Dizziness From Vanilla Extract?

[learning2cope]

I am working on going gluten-free. I have no formal diagnosis yet (I may not even pursue it) but I had no major issues today but around noon I had a cup of coffee (which I have every morning) but this time mom added Watkins Original Double Strength Vanilla Extract to our Half & Half for our coffee. We've done that before, but I've been now 2 full days (attempting to be completely gluten-free) without gluten. I was glutened (I think) yesterday at lunchtime when I made gritz from a brand new, unopened can. They were not certified gluten-free and do not say gluten-free on the label. So it was my fault. Diarrhea, nausea, heart burn from the grits.

 

But today not long after drinking my coffee (I am not a sipper, I drink it like I do water) I got up from laying down and noticed I was very dizzy and my head feels very airy, like my skull is inflated with helium. I'm hating this! ACK! Could this dizziness and helium-head feelings come from gluten? I've not had this feeling from food before. But then again I've never gone gluten-free before either.

 

There was only a Tablespoon of extract for all three of our coffees, which equates to 1 Tsp per coffee, which really isn't a whole lot considering the alcohol in it. Soo I'm not sure what's going on. I've eaten a protein shake for breakfast which was gluten-free. scrambled eggs for lunch and then a chicken breast for snack (leftovers) then had coffee with the cream and vanilla extract in it. This head thing only happened after the coffee. My stevia is gluten-free that I use only in coffee. Our coffee has not changed, nor cream, nor vanilla, nor stevia.

 

I don't seem to have any really significant intestinal or stomach problems right now. I am still getting sharp stabbing (though light feeling) pains in my intestines since after the chicken today. I put Sargento shredded cheddar cheese on it. I know I am having issues with cheese right now but never had that cause this weird head feeling and dizziness. 

 

Any thoughts?

[GottaSki]

Shortly after removing gluten...I had issue with the pre-shreaded cheeses...there was NO gluten....I was having a similar reaction to the mold inhibitors/anti-caking ingredients.  Perhaps try grating your own?

 

Edited to add...and having a tough time with dairy is common while our digestive system heals...perhaps you are having a tougher time with dairy now???

 

And there is always the possibility that you accidentally ingested gluten...and then sometimes our damaged systems are sensitive to any food while healing is taking place.

 

Trying to figure out each time your digestive system is wonky during early days is tough...often you will never know what caused it.

 

Drink lots of water...hope you feel better soon

[learning2cope]

  On 3/1/2014 at 1:21 AM, GottaSki said:

Shortly after removing gluten...I had issue with the pre-shreaded cheeses...there was NO gluten....I was having a similar reaction to the mold inhibitors/anti-caking ingredients.  Perhaps try grating your own?

 

Edited to add...and having a tough time with dairy is common while our digestive system heals...perhaps you are having a tougher time with dairy now???

 

And there is always the possibility that you accidentally ingested gluten...and then sometimes our damaged systems are sensitive to any food while healing is taking place.

 

Trying to figure out each time your digestive system is wonky during early days is tough...often you will never know what caused it.

 

Drink lots of water...hope you feel better soon

Ah okay, I was wondering if that could be the case. Yeah I am paying a LOT more attention to how i feel in every way after everything I eat. I'm sick of feeling sick, and achy and tired. I really am feeling better mentally these past 3 days. I'm just amazed. I did feel awful after lunch and dinner yesterday thanks to being glutened, but I woke up feeling pretty good considering. I have LOST weight! YAY! I am super obese and since Wednesday I've lost 3.8 pounds. I weighed in at 350.0 on Wednesday morning. 348.0 yesterday and 346.2 today. It's awesome! I feel better, less brain fog and headaches. Actually I got a headache after the chicken with cheddar cheese today. And I did get a headache after the grits and then again after dinner yesterday. So it definitely seems to be gluten-related.

 

Thank you for your help, GottaSki. Things are looking up for me. I have a TON of health problems which seem like most may be caused by my gluten intolerance/allergy. 

 

I know yesterday after the grits my face rash and rosacea returned. My rosacea looks vastly different than my face rash. And my eyes got very sensitive to light (any light) again so I had to wear my sunglasses most of the rest of the day until I went to sleep last night. 

 

My parents are out at the grocery store right now. I made a short list of items I think we should try, like corn tortillas for me for a sandwich. I did put on there to get a new mayonnaise for me. My open one in the fridge is definitely contaminated with gluten. We use different mayo. I use Best Foods/Hellmann's and mom uses Miracle Whip. Best Foods (as it's called west of the Mississippi river) states on the label that it's gluten-free.

 

I've been lactose intolerant for at least a year. Though the weird thing was it was intermittent. Like, one day I could eat cereal with cows milk and not have any issues. A week or two later I'd have it again and I'd have diarrhea (which smelled like the cereal, so I knew it was caused by that.) but then again all the cereal I ate definitely had wheat in it. But I can't eat ice cream (occasionally I can) or I have to run to the bathroom, same with Yogurt and Frozen Yogurt and Cottage Cheese. But harder cheeses like mozzarella, cheddar, monterey jack, etc I usually don't have that problem with. I do get intestinal pain (some) and bloating and gas, but that's more of a recent thing.

