124chicksinger

Hi all. I stop in from time to time to read about all of your ongoings, and occasionally to post.  I was not diagnosed with celiac disease, but stopped eating gluten the day of my (north and south) scopes, where inflammation was observed from end to end.  I only in December 2015 got the results of blood work taken in April 2015.  If there is nothing to report, they don't call you, right?  Anyhow, it was just 13 months after losing the gluten that the test was run, and my liver enzymes are near normal.  All by 1 is normal, and the one that is elevated is only now slightly elevated, near normal range.  These enzymes have been high for 20 years.  I'm only now reading up on gluon and fatty liver.  

So that it all. Nothing more to report.  Basically my digestion and bowels are functioning better.  My belly still has some bloating, but maybe I can cash that up to menopause, because it became a feature of my figure post menopause.

Thanks for being here when I needed you, and thanks all and anyone for "listening."

Just bought this.  Ate it today. Best gluten-free pasta I've tried, and I've tried many.  This is the new blue box.  Some reviews online are for the yellow box, and some people are angry they changed the formula - but i am writing to let you know, if you want a gluten-free pasta that tastes pretty darned "real" and doesn't have a funky corn smell or too chewy rice chew or mushy mouth feel, this is for you.  I enjoyed it so much, I literally had tears in my eyes.

Hi folks.  I haven't been lurking around here as much since going gluten-free in March.  What I notice now is the wheat cravings have pretty much stayed gone.    While I initially lost weight, I've put 5 pounds back, and that is ok because over all I eat gluten-free and am not on any other restrictions, and other than that 5 pounds weight is stable.   My nails are longer and stronger--and I've started polishing them and primping them--new for me.  My hair fall-out seems to be less.  Unless my eyes deceive me, some of the grey hair is turning light brown.  The dry patches on both sides of my nose are gone, as is the patch on the right side of my bottom lip.

I'm diabetic and my A1C and thyroid values months ago was good.  I'm going to have a routine liver enzymes check soon and It will be the first time since March going gluten-free, and I'm curious to see if the enzymes have come down at all (they said fatty liver for years....maybe has been gluten?)

I rarely have diarrhea any more.  I have NO MORE what felt like gallbladder pain.  The purpura on my feet/ankles, hands/forearms, has cleared up.  It isn't on my feet at all, but once in a while I get some dots on my wrists.  

I have been battling frozen shoulder on the left all year.  I chose not to do physical therapy, but rather exercise it myself.  I have about 75% mobility back, and no pain.  A lot of clicking during exercises.  Having had this on the right side 10 years ago, I think I'm getting this right, and getting it under control.

Other than its a bit harder to eat out, or get take out and prepared foods, I don't mind this one bit.  I wish I'd gone gluten-free years ago.  While I am not diagnosed as celiac, both blood and scopes negative, going gluten-free has made me feel extremely better than I have for years.  When people ask me if I'm still avoiding gluten, and I say yes, they ask if I think it makes a difference.  And I answer, well, I feel better, I'm in less digestive stress, my skin is clearer, and if that means nothing at all, I spend a lot less time running to the toilet.  Now, perhaps this is "all in my head" but I certainly could not have conjured up daily diarrhea - so in the absence of that - I'd say going gluten-free is working for me.

I know this is a TMI, but I have had chronic constipation and slow movement my whole life or diarrhea so I am excited to share and I know you all understand!

 

I have actually had a whole week where I pooped everyday!!!!!  Never happened to me before in my life.  All normal, not too soft, not too hard, still a rainbow but hey, I pooped every day.  Just had to share my excitement with people who understand. Thanks for reading lol

 I know what you mean.  After my scopes, it took 6 days to have a BM.  After fits and starts with getting "regular" - avoiding the gluten has made me regular.  If I don't go daily, with a solid BM, at least I'm going every other day.  I still have occasional D, but not nearly like it used to be.

I have also been able to maintain my weight between 163 and 167, depending on the day, the time of day, etc. when weighed, but I'm not following a weight loss plan, and I have begun to eat some gluten-free sweets (let me say, Tate's gluten-free choc. chip cookies are the bomb).  I am on vacation this week, and after its over, I plan to eat "better" again.  2 years ago, I weighed 200 lbs.

After about 3 months of avoiding sweets, except the occasional ice cream (and I really don't like ice cream much) I missed the crunch of a baked good, especially muffins.  I bought Bob's gluten-free corn bread mix, and that was doing it for me.  My husband brought home Udi's bagels, and a brand of gluten-free bread called All But Gluten, and I have to say, I do enjoy eating a hard boiled egg on toast again!

