New members sometimes ask what type of symptoms we experience if we eat gluten after being in remission for a few years. Lucky me - I just happen to be in a position to be qualified to answer that question.
So I thought I would post the information while it's still fresh on my mind.In another month and a half, I will have been in remission for 8 years. Last Thursday night, I attended a combination meeting/Christmas dinner, for the board of directors of the local soil conservation district, (of which I am a board member). I ordered a plain rib eye steak, and baked potato, with absolutely nothing on them, and I made the usual request to scrape the grill where my steak would be cooked, and don't allow any bread, croutons, etc., to touch my food, etc. I've eaten there several times before, so they know the routine. Here's where I think I made my mistake.
The waitress pointed out that the meal includes another vegetable of my choice. Normally, I always say, "No, thanks, just the steak and baked potato". In a distracted moment, however, (a senior moment?), I said, "green beans will be fine". Now, if I had half a brain, I could have asked if the green beans had anything on them, but nope - I just assumed that they would be safe.
When the food arrived, I even had some regrets about ordering the green beans, but I figured that surely no one would put gluten on green beans, and if I didn't at least eat some of them, the folks in the kitchen might feel insulted, so I did my duty and ate a few of them. I stopped at the third one, because they tasted as though they had some sort of sauce on them.
Sure enough, the D and general GI distress started during the wee hours of the morning. The next morning, I awoke with a stiff sore neck, (which was always one of my main symptoms, back in the bad old days), and a dull headache. Fortunately, the bloating and D were a minor problem, but the stiff, sore neck and headache lasted for 2 days. I didn't even take anything for them, because I figured it had been so long since I had felt those symptoms, that I needed a good reminder, just for old time's sake.
Anyway, that's what gluten does to me, after almost 8 years of remission - and I don't even have a colon, anymore, so obviously, surgery is not the solution that it's promoted to be, by some gastroenterologists, such as the ones at the Mayo Clinic.
Tex
For almost 2 years, I ate nothing but pork, chicken, eggs, potatoes, a little rice, and once or twice a week, I would have a serving of maybe overcooked squash, green beans, or broccoli. I had to minimize sugar and fiber. The only seasoning I used was sea salt and jalapeños. (Black pepper caused stomach pain). At first, I occasionally ate beef, also, but it eventually dawned on me that it was what was occasionally causing some bloating and spine/neck stiffness/pain and a headache, and so I cut beef out, also.
