Gluttened... What Does It Feel Like?

[designerstubble]

I'm a sort of newbie, getting to grips with stuff. Loving the forum (thank mother earth for this forum!).

I've been gluten-free for 10-11 weeks, had various odd symptoms and strange body things not to mention the mention hairloss.

But. I keep reading about being gluttened... What are the symptoms? I've just posted a topic on the different levels of celiac as I'm wondering would I know if I'd been gluttened? Is it possible I'd show few/no symptoms?

Is it possible I've escaped being gluttened in 3months of being gluten free? My kitchen still contains many gluten products (as my son and husband still eat the usual bread, cereals etc) and there are often crumbs on thr floor/table as much as I do try to clear up ALL the time, it's inevitable with a 5 year old.

Could I just be 'less' sensitive? Or have I just been lucky?

[shadowicewolf]

everyone is different there is no clearcut answer.

[designerstubble]

Yes, I'm thinking maybe the nightsweats I've experienced twice could've been a glutening... It's so frustrating this celiac?!

[Celiac Mindwarp]

Frustrating? Yes for sure

It might be worth writing symptoms down. Great if you can do it alongside a food diary, but also useful on its own.

3 months in I am starting to recognize my glutening symptoms.

My worst one I swelled up like I was 7 months pregnant and had raging gut pain.

Most since then are more subtle. So first I am dog tired, like flu, then mild D, then anxiety and depression kick in.

I think it is like a mini version of how I used to be most of the time before improvements on the gluten-free diet.

Some people are way worse, some dont even know. You gotta love it

[julissa]

for me, I get dizzy and nauseous. that's how I felt coming in to my gluten free life, and that's how I felt when I glutened myself. hope you keep feeling good!

[Coryad]

Frustrating? Yes for sure

It might be worth writing symptoms down. Great if you can do it alongside a food diary, but also useful on its own.

3 months in I am starting to recognize my glutening symptoms.

My worst one I swelled up like I was 7 months pregnant and had raging gut pain.

Most since then are more subtle. So first I am dog tired, like flu, then mild D, then anxiety and depression kick in.

I think it is like a mini version of how I used to be most of the time before improvements on the gluten-free diet.

Some people are way worse, some dont even know. You gotta love it

This is exactly how I feel when glutened.... I also get like a racing heart, palpatations with the anxiety.

It really is different with everyone though, the idea of writing everything down along with a food diary is ideal. Especially at the beginning

Cory

[Hala]

I start to feel sick, then I get awful stomach cramps (generally at night) and insomnia. I don't normally sleep at all on the night of a glutening. By the next morning I'll have a sore, bloated, 'dodgy-feeling' stomach and either 'C' or 'D' and transient nausea. I'll also be really lethargic, irritable and depressed and will have a killer headache.Basically, I should be avoided for the next few days at all costs, haha!

[srall]

I agree everyone has different symptoms. Also, I have learned that I have specific reactions to different foods. In the past I have blamed all my stomach issues on gluten, when I now know they are really a reaction to dairy. (My daughter though still has clear stomach issues if glutened)

My first sign of getting glutened is that I go outside my head...like I'm very very buzzed or drunk. If it's a bad glutening (and there have only been 2 of these in 2 years) I will have pain that is like fibromyalgia mostly in my upper body. This has lasted two to three weeks. I feel depressed and exhausted. My joints hurt and I know that nothing will get done for a few days at least. It really took me until the second glutening to come to terms with the fact that I have an AI disease and I am going to lose days to it despite doing the best I can to avoid gluten. So, on the days I feel good I try and get as caught up as possible, so when the down days come I can just do what absolutely has to get done.

I think after awhile you'll start to recognize the symptoms. My advice is to be careful. I cannot stress this enough.

[TGK112]

I'm a sort of newbie, getting to grips with stuff. Loving the forum (thank mother earth for this forum!).

I've been gluten-free for 10-11 weeks, had various odd symptoms and strange body things not to mention the mention hairloss.

But. I keep reading about being gluttened... What are the symptoms? I've just posted a topic on the different levels of celiac as I'm wondering would I know if I'd been gluttened? Is it possible I'd show few/no symptoms?

Is it possible I've escaped being gluttened in 3months of being gluten free? My kitchen still contains many gluten products (as my son and husband still eat the usual bread, cereals etc) and there are often crumbs on thr floor/table as much as I do try to clear up ALL the time, it's inevitable with a 5 year old.

Could I just be 'less' sensitive? Or have I just been lucky?

