What Would One Slice Of Whole Wheat Bread Do To You ?

[collgwg]

well this is what i have been asking my self for a couple of days now

i have been gluten-free for aprox 2 months now

and i was just wondering what it would do, so i took out one slice of bread buttered it and put some chicken on it and ate it

at first i thought i would like it i bit down into it and start chewing and soon relized that it really tastes grose i did not like the texture and it seemed to taste almost gluey it was hard to swallow it seemed so foren

well with in an hr i ended up getting diareah i felt sick to my stomach my right side under my rib cage hurt its a deep hurt so i felt so yucky all evening i went to bed early and now this morning my toung is swollen my hands face my whole body akes and feels swollen

but at least i know what it does to me now

how would it affect you?

[Poppi]

The first week would be excruciating. The brain fog hits within the hour. Constant migraine, intense muscle pain and spasms all up my back and neck, severe nausea, fatigue, joint pain, irritability, constipation. The second week the nausea and pain start to fade, the headache is gone but my neck still hurts really badly. By the end of the second week things are almost back to normal and in the third week I start feeling really good again.

That's how it played out when I got cc'd by some hashbrowns a month ago.

[angel9165]

My little sister went gluten free a few months back (after testing negative and at my request to give me 2 months and see if it makes a difference). Last weekend while traveling, she ate a sandwich as she felt guilty about telling my sister-in-law (who prepared them) that she couldn't/shouldn't. Needless to say, she was sick the rest of the weekend. She missed out on a lot of fun and what would have been a great dinner that evening but she couldn't eat or drink as she was in so much pain. On the bright side, she knows that even though she didn't test positive for Celiac, she has an intolerance. She says she hasn't felt this good in years. Exactly the way I felt after being diagnosed and going gluten-free. She's almost 10 years younger than I am so I'm very grateful that she got a handle on it and will not be doing more damage to her body due to lack of knowledge.

Knowledge is power!!

[GlutenFreeManna]

I had a similar experience as you only I tried pizza about a month after going gluten free to test it. The pizza tasted disgusting! It should have been good, my husband said it was good, but the crust was gross to me not like I remembered it. the next day I had joint pain and a migraine headache so bad I couldn't get out of bed. The only way to describe it was that it was like a hangover, only I had not had any alcohol. My stomach was puffed up so I looked 6 monhts pregnant and it hurt. I had about two days of cramping, joint pain, muscle spasms, brain fog, and major C. Then the D started--this is typical for me to have it start a couple days later. What is not typical but happens only when I get large amounts is that I had liquid blood come out of me. That one time of testing it was so scary and painful for me I never, ever want to try it again. I had the blood thing happen again when I had a large accidental amount (was given regular pasta at a place where I ordered gluten-free pasta). So I know it is related to gltuen for sure and not a symptom of food poisoning or something. Everything except the bloody stool happens to me if I get even a trace amount of gluten so I am very careful.

[sa1937]

how would it affect you?

You could not pay me enough to test the waters. It's just not worth it to me. Nothing beats feeling well so I have no desire to see how I would react.

[luvs2eat]

You could not pay me enough to test the waters. It's just not worth it to me. Nothing beats feeling well so I have no desire to see how I would react.

I'm with you there! The last time I was accidentally glutened (totally my fault), I spent the evening trying desperately not to barf. Then came the diarrhea and gut pain/rumbling and I spent the whole next day on the couch in a fog. The day after that wasn't too bad, but I'd never intentionally put myself back there!

[love2travel]

Although it likely wouldn't make me sick whatsoever (never has before), I still refuse to cheat because I know the havoc it can wreak inside. It's tough - because it doesn't make me sick I could so easily reach out my hand to grab that thick slice of ciabatta bread but I just cannot not do it. If I tried one thing I might try another and another and then even another. With no reaction I may begin to question my celiac disease diagnosis...

[K8ling]

I would totally want to die.

[jackay]

I've often thought of cheating with just a bread crumb to find out of my current symptoms are from cc or something else. Too scared to do it.

