What Are Your "glutened" Symptoms?

[RahCreature]

I am super neurotic about avoiding wheat because of the one times i was "glutened" I had only been gluten free for a month or so and I accidentally got into some Worcester Sauce and since I am diabetic the stress on my innards spike my blood sugar So I get the fatigue, frequent urination, irritability, over heated, brain fog on top of the Cramps, Brain fog and fun intestinal things that are with the Celiac's So I do not even go in an area where wheat as been in the air I am that paranoid. My friends think it is a hoot. But I say better safe then sorry.

[Kate79]

I have recently been glutened twice in one week! Last Thursday and today. I experience headaches, bloating, fatigue, stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, sometimes vomiting, brain fog and dizziness. It is not a bad dizziness, it just feels like I can't focus. I have not heard anyone else with the dizziness as a complaint. I also become very anxious during this time. This usually lasts 3-4 days for me.

I can immediately tell when I ingest gluten; I become tachycardic within 5-10 minutes after ingestion.

Michelle

I've experienced dizziness - usually first thing in the morning so I thought it was low blood sugar. But it went away after going gluten free.

[glutefree]

I don't know if I ever replied to this so if you ever get it..... I bought cheap knock off Craisens from WalMart Market place; they dust them with "trace" amounts of wheat to keep them from sticking together. We usually buy the Ocean Spray kind so I never even checked the back of the bag.

Azgirl, Thanks! I'll remember not to buy the Walmart ones. Thankfully our small town has a costco that sells the ocean spray ones in bulk.

[revenant]

It's almost hard to remember symptoms exactly, and it's been only about hmm 4 months since I've last ingested gluten.

Physical

-Bloating, eyelids, under my cheeks by my jawline, tongue, lips, neck, hands, legs, stomach mainly

-Gas

-body odour so badd

- D

- Clumsyness and poor muscle control/uncontrollable muscles

- body aches everywhere

- Mumbling, some form of ataxia I think

-such bad fatigue

-parts of body constantly fall asleep (I thought this was supposed to be a common thing but it hasn't happened since letting go of gluten, not even at night or when I wake up)

-'head rushes' and vision loss upon standing

-chronic yawning (it was a real issue... Very very unusual, I yawned ALL DAY and it would make tears stream down my face, all day.)

-Angular chelitis (cuts at side of mouth. soo annoying. spelling may be wrong)

-gluten cravings

-nerve tingling

-very painful type of joint pain..

-Visual distortion, thinking things are going to morph all the time and seeing everything in a 'nightmarish' and cold light

-brain fog and 'perma-stare'

-hot flashes

-palpitations

-No attention or focus

-Become very tactile and zombified. IE: Can trace my hand around in circles against the carpet for hours in a zombie like state, eyes wide mouth open... lol.

-chronic rocking back and forth, for like a week straight, and constantly rotating my left ankle in a triangle to a beat.

- Attachment to video games. (very odd, off of gluten I have no appeal towards video games but when glutened I become unable to stop.)

Neurological:

-Anxiety, paranoia and panic attacks

-Irritability, hatred and rage attacks

-Crying spells and chronic feeling of unloved and hopelessness

-Suicidal and self-harming

-feelings of vulnerability

-"in my own world" syndrome... Whispering made-up dialogue from stories I make up in my head to myself,.. all while rocking back and forth like a nutball. Yeah... I become quite the koook!!

I love listing out all the symptoms and looking back at the life once lived. It makes one really appreciate all the positive changes and the removal of some horrible symptoms that I for one thought I would have to live with forever!! When I eat gluten, I revert to a person that definitely seems on the autistic spectrum. (And boy oh boy, cranky!)

[love2travel]

Symptoms? None that my husband or I have noticed. However, I would have no clue if I were accidentally glutened (i.e. CC at a restaurant).