Anyhow, avoiding the gluten has "normalized" my digestion and my BMs, so I know where you are coming from.  

Might you have a histamine problem?  I am no expert, but there are people here who have food/histamine reactions, and hives would be one of the reactions.  I saw an allergist earlier this year.  He said he would like to put me on an antihistamine program, but this was just before I had the scopes done and didn't want to add anything else into my system.  Perhaps you could look into histamine allergy, and foods that are high in histamine.  Good luck. I hope you find an answer.

I agree, try plain soy and see if it's a problem. Or try pretzels without soy flour. I only eat Snyder's which have soy lecithin but not soy flour. I enjoy them as much as, if not more than I did gluten pretzels, and my gluten eating husband agrees that they're every bit as good. I have to hide them from him.

While I agree, these are better than the "real" Snyder's pretzels (especially the sticks), I found that they sit in my stomach, and I think form a type of "spackle" there.  When I first ate them I was in pretzel bliss.  Maybe by the 3rd time, I realized they bothered my stomach.  After finishing off about 1/2 of the 2nd bag over a few weeks, I realized they really are the cause of my "tight" feeling belly.  I don't eat them now.  I thought perhaps it was all the starch; never thought about soy anything.   Oh, and I miss tofu~!

For people who are surprised by a diagnosis in blood work - hey, it happens - maybe that they have had no symptoms (tho its odd a physician would perform celiac tests without reason) perhaps having a biopsied diagnosis would convince them to be"compliant" with the diet.  Generally tho, hasn't a person been experiencing symptoms, which prompt the blood work in the first place?

There are people here on this forum who are confirmed and still want to eat the gluten.  Go figure.

I have a negative diagnosis, and but for the now occasional diner food that may get cooked on a cross-contaminated griddle, I'm self-regulated "compliant."  Either the connection is "all in my head" that I feel better, or I am one of the gluten sensitive or gluten intolerant.  I have to admit tho, complying isn't as difficult as I thought it would be.  I don't miss pasta or pizza but of course its a whole lot easier to order a pizza or get takeout than it is to cook a "whole" foods gluten free meal.  I do miss the convenience, I don't miss the intestinal distress.

As to the kids, gene testing could answer that.

Not everyone needs to get sedated and have invasive procedures.

The "experts" are saying if certain criteria is met, the biopsy isn't necessary.  As more information and research is done on gluten, medical opinions are changing.  Apparently, it used to be standard procedure to have 3 biopsies.  Google.

I am a novice to gluten-free. I was tested both blood and scopes and both were negative, tho I think the GI didn't do enough biopsies of the small intestine. He said I was inflamed from end to end, had diverticulosis and suggested MORE grains, and opined the esophageal inflammation was heartburn/gerd, which I rarely had.   I decided to eliminate gluten, with very good results overall, and also like others have written throughout the forum, different/more symptoms occurred and abated, which for myself I could have easily chalked up to gluten, or explained away (ate bad food, caught a virus, etc.).  

If your blood work states you have celiac, you have it.  That is my opinion, and shared by others and in medical print.  At that point, if you want to go have the biopsy, I think that is between a person and his/her doctor.  It advises how much damage is done, and if there are other components going on. like H. Pylori, and can eliminate other diseases, like Chrons, just to name one.

In some parts of the world, having an official biopsied diagnosis is somehow financially beneficial as the foods are medically necessary, and also, if one is a student, to have the school somehow comply with the gluten-free diet.  These are issues I have sparsely read about, and I do not know anyone who has needed this, however there may be some posters here who can advise on these two issues, if not other "benefits" of having the biopsy.

In the past 10 years, celiac disease has come much more to the forefront. Now, the medical field knows how much more prevalent this is, and people at large are becoming aware.  The food industry has stepped up because the disease is now known to be very widespread.  Strides are made more often in diagnosis and categorizing, and the "criteria" for diagnosis, for some "experts" definitively ends with positive blood work and said experts feel that going further, to know what is already known/diagnosed, is just invasive, expensive, and perhaps risky because of the sedation involved.

Were I to have had a positive blood test, I may have stopped there.  The fact is that my blood work results came a day or two before the scopings had already been scheduled to be done.  Frankly, I was having the colonoscopy anyhow, so the upper scoping was a "bonus" because I was having so many intestinal issues.