 

This is difficult for me and my mom and dad. But Dad is fully for me doing what I need to do to get better - even if it changes his life or the way he cleans the dishes, stove, etc. Mom on the other hand is very, VERY stubborn and doesn't think that using shared utensils, plastic bowls, baking pans, and skillets will be a problem. But don't you think that if I was glutened from grits then using a plastic bowl that has definitely had pasta in it before is problematic? I think so. She thinks I'm crazy. Do you have any advice for me to help her understand that yes it is a problem and yes I need gluten-free bowls and plastic utensils (spatulas, etc)?

[GottaSki]

Either of these may help:

 

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

 

Book:  Real Life with Celiac Disease, Authors:  Melinda Dennis and Daniel A. Leffler

 

Go easy on Mom...it is a difficult transition for everyone...most family members learn along with us and once they see our health improve become our biggest advocates.

[learning2cope]

I am trying. I had researched celiac disease hard-core early last year due to my suspicions. I had a skin biopsy and blood work and the blood work was negative for celiac disease and the biopsy was inconclusive for anything. So it looks like the person who looked at my skin cells botched it up or wasn't educated at all in anything skin-related. (sigh)

 

So, due to that I gave up on the idea of celiac disease and just put up with my awful feeling self with the crazy inconsistencies with my bathroom habits, the chronic heartburn, even a few weeks or so of severe nausea with no apparent cause. Last year in August I did get an upper GI scope but the idiot doctor didn't take biopsies. Thanks, doc. He was apparently only looking for ulcers. He noted grade 1 esophagitis at the esophageal junction (I think that's what my doc told me he wrote down) but nothing else other than that. Yeah we knew I have GERD. *sigh*

 

So anyway. We've been through the gamut with medical tests. I'm sure there are plenty more I could do though. But since gluten intolerance and celiac disease are fixed with lifestyle change (don't eat gluten) that would tell me if that's what my problems are caused by. We can't really afford to continue doing test after test unless it's necessary. This - IMHO - is not necessary (yet) since I can go gluten-free and find out if that's the cause.

 

Mom I think, mainly, is just tired of bleeding money. I can understand that. I've been through diet after diet over the years and nothing worked well or at all. I was even on a prescription diet pill called phentermine (Adipex before it was called Adipex-P) circa like 2007. I only lost 11 pounds the first month but then gained all but 3 pounds back during the next 2 months on it. I quit taking it since it didn't work and is potentially dangerous. Plus you can't legally be on it more than 3 months at a time with I think 6 months off of it between on-times. Crazy...

 

Dad just called as they are on their way home. He thinks they got a bunch of goodies for me to get me on my way to staying gluten-free. (aww how nice) I think dad may have talked with mom while at the store and helped her out some with this decision. I hope that's the case. He said he'd talk to her about it.

[learning2cope]

Mom got 2 gluten-free pastas to try out, several bread mixes, Lay's classic potato chips, Tostitos tortilla chips, 3 Chex gluten-free cereals, more soy milk, our pasta sauce which I think is gluten-free. gfoverflow.com says it is and I think I looked it up online elsewhere and it says it is. string cheese which is gluten-free according to the Frigo Cheese Heads FB page customer service person. A new pasta scoop thing. 

 

She came in the house bringing groceries in and surprised me completely. She said we are going gluten-free for meals and stuff like that. She bought herself oreos (which we always have on hand) but she put them directly into her bedroom. Awwww my mommy is really trying! I feel so much better now. 

[GottaSki]

If you have either Celiac Diesease or NCGS...the best food to eat while healing are whole foods: meat, veggies, fruit, rice, dairy (if tolerated).  Processed food should be used as treats, not as staples.

 

While healing.....actually a good rule anytime, but especially while healing is eat healthful whole foods and limit the weigh-ins to once per week.  If removing gluten is necessary to obtain health, weight adjusts during the process. A daily food/symptom journal with weekly weigh in is a very good way to document your progress.

 

Good Luck.

[learning2cope]

Yes I don't plan on eating a lot of processed foods. Maybe once per day I'll have a sandwich and some mornings we'll have biscuits. I know gluten-free processed foods tend to be high calorie and I want to avoid gaining weight. I'd prefer to continue losing weight. Yes I will start formally logging my food and symptoms. I'm already sure I was glutened when I took Excedrin Extra Strength and my prescription Gabapentin at the same time yesterday evening. I had a very strong reaction to them.

[GottaSki]

Again, do not assume everything that irritates your system has gluten.  You mentioned several different episodes of possible glutening within a very short period of time.  Even if there was an accidental gluten ingestion...it happens.

 

Keep a detailed food/symptom log, check with the manufacturer for all foods and drugs you are unsure of.

[learning2cope]

  On 3/1/2014 at 5:52 PM, GottaSki said:

Again, do not assume everything that irritates your system has gluten.  You mentioned several different episodes of possible glutening within a very short period of time.  Even if there was an accidental gluten ingestion...it happens.

 

Keep a detailed food/symptom log, check with the manufacturer for all foods and drugs you are unsure of.

Yes, I realize now that my system is unhappy in general so a lot of things might make me have gluten-symptoms. I did call my pharmacy and told them that from now on I need to have gluten-free medications and they checked my current meds and didn't see any specific ingredient in any of them that could be problematic.