[adab8ca]

I licked a spoon that I used to spread almond butter on an english muffin for my husband and had diarrhea for over 6 weeks...i was tested for EVERYTHING (parasites etc) but it started within hours of licking the spoon and was accompanied by excruciating nerve pain...Never ever again. I have never been so sick in my entire life, especially since when I was dx'd nwith celiac, i was one of those that had no obvious GI symptoms and found out by accident.

[Monklady123]

These responses tell you why I will never EVER go for the endoscopy, since my doctor told me I'd have to eat gluten every single day for a couple of MONTHS! I don't need a biopsy to tell me what I already know.

(mine would be the body aches, migraine, diarrhea reaction)

[jackay]

I licked a spoon that I used to spread almond butter on an english muffin for my husband and had diarrhea for over 6 weeks...i was tested for EVERYTHING (parasites etc) but it started within hours of licking the spoon and was accompanied by excruciating nerve pain...Never ever again. I have never been so sick in my entire life, especially since when I was dx'd nwith celiac, i was one of those that had no obvious GI symptoms and found out by accident.

Six weeks! That is terrible.

Are you able to stay healthy in a shared house in you are extremely careful?

[love2travel]

I licked a spoon that I used to spread almond butter on an english muffin for my husband and had diarrhea for over 6 weeks...i was tested for EVERYTHING (parasites etc) but it started within hours of licking the spoon and was accompanied by excruciating nerve pain...Never ever again. I have never been so sick in my entire life, especially since when I was dx'd nwith celiac, i was one of those that had no obvious GI symptoms and found out by accident.

Wow. That is so horrid (and memorable for you).

If that happened to you without obvious GI symptoms it could very well happen to me as well (without GI symptoms). Time and time again I am astonished at how people react so differently!

[jenngolightly]

My reactions would be horrible and I don't have enough sick days to try it. But I can understand why you did it. I had cravings for the first 3 years. It gets better.

[Korwyn]

I honestly can't even imagine what a slice of whole wheat bread would do to me. Just thinking about it is making me feel nauseous. I'm not joking. I read the OP and by the time I got done skimming the replies I was feeling kinda queasy at the thought.

[adab8ca]

Six weeks! That is terrible.

Are you able to stay healthy in a shared house in you are extremely careful?

We do share a household but all the gluten stuff is already made (ie there is no flour floating around) and there is a tiny section of counter that my DH gets to use. His dishes then go in the laundry tub to get prewashed before they go in the dishwasher or kitchen sink, he doesn't even rinse then over dishes that I may have to use at some point, even if they are washed. It may be overkill (but he doesn't eat it very often) but I have managed to avoid it I think.

[adab8ca]

Wow. That is so horrid (and memorable for you).

If that happened to you without obvious GI symptoms it could very well happen to me as well (without GI symptoms). Time and time again I am astonished at how people react so differently!

I hear you!!!

My celiac was all nerve damage, anxiety, depression..Found out when a neurologist ran a bunch of tests to rule stuff out and there it was...Did lose weight (30 lbs) but there was no real D or anything. I was thinking cancer. So it was a surprise 8 months later with this TINY slip and oh my GOD, it was horrendous, all the neuro PLUS the D. I was convinced it was refractory celiac and that I was just going to die. Tried eliminating milk, corn, soy, nuts, nothing helped. Then it got....better.

So you never know. I hate that it happened and was SO scared but I think I know what reaction I get, so if I am feeling good, hopefully that means I am on the straight and narrow!

[collgwg]

i did not really have a craving i just wanted to see if i really could not tolorate it. and i sure found out in a hurry, that i can not

but im really unsure if i want to continue on testing if i have to eat gluten for a week or two if after one slice does that to me

[irish daveyboy]

i did not really have a craving i just wanted to see if i really could not tolorate it. and i sure found out in a hurry, that i can not

but im really unsure if i want to continue on testing if i have to eat gluten for a week or two if after one slice does that to me

Ans to above:

Prior to testing it's recommended that you eat 4 slices of wheat bread per day for 6-8 weeks to get an accurate reading. If you've been Gluten Free for a long time and feel better on the Diet and there is no medical requirement to test (only for your own satisfaction) and there is no benefits of a biopsy diagnosis, then you may want to skip what will be a very distressing 6-8 weeks.