Meanwhile, I've been gluten-free since March 5, 2014.  The constipation and diahhrea are now minimal.  I've lost a few pounds.  I generally feel better tho I have had a few ups and downs, an intestinal flu with fever, and recurring purpura.  While I did not toss out the toaster or pots or utensils, and will now go to the diner and have eggs and potatoes that have likely been cooked on a grill where pancakes may have been cooked earlier, I feel better.  I don't see myself turning back to eating gluten, and most of the time eat my own home-cooked food.

Having a biopsy done is between a patient and his/her doctor, and depends on how ill the person is, and what they want to know as far as the internal damage that exists, and other conditions that can be ruled out, or in.  Is there a right or wrong on this? I don't think so.  

Thank you Cycling Lady.  In eliminating gluten, in real life, I feel very alone.  My daughter is sympathetic and my husband goes along with it, but I cannot stop (nor would I) them from ordering the occasional pizza or sub.  I have taken this on for myself, and do much more home cooking than ever, so I can control the gluten. In a small way, they benefit as well since they are getting less gluten.  It has been an adjustment for all of us, for sure.  

Again, thank you for your comment.  It does make me feel supported in this, even tho it is an exercise in trying to feel better, and not born of a diagnosis.

Since going gluten free, despite negative biopsy and bloodwork, I think that overall I am feeling ... better.  I have had some health blips since stopping gluten, and I think sometimes it would be easiest to blame having inadvertently eaten some gluten.  But, I can't blame gluten for a stomach flu with 101 fever!  

I am by and large, feeling better.  Constipation has gradually disappeared, and the D is much less.  This is a great change.  I have lost and kept off 8 pounds.  I am interested to see if this has any effects on thyroid, liver enzymes and the A1C test at my next appointment.  

Unfortunately, I have some vasculitis happening, which I wrote about in an earlier post, which can have a gastric component.  The purpura rashes are waxing and waning, but are less severe. 

Lastly, though I have been pretty good at avoiding gluten, last week I mistook couscous salad for quinoa salad.  I only recently started eating quinoa, and had never before eaten couscous.  It looked the same to me (I did not cook it).   When I realized my error, I thought this will be an unintentional test for whether my avoiding gluten is a panacea or a placebo.  I wound up with explosive D.  I still intend at some point to eat a very gluten-filled meal as the true test, but honestly, the thought of pizza, pasta, sub, etc. isn't appealing, so I don't know when and what that gluten-filled meal will be. 

So for what it is worth, this is my update.

There are plenty of naturally gluten, yeast, wheat and soya free foods/meals.  Soya isn't found in a lot of things; gluten and wheat you know how to look out for, and yeast is in the breadstuffs.  Assuming you cook, there are many things to eat.  Much of the "recipe" part of the more involved suggestions below is just a conglomeration of the normal ingredients.  

Eggs and bacon. Eggs/homefries. Steak and eggs. Omelets.  Grits.  Fruit salad.  Check the gluten-free cereal labels.

Hamburger or steak on a plate with corn on the cob or cole slaw.

Corned beef/cabbage/carrots/potatoes - 1 pot boiled meal.  

Porkchops/saurkraut - 1 pot meal.  Served with homefries or boiled potatos.

Chili over baked potatoes.

Stuffed cabbages with mashed potatoes or corn.

Baked sweet potatoe with butter, cinnamon.  Or toppings.

Chicken stew (boneless breast, stringbeans, carrots, onions, tomatoes).

Veal and peppers in crushed tomatoes over baked potato.

Beef cubes, potatos, carrots, celery, onions, string beans - "beef stew" thickened with corn starch.  

Chicken soup w/carrots, onions, celery, parsnip (omg, the parsnip is so delicious).

Pea soup, bean soup - any kind of soup you can imagine.

Chicken cacciatore (tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, peppers) served over rice.

Stuffed peppers (ground beef/rice) served with mashed potatoes or mixed veggies.

Beef stroganoff - beef cubes, beef broth, sour cream - served over zucchini "ribbons" 

Baked/broiled fish with rice/potatoes vegetables.

Salads with meats/cheeses.

Quinoia salad with all sorts of chopped veggies.

Shrimp and tomatoes, shrimp cocktail.

These are some ideas that I hope are helpful.

Interestingly, I am not craving pasta, and I was a pasta fiend.   I did at the 4 week mark of eating gluten-free buy Barilla gluten-free pasta and my feeling on it now is "meh".  It was ok.  I actually preferred spaghetti squash over the gluten-free pasta.  I definitely don't crave gluten-free pasta~!  Perhaps you'd do better by using spaghetti squash also, or zucchini ribbons, and skip the pasta altogether.

