Help! A Sick Celiac!

[Guest Margawitty]

My girlfriend Andrea has been on a Gluten free, soy free, caesine (dairy) free diet for about 7 months now. Everything has been going pretty well with only a few mild isolated incidents - until last night.

We had a very bland dinner, just plain steak, purchased it raw, cooked it without ANY seasonings. She used hain salt with has always been just fine and heinz ketchup and drank a&w diet root beer. Earlier yesterday we ate at chipotle's (risky i know). Last night she got horribly violently sick, the nausea and shaking and almost passing out bit and of course horrible diarrhea.

I'm freaking out cuz we can't figure out what it was, we thought it might be this dental floss she used but their website says they dont check for gluten all the time but that from what they know their floss is gluten free.

Is it possible that the chipotles from earlier in the day would have waited eight hours to show any signs of making her sick? I just want to know what it was so we can avoid it. We are usually very careful and because of the risk of contamination have sworn off chipotles since last night.

We use gluten free dish soap, gluten free shampoo I mean the whole nine yards because shes very sensative. Any ideas?

I'm not a celiac myself but is it common to eat gluten-containing foods and not feel it for 8 or more hours?

*sigh*

Emmy *worried about her celiac*

[kejohe]

For some celiacs, they can tell 15 minutes after they ingest gluten that they have had an accident. But for others it can take a day or more. My son sometimes won't begin getting the symptoms until maybe 24 hours later, so lokk a couple days back and see if it might be easier to pinpoint the problem.

Also remember, even though you buy "unseasoned" meat, raw, doesnt necessarily mean that it's gluten free, some meats are processed with broth and can be a hazard. BUT I haven't found red meat to be a problem, mostly just poultry and pork.

[zippyten]

Emmy,

I'm sorry your girlfriend got so awfully sick...it occurred to me that it could be good old fashioned food poisoning, though. Did you eat the same thing when you went out? Also, I've heard that more than one person can eat the same meal, or even from the same cut of meat, and only one person can get sick from the bacteria in that one area. I do believe that celiac disease makes us more prone to this sort of thing anyway. I would look more to the steak, than dental floss, for making someone that violently ill. I hope she is all recovered and stays well.

Ellen

[nickra]

Emmy,

It's so nice to hear someone being so supportive, I don't even tell people about my condition for fear of bad reactions!

As regards to how long it takes to get sick, I know within half an hour - sometimes before ive finished the offending meal I know that it has been bad for me. It is a real pain because I cannot come off gluten yet as i am waiting to have my biopsy and dont want to give a false negative result.

With food poisoning, as mentioned in a previous post, it is very possible for only one person to get it even if eating the same dish as 10 other people. this is because the bad bacteria can be so miniscule that it is just one dot on one persons plate. so it comes down to pot luck as to who gets it!

I would definatly get your girlfriend checked by her doctor if you are still worried. its always best to seek medical advice and they can also keep a record of the illness history, although ive heard this works differently in the states to how it does here in the uk.

all the best to both of you

[gbeauvais]

I picked up on the steak you mentioned. For some reason, I can eat ground beef, if it's very lean and good quality. But I gave up trying to eat steak a long time ago. It always goes right through me. I don't know if it's the fat content or hormones they use or what, but even if I don't put anything on it, I can't digest it. For myself, if something is going to make me sick, it usually happens pretty quickly, so I would look much closer at what I had just eaten, rather than what I had 8 hours ago. But we're all different, so each person has to figure out their own system.

I am reading a book I heard about on this message board, "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. It uses a method called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet in treatment of Celiac Disease, among a lot of other digestive disorders. I'm very excited, because I can relate to a lot of what the book talks about and am hoping that I will get more relief from it. I'll post any results I find. I'm so glad o have found this forum, it has been a real life saver.

Gerri in San Francisco

[judy04]

Hi,

WhenI read your post I noticed that she had used Heinz ketchup.

I have been gluten-free for app 5 mos, sometime around the 3rd month

I noticed that ketchup, chili, anything made with tomatoes was

making me sick, so I have stopped eating them along with

eggs and dairy. I hope that later on I will be able to eat some,

or all of these things...

