Coping Methods With Current Pains. Help

[jsimone]

Hello

My wife has celiac and she has been on a gluten-free free diet for 7 years. Being new to celiac myself I find it a bit more interesting to find fun gluten free meals for us to eat and other cool gluten-free things. Right now she is having a pretty bad time because I think she has been cross contaminated from some drink or meal she ate. We were both wondering what people do to alleviate cramping, stomach pain, extreme body sensitivity, and headache etc...? There is little to no information online about this and most books only talk about prevention methods.

Also are there any foods that anyone eats during the aftermath of being contaminated with gluten? Unfortunatly my wife sometimes does not eat enough food and she needs food to eat, but right now she is in the middle of pain world. Any help or information would be good. I want to help at least reduce the pain a bit.

She is also lactose intolerant so none of that please.

Thanks,

Joshua

[ravenwoodglass]

Welcome to the board. When I get glutened if I have stomach pain Pepto Bismal liquid helps with that pretty quickly. Other than that asprin if my fibro gets bad or joints are bothersome asprin will help a little bit. Other than that just hot baths and a hot water bottle for my tummy is all that really helps. I do not take anything for the D because I want the offending food out of my system.

My go to for food at those times is Pocono Cream of Buckwheat, it is easily digested, has some protein and is soothing to the tummy.

I hope she is over this soon and it is great of you to come here to try and get some help.

[tictax707]

Hi Joshua, and welcome! I find that tea with mint & ginger & chamomille (sp?) help (it usually comes under some title along the lines of anti-tension or tummy-ease). I add a little bit of honey to make it more palatable. Depending on how badly inflamed her GI is, she may not be able to tolerate foods she can normally be ok with. My personal go to foods during times like this are cream of rice cereal, made with soymilk or whatever lactose free milk she can handle. (I like the gerber brand - I know it's baby food, but it works.) Then I have a meal replacement powder that i order from Environmed research in canada. It's called alphe ENF, and its designed for people with upset GI systems. Gluten and dairy free. Hopefully she can get the rest she needs while still being able to eat enough to help her body heal itself.

[JRock]

Hi Joshua,

Those of you who are supportive and loving with us crazy celiacs really deserve some kind of honorary title or award or something. It's not easy watching someone you love hurt, and my boyfriend tells me the worst part is being helpless.

I can't take any aspirin, ibuprofen, aleve because it does tend to irritate my stomach and worsen my collagenous colitis. I would suggest tylenol and/or tramadol to help with the pain (though in my most extreme glutenings, I will take vicodin) - other than that, I usually eat bland foods (broth, rice, plain chicken) when recovering from a glutening just so it allows my body to heal and not have other issues come up. My heating pad is always nearby also!

Hope this helps!

Jen

[Nor-TX]

There are times that I am in pretty rough shape and that is when I turn to babyfood. Yes... babyfood. I buy jars of plain fruits (apples or kiwi), rice cereal that I mix with hot water, jars of simple vegetables and those boxes of little biscuits made from rice. It often only takes a few days to straighten out my system and then I begin with some homemade chicken soup with rice and shredded chicken. Once I can tolerate that, I increase to plain steamed fish or plain rice pasta.

It is horrible having to eat babyfood - especially at work, but it definitely helps.

Good luck.

[krystynycole]

One thing I like to use is Gluten-Zyme. It works similarly to a lactaide pill but for gluten. It doesn't help so much with the pain, but it does seem to speed up the process for me so I'm in pain for less of a time. I also take it if I go out to eat at a restaurant or even to friends/family just to help alleviate cross contamination. There are many types of gluten enzymes available at your local health food store.

Also, from wife who is married to someone who is not gluten-free I want to say THANK YOU! You have no idea how wonderful it is that you are helping your wife seek answers and help. My husband has been my biggest support system because of who supportive he was.

[Niho]

Try 10 ml of Manuka Honey 30 min before each meal and before bedtime. It's the best cure for the whole digestive system. And you should get the highest UMF. Whenever she is bloated, having cramps, or not feeling well to eat, she could only eat a lot of honey...ONLY..any kind. Also, she has to rub her tummy with mint oil, Whiterose or Vicks and place a hot water bubble and cover up well and sleep. Whenever cross-contaminated, she has to take an anti-histamine shot such as: Fortecortin or any alternative and consume large amount of water and citrus juices with 1000 mg vitamin C (lessens the histamine levels and works well for the immunity against gluten or milk). Wish IT helps!!

Niho- Multiple food allergies, Lactose-free, Gluten-Free, Fruitarian!!

[kareng]

  On 2/12/2012 at 10:16 PM, Niho said:

Try 10 ml of Manuka Honey 30 min before each meal and before bedtime. It's the best cure for the whole digestive system. And you should get the highest UMF. Whenever she is bloated, having cramps, or not feeling well to eat, she could only eat a lot of honey...ONLY..any kind. Also, she has to rub her tummy with mint oil, Whiterose or Vicks and place a hot water bubble and cover up well and sleep. Whenever cross-contaminated, she has to take an anti-histamine shot such as: Fortecortin or any alternative and consume large amount of water and citrus juices with 1000 mg vitamin C (lessens the histamine levels and works well for the immunity against gluten or milk). Wish IT helps!!

Niho- Multiple food allergies, Lactose-free, Gluten-Free, Fruitarian!!

Not sure why antihistamine helps with Celiac? It's not an allergy. Here in the US, you can't just get an injection of medications without going to a doctor. Unless you meant an Epi pen. It's an emergency thing you stick ( inject) yourself with for a severe allergy reaction. But that isn't for Celiac.

[Adalaide]

I love herbal mint teas with honey when my stomach and I aren't getting along so well. I would say though that it is important to be herbal and caffeine free, since caffeine can make you feel pain more intensely. (My doctor told me this and I discovered that it is definitely true for me.)

I take ibuprofen for my aches and pains, or if my head hurts I take excedrin. (The generic stuff I have is gluten free but I have no idea if the brand names are.) Heating pads are also a great help, but when it's all over pain I really wish I had heated footie pajamas.

[Niho]

  On 2/12/2012 at 10:37 PM, kareng said:

Not sure why antihistamine helps with Celiac? It's not an allergy. Here in the US, you can't just get an injection of medications without going to a doctor. Unless you meant an Epi pen. It's an emergency thing you stick ( inject) yourself with for a severe allergy reaction. But that isn't for Celiac.

Yes, you are right as it's not an allergy, but antihistamine works well for the rash and itching.