What Causes The Hypersensitivity?

[color-me-confused]

I sit here with severe stomach cramps setting in, burping like crazy, and I've realized I've been super irritable all day. Gluten exposure? again?! It's been just a few days since the bread baking incident! I suppose it's possible, it's been a busy few days with a lot of people in the house. I've been making my own food but who knows. Maybe it's just normal stomach upset.

So I'm wondering: what causes the hypersensitivity after going gluten free? Looking at my list of health improvements I can see I was on something of a slow downward spiral health-wise before my surprise diagnosis. But eating gluten pre-diagnosis didn't cause these acute attacks of pain, indigestion, fatigue, etc. (I suppose it was more low-grade and chronic). Is there anything that can be done to lower the severity of the response?

[txplowgirl]

Once you go gluten free, you stop making the antibodies to gluten, therefore when you get glutened you make more antibodies and they attack your system. You could have had a lot of cross contamination if there were a lot of people in your home who weren't gluten free and then again it could just be your gut healing which you will have good and bad days, but I bet on the cc at the moment. I'm sorry you're feeling bad. Take some Pepto bismol, drink a lot of water to flush your system and take some tylenol and try to wait it out. I hope you get to feeling better. Wish I could be of more help. I feel for you, been there done that.

[eatmeat4good]

Your body sort of gets used to it with the constant onslaught of gluten and it's constant antibody production. You are very sick, but it becomes your normal. Then when you eliminate it, your body breathes a sigh of relief and starts healing. After the antibodies calm down and healing is taking place, your body is really reactive when even trace gluten enters....it calls out all the reinforcements (antibodies) because it doesn't want to be invaded by gluten anymore...and you get a huge reaction from cross-contamination.

This is how I think of it. Not scientific...but a fairly good analogy for my purposes of understanding the severe reactions to trace gluten.

[rdunbar]

apparantly, gluten is super potent in even miniscule amounts. It's the gluten, not your sensativity to it that is the problem.

with a lot of toxic things, you get a tolerence developed, so when you remove it, and it gets reintroduced, it effects you much more this time. consider heroin, for example!

[tarnalberry]

The autoimmune reaction is self-sustaining in the intestines for up to two weeks. So, even if it was a few days ago, you may still be feeling those effects.

[color-me-confused]

The autoimmune reaction is self-sustaining in the intestines for up to two weeks. So, even if it was a few days ago, you may still be feeling those effects.

that makes it really hard to figure out exposure!!