desperateforhealth

I opened the fresh package, and it was precut.

Also, I'm not EXTREMELY sensitive to gluten, as far as I can tell. I think I am potentially sensitive to other stuff though, I have just never been able to figure out what, exactly.

Well, I was super careful. I ate it straight out of the package...

I went gluten-free back in January. I also quit dairy at the time, but starting about a month ago, I started eating cheese again because it seems like it's not been affecting me in a noticeable way. However, I have been having a lot more stomach problems since coming to college regardless of my strictly gluten-free lifestyle (I live in an apartment and prepare my own food so no problem there), so it's really hard to say whether the cheese is making it worse.

Last weekend I went home for the first time and ate a LOT of cheese. I mean a lot. I was at friends' houses all weekend and somehow they had every kind of wonderful cheese that I hadn't had in 10 months and I gorged on it. And there seemed to be no effect! I continued to happily eat small bits of cheese this week without much of a second thought. Until tonight I woke up in the middle of the night with a bad upset stomach (or rather, intestines), and now I am left wondering and worrying. (also I wanted to add that I had bad gas for 24 hours prior to this)

Is it possible that my intestines are only now reacting to cheese I ate during the weekend, or the small amounts during the week? I have a fast metabolism, I would be surprised if food from 5-6 days ago was still in my system.

All feedback is greatly appreciated, I have never understood completely how the dairy side of this works, because I know it is sometimes a matter of lactose and sometimes the casein acting like gluten.

Thank you!

Thanks, guys! I was worried it could be the burger. And yes, I was thinking the same on the soy sauce; since it's not from the US they don't have to follow the same rules.

Well, I checked the breakfast sausage and it didn't list any ingredients with gluten in them. Plus, that wouldn't explain my symptoms last week, since I ate that for the first time yesterday.

It's just really weird because I was being very careful. I ate a gluten free burger at Red Robin on Tuesday but my stomach continued to be great until Thursday, so I don't think that could have anything to do with it.

(sorry for the delayed response, I have limited internet)

Everything with my stomach was going so well. Hadn't had a problem in several weeks and I felt great. Then, last Thursday, a week ago now, my mom used to soy sauce that didn't LIST wheat as an ingredient, but it also didn't say it was gluten-free or have any information on the internet. But I got reckless and ate it anyway, and then a few hours later I was having major stomach problems, which persisted until Sunday and then went away for a few days, only to reappear this afternoon.

Is anyone familiar with this Datu Puti Soy Sauce? I doubt anyone will be, it's obscure and shipped directly from Vietnam. I can't believe how stupid I was, I let my mom talk me into it because it was cheaper than my normal stuff and she does the grocery shopping.

Now the only other possibility is the Kraft Honey Dijon Vinaigrette on some salad right before the dish involving soy sauce. I just don't think it could be anything else, I am very careful. I've never actually been knowingly glutened before so I am not sure exactly what it is like.

I've been gluten-free for six months and not super sensitive or anything.

Do you think today's symptoms were from last week's potential glutening or something else? The only even potentially strange thing I ate today was some breakfast sausage.

Thanks so much for your time!

Guys... when I first went gluten- and dairy-free, I went without chocolate for three months, not realizing that there are plenty of chocolates out there that don't have milk fat/other milk ingredients. Miraculously my mom had some Ghirardelli chocolate chips that she had bought on sale, so I euphorically started eating chocolate again

Weeeeell, I have now worked my way through two bags of these chips (originally $9 a bag), and if I have any hope of enjoying chocolate WITHOUT going broke, I need a cheaper brand.

Do you guys know of any types of dark chocolate (w/o dairy) that are more affordable? I am pretty desperate. I just want some chocolate, doesn't matter how dark... I need my chocolate.

Thanks for your time!

Wow, actually that is EXTREMELY helpful. I will check out the article. THANK YOU!

What does "milk fat" indicate, exactly? Does it always contain casein/whey? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm just hopeful that there is some chance milk fat does not contain casein and whey.

University of Florida has a gluten-free counter. That's where I am going next year, although I'll be in an apartment preparing my own food. I know that Mississippi State does as well.

YESS! I miss dairy so much. But I quit it for good when I quit gluten almost three months ago. Today was the first time I have had chocolate in almost THREE MONTHS just because I never wanted to buy any that was dairy free, and then finally today I found some that my parents bought. It was beautifully delicious, I am still high from the endorphin.

I miss cheese the most though.

Ugghhhh I have been craving mac and cheese so much lately... but I can't have dairy. Looks like you got some great suggestions though!

I love these! Totally makes me feel better. I'd eat those ugly goodies anyway.

Thank you! I was just there today, I wish I would have seen this earlier.

Appreciate the tip. I am quite impressed they actually had a gluten-free product promotion.

I use a product on my face that has Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract in it as well. My only gluten symptoms are stomach problems, so I am hoping that whatever I put on my face doesn't affect that, but I am still looking for answers. Since I use it every night I haven't found out if I feel better when I am not using it. Since going gluten free almost three months ago I have gotten somewhat better, but not completely--I am worried that it's because of this product I am using, but it seems kind of illogical that it would bother my stomach. I am not very sensitive, anyway.

Keep me posted on what you find out/experiment! Best of luck.