[mrsfish-94]

This may not have anything to do with what happend but...did you cook the steak on a non-stick pan. If so, have you heard of the "teflon flu". Teflon will actually make you sick if you inhale too many of the fumes. It will make you think you had food poisioning. I learned this recently on a DATELINE eposide. In some cases it will kill pet birds if you heat the pan hot enough!!! So I got rid of all my non- stick pans. Just a thought!

mrsfish

[Guest aramgard]

Yes, Teflon can make you very sick. Also did you know that when women stopped using cast iron skillets, many of them became anemic???? So go buy yourself a cast iron skillet and stop using your teflon pans. If they can kill a bird, they can make a human sick. And if you read up on Teflon, you will find they can kill birds. Shirley

[donnalois]

Dear Emmy,

How much do you know about beef and protein. I have read before that cassein is found in the "mild" of a beef as well as the milk. I am not sure what the "mild" part is. My sister is also gluten free and cassein free. She cannot tolerate beef because of the cassein content. Next time try chicken.

Donna

[red]

just a thought,

An employee at the health food store once told me that red meats (steak, pork chops) are a purer type of meat. The stomach cannot break them down like chicken, fish, hamburger meat, etc.... There is an OTC enzyme made to help digest food just like the one for milk products. I've not used it yet but others may know about it.

we found out the hard way, my son likes porkchops and was getting a stomach every time he ate them.

[guppymom]

I have found that steak or ribs or roast make me feel quite ill, same with my daughter. Not sure why, so i find the posts re: those interesting. I do get sick everytime i have rootbeer, regardless of the brand. maybe the caramel color? I usually know within 1/2 hour if I'm in trouble, sometimes within minutes. Then all I do is hunker down and pray for it to be quick.

I hope you're able to find out what it was, and when you do, PLEASE let us know.

[gf4life]

I do get sick everytime i have rootbeer, regardless of the brand. maybe the caramel color?

Guppymom,

I found this interesting because the same thing happens to my son when he drinks rootbeer. His doctor thought it was the caffeine, but isn't rootbeer caffeine free (at least the name brands they serve in restaurants)? He can drink a Coke or a Pepsi occasionally without this happening, but give him rootbeer and he gets a horrible stomachache. Don't Coke and Pepsi have caramel coloring too? If it was the rootbeer made by Pepsi then wouldn't the caramel coloring be the same kind? Just trying to figure out my little guy's problem. For now I just won't allow him to order rootbeer...

God bless,

Mariann

[kejohe]

"Real" rootbeer comes from the sasparilla root doesn't it? That root has been know to make some sensitive people quite gassy, so maybe that's where the "root" of the problem is... Ha Ha, just my stupid humor sorry to subject you to it.

Anyway, joking aside, rootbeer often causes lots of people to expirence gassy problems, maybe to the hypersensitive of us, it presents itself in other more uncomfortable ways as well.

[CeliacJack]

Good luck Mrs. Fish! Teflon flu is crazy lately. I read about how DuPont knew about how teflon breaks down at normal cooking temperatures and may cause Teflon Toxicity.

There may also be a class action lawsuit going on soon. Be sure to keep up with the reading.

The article I read at: Open Original Shared Link and they have other articles there on it as well. Good topic coverage.

Best!

Celiac Jack

This may not have anything to do with what happend but...did you cook the steak on a non-stick pan. If so, have you heard of the "teflon flu". Teflon will actually make you sick if you inhale too many of the fumes. It will make you think you had food poisioning. I learned this recently on a DATELINE eposide. In some cases it will kill pet birds if you heat the pan hot enough!!! So I got rid of all my non- stick pans. Just a thought!

mrsfish

[Nantzie]

It's so great that you're so supportive and willing to go the whole nine yards for your girlfriend. It's mind-boggling how many family and friends are the absolute opposite for some unknown reason. So thank you for being so great.

Like others have mentioned, non stick pans aren't good for you in their own, but they're also prone to scratches where gluten imbeds itself. Even if the pan isn't visibly scratched, it can have scratches, ESPECIALLY if you wash it in the dishwasher. I ended up switching to stainless steel pans, which I LOVE. They're great because you can scrub the heck out of them and not hurt them. You can also use abrasive cleaners on them, which you can't on nonstick pans. Even when my stainless pan looks like it will take an hour to clean, I clean it with a combination of Dawn liquid and a mild abrasive called Barkeeper's Friend and it comes out looking like I just bought it.

I'd recommend having at least one stainless skillet with a lid (Christmas gift idea!). It's a great multi-purpose cooking item. Sometimes places like Ross, TJ Maxx and Marshalls have some really nice All-Clad or Calphalon stainless pots and pans in their home area. If I remember right TJ Maxx tends to have All-Clad pieces quite often. Haven't been there in a while though.