I tried the Snyder's gluten-free pretzel sticks, and I think they are superior in crunch and taste to their regular, however, I also found that eating them doesn't agree with me.  Basically, they are made of starch - and I felt like they sat in my stomach like wall spackle and I didn't feel well afterwards.  Live and learn.  

The gluten-free foods are hybrids of substitutes, and some of them good, made from good ingredients, and some of them a really bad choice.  It pays to keep a food diary.

Well I didn't know that allergy testing as you write is notoriously not very accurate and not suggested to see what "sticks."  Is it junk science?  Do you have a link to it being useless?

I went for myself as kind of a puzzle piece trying to put it all together with the issues I was having, and I do get hives, and rashes, and red feet, and tingly lips.  I was glad I went for the testing and saw what "stuck".  

He explained to me the different types of allergies and how they manifest, as gastric, skin reactions, anaphalactic, etc.  I found it worthwhile for myself.  I'll never suggest it again, however.  My mistake.  

The symptoms are so diverse and varied and not everyone suffers from them all (I would imagine that to be so).  Also, our levels of tolerance vary.  I think symptom abatement, not healing of damage, can be subjective.  What I may be able to tolerate, someone else may not.  All I know is, with my official diagnosis of not-celiac - I feel better overall without the gluten, despite some unrelated illness, and it has been "just" 7 1/2 weeks.

Awww, I'm so glad you finally have an answer for your daughter and her healing can begin in earnest.  Hugs.

Have you tried the skin prick food allergy testing?  Its non-invasive and may shed further light.

I tested positive for rice, barley and oats, but not wheat, and also have negative celiac diag.  While voiding gluten, I'm also trying hard to limit my rice intake.  Had I not seen the allergist, I'd never have known it could be an issue.

All of the posts aside, what I am curious about is -  what food(s) are you missing?  Are there not suitable substitutes for what you're missing? 

I know I'm late to the game on this but don't want to go back re-reading to find out - but did the dr. do a blood test for celiac, and did you take him to an allergist for skin prick tests to rule stuff out?

I am fairly sure this is what my skin issue is, and it also has a gastric component, and if it gets worse, a kidney component.  At this point, I think my GP who is also a GI thinks I'm a hypochondriac.  I had this rash much worse last time and he said to stop taking biotin as it may have caused it, and said to see a derm dr.  Of course, I didn't go b/c I had "cured" the rash on my own.  So I went last week to the derm, and I'm fairly sure he said it looks like henoch schonlein, but also said eczema and dermatitis and I did tell him I'd been having gastric issues and stopped gluten, even tho the testing said not celiac.  He gave me a (dangerous) cream that I didn't use. Meanwhile, I've been using lotion and an OTC cortizone (only 2x) and the rash is healing very nicely.  Since Tuesday, however, I have been sick to my stomach with aching intestines and yesterday ran a 101 fever.  By aching intestines I mean that on Tuesday I ate a salad for lunch which tied me up in knots.  On Wednesday I ate an orange as a snack that killed.  So the connection to me was the acid, so I stayed away from that.  Since Thursday I have eaten very little, and only home made pea soup which I seem to tolerate.

I saw no point in trying to see my doctor or go to the walk in clinic b/c there is nothing they could do for me.  If it is coincidentally a virus, they do nothing.  If it is a gastric component of the henoch schonlein purpura, they do nothing unless you have bloody stool.  I cannot say it has affected my kidneys, but I don't see blood in my urine or any pink hue.

So I had yesterday off fortunately and stayed in bed. The few nights prior I went to bed early and tried to rest.  Last night sucked but my fever broke this morning.

Of course, the fever and the "belly aches" could all have been coincidental to the petechia rash on my feet and hands, I understand that.  So, I'm writing here only to a) get it out of my system and alert others to henoch schonlein purpura.  I was so convinced that I had celiac, but the tests say no.  However, I absolutely have petechial rash on all 4 extremities, and this time around definitely had intestinal distress.  This is generally a condition that passes, unless there is kidney involvement. Other than that, the doctors do nothing for it.

Maybe I had this all along and it wasn't the gluten...I just don't know.   I'm 6 weeks gluten free and I intend to continue for a while longer.

Thanks for listening.  Its nice to know you're out there.

