Yes, folks, even sometimes I make mistakes. As hard as I try to stay completely gluten-free, there was a time I was accidentally ‘glutened’ (is there a proper word for it?), and yes, I did know it. And now, as I sit in this lovely cafe, I, the dark, brooding blogger wearing red lipstick, will finally chronicle the story of ‘how I was glutened’.
It was Spring Break of my sophomore year in college (but a few months ago), I took a trip with my club tennis team to Austin, for the yearly sectionals tournament. It was lunch time, and I went with my friend to get some food for our team. We pulled into a shopping plaza, and stepped inside a sandwich shop (I know, mistake number one-BUT I had just planned on getting chips and fruit). Upon glancing at the menu, I saw that they had the option of a LETTUCE WRAP instead of a gluten slice of bread or wrap.
Perhaps it was because I was hungry, or perhaps it was because I figured ‘hey, I’ve never really been glutened before, it won’t happen now’ that I ordered a lettuce wrap sandwich.
But, it was that act that sealed my destiny. Looking back, I can’t believe I was that stupid.
The typical Chynna reaction when, pre-diagnosis, gluten was consumed, had NOTHING to do with digestive problems. My symptoms involved swelling, weight gain, growth arrest, and brain damage; that was why it took so long to find a diagnosis (they thought it was M.S. or cancer).
And so I ate my turkey and cheese wrapped in lettuce and continued playing tennis…….until about 3 hours later. I was watching one of my teammates play, when all of a sudden, (STOP READING IF YOU GET GROSSED OUT EASILY), I felt as though I needed to vomit. I rushed to the bathroom, and, yes, proceeded to vomit. I know it’s not the prettiest picture, but it has to be told….. I went back out onto the courts, before my friend let me take a nap in her car for a few hours.
However, because I hadn’t had this reaction to gluten prior to my diagnosis, I thought I had come down with a sickness. It wasn’t until I had woken up from my nap, feeling a million times better, that I realized if I had a stomach bug, it probably wouldn’t have gone away so quickly. I was fine for the rest of the trip. Has anyone else experienced a change in symptoms after being diagnosed with the disease and being gluten-free for a while? It’s a question I’ve been pondering for a while, and would love a medical explanation if anyone has one!
Getting glutened is a terrible thing. However, I’m kind of thankful I had a reaction like this, as it reinforced the importance of making sure the foods I eat are NOT cross-contaminated. I’ve been really really careful since this day to make sure I’m eating food that is 100% gluten-free. From now on, I’m going to pack more gluten-free snacks so that I don’t have to resort to doing something like this, and damage my intestine. I’ll also be able to know when something has been cross-contaminated and a restaurant hasn’t been truthful, instead of being asymptomatic. Statistically, we can’t be 100% gluten-free for our entire lives, but we can use our negative experiences to learn, grow, and keep ourselves from making the same mistakes in the future.
Have you ever been accidentally glutened?! Share your experience and what you learned by commenting below!!!!
The Corporate Celiac 
I am 100% positive that your symptoms prior to and after diagnosis can change. I remember reading about this on a forum. I’ll paste the link if I can find it. I myself have had two ‘glutening’ sessions which were so different from each other. The first one was terrible, my stomach bloated severely within 15 min and I was having a hard time breathing. I nearly threw up too. Later I found out that my stomach pushed on my diaphragm and caused my shortness of breath and nausea. The second time I got ‘glutened’ I didn’t really have symptoms. I know I glutened because it was on purpose (stupid I know, but I was stressed out and gluten free was the last thing on my mind). I ate a bunch of chocolate cake which clearly stated “contains wheat”. I felt a few sharp pains in my abdomen the next morning and I was a bit sick throughout the day, but everything else was fine. I also broke out in something that probably wasn’t DH because it didn’t look nearly as bad as DH.
thanks for the comment! yes, I was so surprised my body reacted like that; that’s why I originally though I had a stomach virus or bug. It taught me a really good lesson though, and helped me regain focus and stay aware of cross contamination. Even when there’s pressure (and there’s a LOT!) you have to stay strong and remember how you’re helping your body by staying gluten-free. A lot happens to the body when we eat gluten that we can’t always see on the exterior!