I Forgot, Then I Remembered And Now I Really Remember!

[AnnJay]

Hi friends,

I learned last May that i was gluten intolerant and spent the summer discovering hidden gluten and having a hard time while traveling. Once home I was able to have greater control over my diet and I hadn't been sick since! Yay for veggies for breakfast! After a few glorious months without any reactions (and also eliminating corn, soy, and chocolate) I was feeling pretty chuffed. I felt like I had everything under control. I was well on the road to healing and good health. Life was fine. And So I went to a restaurant where I used to go with my family, my 4 year old son's favorite place. Despite my conversations with the manager I got gluttened. Yuck.

At least the reaction was not as intense as it had been. Instead of being in bed for 3days with depression, joint ache, etc in addition to the digestive ills there was only the digestive ills. Since we traveled on Monday I was able to push through the discomfort and pack and travel.

The problem is that since then I am still feeling sick. I brought my own food to the airport. I drank from my own water bottle there. I have been doing my own cooking since then. Granted my young kids, husband and mother are all eating gluten but they are also schooled to avoid cross contamination. But something must be happening. I am getting worse, when I only want to get better!

I have read threads about cross contamination with pots n pans, with cutting boards, etc., but I haven't had to change these things at my house so why would we need to change them here? And I can't figure out what is going on. Our first day here I ate turkey lunchmeat (a possible culprit since the I couldn't read the ingredients, but last summer was OK...it's the roasted turkey breast from Trader Joes) then homemade chicken soup. Yesterday I had leftover soup and homemade beef stew, again made by me from fresh veggies and meat. I also made paleo bread which I had for breakfast today. My other two breakfasts were shredded sweet potato with an egg and gluten free bacon (I did read the package which said no gluten and also didn't have corn or soy or dairy).

Ugh. It was so nice to live symptom free! I had actually forgotten how bad it could actually get. And now I am paying the price again. Yuck. It is hard not knowing why, as I don't know what to correct. I just want my stomach to feel regular again. It is so hard to go back to living with pain after months of clean healthy living!

Thanks for listening to my vent! And I am open to listening to your ideas about cc or whatever might be the problem.

[Bella001]

Hi friends,

I learned last May that i was gluten intolerant and spent the summer discovering hidden gluten and having a hard time while traveling. Once home I was able to have greater control over my diet and I hadn't been sick since! Yay for veggies for breakfast! After a few glorious months without any reactions (and also eliminating corn, soy, and chocolate) I was feeling pretty chuffed. I felt like I had everything under control. I was well on the road to healing and good health. Life was fine. And So I went to a restaurant where I used to go with my family, my 4 year old son's favorite place. Despite my conversations with the manager I got gluttened. Yuck.

At least the reaction was not as intense as it had been. Instead of being in bed for 3days with depression, joint ache, etc in addition to the digestive ills there was only the digestive ills. Since we traveled on Monday I was able to push through the discomfort and pack and travel.

The problem is that since then I am still feeling sick. I brought my own food to the airport. I drank from my own water bottle there. I have been doing my own cooking since then. Granted my young kids, husband and mother are all eating gluten but they are also schooled to avoid cross contamination. But something must be happening. I am getting worse, when I only want to get better!

I have read threads about cross contamination with pots n pans, with cutting boards, etc., but I haven't had to change these things at my house so why would we need to change them here? And I can't figure out what is going on. Our first day here I ate turkey lunchmeat (a possible culprit since the I couldn't read the ingredients, but last summer was OK...it's the roasted turkey breast from Trader Joes) then homemade chicken soup. Yesterday I had leftover soup and homemade beef stew, again made by me from fresh veggies and meat. I also made paleo bread which I had for breakfast today. My other two breakfasts were shredded sweet potato with an egg and gluten free bacon (I did read the package which said no gluten and also didn't have corn or soy or dairy).

Ugh. It was so nice to live symptom free! I had actually forgotten how bad it could actually get. And now I am paying the price again. Yuck. It is hard not knowing why, as I don't know what to correct. I just want my stomach to feel regular again. It is so hard to go back to living with pain after months of clean healthy living!

Thanks for listening to my vent! And I am open to listening to your ideas about cc or whatever might be the problem.

I got sick last week also. It was bad : (. My belly hurt until Tuesday, six days after it happened. My body didn't react the same way as before, but it was bad...for sure gluten. I ate at BJ's and had the gluten free pizza that wasn't. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

[kareng]

Are you sharing things like PB, jelly or butter tubs? Things that people put on their breads and put the knives back in? Colanders are really bad as it is very hard to get every little bit of pasta out of the holes.