This interests me because I have a "no celiac" diagnosis by blood work and biopsy (tho I think he didn't take enough samples) and the blood test could be false negative.  I showed inflammation in the entire upper scope, and he took biopsies of my esophagus and stomach too. Pathology for whatever he requested was all negative.  But, I stopped eating gluten anyhow, the day before the scopes (both ends).  And when I asked what caused the inflammation, he had no answer other than -- gerd/heartburn - which neither was really an issue for me (unless very occasional only heartburn could cause such inflammation).

I have not thrown out my toaster, and I have toasted a piece of gluten-free cornbread in it and ate that without repercussion.  Nor my pots, which i do use to cook for the entire family.  Am I careful at home to not cross-contaminate?  Yes, but, having "you're not celiac" diagnosis, I assume a crumb on the counter, if it came into contact with something else I put in my mouth, cannot damage my small intestine, and perhaps would not cause a reaction at all - but I don't know that for sure.  I do know that eating out on Sunday gave me 3 trips to the toilet, 2 of them urgent/explosive, so cause/effect was definitely occurring - I don't think it was coincidence - even tho I ate what I believed to be gluten-free choices.  Meanwhile, I have eaten an omelet from a place down the street that likely was cooked on a griddle where pancakes were cooked prior, without incident.

Do I think it would be okay for me to have a piece of ---- pizza?  No.  Nor cake, nor toast, etc.  I do believe a few pieces of regular macaroni would likely cause me intestinal distress, and therefore, I have lost my desire to eat it.  All in all, I think I probably do not have to be as careful as a diagnosed celiac, but I really don't know.

I had planned in a few months to test the waters and eat something really doughy and wheaty and sure to be the culprit IF it made me sick, but honest and truly, I have no desire for such food, so I don't know how/when I'll test myself.  And, when I do, if I don't react---then what has this gluten-free path been about?  

I got an appt. with the dermatologist (was 5:45 tonight) with the foot rash in full bloom.  So the rash looks like petechia, and he said yes, there is bleeding under the skin and it made sense that the 2 aspirin I took on Tuesday (for frozen shoulder pain) made it worse.  He said it was a type of eczema, but I can't remember the name of the type of eczema.  He prescribed a cream and called it into the pharmacy that I will pick up tomorrow.  Now I always thought eczema was the dry scaley patches I get on both sides of my nose and the right side of my lower lip, but I had no idea it was the pindots rash on my feet and hands.  I have a lot of skin issues.  Hopefully, the cream will clear this up.  My right foot has the look that I'm wearing s pindot sock!  I didn't think to show him my fissured beafy tongue, but I did ask about the many red pindots I'm getting everywhere - he said for some people that is normal, don't worry about it.  What?  Anyhow, I return in 2 weeks to review the feet/hands, and perhaps I'll show him my tongue.   Can eczema be responsible for the stubborn dandruff too?

Before I had the scoping done to check the villi, while waiting on the celiac bloodwork, I went to an allergist.  I was grasping at straws.  He said my skin was dermographic - I welted due to the scratching alone, and that made it harder to tell what was a true reaction, and what was a contact welt.  Though he said cashews, oysters, barley, oats and rice showed the larger reactions.  He asked if he could "write on my back" and check it after a few minutes.  Of course, every place he "wrote" left welts.  He mentioned wanting to put me on an anti-histamine regime, saying "when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, and being an allergist, this would be my course of therapy for you."   I said no - because 1) I felt I already had enough on my plate and thought I had finally figured it out, that it was the gluten and was close to getting the results and 2) I didn't understand about histamine (I still don't get it), but I get hives a lot, generally one or two my face or neck...cheek, chin, around the eyes or lips.  

This week, I ate a yogurt at 9 am and was fine; at 11:15 I had some non-gmo popcorn (salt/oil), and got 2 hives on my chin.  I am also dealing with a petechial rash on my feet and hands that at the end of this same day on the right foot flared up.  Anyhow, I rarely (almost never) take an aspirin or such, but am dealing with an aching frozen left shoulder for some time how, so I took 2 about 10 minutes before the popcorn.  I didn't think it was the corn (but could have been) and looked it up and saw than NSAIDs too can cause allergic reactions, including hives/rashes.

I think I'm going to have to look more into the histamine issues.  Meanwhile, I wanted to mention to you that it could be a vitamin, a pill, a pain killer, etc., something "new" or "rare" that you do/did.

Gluten doesn't have to be in the actual recipe!  It just takes the salad guy to refill the bread drawer and then go back fixing the salads without washing his/her hands.  Those who prepare salads are typically one of  the lowest paid kitchen employee, right with the dishwasher!  The cook could have been preparing a gluten dish and then used the same spoon to stir or scoop the beans after dropping is spoon on the floor. People make mistakes!  Corn chips are fried with burritos or flautas.  Even those with dedicated fryers have stupid employees who decide to fry their bread in the french fryer as a joke! 

