Quick! Has anyone seen House???
I like to think I have gotten pretty good at avoiding accidental glutenings, and even better at identifying the source. Practice makes perfect you know. Shoot, by now I should be considered an expert celiac patient. If there was an Olympic biathlon event for avoiding gluten while cross country skiing, I would be a shoe-in for the gold medal.
So last week I managed to subdue a glutening of epic proportions after a long and protracted battle. And this after I ate all week long with extreme caution.
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- No restaurants.
- No new foods.
- Always fanatically careful about cross contamination. I could give Monk a run for his money in that department.
- I definitely did not scarf down any Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Pop-Tarts, as much as I wanted to.
- Same toothpaste.
- Haven’t taken a shower in months. Ok just kidding on that one, but I did not use any new shampoo or soap.
- Same dental floss.
- No new morning food or drink routine.
- I didn’t load 50 pound sacks of flour as a part time side job.
- No wheat farming or anything (that I can remember.)
- No pizza parties.
I’m stumped. Any ideas?
I’d love to hear about the most perplexing gluten mysteries you have solved. One of my most interesting ones to date has been the Senseo coffee pod adventure. What’s yours?
After an 18 month adventure through the catacombs of the medical system, I was formally diagnosed with Celiac Disease. The bright side of that journey is that I know 3,712 nasty and horrible conditions that I do NOT have. 
Hmmm…. This game sounds familiar. Restaurants are the thing that usually get me. What about medicines, vitamins, or pain reliever (like for a headache)? I recently found out my Vitamin B may have gluten in it.
What about salad dressing, soy sauce, cooking spray, soda, or alcohol? These are unexpected sources of gluten that have tripped me up before.
Does anyone else in your household eat gluten, or did you smooch someone with glutenous lip balm or cosmetics?
Finally, are you sure it was gluten? It can be difficult to get enough fiber in the gluten-free diet, which can lead to painful results. In addition, some people who have had untreated celiac disease for an extended period eventually develop dyssynergia, which means that the muscles down there have been clenched for so long (trying to avoid accidents) that it’s difficult to keep things moving regularly. This can also lead to great discomfort. Sorry, I know that’s gross. If this is the case, you might try Mirolax.
Anyway, good luck to you and your powers of deduction! Getting spelted stinks, and I hope you feel better soon!!!
Hmmm, I have been suspicious of Aunt Rissy’s various lip balms etc for a while. I wonder if one of them got me?
Here’s to safe smooching
Oh it does my heart good to hear someone else grappling to escape the clutches of hidden gluten. I am so jealous of those laisse faire celiacs who have the brazen audacity to eat “gluten free” mainstream breakfast cereals. That’s just crazy talk at our house. We are a family of 5; 2 super-sensitive with other food intolerances, 2 average and one GF by default. I (as the Mom) spent the better part of 4 years hawking everything that entered the house and keeping food logs. The winning ticket for us was knocking out anything manufactured in a shared facility. Not to kick you while you are down, but we eventually realized that other food intolerances were at play. Corn and chocolate for one and dairy for another.
The oddest straight up glutening?: apple juice, lip balms, lotion (kids like to lick their skin), and limeade.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could defend yourself from gluten with a baseball bat?….Hmmm that is my favorite fantasy…oh how living GF changes things:)
Hi Tom,
I just stumbled (literally, using stumbleupon) across your website and am delighted! I am currently fighting with my Doctors to even be tested for Celiacs (they say it’s too expensive to test – I say I am paying in cash so WTF is your problem?) but am quite positive that the feeling that my internal organs have been replaced by punji sticks is the direct result of gluten.
Anyway, the actual point to this comment, is to say Hi and that I appreciate your blog!
October, 2001. Doctors jammed predisone, oral chemo down my throat for 2 yrs. Had laporscopy, exploratory surgery, diagnosed liver cancer. 7 days later, Mayo clinic rediagnosed hyper-eosiniphilic syndrome. My eos were 42%. Hence, the steriods. Who heard of gluten-free around 2000. Blood test every 30 days. Anemic. Avascular neucrosis of right hip, surgery, wheel chair for 4 mnths – changed diet to celiac. Volume of blood dramatically went up. Noticed similiarities to celiac. Winged off steriods, ouch. Lost all hair and finger nails prior, so I was willing to eat lava rocks, or bird feathers. I am sensitive to Gluten, Eggs, Cow milk, and any Wheat. It’s not what you eat, it’s what you absorb. My mom died of non-hodgkins lymph. and thyroid disease. (Look up in “Dangerous Grains”, Hoggan and Braley.) 5 yrs later, accidental ingest of flour tortilla.My head didn’t pop off. Started eating toast with jam or honey. I know bad bad. One trip golfing, horrible game. Went home, back on diet. Month later, same. Noticed hand-eye coordination suffered. We know our bodies. Stay on diet. Similiar extraction of offenders in diet as coffee story. However, under Celiac/News on MSN, read the #1 tennis player in world sited similar coordination woes. Imagine if our children were not eating offending foods. Obviously affects the brain, mind body functions as well. Lets band together against ignorance, and help those innocent children. The older ones set in their ways, like my family, who say I am crazy – maybe I am.