[txplowgirl]

My symptoms can range from mild to very major symptoms like very very sleepy, total fatigue where I have to immediately lay down and take a nap, itchiness, cramps, diareha, sore stomach, sometimes really sharp shooting pains feeling like someone's stabbing me with a knife, bloating, headaches ranging from just a slight ache to a full grown migraine, bone and muscle pain, tingling, burning sensations in my arms and legs. Brain fog, irritability ranging from just mild to flat out going off on someone for no reason. Depression ranging from mild to severe. Lower back and legs go numb and gets very hard to walk. At times I feel like i'm running a fever to feeling like i'm coming down with the flu. Like I said, just a wide range that lasts anywhere from just a couple of hours to lasting at least a couple of weeks. Uhhhh.

[annegirl]

Well, last Thursday I was an idiot and now I truly know what it is to be glutened.

-All my scent allergies came back

-Skin rashes and itchiness crop up

-Extreme fatigue

-Brain fog

-Paranoia (I start questioning whether feeling better was in my head!)

-Lack of motivation to do anything but watch House episodes for hours.

-The big C

I'm still not top notch and I got glutened on Thursday night after eating some hot wings with a gluten intolerant friend. I KNEW when they told me they weren't sure about their gluten content that I shouldn't have eaten them. I sure paid for it. Note to self: don't go out with gluten intolerant people that cheat!

I also had ranch on my salad >face palm< I obviously was feeling impervious to all gluten and lactose intolerance issues. Boy did they learn me good over the weekend.

[ocean girl]

I've experienced dizziness - usually first thing in the morning so I thought it was low blood sugar. But it went away after going gluten free.

I get dizzy and anxious. I was almost off all gluten and was dizzy free. I did a week test....first the bloating and right side pain came along with facial breakouts. Next came the dizziness, fuzzy brain and slight depression. It took 4 days for the face and bloating to clear and 6 days gluten free for the dizziness to go away. I also was having a racing heart rate before I went gluten free.

[kitchen-chemist]

Nausea is my first symptom. Some sort of additive maybe cross-contamination with a Kroger brand cheese set me off, and a granola bar I ate w/o reading the label was the culprit the time before that. I usually get nauseous within 10 minutes to an hour after ingesting, depending on the dose. My intestines go on strike... kind of like constipation I guess, but no urge to go per se, more that they just cease operations so to speak. I bloat badly (flat stomach to looking like I'm 5 mo pregnant). Lots of gas, and gurgling, and constant cramping. As I told my gastroenterologist, it feels like there's a gremlin in there attempting to gnaw its way out. I also feel drained of energy and also crave carbs. Typically it lasts from 3-7 days, with 7 being if I eat something with wheat and not just contaminated.

My son gets diarrhea, headache, and stomach cramps. Thankfully he's better in 24-48 hrs.

Gas-X does nothing. The aloe juice does seem to help. I try to stick to a very mild, bland diet for the first day or two afterward (rice, chicken broth).

[pondy]

Over this past summer, both of my daughters and I have discovered we are gluten-intolerant, even though we all test negative for celiac disease. We all express our intolerance a little differently -- I through my skin, my youngest daughter through her energy level, and my oldest daughter through her gut.

Skin and energy level are fairly easy to continue with a regular life, but when my oldest gets "glutened," it will wipe her out for 2-3 days with stomach upset, maybe some diarrhea. We have been pretty good at avoiding everything, but there is an occasional slip-up.

I was wondering how other people react to getting glutened. I know there is probably a wide variety of responses. I'm just curious if the 2-3 day range of being out sick is about average. Also, if your stomach is affected, is there anything you do to help it? We've been using heat and Alka-Seltzer Gold (recommended by a nutritionist), which helps a little.

Thanks!

Laura

Burning pain in upper right abdominal area, ribcage and joint pain, lower back pain, headache, "out of it" feeling - difficulty concentrating & finding the right words, memory lapses. Most recently, itchy rash.

[Rob-A]

When I have gluten, I get muscle/joint pain, trigger points, sores on my face/scalp/neck/arms, brain fog, fatigue(tripping over my feet and falling asleep with no warning).

I just recently went gluten-free and keep accidentally ingesting gluten. I had some fries the other day thinking they'd be safe, but reacted. The only thing I can think of is that they were contaminated because they were fried in the same oil as chicken fingers and onion rings.

I've found drinking water and dandelion root tea helps clear the bad stuff out. The dandelion acts as a mild diuretic, laxative, and cleans out the liver.