 

Go back behind the scenes.  I went into the kitchen and saw how one restaurant prepared gluten free foods safely away from their other foods.  I always talk to the manager or the head chef every single time.  I typically select higher quality restaurants because they have a better chance of being educated in celiac disease.  If I get the "deer-in-the-headlights" look, I do not order!  I also pick places that have been reviewed by someone with celiac disease.  

 

I am so sorry that you got glutened.  It's what I miss the most -- eating out easily!  

...but the thing is... my blood and scopes were negative for celiac.  I know that doesn't mean I am excluded of being gluten intolerant, but I never expected to have such a D reaction that I didn't provoke. Based on conditions that could be caused by gluten, and other issues I have, I was eliminating gluten but intended to test it by choosing an obvious offender (although at this point, I have no desire to eat a sandwich or a lasagna, etc.)  I never entertained the idea that I could be so sensitive, even to a light cross contamination, so I really don't know if it was gluten or the shrimp or the rice.  I know it wasn't a stomach bug, and it was definitely cause (the food) and effect (the explosive urgent D).

I think I am back to square one.  I monitor, I log, I journal, I keep score of everything that goes in my mouth, and comes out the other end.  In June,  I return to my GP for blood work.  I am hoping my thyroid, and liver enzymes, and AC1 are improved.  Maybe that will be some "proof" that the gluten made me sick to begin with.  I just don't know.

I avoided a retirement at work today because I didn't want to see cake.  It wasn't so much that I'd want it, it was more like seeing it would feel nauseating, believing a piece would cause a sick reaction.

Oh, let me tell you all a story. My husband's trusted chiropractor had his wife work with him, and she would utilize kinesiology to tell you what you were allergic to - by having you bring suspected culprit food allergens - and having you put them into your own mouth - and having you PULL HER FINGER - and she would gauge by how strong or weak your grip was whether or not you were allergic to the food.  When he told me this, I said.....and you were born yesterday?  And, you paid her for this?  And, you brought the foods with you?  And you fell for this BS?  There is a sucker born every minute.  While I think chiropractic has its place, many chiropractors overstep their boundaries.  They should not be DIAGNOSING anything, and certainly should not be practicing kinesiology.  

I have been diligent for 2 days shy of 5 weeks.  Yesterday, not wanting to rock the boat, I went along with my family to a Cuban restaurant (after having visited a relative in the hospital) knowing I'd have limited choices.  Rather than focusing on what I could not have, I had a salad with o&v, grilled shrimp, white rice and red beans.  I know how I make my beans at home - no flour.  I assumed there would likely be a marinade on the grilled shrimp, but not flour.

When it arrived, I nonchalantly inspected the shrimp, trying not to call attention to myself.  I didn't want to be a spoil sport.  It looked like there might be a "dusting" of spices on the shrimp, but it did not look like bread crumbs - it really could have been spices. Then again, it could have been flour.

It takes 25 minutes to get home from there; and my stomach was churning as we left.  Having not had a BM the day before, I thought this maybe was the new normal...and when we got home, I did indeed have what I'd call a semi normal BM.  10 minutes later, explosive D, and 15 minutes after that, again, and in the bowl were bits of lettuce from my meal.

There was no rice, bean or shrimp in the bowl at any time; just the lettuce.  I don't know how the lettuce bits get past everything else, but this it happens, right?  I didn't have to "go" anymore last night, but I did have to go lay down; I fell asleep for 2 hours.

So my initial thought is there was wheat - on the shrimp.  Then I thought, maybe the beans were thickened with flour.  Then I thought, maybe its a new sensitivity to shrimp.  Then I thought perhaps it is the rice (which came out as positive on skin prick testing) but I have continued to eat rice and I don't think it ever caused me D.

So, I don't know what it was, and I doubt it was the shrimp themselves, or the rice, so its the beans or the shrimp's added spices.

Until yesterday, while monitoring and logging every BM for the past 5 weeks, I had not had such a reaction to having eaten anything that was so like before avoiding gluten.  One might have something to do with the other, or it could have been coincidence, but of course I will never call the restaurant and ask what is on the shrimp or in the beans.  

Perhaps this was an unintended gluten test, but honestly not knowing, I'll never know.  Maybe in a few more weeks, I'll eat something gluten-y on purpose, and I'll know.