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Was I Glutened?

desperate

By desperate
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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desperate Rookie
desperate
Posted

I thought it was safe to eat at an Indian restaurant but I think I got glutened from the Lentil Papadam. Are they usually fried? I am thinking if they are then there is a chance I was glutened by cross contamination. Today I have brain fog, blurry vision, difficulty concentrating, headache and pressure behind eyes. I haven't had this since going gluten free three weeks ago.

I also ate basmati rice, chicken makhni, pindo chole, and a vegetable dish called sabz bahar kadai. I am pretty sure all of those are gluten free.

I am very upset. I haven't felt this way in a while and am trying to figure out if I am gluten intolerant. Blood tests normal, some flattening of villi seen during endo that was biopsied and dr said was not celiac. I am still supicious.

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ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Did the restaurant have a gluten free menu? Restaurants can be difficult for us if they don't. It would be hard to pinpoint what got you without knowing the ingredients of what you had. We can also tend to get more sensitive the longer we are gluten free and you may end up with D tommorrow or the next day as it can take a few days for that to set in.

Marilyn R Community Regular
Marilyn R
Posted

I've never had a problem at my local Indian restaurant, except that it's 30 miles away! I microwave Papadam, not sure what the restaurant does. And I developed an intolerance to legumes about 8 months after going gluten-free, so that could have something to do with it. Or not. :(

cait Apprentice
cait
Posted

Indian food is generally pretty safe, but I've been glutened by it. It was with great sadness that I discovered that malai kofta is generally not gluten free. Sigh.

I would guess that the papadum did it. I think they are usually fried, and would probably be CCed by samosas or other fried things. I'm sorry you're feeling lousy. I hope it passes quickly.

eatmeat4good Enthusiast
eatmeat4good
Posted

Just think of it...in the rush to keep the buffet filled they grab Naan bread and fill the basket then they grab your Lentil Papadum and fill the basket and rush it out to the buffet....it only takes a molecule...

I loved eating in Indian Restaurants, but I know that even when they wear gloves they are touching gluten and then touching gluten free food not thinking a thing about it except keeping their hands off the food. It's extremely hard to eat where they serve gluten food at all.

AVR1962 Collaborator
AVR1962
Posted

Goodness, sorry to hear! I too love Indian food, miss nan. I personally have wondered if there is any flour used to thicken their sauces.

Curious, how long will your symptoms last normally? I have the same symptoms and am off-balance and become depressed which will last 2-3 weeks.

I am not a beer drinker and never have been but 2 weeks ago I consumed about a 1/3 cup of beer which was in something else and while I am finally feeling better, I'm still not completely over it yet.

desperate Rookie
desperate
Posted
  • Author

Goodness, sorry to hear! I too love Indian food, miss nan. I personally have wondered if there is any flour used to thicken their sauces.

Curious, how long will your symptoms last normally? I have the same symptoms and am off-balance and become depressed which will last 2-3 weeks.

I am not a beer drinker and never have been but 2 weeks ago I consumed about a 1/3 cup of beer which was in something else and while I am finally feeling better, I'm still not completely over it yet.

My symptoms take about 2 weeks to go away. I am sick to my stomach about it. I feel like this is such a set back. I was feeling so good too.

No more Indian for me:(

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Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

Papadam can be fried. I'm sorry to hear you're sick.

I wouldn't write off the Indian food entirely. Just ask the restaurant how they prepare the papadam and avoid them if they're put in a fryer with samosas and other breaded foods. I bet that's what got you.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

Goodness, sorry to hear! I too love Indian food, miss nan. I personally have wondered if there is any flour used to thicken their sauces.

Indian sauces are almost never thickened with flour and tend to be naturally gluten-free. It's a great ethnic food for us celiacs. Meat curries are often thickened with bhuna, onion paste cooked in ghee with ginger, garlic, and the spice masala. The onions dissolve with lengthy simmering and thicken the sauce. With bean dishes, they mash some of the beans against the side of the pot to thicken. Dishes like daal are cooked until some of the lentils fall apart and the dish gets thick. Sometimes yogurt, cream, or coconut milk are added. It's usually pretty easy to say you have a "wheat allergy" at an Indian restaurant and make sure there is no flour in the curries.

cyberprof Enthusiast
cyberprof
Posted

I agree with Skylark - I've eaten at Indian restaurants about 20 times and have never been badly glutened. Minor yes, but no big D or something that major. My favorite restaurant tells me that flour is only in the naan and samosa but I'm still careful.

I eat tikka masala, jalfrazi, coconut curry. Rice. Sometimes pakoras, which are made with garbanzo bean flour usually.

I've never tried the papadum and I try not to get too tricky.

In the "baking and cooking" forum here, I posted a recipe for indian crepes that I make at home as naan replacement. There is also an online recipe for gluten-free naan that I make at home. Open Original Shared Link

Don't give up!

eatmeat4good Enthusiast
eatmeat4good
Posted

Oh my god that looks delicious!

cyberprof Enthusiast
cyberprof
Posted

Oh my god that looks delicious!

It is good!

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