So Sick; Please Help!

[BamaGal]

I was diagnosed with Celiac apx. 7 - 8 years ago and have had on and off periods of problems with it. However, never this bad. I started getting sick last weekend with the classic symptoms of Celiac. It has gotten gradually worse, and I had to leave work 1/2 day Tuesday and haven't been back this week. I am so sick now that I can't even hold water on my stomach. I went to my Family Doctor Wednesday, and he put me on Flagyl. Yesterday I went to my Gastroenterologist, who specializes in celiac disease, and he added Aliana to that, so I am taking both antibiotics. I am so sick. Any ideas from anybody? I literally can't eat or drink anything and haven't left the house except to go to the Doc. Please help. Thanks for all your ideas/suggestions!

[eatmeat4good]

Make sure your medications are gluten free. That could keep you very sick. I hope you feel better soon, but go to the ER if you cannot stay hydrated due to the D and vomiting. It can be very serious.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Is there anything that you changed recently that could be glutening you? It may be something as simple as a handsoap with wheatgerm oil in it or a new product that you started using. OR a product you have always used that has changed ingredients recently. Check EVERYTHING, even if you have always been fine in the past. For food, try not to eat gluten free processed products. Try to eat naturally gluten free foods and keep it to bland easy to digest foods. Baked sweet potatoes, Steamed veggies, plain chicken or turkey are good choices. Also if you want to take the time to post here what you were eating on a regular basis when you started to get sick we might be able to help you pinpont the culprit. There may be other people here that got sick from a product you were eating OR there may be a common ingredient in the foods you were eatign that is a common intolerance here. Soy and dairy are two common ones on this board that you could look at. I hope you can figure it out!

[BamaGal]

Thanks guys for all your suggestions. For the last week and 1/2, I have been eating very plain/blan foods. (ex. creamed potatoes, soup) Before that, I was eating a Yoplait yogurt for breakfast and a Vans gluten-free waffle, a sandwich with UDI's bread with Hillshire farm gluten-free meat, and usually homemade spaghetti or vegetables at dinner. I have been very careful. No, I haven't changed any brands of anything. Today, I ate a YoPlus Yogurt for breakfast and did fine; an hour 1/2 later I ate a plain Van's gluten-free waffle and got terribly sick before I could even finish it. I had to leave work. BTW, I work for attorneys, and as we all know they aren't very sympathetic. I called my Doctor today and he is going to work me in tomorrow. I am just miserable. I am truly hoping for some cures from you guys so that I will know where to start. Being sick for so long has gotten me almost depressed and I just don't know what else to do. Thanks in advance for your help/suggestions.

[Strawberry-Jam]

Definitely start keeping a food and symptoms diary, writing down exactly when and what you eat, and when and what you feel certain things beginning to happen. It could help you track down remaining food intolerances or allergies if you happen to have any. It could also help you figure out blood sugar or other kinds of problems you might be having.

[T.H.]

Definitely start keeping a food and symptoms diary, writing down exactly when and what

I would second this.

It sounds like your docs are looking at the more serious potential issues, too, so that at least takes that worry off the table.

One thing that can help you figure out what it could be? If it were me...I would fast for a day or so. Maybe just have some water and squeeze a little orange juice into it (from fresh oranges, to make sure you have no additives, just orange, or whatever fruit you might pick). If you are still quite ill and that doesn't help, then it's likely something systemic. If you are not ill anymore when you stop eating, then it's likely something you are eating that is getting you sick, you know? If you are ill only when you drink the water...then it's likely you are having a problem with that fruit or with fructose.

Also, some other possibilities, if it's something you are eating.

1. I developed an allergy/intolerance to some of the ingredients that are more common in gluten-free foods. If that has happened to you, you could be getting sick from that. Some people develop issues with gums like xanthan gum or guar gum, and that's more common in gluten-free food. Nightshades can become a problem for Celiacs, too, and potato starch is common in gluten-free foods, too. Could be developing a dairy issue, as well. I have a friend who was nauseated and ill for 2 years, with doctors checking her for everything from gut infections to cancer, and all it turned out to be was lactose intolerance. It can simply start at any time, unfortunately. Oh, and you might check out annatto sensitivity too - this is a good site for that: Open Original Shared Link

2. Sadly, you don't have to change brands for a food to become unsafe. They can change ingredients, have their suppliers change sources for THEIR ingredients, and so on. They don't have to inform us consumers, either, so a previously safe food can become unsafe for you to eat.

3. Some Celiacs seem to either develop worse symptoms to lower levels of gluten, or start reacting to lower levels of gluten, after they are gluten free for a while. This has happened to my daughter, where previously safe foods started making her sick. These were gluten-free foods, too, but she started reacting to the ones that had slightly higher levels of gluten (since 'gluten free' just means 'really, really low gluten,' it's always a possibility, if not a high one). If this is what you have, it could even be a combination of issues. You could be having low reactions to some food that has too much gluten for you now, but a low reaction might be enough to make you lactose intolerant if it was affecting the tips of your villi, and that would mean you get a double whammy of gluten issue and lactose intolerance. Joy, eh? Or even if you somehow got a nasty gluten cc moment, it could have made you temporarily lactose intolerant and you just aren't healing yet, eating lots of dairy, possibly.

4. It could be your environment - any new pets? New pet products? New construction near you? Anything else with a dust in the air? If you inhale dust with gluten, it hits your throat, and a little gets swallowed, and that means you got glutened. You'd be amazed what construction materials and pet supplies have gluten that can do that - drywall dust, plywood sawdust, some cat litter - lots of it can be an issue.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Thanks guys for all your suggestions. For the last week and 1/2, I have been eating very plain/blan foods. (ex. creamed potatoes, soup) Before that, I was eating a Yoplait yogurt for breakfast and a Vans gluten-free waffle, a sandwich with UDI's bread with Hillshire farm gluten-free meat, and usually homemade spaghetti or vegetables at dinner. I have been very careful. No, I haven't changed any brands of anything. Today, I ate a YoPlus Yogurt for breakfast and did fine; an hour 1/2 later I ate a plain Van's gluten-free waffle and got terribly sick before I could even finish it. I had to leave work. BTW, I work for attorneys, and as we all know they aren't very sympathetic. I called my Doctor today and he is going to work me in tomorrow. I am just miserable. I am truly hoping for some cures from you guys so that I will know where to start. Being sick for so long has gotten me almost depressed and I just don't know what else to do. Thanks in advance for your help/suggestions.

It looks like you are eating a lot of processed foods. If you can, you relaly should switch to a whole foods diet for a while. Some people react badly to Udi's bread. It's not neccessarily a gluten reaction but some people just don't do well with it. I would suspect the Van's Waffles could be a bad batch or something--I don't know if they make them in a dedicated gluten-free facility but I know that company also makes whole wheat waffles. The yogurt could be a problem for you if you have a dairy intolerance. The yogurt you ate is also possibly a problem because it contains a lot of additives--any one of which you may be sensitive too. Even if you never had a problem with the yogurt before now it could be that goign gluten free has brought out a sensitivty you never knew you had. Again these are just possible other intolerances...

Another question for you (sorry if this was already answered)--did you buy a new toster for gluten free waffles and bread? Is there any chance someone--a visitor or guest could have used your gluten-free toster for regular gluten bread?