It's definitely possible that it was Chipotle's. Some people take longer to react than others. I actually consider myself very lucky that I react within about 15-30 minutes. It makes it pretty darn easy to figure out what the culprit is when I get glutened.

Also, most vegetable oil is actually 100% soy oil so that may be a culprit in either your home cooking or Chipotle. You could always contact them and see if they use soy oil in any of their cooking or prep areas.

Hope you guys figure out what happened.

Nancy

[tarnalberry]

Just a few words for the teflon subject:

1) most of the non-stick materials used in pans these days are not teflon. they've moved on, years ago, to much more effective things for cooking.

2) non-stick coatings can, and do, release harmful fumes, which can, and do, kill birds. they have, I've heard, been suspected of contributing to the death of people as well (California, ages ago, when it first came out, in a case of misuse). BUT, you only get non-negligible fume release if you heat the item very hot. keeping it under 400F is generally fine. (I have a bird and try to keep it to 370F ish, myself.)

3) despite all of this, I generally dislike non-stick pans and use them only for pancakes and eggs, *never ever ever* put them in the dishwasher, and *REALLY NEVER EVER* touch them with a metal or other scratching utensil. you'll get better food out of a not-non-stick pan, anyway. (hey, I'm a food snob, I couldn't put this last item in. )

Oh, and in this situation, I'd totally be suspecting the Chipotle's before anything else. It's a ripe situation for contamination, and 8 hour delays for reactions are not uncommon.

[key]

Yes, it can take 8 hours for sure to react for alot of people and my guess is definitely the Chipotle's. I have reacted to their foods several times. They are flinging flour tortillas around everwhere. I actually must have been gluttened badly from there the other day. I got very nauseated within 30 minutes of eating there, my heart was racing, thought I would throw up and then had diarhea. Was also bloated and gassy that night. Especially if she is normally very careful. I swore off Chipotle's and all restaurants for two months, but started risking it again this week out of boredom with my own cooking.

Hope she is feeling better.

MOnica

[sspitzer5]

Earlier yesterday we ate at chipotle's (risky i know). Last night she got horribly violently sick, the nausea and shaking and almost passing out bit and of course horrible diarrhea.

It's possible to get cross contamination at Chipolte. At the one near me, they touch the flour tortillas and then touch the bowls (ask them to change gloves before making the bowl). They also use their hands for cheese and lettuce, which may have touched the tortillas.

I really like Chipolte and eat there fairly often. But, I have found that the spices can sometimes give me a stomach ache. I think when you're digestive system is damaged or inflamed, even non-gluten containing stuff can be bothersome.

S

[moomama18]

Emmy, I do not have Celiac's but my almost 3 year old does. I noticed you are in MD. We are too. We stay away from Chipotle (mostly because I don't like their food) and I would be suspicious of contamination there. I don't know where you are in MD but we go to California Tortilla instead - my daughter gets their rice and chicken and does great with it. You can also go to Austin Grill and they have a gluten free menu - my daughter loves it there too.

Good luck!

[daffadilly]

I love Chipotle, but it will make me sick every time, so I have sworn off going there, although I love the food, - it is not worth it. I ask them to change the gloves etc. but what they do is when they dip out the beans they touch the spoon to the flour tortilla & then back into the beans, same for the meat etc.

[rainy]

My girlfriend Andrea has been on a Gluten free, soy free, caesine (dairy) free diet for about 7 months now. Everything has been going pretty well with only a few mild isolated incidents - until last night.

We had a very bland dinner, just plain steak, purchased it raw, cooked it without ANY seasonings. She used hain salt with has always been just fine and heinz ketchup and drank a&w diet root beer. Earlier yesterday we ate at chipotle's (risky i know). Last night she got horribly violently sick, the nausea and shaking and almost passing out bit and of course horrible diarrhea.

I'm freaking out cuz we can't figure out what it was, we thought it might be this dental floss she used but their website says they dont check for gluten all the time but that from what they know their floss is gluten free.

Is it possible that the chipotles from earlier in the day would have waited eight hours to show any signs of making her sick? I just want to know what it was so we can avoid it. We are usually very careful and because of the risk of contamination have sworn off chipotles since last night.

We use gluten free dish soap, gluten free shampoo I mean the whole nine yards because shes very sensative. Any ideas?

I'm not a celiac myself but is it common to eat gluten-containing foods and not feel it for 8 or more hours?

*sigh*

Emmy *worried about her celiac*