free facility? I would think the chance of cross contamination would be high if not, but I could be wrong. You are also very new to the diet and it takes some time for us to heal. Are you avoiding common CC issues like using the same toaster as you did before you went gluten free, have you changed out cutting boards and scratched pots and pans that have been used to cook gluten? If there was a lot of baking going on before the dinner you went to that could result in CC as could someone using the same utensil to stir a gluten item and then using it on a gluten free one. There is a great deal to learn about with the gluten free lifestyle but you will get the hang of it. Some liquid Pepto Bismal may help with the stomach pains. I hope your feeling better soon.

[jess-gf]

Are those instant grits from a gluten free facility? I would think the chance of cross contamination would be high if not, but I could be wrong. You are also very new to the diet and it takes some time for us to heal. Are you avoiding common CC issues like using the same toaster as you did before you went gluten free, have you changed out cutting boards and scratched pots and pans that have been used to cook gluten? If there was a lot of baking going on before the dinner you went to that could result in CC as could someone using the same utensil to stir a gluten item and then using it on a gluten free one. There is a great deal to learn about with the gluten free lifestyle but you will get the hang of it. Some liquid Pepto Bismal may help with the stomach pains. I hope your feeling better soon.

The grits were Quaker's and the ingredient list looked gluten-free, and I had done a search on this board and it seemed like most people here could eat it and be okay.

I guess their could have been a chance for CC at TG even though everyone was so careful. I have been avoiding it at home - we threw out old wooden spoons, changed cutting boards, pots and pans were okay, etc.

This morning I had 3/4ths a banana with a drizzle of peanut butter and honey. We'll see how that goes.. of course I probably won't find out until 2am :/

[flutterby]

Quakers has been known to have cross contamination issues. Also, Quinoa that is not listed as gluten-free may also have cross-contamination.

Also, if you have had serious damage from celiac, I think (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that you can feel sick even if you are not 'glutened', because your body is still recuperating. Also, other things can still set you off if your digestive system isn't healed.

[jess-gf]

Last night was a bit better. Yesterday I just had 3/4ths of a banana with some peanutbutter and honey for breakfast/lunch and then at around 7:30 I had about 1.5cups of plain brown rice. Then I had a cup of ginger tea and 1 vanilla gluten-free merenge cookie from TJ's at about 9pm. Then at about 11pm I took a dose of Pepto. I had some discomfort while trying to fall asleep but I was able to fall asleep relatively soon and I was able to lay down more (didn't need to elevate myself that much).

So now I don't know if I was better last night because of what I ate that day, or because I just got better with time, or because I had ginger tea + pepto before bed. Hrmmm!

[Marz]

Hey there,

It could have been a stomach bug - I caught something nasty just after a cruise and had the exact symptoms you're talking about - worst 2 nights of my life, and both times I went to the ER because I was convinced I was dying :/ They also just gave me anti-nausea meds (which didn't help, thanks doc!), and I just had to ride it out. Stomach pain and nausea was worst I ever experienced. I was convinced I had malaria

It was just before I went gluten-free, so gluten might have been a factor, but that wasn't my "normal" gluten symptoms, and a colleage at work also got sick from the bug (so he says), so I'm chalking that horrific experience up to a bug

Hope you feel better soon!

[Loey]

The ham I had was Open Original Shared Link but I only had a few bites. I don't eat that much - not much of an appetite for these past few months. I only started eating meat recently since my diagnosis so I haven't had any hot dogs or cold cuts or anything. The bacon I had was from Trader Joe's and said it was nitrate/antibiotic/etcetc free, and I've been eating a slice a day or so for the past week without any issues. So confused.

I'm so sorry for your reaction to your Thanksgiving dinner. It must have been a terrifying experience. It doesn't take much to set you off if you're new to celiac and if you're sensitive to nitrates. There are also other ingredients in those products that can affect us. Boarshead has gluten-free meats. They're the safest bet. Being new to this diet I think you should stick to the basics. I, for one, have a lot of food allergies and am currently only able to eat rice, veggies, eggs, and Almond Breeze (instead of milk).

I'm posting the Boarshead link below.

Loey

Open Original Shared Link

[FooGirlsMom]

I'm leaning toward the nitrate/nitrite theory. I can't eat them either. Pounding headache & overally sick feeling and sometimes heart palpitations. Since going gluten-free I notice I'm hyper sensitive to chemicals and other things I wasn't so sensitive to before. Maybe because of detoxing & the body starting to heal.

Stay away from Quaker! Oats are contaminated with what a high % of the time. They have to be certified gluten free like from Bob's Red Mill (they test).

I buy my hot dogs and lunch meat from Whole Foods. They are not cheap so they are a treat, vs. a staple in my diet. I recommend making yourself soups if money is an issue or staying with natural gluten-free foods, well scrubbed where no cc can happen.

I feel so sorry for you! I hope you feel better soon,

FooGirlsMom

[T.H.]

Hopefully it wasn't a stomach flu bug or food poisoning - so sorry it hit you, though!

I wanted to add another story on the 'getting sick eating the same food' front. I've caught stomach flus and had food poisoning when my husband did too, and when I was still eating gluten (aka, not completely healed)I would always be sicker than he was, if he was at all. Maybe the same thing for you?

That said, just for informational purposes for the future, since you mentioned you've only been gluten-free a very short time.

Unfortunately, a lot of what you mentioned could have given you a gluten reaction. For us, we've had reactions to pie crust, to ham, to bacon, to oil (processed on a line with wheat germ oil, ugh), and to quinoa. All of these were listed as gluten-free. My kids have also had these from different companies with no trouble at all, though.