[SherryLR]

Thankfully I found this link! I realized (2 days later) this past weekend going out for dinner the server was bringing out bread to other people at our table and then brought out my meal. I'm sure she didn't wash her hands between :-(

The first time I was glutened my symptoms were very abrupt and very harsh!! The "mental" symptoms lasted for 3 weeks. Brain fog, anxiety, irritability, etc. The physical, both D & C, cramping, bloating, etc. about a week.

This time probably the bread crumbs... but even that will set me off at varying degrees!! Within that night started feeling off... dizzy, kind of like when you're getting the flu. The next night I had horrible pains, bloating, headache while trying to eat dinner. Felt wiped out. Next two days every time I tried to eat I got those burning, stabbing pains in my stomach, felt like throwing up/nausea. Throughout had headaches, dizziness, anxiety, heart palpitations, irritability, joint and muscle pain. I'm at 5 days and still feel yuk!! Now I'm getting burning in the muscles, rash-like burning on my face and more flu like symptoms of general malaise.

Not sure what to do... can't eat and getting weak!! I'm trying to eat bland but get sick again. Drinking a ton of detox and mint tea. Tonight I will try plain chicken broth!

Take care everyone!!

[sweetstar114]

I have been able to go a good chunk of time not being glutened but was glutened last night. I have hot and cold chills, bloating, burps, dizziness and I start to act hyper. All of this starts within about 20 minutes of ingesting. I had a big (by big I mean a thermos) of chamomile tea. It helped settle my stomach very quickly. I get really tired after about an hour or 2 after ingestion. I ended up sleeping for about 14 hours last night. I'm still tired but not exhausted, I can function but it takes effort.

[Macbre]

Since I've been gluten free for 10 months I find that when I get glutened now my symptoms are worse than they were....guess I'm becoming more sensitive. My major sysmptoms (that last anywhere from 1 week to 3 weeks) are:

Diarrhea

Heart Palpations (major symptom)

anxiety

hives

brain fog

moodiness

ears ringing (I know it's strange)

achy joints (feels like the flu)

restless legs

headaches

tiredness

Vasovegal Syncope (almost passing out)

Shortness of breath

Pain in left rib area

and others that I can't think of right now.....It's definitly enough that I don't like to eat out and I refuse to eat at other peoples house (I don't care how careful they try to be).

Out of all these symptoms the one that bothers me the most is the heart related ones. It doesn't seem that too many people deal with heart probs so I don't know why I have that as a symptom. My heart rate is so irratic that sometimes I feel I am just going to pass out because it will drop suddenly. It usually takes several weeks to get it back to normal. I'M SO OVER ALL OF THIS!!

[Kimbalou]

Over this past summer, both of my daughters and I have discovered we are gluten-intolerant, even though we all test negative for celiac disease. We all express our intolerance a little differently -- I through my skin, my youngest daughter through her energy level, and my oldest daughter through her gut.

Skin and energy level are fairly easy to continue with a regular life, but when my oldest gets "glutened," it will wipe her out for 2-3 days with stomach upset, maybe some diarrhea. We have been pretty good at avoiding everything, but there is an occasional slip-up.

I was wondering how other people react to getting glutened. I know there is probably a wide variety of responses. I'm just curious if the 2-3 day range of being out sick is about average. Also, if your stomach is affected, is there anything you do to help it? We've been using heat and Alka-Seltzer Gold (recommended by a nutritionist), which helps a little.

Thanks!

Laura

I have celiac. when I am glutened, I am fatigued, can't think clearly, I get diarrhea, bloating and gas for anywhere from 24-72 hrs. Immodium Advanced works for me.

[cavernio]

Not sure about my glutened symptoms yet, still not sure if I actually ate gluten or not. Could either be from a lot of Coke (everyone complains it's not 100% gluten-free, just legally gluten-free), and/or margarine that was lactose free but not labelled as gluten free. (Vegetable monoglycerides were on the label.)

