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Summary #2:
 
As soon as you start to feel this way take Benadryl (generic is fine--diphendramine hydrochloride).  It will relax the smooth muscle lining of the intestines in addition to supporting your body from the immune histamine response.  Also, pre-eating anything new, 1/2 to 1 hour before eating take diphendramine pill and it will protect you from suffering all the bloating, etc.  You will pass gas, but that will bring considerable relief.  It may make you drowsy so try taking a sublingual B12 at the same time.  It works for me.
**********
What you describe could be exposure to some questionable
food. I had a similar reaction after a trip to Mexico a few
years ago. My doctor advised Traveler's Aid, a heavy duty
probiotic to help get the "bad bugs" out of my system. It
did seem to help. She recommended taking it before and
during such trips in the future.

http://nutritionalsupplements1.com/travelguard.html

As far as your other question, I do have different
reactions when exposed to gluten. I seem to have distinctly
different reactions to wheat and barley. The first means
headaches, aches, GI issues, etc. depending upon how much I
actually injest (more gluten means more symptoms and more
severe). But, for barley, I immediately throw up. I can't
even eat more than a couple of bites before my body tells
me this food has got to get out of my system. It's happened
enough that I know that is what it is now. 
**********The truth is that it depends on the person. Most people I have spoken to
have a clear "gluten reaction" that is similar (depending upon dose). Once
the gut heals and auto-reactivity decreases, this "gluten" reaction tends to
become less pronounced over time and occasionally, disappear completely.
Beyond this, I suspect that most "gluten reactions" are probably NOT due to
gluten-- there are ever many different possible causes to GI distress and
often, people do not know what to attribute symptoms to. As a doctor, WE
don't even necessarily know the cause of symptoms without a stool culture,
etc. (and these are generally unnecessary in a situation like you describe).
The "normal flora" bacteria vary from one part of the world to the next, so
travelers diarrhea and GI distress are very common when on vacation. It's an
easy target to assume that the source was gluten. To try and make a long
story short, I don't know of any way to confirm gluten exposure based on
symptoms alone-- one would need to either have very clear, similar symptoms
and have consumed a suspect food (best avoided initially) or to be able to
confirm that a gluten food was eaten. (or, more long term, to check
bloodwork and confirm continued gluten exposure).   
********** have different types of reactions.  Sometimes bloating and stomach pain, sometimes diarreah, less often a tingly warm sensation through my body.  They appear to vary according to the level of ingestion and the type - ingredient or cross-contamination.  If I eat a gluten ingredient I get the bloating/pain.  If I get cross-contamination then it's more likely to be diarreah of some degree.  The symptoms usually start within an hour and last 4-8 hours.  Occasionaly I'll get cross-contamination diarreah the following day.  However I have very regular bowel movements so my body processes food quickly and efficiently.  I think that may be why my symptoms don't last very long.
 
I'd still call your doctor if it's been several days.  It could be something else.
**********
I may not be a a gluten reaction at all. It sounds like food poisoning. Very same symptoms.
The reaction I get when I eat BBQ foods (eg burnt charcoal) or foods treated with sulfites, many would describe as a gluten reaction.  
Often, I can't as it could be a food sensitivity. Either way, my body is telling me not to eat it. I analyse the food to determine if it could have been gluten and use a good dose of common sense.
**********
There are intestinal infections going around so probably that is what 
you experienced.......you can only compare them to your usual 
reactions to help determine gluten or otherwise. When you are 
visiting a different location than your home area you are 
encountering new bugs and often have a reaction.  
**********
You could have what they call on Caribbean cruses, Montezuma revenge, a 
virus or perhaps, an allergic reaction to some foreign food that our bodies 
are not accustom to.
**********
I can't help you on reactions, as I am one of those celiacs who do not get
gastric symptoms from gluten; I just mal-absorb nutrients.

Maybe your discomfort was not from gluten, but from a bacteria like E. Coli.
**********
 
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!!
Denise

 


      

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