People may not be as careful at your mom's house as they are at home. Could be a lot of things. It's even possible it has nothing to do with gluten and you picked up a bit of a stomach bug.

[AnnJay]

Are you sharing things like PB, jelly or butter tubs? Things that people put on their breads and put the knives back in? Colanders are really bad as it is very hard to get every little bit of pasta out of the holes.

People may not be as careful at your mom's house as they are at home. Could be a lot of things. It's even possible it has nothing to do with gluten and you picked up a bit of a stomach bug.

Good points. I use almond butter, they eat cream cheese. Instead of using butter I use coconut oil to avoid cc. I just don't eat jelly anymore. The colanders might be a culprit here. Or I guess my reaction may be less intense but lasting for a longer time.

I guess it's typical for reactions to change over time, huh?

[AnnJay]

I got sick last week also. It was bad : (. My belly hurt until Tuesday, six days after it happened. My body didn't react the same way as before, but it was bad...for sure gluten. I ate at BJ's and had the gluten free pizza that wasn't. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

In my experience the gluten-free pizza from a pizza making restaurant doesn't work because everything around it is coated in wheat flour; the ovens, the paddles used to put in and take out of the oven, even in the air.

Your experience may be true for me, too, though. Maybe the reaction is lasting longer. Great.

[weluvgators]

Good points. I use almond butter, they eat cream cheese. Instead of using butter I use coconut oil to avoid cc. I just don't eat jelly anymore. The colanders might be a culprit here. Or I guess my reaction may be less intense but lasting for a longer time.

I guess it's typical for reactions to change over time, huh?

A contaminated colander would do me in. And the metal slotted spoon that I tried as a quick colander solution didn't work out for me in a pinch at my parents house either. Now my parents keep a dedicated colander for us to use. We also tend to travel with safe cutting board, knife and basic cooking utensils. Good luck getting back to good health!

[AnnJay]

The culprit may have been discovered! Apparently while dining with a group my four year old daughter stuck her hand in my water cup while I wasn't looking. She knows she shouldn't, but she's four. She forgets these things. Anyway, she was eating glutenous food and that is probably how it happened! Sigh.

My reaction sure has changed. I have read posts here about D, then C, then D again. My experience was always just D. Now I'm getting the sandwich effect as well.

Now if I can just get through the holidays without any more incidents!

[AlwaysLearning]

I'm wondering about the egg. I just went gluten free recently and think that the eggs I had in the house (though organic and free range but not gluten free) may have been causing problems for me before going gluten-free and been my first case of glutening on day two of gluten-free.

I've read opposing opinions about whether or not chickens that are fed wheat pass the gluten to the eggs and am wondering how careful I'll have to be on this front.

[IrishHeart]

I'm wondering about the egg. I just went gluten free recently and think that the eggs I had in the house (though organic and free range but not gluten free) may have been causing problems for me before going gluten-free and been my first case of glutening on day two of gluten-free.

I've read opposing opinions about whether or not chickens that are fed wheat pass the gluten to the eggs and am wondering how careful I'll have to be on this front.

Eggs are gluten free, hon. Many of us have trouble with eggs, but it is NOT because they contain gluten.

What you are reading is just that--people's opinions and endless speculation. We have discussed this topic to death on here

and I have searched long and hard to find any scientific evidence that gluten grains somehow pass

through a chicken's digestive tract and then, cross-contaminate the eggs. There is none.

Eggs are safe for consumption.

[ajnemajrje]

I have had the same thing happen to me at restaurants

One time I had informed the waitress that I was on a gluten free diet, ordered a steak from the part of the menu that she pointed out was gluten free - they didn't have a gluten-free menu but she knew what I could and could not eat. When my steak arrived, it was sitting on a bed of breaded onions. I sent it back as I told her that I would get very ill if I ate that.

She left and came back within 5 minutes. I looked at the steak and it was covered with breaded onion parts underneath still. She thgought that she could just get the onions off the plate and it wold be okay. I told her that I still was unable to eat the steak as it was covered in gluten. She rolled her eyes and made a point of telling me how long it would take for the kitchen to prepare a new steak for me.

I actually had to get the manager to come over and explained to him what had happened. But yeah it took three tries to get an unglutened steak and this was from a restaurant that is listed as a gluten-free Friendly restaurant on menuism.com.

I now only go to restaurant - still not very often - that have a dedicated gluten-free menu. Many servers are only as good as the allergen training they have had - and many of them have no idea.