Embarrassing Mistake

lovegrov · February 21, 2012

This is sort of embarrassing to admit but maybe posting will help keep somebody else from doing the same type of thing in the future.

We were out of town a couple of weeks ago and I saw some Midel cookie gluten-free flavors I hadn't seen before, so I bought two bags. Sunday afternoon I opened the lemon ones and ate a few. A couple of hours later I developed a headache and a few minutes later was throwing up. Yep, the lemon ones were NOT gluten-free but were sitting right beside other gluten-free flavors in the store. Somehow I saw them as gluten-free when I picked them up and I never looked at the label again. It's the first time in more than 10 years I've made that sort of mistake, so it shows that experience doesn't make you immune to stupidity.

My reaction lasted only a few hours but unfortunately those few hours were during the time my wife and I were supposed to go see Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers in concert. Bummer.

richard

Lisa · February 21, 2012

That's a good reminder to stay vigilant! I catch myself "assuming" a bit too much at times.

Glad you made a quick recovery richard.

alex11602 · February 21, 2012

Glad that your reaction didn't last long.

And those Mi-del cookies are tricky ones sometimes...a store down the road from us has the wheat filled ginger ones right in between the packages of gluten free ones. My husband said something to the manager but they didn't change it.

IrishHeart · February 21, 2012

Oh no! Sorry this happened to you. Glad your symptoms resolved quickly, even though you had to miss the show.

It was good of you to share this info about the Midel cookies and to tell us even 10 -year "veterans" make boo-boos once and a while.

I made a doozy with an "alleged" gluten-free flourless cake in Dec. that gave me symptoms for 2 months. (upscale restaurant menu said it was but the bakery it came from makes many flour products, too) My bad.

Glad you are okay!

Silencio · February 22, 2012

I did the same thing with pasta in the organic section. Just assumed it was also gluten free and didn't notice it wasn't til the next time I was about to buy it.

Bubba's Mom · February 22, 2012

So sorry you got glutened and had to miss the show.

Thanks for posting your story. It will alert others to watch more carefully. I've noticed they are putting organic and gluten free items together on the shelves. We have to continue to read labels...sigh.

dilettantesteph · February 23, 2012

Can you tell me, do you normally throw up when glutened? I don't. A few weeks ago I got really sick with a lot of throwing up to the point where I was barely conscious. My husband took care of me or I probably would have thrown up all over myself and everything around me and who knows, chocked to death.

I assumed it wasn't gluten because it was so different from my reaction to trace levels. I had no idea what it could have been. Maybe I got a big dose somehow? Is throwing up more likely to happen with a big dose?

jerseyangel · February 23, 2012

Ugh Richard--can happen to the best of us. Just sorry you had to miss the show.

lovegrov · February 23, 2012

I don't think that throwing up is necessarily "normal" in general, but on the 3-4 occasions that I KNOW I've gotten a decent dose of gluten, I've had a headache and thrown up. The nausea hits anywhere between 2 and 4 hours after ingesting and for a while it's fairly severe. Sometimes I have diarrhea and sometimes I don't. I also generally have some chills or sweats, which I also had for weeks before and after my diagnosis. There's no way in heck I could EVER do a challenge, not that there'd ever be any need for me to do so. I was diagnosed by blood test and biopsy.

richard

kareng · February 23, 2012

On 2/23/2012 at 9:23 PM, lovegrov said:
I don't think that throwing up is necessarily "normal" in general, but on the 3-4 occasions that I KNOW I've gotten a decent dose of gluten, I've had a headache and thrown up. The nausea hits anywhere between 2 and 4 hours after ingesting and for a while it's fairly severe. Sometimes I have diarrhea and sometimes I don't. I also generally have some chills or sweats, which I also had for weeks before and after my diagnosis. There's no way in heck I could EVER do a challenge, not that there'd ever be any need for me to do so. I was diagnosed by blood test and biopsy.

richard

This cookies have almost tripped me up, too.

I think its quite common for a headache to cause nausea so if the gluten gives you a headache then you might get nausea & vomitting.

GFinDC · February 23, 2012

Easy thing to do. I used to eat Midel cookies but stopped due to soy. They do have packages that look very similar. The stores I go to do the same thing too, putting the gluten-free cookies right next to the non-gluten-free cookies. I have had to look twice to make sure which are gluten-free.

Lots of stores put the FFL Ezikiel bread next the gluten-free bread too.