It's a sad thing, but a lot of us discover that not all gluten free products are created equal. Some companies test every batch of their product very carefully. Some don't always test every batch, so there can be contamination one time and it can be fine another time. Some have higher levels of gluten that may be too much for you. Some call their products gluten free even if the food is being made right next to a machine that uses flour and poofs it into the air so it likely falls into your gluten-free food and contaminates it.

Usually, after a while you figure out which brands are better and worse for you. I tend to check out brands on-line, looking for the name + 'glutened.' Often people will be talking about these on forums, which helps. It does get easier to avoid gluten after a while (if this was gluten), but in the beginning it can be hard.

So sorry you were sick on the holiday!

[jess-gf]

Hopefully it wasn't a stomach flu bug or food poisoning - so sorry it hit you, though!

I wanted to add another story on the 'getting sick eating the same food' front. I've caught stomach flus and had food poisoning when my husband did too, and when I was still eating gluten (aka, not completely healed)I would always be sicker than he was, if he was at all. Maybe the same thing for you?

That said, just for informational purposes for the future, since you mentioned you've only been gluten-free a very short time.

Unfortunately, a lot of what you mentioned could have given you a gluten reaction. For us, we've had reactions to pie crust, to ham, to bacon, to oil (processed on a line with wheat germ oil, ugh), and to quinoa. All of these were listed as gluten-free. My kids have also had these from different companies with no trouble at all, though.

It's a sad thing, but a lot of us discover that not all gluten free products are created equal. Some companies test every batch of their product very carefully. Some don't always test every batch, so there can be contamination one time and it can be fine another time. Some have higher levels of gluten that may be too much for you. Some call their products gluten free even if the food is being made right next to a machine that uses flour and poofs it into the air so it likely falls into your gluten-free food and contaminates it.

Usually, after a while you figure out which brands are better and worse for you. I tend to check out brands on-line, looking for the name + 'glutened.' Often people will be talking about these on forums, which helps. It does get easier to avoid gluten after a while (if this was gluten), but in the beginning it can be hard.

So sorry you were sick on the holiday!

I'm starting to feel better now, thankfully. I felt like crap for days after. I am totally with you on using this forum's search tool - I use it every day! I have a laptop downstairs near the kitchen and whenever I have a question about what I can eat, or what I could buy to make to eat I do a search. This place is a great resource!

What I am most anxious about now is what to do for Christmas. We're going to his mom's place again, so it will be the same environment, mostly the same people, and it will probably be the same potluck type of situation. I have not told her that I got sick because I honestly am not sure what it was from and she is very nice and did try fairly hard to keep gluten-free stuff separated. I mean, can you really tell someone "Thanks for having me over for Thanksgiving, by the way something poisoned me and I was in the ER all that night". I can only think that I'll just have to try harder next time and ONLY eat what I bring and keep it wrapped up or something :/

[kareng]

No you don't tell her. Her son tells her how sick you were but doesn't place blame. He tells her you are trying to figure this screwy diet out and gluten lurks in strange places. That it is common for there to be other foods that cause people like you issues. He tells her he is worried about you. Her mommy instincts should have kicked in by now. He tells her you will bring all your own food, separately. Please, don't fuss about it as it will make his wife feel awkward. He knows she will help him. Even if he doesn't speak quite this mushy with his mom, she will probably fall for it. This isn't meant as " fall for a trick".

This assumes she really is a nice person with out a mental illness.

[Loey]

I'm starting to feel better now, thankfully. I felt like crap for days after. I am totally with you on using this forum's search tool - I use it every day! I have a laptop downstairs near the kitchen and whenever I have a question about what I can eat, or what I could buy to make to eat I do a search. This place is a great resource!

What I am most anxious about now is what to do for Christmas. We're going to his mom's place again, so it will be the same environment, mostly the same people, and it will probably be the same potluck type of situation. I have not told her that I got sick because I honestly am not sure what it was from and she is very nice and did try fairly hard to keep gluten-free stuff separated. I mean, can you really tell someone "Thanks for having me over for Thanksgiving, by the way something poisoned me and I was in the ER all that night". I can only think that I'll just have to try harder next time and ONLY eat what I bring and keep it wrapped up or something :/

They sound understanding so is there a way you can bring a cooler and heat your food as you need it? That way you can be 100% sure it won't be CC'd. You've got my total empathy. I've been in excruciating pain and i think it's the ulcer more than the celiac. I would have called my doctor but I already have an appointment on Friday. Hang in there an remember that we're all here for you.

Hoping that my painting class will take my mind off of it.

Loey

[JBaby]

Hi. I had those exact symptoms the other night. If I could have screamed for help I would have been at the ER. Thought I was going to meet my maker the other night. For me, I had eaten for the first time Thai Kitchen Rice. Says gluten free. I sent a list of the ingredients to my clinical nutritionist/celiac specialist and he noticed that it was the sodium caseinate, a milk protein derivative. I am allergic to dairy. Makes sense since my dermatologist urged me to stay away from dairy, unless organic. I have been getting cysts injected with steroid since they dont go away. Dairy causes these. I have finally learned by way of extreme torture that I must keep dairy out of my diet. Since going gluten-free on a whole foods diet with minimally processed foods since March 2010, other allergies are popping up. Some celiacs eat the product I did and are fine, others get ill. Just wanted to share my ills with you. Hope your feeling better.

JBaby