How Do You Comfort Yourself When Glutened?

[Guest BERNESES]

I'm just wondering what people do to comfort themselves when glutened. I sleep and tell myself it will pass but I'm wondering if others have ways of coping. Things I'm interested in are things you do- not vitamins you take, etc. It seems that lately sleeping and telling myself it will pass has not been enough and I've been crying a lot with frustration. The people on this board have been a HUGE comfort but I'm just wondering if there's other things I could do, even if just to lift my mood and distract me for awhile. So what do you do to help yourself? Thanks, Beverly

[KaitiUSA]

I like to sleep but something I love to do to lift my mood is watch comedies. Whenever I get laughing I seem to forget about how bad I feel and it really helps me to feel better.

I also love to eat my comfort foods too

[lorka150]

I lay down (I can never sleep, but am so tired I want to die! Good ol' molasses feeling), and chill out. I usually need time to myself because it is always depressing for me. I drink lots of herbal tea and when it's meal times, steam everything to mush. I always feel good eating mushy vegetables.

I tend to feel sorry for myself the first day, which isn't good, but i'm still new at all of this. It's so frustrating still.

[tarnalberry]

Go about my normal practices. I know it sounds ... something ... but I'm often cranky, so I might whine "I don't want to go to yoga; I want to sit on my ass tonight", but I go. I'll generally be somewhat quiet, sleeping when I need to sleep and doing other low key things like reading or surfing the net or updating my website until the abdominal bits pass. I try to spend some time meditating too, but my ability to not get distracted varies. ;-)

[FaithInScienceToo]

Hi -

Good post!

What do I do?

I do some more reading/research about what to avoid, and what to be more suspect of, to help prevent it from happening again. I also commit right away to being MUCH more careful about what I put in my mouth, and that makes it easier to not take similar risks again.

I also drink more water, get more sleep and take digestive enzymes...and Tylenol PM (or Ambien or Valium) if I need it for sleep...to let my body rest and heal up...

Plus, my cat, Mr. Bo Jangles, seems to know when I am not feeling well...so, he's always a great source of warmth and cuddling :-)

Gina

[burdee]

What helps me is to relax the cramps, cope with the bloat and move the gas. So I drink really strong herbal peppermint tea, wear my 'celiac' episode clothes (really loose fitting tops and elastic waist pants) and walk, do yoga positions or elevate the foot of my 'tempurpedic' bed while I watch funny movies or "Funniest Animal Videos". Also just focussing on anything else which I feel passionate about distracts me enough to remember "This too shall pass ..." I just assumed leadership of our local floundering leaderless celiac support group. I've been soooo busy that I only noticed the excruciating pain once in awhile, even though I've had several 'episodes' in a row this week. I'm still not sure what caused this last one. I've been too busy to do adequate post episode contamination culprit sleuthing.

BURDEE

[Rachel--24]

The only thing that really helps me is sleep....and lots of it. I do get extremely tired but also it helps me escape the pain. If the reaction is bad I'll sleep for most of 2 days. Also I cry alot but after a crying session I'll feel better...then I'll fall into a deep sleep. If the reaction is mild then I'll go outside in the sun and start doing yardwork or something. For some reason being in the sun relieves some of my symptoms. My doc told me its because I'm lacking vitamin D...I don't know if thats the real reason...I just know that it works for me. Luckily I havent had many of the real bad reactions lately.

[Carriefaith]

I usually try my best to go to school, work, ect, but I don't push it. When I am extremley tired and not feeling well from the gluten I will sleep in for the morning and go to school late. When I get severe pain while I am out or at home I just have to sit there and wait it out.

[bratcat]

Most of the time I walk.Just go out in the yard and wear out the grass.I can't be still,because I am so uncormfortable.I tend to withdraw from everyone and try to walk where no one will bother me.I don't like for people(even family) to see me when I am not my best.I have a hard time coping with being sick.I have never been a whiner,nor could I tolerate anyone who was.If I can't go outside,I do to another room and do some kind of craft--standing up.When I sit down I feel like there is something on top of my stomach that doesn't belong there.Sometimes I get into a good hot bath and just lie there.

[jenvan]

Rest, watch funny shows like Kaiti mentioned... I'll put on some Sex in the City or Gilmore Girls... Focus on normalcy, because I will be there again, take a walk, even a slow one and get some fresh air. I also just taken everything slower and cut back on what I do. If I am really in a bad spot, I may choose to lay down and veg, rather than clean the sink. That's important for types like me who have a tendency to do too much...

[rmmadden]

When I feel lousy I usually try and go for walks to get my mind off how I feel. I also like to listen to jazz or other light music and sleep as much as possible. Finally I rely heavily on my natural magnet belt to ease my aches & pains associated with the bloating etc.

Cleveland Bob

[Guest BERNESES]

Thanks Everyone- I really appreciate it. I think I need a mental coping scheme. I know what to do physically but sometimes I am just so uncomfortable all I can do is cry. I hate it- I consider myself a relatively strong person but this has pushed me to my limits and I want to find more positive things to do that don't require a lot of physical energy. But maybe some yoga, comedy, sleep and a little walk would help. Calling my sister helps too. Just tired of moaning to my husband and crying on his shoulder. I've noticed if I get distracted I can usually forget how crappy I feel. Best, Beverly

[laurelfla]

i'm new to all this, so it's good to see other strategies for coping with the ickiness!

first i call one of my very good friends (i rotate them out so no one has to deal with a crying Laurel every time she talks to me!) and i rant for a few minutes about how awful i feel. after the phone call i lie on the couch and let my cat put his warm paw on my arm (that's what he does when i'm upset -- it's too cute). and i watch my mexican soap opera that i am addicted to. or sex and the city. Bridget Jones is probably my favorite, though, for when i'm feeling down. and i am just as slothful as i need to be until i feel better. (not counting work/school of course). oh, and sometimes i journal about it first, just to get all the emotional response out. then i distract myself with the tv or movies.

[Rachel--24]

i'm new to all this, so it's good to see other strategies for coping with the ickiness!

first i call one of my very good friends (i rotate them out so no one has to deal with a crying Laurel every time she talks to me!) and i rant for a few minutes about how awful i feel.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I do the same thing...its very rare now but for 2 years it was nearly daily. I'm surprised I still have ANY friends! Sometimes they'd jokingly say "Isn't it someone else's turn today." He-He...I guess I tortured them. Then when I started to feel better I was out and about and all of a sudden no-one could reach me. They were like "What the heck?...Before we couldn't get rid of you...now you're so busy we cant even *find* you."

I remembered a couple other things I do to feel better....I go to the gym and sit in the sauna and the steam room...which is relaxing and a good way to detox. If I'm feeling like things are hopeless (sometimes I forget that the reactions are temporary) I'll start reading positive info. on this board or elsewhere..that always lifts my spirits. I also watch Sex and the City...funny how many of us turn to that show for comfort. I just finally watched the final episode this week. I didn't get hooked on it till after it stopped airing so I had to wait for the DVD's. Anyway, it was the ending I had hoped for.

[Guest BERNESES]

Let's turn this into a list. I'll start a new thread. I was thinking about it yesterday when I picked up my pack of "52 Silly Thyings to do When You Are Blue Card" and threw out all the ones that had to do with food. Beverly