Initially I just got bloating and headaches and fatigue and brain fog (well, I'm always fatigued and have brain fog). If it were that time of the month, I'd have called it PMS, but my period just finished. I threw out the supposedly gluten-free cookies I had made myself with the margarine, after eating a few every day for a few days, threw out the margarine, the Coke was already all drank. However, I got a nasty flu, complete with fever, chills, headaches, stuffed nose, sore throat, that icky achy feeling, pain in my side that I had all the time before going gluten-free, pretty bad glum feelings (I suffered from bad depression a few years ago, felt just like that but didn't last long enough to really bring me down), a couple days later, which I'm still getting over.

I dunno if I actually got sick (no one around me's sick, not that I go out much anyways), or my immune system just went haywire and I reacted very poorly to the gluten. Haven't read anyone else reacting so poorly with such a long delay, but anything's possible.

Overall it had been 5 days since the potential glutening to when the flu struck.

[sa1937]

Not sure about my glutened symptoms yet, still not sure if I actually ate gluten or not. Could either be from a lot of Coke (everyone complains it's not 100% gluten-free, just legally gluten-free), and/or margarine that was lactose free but not labelled as gluten free. (Vegetable monoglycerides were on the label.)

Initially I just got bloating and headaches and fatigue and brain fog (well, I'm always fatigued and have brain fog). If it were that time of the month, I'd have called it PMS, but my period just finished. I threw out the supposedly gluten-free cookies I had made myself with the margarine, after eating a few every day for a few days, threw out the margarine, the Coke was already all drank. However, I got a nasty flu, complete with fever, chills, headaches, stuffed nose, sore throat, that icky achy feeling, pain in my side that I had all the time before going gluten-free, pretty bad glum feelings (I suffered from bad depression a few years ago, felt just like that but didn't last long enough to really bring me down), a couple days later, which I'm still getting over.

I dunno if I actually got sick (no one around me's sick, not that I go out much anyways), or my immune system just went haywire and I reacted very poorly to the gluten. Haven't read anyone else reacting so poorly with such a long delay, but anything's possible.

Overall it had been 5 days since the potential glutening to when the flu struck.

Sorry that you are not feeling well and hope you get better soon. Our bodies can be pretty wonky and we can react to most anything or you may have had the flu since it is flu season.

Coke is gluten-free regardless of what "everyone" says...who is everyone? I drink Coke Classic and have no problem with it. But I don't drink a lot of it. Some people have problems with high fructose corn syrup in regular Coke or artificial sweeteners in Diet Coke. Or you could be reacting to most anything in it.

As far as margarine is concerned, I believe vegetable monoglycerides are used to help mix ingredients together that historically don't mix well (think oil and water). I doubt that most margarines are labeled gluten-free nor are a lot of other things I consume on a regular basis (I do read a lot of labels). I happen to use butter so really don't have experience with margarine to know what's in it although I bought Earth Balance when I first went gluten-free.

[cavernio]

Well I keep finding the same copy-paste thing about in order for something to be labelled as gluten-free in the states, it only needs less than 200mg/serving, or maybe 200ppm or something, and that those are the standards they follow for labelling themselves as gluten-free. Something like that. I do know that caffeine and sugar were the 2 things that initially set off my bloating, at least that I noticed, years ago. Coke has both.

Anyways, I think I did figure out that I did get a regular flu because choir last night, half the people were sick/getting over being sick. It's the only social thing I do, and no one was sick last week, so yeah. I'm just over worried about the gluten I guess.

I have found a gluten-free and lactose free margarine for certain, becel makes one that's labelled as such. (Also vegan, yay!) I hope to go back to butter when/if I can have lactose again, nothing tastes better :-)

[AM63]

I have only been gluten free for a short while and am still learning I am just having my first glutened experience after my husband cooked dinner ,and did not realise he had added a  stock which had gluten in it ,and I assumed he had used the gluten-free free stock . I started with bloating and cramps which led to the dreaded D,I also had nausea a vomiting. That lasted 2 days, then I had a migraine for 2 days plus the chronic fatigue and brain fog.I still have nausea and fatigue joint pains and just feel off, I spent a whole day in bed,which sounds pathetic but just needed too. On day 5 now think it is starting to abate but still feel dreadful.