I read both your posts - and Identify with you a lot! I am just over 3 months gluten free - and am totally unaware if I have ever been glutened. I never had classic symptoms before diagnosis - and feel that I have been careful. But it's hard to believe - as a newbie - that I haven't made any mistakes over the past several months. I put a post out a while ago - also asking if there are different degrees of sensitivity - I was wondering if for one person it takes a speck of gluten to get a reaction , while for others it may take much more. I will have follow up blood tests and endoscopy in February - I am anxious to see if there is improvement. To me - that will be the only indication that I have actually been gluten free.

[KMMO320]

I'm a sort of newbie, getting to grips with stuff. Loving the forum (thank mother earth for this forum!).

I've been gluten-free for 10-11 weeks, had various odd symptoms and strange body things not to mention the mention hairloss.

But. I keep reading about being gluttened... What are the symptoms? I've just posted a topic on the different levels of celiac as I'm wondering would I know if I'd been gluttened? Is it possible I'd show few/no symptoms?

Is it possible I've escaped being gluttened in 3months of being gluten free? My kitchen still contains many gluten products (as my son and husband still eat the usual bread, cereals etc) and there are often crumbs on thr floor/table as much as I do try to clear up ALL the time, it's inevitable with a 5 year old.

Could I just be 'less' sensitive? Or have I just been lucky?

I am still new to it too. 4 months in and feeling much better. I have been glutened, always my own fault. My blood tests and endoscopy show negative, but my dr still believes I have celiac disease based on how I feel when I don't eat vs. eat gluten. When I don't eat it, I feel great. I feel awake, is how I describe it. I can think straight and my head is clear and I dont feel so tired and run down.

When I eat it, even a bite, I get a headache within 20 mins and my stomach bloats, I feel sick to my stomach. and I get a light dizzy/woozy feeling. Sometimes it only lasts a few hours, some times I wake up the next day feeling like I am hung over. One time, I was cutting a piece of cake for a customer at work (I waitress) and just out of reaction, I licked my finger..which is bad at work anyway but it was just instinct. I washed my hands and thought, omg, what did I just do? Then I thought..no no, I will be fine, a lick of crumbs wont hurt me! Wrong. I wasn't deathly ill, but ill enough to make me uncomfortable.

Fortunately for me, at this point, where I was diagnosed early before I had a lot of damage, I do not get really, really ill. All of my symptoms were manageable, I could still carry on about my day well enough, I was just always very very uncomfortable. When I eat gluten, my brain gets real foggy and I start to stutter and slur, as if drunk. My husband can tell immediately when I have eaten something I shouldn't by the way that I talk. I have ALWAYS had a slight stuttering problem since I was a kid, and once I went gluten-free...it went away, unless I eat it.

My heart goes out to those who were not diagnosed for years and years and have so much damage that they have been severely ill For those people, I think accidental glutening is much worse. BUT, I do find that the longer I am gluten-free, the stronger my reactions get when I do eat it.

[designerstubble]

Oh I'm glad I'm not the only one! It's strange, I also think that I must have slipped up in these last weeks... I'm sure I'll find out sometime! The only thing I have not been able to resolve is my D. It hasnt gone away. At all. It's actually more of a loose bowel, there's no increase in frequency. I saw a dietician yesterday who said it could be because I am eating too much fibre. She said to have a 2/3 slices of gluten-free bread everyday to see if it helps. I have done that today for breakfast. My stomach however is just not agreeing with it, it hasn't been this noisy and disagreeable since before diagnoses I have been on a very clean diet really, I wonder if my body just doesn't want this processed junk? Any ideas on how to get balance out the high fibre...? Aaaaagh! Help!

[srall]

When I am not doing well, because even on a completely gluten free diet there are times when I'm just not feeling great, I will get myself to a paleo or perfect health diet (which allows rice and potatoes). I do organic, whole foods and only feed myself. This is how I feel absolutely the best. I personally cannot handle gluten free substitutes at all.

And just for more support to drop the gluten free processed: My now 9 year old daughter was still eating sandwiches everyday, because she's a picky eater and I think I was getting lazy about requiring her to eat better. Well Monday and Tuesday I was home with a sick child for the 3rd time in a month and it reminded me of the days before we changed our diet to a gluten/dairy/corn free diet.

Well, we are going to move her off the gluten free bread. It's now banned. She can learn to eat a proper meal. So I'm hoping this takes care of the last of her problems. I just really really don't like the gluten free bread (from a health standpoint I mean)

Also, Designer, you may just need more time.

For about 2 to 3 months it was like my body detoxed. I pooped (loose) about 4 to 5 times a day. Then everything sort of settled down.

So: Whole foods, organic if possible, eat at home what you prepare and lose the processed. Good luck.