A Downer Day

[jenngolightly]

My glutened symptoms are changing and I'm mad about that. (toning down my words a bit so not to offend)

I ate leftovers for lunch 2 days ago and got my immediate symptoms of bloating and gas, etc, but my residual symptoms are quite different this time.

First of all, these were LeftOvers! Why did I get glutened from LeftOvers??? I'm not going to dwell on that because it could be anything. I'm experienced enough to know that gluten is everywhere.

But this time I've got a new symptom. I'm disoriented. Not a brain-fog where I'm slowed down and can't think clearly. Rather, I can't remember what day it is, where I'm supposed to be, what I'm supposed to be doing... And I'm easily startled. This is in conjunction with regular things like lethargy, sleepiness, migraine... But the new symptoms are quite worrisome because they're more detrimental to my everyday life. I'm having a tough time at work because I'm not able to remember what I'm supposed to be doing and whenever someone walks by, I jump. Weird.

That's unsettling. But then another thing happened. I told my boss that I'm moving and getting divorced. (My husband puts things in my food to see if I'll get sick)...

She said that she's been worried that I was going to have to quit because I've had to take off so much time due to my food-related incapacitation. That was so traumatic! I don't want to stay home! I don't want to miss work! I need to work!

I didn't realize that other people were seeing the effects of my food issues so visibly. Now I'm paranoid that everyone thinks I'm sickly and can't do my job...

[rustycat]

When I get glutened, I get paranoid and anxious, too. Maybe it's best to make important decisions when you're feeling better. One thing to hold onto during the brain fog and anxiety that has been brought on by gluten is that you will get better. This, too, will pass. Hang in there.

[Marilyn R]

I get anxious to. My doctor prescribed some anti-anxiety medication and when I start feeling the symptoms of having been glutened, I take half a dose. It really seems to help. You sleep better, so you can function better the next day, and it helps my state of mind.

Regarding the leftovers, it may help to try rotating your foods. Allergists recommend it, and it has helped me. (Search rotation diet if interested.)

Good luck, hope you feel better soon.

[eatmeat4good]

One other thing that can cause the symptoms you describe is salicylic acid if you are sensitive to it.

Spaciness, an exaggerated startle response, a persisitent dry cough, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight gain, and migraine headaches are symptoms of chronic salicylic acid poisoning.

Before I knew I had Celiac, I took a lot of Ibuprofen for the migraine headaches caused by gluten. Ibuprofen is closely related to aspirin and people who are sensitive cannot take it. I took it every day.

It took years to figure out that my face wash had salicylic acid in it, my daily Ibuprofen for headaches, and at one point I started using baby aspirin due to heart palpitations.

I think I almost killed myself.

I had the Aha! moment when I google chronic aspirin poisoning. There were all the symptoms I had.

I dropped all aspirin/salicylic acid containing products.

I only got 50% better.

Then found out about Celiac Disease.

When I did research on it, it turned out that many people who are Celiac are also sensitive to salicylic acid.

If you are particularly sensitive you have to watch how many fruits and vegetables with high sal content you eat.

I don't have any idea if any of this will help you, but I thought it was worth sharing, particularly since your symptom of an exaggerated startle response is consistent with aspirin intolerance.

I also have anxiety attacks if I get glutened.

I use Xanax at a very low dose to "ride it out".

Good luck. I know how bad it sucks to be sick.

[lovegrov]

Are you sure this is gluten, especially if you're eating something that did not gluten you before? Sometimes we attribute everything to gluten when it's not always so.

richard

[jenngolightly]

Thank you all for your kind replies. There are times when I just need to reach out and get some sympathy. :-)

I feel much better today.

@Rusty: What a positive attitude! It's inspiring. I need to put "This to will pass. Hang in there" on a sticky note and put it on my monitor at work.

@Eat: Yikes! I've been taking Ibuprofen several times a day almost every day for the past week because I had some dental work done - and more to come next week. I'll have to look up salicylic acid poisoning that you talked about and see what it says. My diet is mostly fruits, veggies, and protein. Heavy on the fruits. But (sigh) I must confess that I'm wary about Googling s.a.p because ignorance is bliss and I'd rather not know. :-) Do you know what I mean? I can pretend I don't have something if I don't look up the symptoms. Confession: My problem is that whenever I do research and check the symptoms against what I'm personally experiencing, I always come to the conclusion that I do in fact have that disease or illness or intolerance or allergy or poisoning I'm researching. So, if I look up salicylic acid poisoning, I'm sure I'll come to the conclusion that I've got it. I don't know what's wrong with me. This only started happening after I got my Celiac diagnosis. Am I a hypochondriac? I don't think so. I mean, I don't run to the doctor and demand tests and medication. At least I know that I will find a way to match my symptoms to whatever disease I look up. Acknowledging that I have a problem is the first step, right? ;-)

It does suck to be sick! It rarely happens anymore, so when I do get sick I throw a major pity-party.

@Marylin: I have a really strict diet - no gluten, sugar, corn, soy, dairy, grains, or starchy vegetables. Considering that, I'm fairly certain it was a cross-contamination of some kind. I had regular glutening symptoms upon eating the food, except for the new anxiety issues. I don't really "rotate" my diet, but I do add new foods regularly because I follow the specific carb diet. I love that I get to try new things all the time. But this incident happened with a plain hamburger, so nothing exotic that I could have reacted to. And it was a leftover from hamburgers that we cooked the night before when I had no reaction. Thinking... still living with my husband (we're separated) and he's the one who puts stuff in my food to see if I'll get sick. Maybe :-( I'll check out the rotation diet that you suggested.

@Richard: Now I'm looking at the stress in my life and perhaps I am attributing the disorientation and startle-response to the glutening when, in fact, it has to do with the divorce, looking for a new house, selling my current house, keeping my kids sane, and working full time. Everything is connected and my symptoms are probably exacerbated because of the stress.

Thanks everyone!