Oh No! I've been glutened...

I don’t know how many times I’ve uttered those words. It is unfortunately a risk that we put on ourselves if we want to have a semblance of a normal life. I mostly eat out of my own kitchen, things I’ve bought and cooked myself to ensure that I have the smallest possible chance of contamination. However it isn't feasible to avoid situations that will include me having to eat food that I can’t control. These events include work functions, eating out with friends, birthday parties and so on. I can only do everything within my power to ensure that what I eat has the least chance of making me sick. These tips over on my post here will be able to help you in that department. This blog post is going to focus on what can help you when you’ve already unfortunately been glutened.

Personally I enjoy the stay in bed all day with a bucket approach. However when you have stuff to do, that isn't an option.

Symptoms of being glutened can range from:

·         stomach pain or cramping, vomiting

·         indigestion and gas

·         diarrhoea

·         lethargy / brain fog

·         bloating

·         headaches to migraines

·         swelling and water retention

·         food cravings / emotionally unbalanced

·         feeling blocked up and sniffily

·         Hot and cold flushes

·         Skin rash

·         Mouth ulcers

·         Muscle and joint, twitches and aches

Today was the day I realized that last night out with my father, I was glutened. I think he got the wrong sausages and didn’t think about checking the ingredients. I feel like an idiot for not noticing the difference and as I’ve said in my tips page; other people don’t think about your disease as frequently as you do.

Sadly there isn’t a miracle cure for us when we get glutened, we can’t take a magic pill and make all the symptoms go away. Once gluten has been ingested the results will vary depending on your level of sensitivity, severity of symptoms and how much was ingested. Depending on the quantity I react very quickly and in the worst cases remain bed bound. I had a single sausage but I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck or have been on a two day drinking bender but without the enjoyment first.

Visibly even with the slightest bit of contamination I get the preggy belly. If you don’t know what that is you probably don’t have Coeliacs. I have gone from my normal waist and stomach size to looking like I’m maybe 4 months pregnant but sometimes I can look anywhere up to nine months pregnant. Don’t even get me started on the mood swings (this used to cause hell for me in terms of monthly period and mentally unstable girl jokes when I was in highschool). Right now I want to eat the entire pantry and then cry about it. My brain knows that’s a bad idea though because my stomach feels like it’s exorcising itself.

My best friend right now is my water bottle, which I’ve filled up several times already and a tub of natural yoghurt with a teaspoon.
Since there is no miracle cure, we only really have one option to try and treat or lessen the symptoms. No matter how severe the symptoms are if you know you’ve been glutened then make sure you stay hydrated (remember my best friend the water bottle). If you begin to feel extremely dehydrated then grab a hydrolyte, Gatorade or something that will bring up your electrolytes. Water also helps to flush out toxins from the body.

The other thing you really should do, but I’m a little guilty of breaking this one is rest.  Your body is using all of its energy to fight off the offending proteins and intruders; it will also begin repairing any damage that may have been caused. Personally I don’t feel right after being glutened for at least 3 days, depending on the severity it may be longer but I’ve never recovered any quicker. After the first day or two I can usually function normally but that feeling of being off and ick is still there. A good nanna nap is the best thing you can do for your body.

To help with the headaches you can use any number of medical remedies, I enjoy the warm face washer on the forehead in darkness approach but of course that isn’t always feasible. Two Panadol will work wonders too.

For the gas and indigestion I go for peppermint tea or peppermint tablets. I also have a stash of charcoal pills kept handy in case the peppermint isn’t working.
As a girl I know how to deal with intense stomach pain and cramping so a heat bag to the abdomen works wonders. If the pain is really intense though medications like Buscopan or a natural remedy like Chamomile, Lemon, Ginger or Mint tea with fennel seeds should help as well.

The best thing I can do when I start feeling nauseous is to get it out, I know there are many medications on the market to help prevent vomiting like APO-Metoclopramide (prescribed medication) but if I don’t have anywhere I need to be or anything I have to do; nothing beats sitting with a bucket. A good tip to avoid the smell making you feel worse is to have water and dishwashing liquid in the bottom of your bucket. For the diarrhoea; a gastro-stop or similar medication will be adequate to prevent you needing to run to the bathroom every few seconds.

I have a doctor prescribed antibiotic cream that I swear by for any rash breakouts that appear on my body. I slather it on heavy and the need to peel off my skin subsides. I usually only have to use it once or twice a day.  The mouth ulcers are a tricky one. I got them more as a child than I ever have as a grown up, then again I haven’t eaten that much gluten since I began to understand what was happening to me. If you have a remedy for these other than sleeping for two days straight please let me know.  

A steam treatment (run the hot tap as high as you can and breath in the steam) will work well for the sniffles and blocked up feeling. I also carry hay-fever tablets which seem to do the trick as well. There are many cold and flu medications, Vyx chest rub and so on that will be able to make you feel a little less blocked up and stuffy.
There isn’t much we can do about the brain fog, emotional instability (for me it is always sad, everything starts to get to me but I know someone who gets angry and another who isn’t emotionally affect at all)  but eat clean and healthy to try and get our bodies back on track.

The risk of being glutened shouldn’t stop us from enjoying our lives. Even with our vigilance we can’t be 100% sure that what we are eating when out and about isn’t going to make us sick but we can do all we can to treat the after affects.