Thank you, IrishHeart! My stomach is feeling so much better today, even if my head cold is not. I had some delicious stir fry for dinner and all seems to be well. I think moderating my eating is key, and that's something I should have realized a looong time ago. Good luck with your own wellbeing! Buttercream frosting sounds like it was worth it though.

yolo - That is so very helpful, thank you! I hope I won't have to go completely sugar-free, because I still use small amounts in my baked goods and I am suspicious of artificial sweeteners. I will just have to greatly moderate for now. I use my mom's oven, in which she bakes glutenous things very often, and I've never noticed any reaction to it. But I will keep my eye out for all of those things. I really appreciate the good advice. For my goodies lately I have been using a mixture of millet and rice flower, often with some cornstarch (I don't want to give that up!!). Using beans and potatoes sounds like a good idea though.

Lori2- That's an interesting possibility. I eat dates and raisins daily though.

JustNana- Glad you are feeling some relief! And thank you for the empathy, keep you posted I will.

I am an adolescent, so I still have the normal troubles with mild acne. I've been using the same AcneFree Sensitive Skin regimen for many years (company claims it's gluten-free), and the face wash contains Oat Kernel Extract, which is listed as a product to avoid if you are avoiding gluten, but does it really contain any gluten? My blood test for celiac came back negative, but I do believe I am gluten sensitive/intolerant, and I have been gluten free for almost three months with some results but not complete recovery. Am I possibly not getting completely better (lingering GI symptoms) because of this Oat Kernel Extract, or am I being ridiculous? I don't have any unusual skin conditions, and I don't consider myself exceptionally sensitive to gluten. I hesitate to quit using it just to find out because it works satisfyingly well for my acne and finding another regimen would be so much trouble.

Oh, and I stopped eating oats when I quit gluten, so I'm not sure whether they bother me.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Thank you, pricklypear, and you are quite right!

IrishHeart- Thank you. I ate a few gluten-free pancakes, we will see how this goes.

Marilyn R- Perhaps I should try that again. I have experimented with staying away from nightshades and corn but have never come to conclusive results, except that it seems like they don't bother me. I would really miss corn though.

I get sick once or twice a year as well. The weird thing is, 5 of my friends were sick over spring break (two weeks ago), and even though I spent time with all of them, I never got it (rare for me). I owed this to my super-healthy diet of mostly fruits and veggies, with very little sugar intake. Then after my increased sugar intake last Friday I got sick the very next day, which makes me think maybe my immune system was weakened and that is why I got it.

Oh, I definitely didn't mean to make it seem like I was accusing them, and I certainly would never hold it against them if I was glutened. I am blown away by their generosity and accommodating, kind nature. I love those folks and nothing will change that.

I'm just trying to figure it out so that I can know whether I should eat or whether I shouldn't--and how soon I will feel better.

Thank you very much!

I don't THINK it was corn... I eat corn like, daily. Including yesterday. You could be right though...

They haven't, but my best friend called just to chat. I think they were quite sure that they avoided all gluten.

Almost three months gluten-free and DF and I've never had a KNOWN glutening, but I have had reactions to other things, like soda and probiotics. Identifying glutenings is what I hate the most.

So on Friday I made a huge mistake. I went over to my best friend's house and her parents cooked me a supposedly gluten-free, diary-free meal. I tried really hard to prevent them from doing it, but they're that type that HAS to be the Best Hosts Ever and so they made salmon cakes with gluten-free cornmeal, cake with gluten-free baking mix, and cornbread with gluten-free baking mix, and I felt like I HAD to eat it since it was special for me (and they're nurses so they're pretty familiar with what is gluten-free and what is not, so I decided to trust them). And all of was really, really good, and I actually ended up eating WAY too much--not just dinner but just tons of nuts and fruit and gluten-free hummus that I don't get at my house. When I say eating way too much, I mean that another bite would have made me literally sick. (This habit of overeating is itself a huge problem that I am gradually overcoming (and that people don't take me seriously about because it doesn't affect my weight), but not really the point I am making.)

Anyway, as you can imagine, on Saturday, I was not hungry at all. The only thing I had was a glass of oj and then a fruit salad prepared the day before. After that I had D and stayed away from all food for the rest of the day. I haven't eaten very much ever since and have continued to experience D and gas off and on ever since.

BUT, I also have some kind of virus, maybe the flu. Saturday night my throat starting hurting bad and now I am laid up with bad congestion and scratchy throat and fatigue.

So I have no idea whether my D and stomach rumbling is from a glutening on Friday or just a symptom of my virus. It really sucks, because I brought home some food from Friday and had to decide not to eat it in case this is a glutening (or maybe it was because they used margarine with whey in it--I am also sensitive to dairy). Or maybe the fruit had some bacteria on it or something? Who knows. This is frustrating, but it's my fault. Heck, it wouldn't even surprise me if my stomach is just really mad about how much I overstuffed it--even if there was no gluten involved.

I guess I am not really asking any questions, just venting, but if you guys did have any feedback I would appreciate it very much.

Thanks for reading!

Lori2, I have never actually found out... since going gluten-free two months ago I have avoided gluten completely.

pricklypear1971 - Not to my knowledge. I drink orange juice every day and no problems.

dilettantesteph - No, I never eat or drink after people. I should have clarified that, sorry.

Juliebove - Definitely not sugar, and I don't think I have a problem with high fructose corn syrup. The only thing that it seems like it could be is carbonation.