This is not medical advice but my own personal feelings (saying that, I have an official diagnosis via biopsy, though I didn't go Gluten Free prior to testing)

As regards your initial question, 'what would a slice of wheat bread do to you'

I dread to think!

I ate some smoked salmon, which was cut with the same knife that spread the butter on the bread and 6 hours later I had terrible cramping, Vomiting for a full day and the big 'D' for 4 days.

Not nice at all!

[Poppi]

We were having fajitas last night. I got up to get a spoon and then sat back down and kept eating. I was eating and my oldest son looked at me and got a horrified look on his face. He warned me at that point that my 2 year old daughter had put her hands on my food and her hands had just been handling a peanut butter sandwich on regular wheat bread.

I stopped eating but it was too late. The stomach rumblings started about 3 hours later, had the big D in the middle of the night and again this morning and now I've got my usual headache and back/neck pain to deal with. This is an interesting development because I have never had D before so my system is getting more sensitive and my digestive system is responding differently than ever before.

No visible crumbs in my food and I only ate a few bites but it was enough.

[anabananakins]

The thought of eating a slice of bread makes me cringe. I just couldn't do it. The times I've been glutened I've not even seen the crumb that got me, it doesn't take much. Most recently was after a morning tea where the other 150 people there were eating cake and no doubt touching their gluten-y fingers to everything in sight. I didn't eat anything, but nonetheless 2 hours later I was stuck in the bathroom with terrible stomach ache & D. Followed by a few days of brain fog. UGH!

Bear in mind with the gluten challenge you can try it and still not get a diagnosis. I was gluten free for one month while trying (slightly lazy) version of the paleo diet. I pretty much ate meat, veges, dairy, nuts & fruit. Started getting really sick when I went back to eating "normally". I did a lot of research and decided to eat large amounts of gluten for 12 months so I could be sure. Was really sick for that entire time (though not as bad as I would be now, I still had some tolerance back then since I hadn't been strictly gluten free during that one month). Still couldn't test positive. Went strictly gluten free, felt amazingly better in 3 days.

My personal opinion is that if a person is currently eating gluten, then definitely pursue testing, but if you've already gone gluten free for a significant period and seen a positive response, unless you really want an 'official' diagnosis, then it's probably not worth it. I don't need a doctor to tell me that sprinkling arsenic on my food will make me sick; and I put gluten in that same category.

[cap6]

I agree with Korwyn. The thought makes me sick to the tummy. I have no desire of any kind to (knowingly) eat anything with gluten. I can walk down the bread aisle and not feel tempted - it's nauseating. Actually the longer I am gluten-free (15 months now) the less I crave any kind of sweets. I fund that I crave veggies & fruits. There must be something wrong with me - I don't even want chocolate!

[sa1937]

There must be something wrong with me - I don't even want chocolate!

Yes, there is something wrong with you! :lol:

[collgwg]

wow thank you all for shareing so much info for me

with all of your input, i have decided and agreed that if i can just control my symptoms with what i eat ,then i do not need to go through further testing.

but what i will do is tell the rest of the family and others that i did test positive just to make it all easier for explanations

so far my body has rejected lactose gluten and now soy

i am finding it hard to eat something good with these limited restrictions

[Cattknap]

One piece of bread might give me a mild stomach ache and that is about it. The damage it would do to my intestines is another story....I am on huge doses of iron and thyroid meds because of the mal-absorption issue that most of us have with Celiac. I'm hoping that at some point, I will heal and will no longer be anemic and will be able to go back to the tiny dose of thyroid meds I used to take.