Yesterday, I was in Nashville. It was a day.
Flight delayed getting into Nashville. No big deal. Vitals and weight taken at facility. Injected myself and briefly spoke with the doctor. All was good.
It was 10:30 and I needed to eat before going to the airport because the Nashville airport is lacking in gluten free options. I’ve been to Nashville 14 times in the last three months and eaten out without issue. I know I can eat safely in Nashville.
I checked gluten free Nashville and found a place that made crepes. The place promised gluten free crepes. I ordered a crepe and coffee. I confirmed they cleaned the crepe pan before cooking my gluten free crepes. I confirmed when they brought my crepe it was gluten free. It was delicious. Unlike buns and bread, I cannot tell if a crepe is gluten free just by looking or tasting. I think that was my first crepe ever.
Side note – I probably should have known this was a bad idea. Now thinking back on it, I should not have risked it at all. Thinking about how you make crepes, I was just asking for trouble. I was just excited to try something new and didn’t think it through. I read on Facebook about people making decisions like this and think, “what were you thinking?” Well, I just did it too. This is why celiac sucks! Anyway – back to my story.
I don’t believe my crepe was gluten free.
My flight was about 30 minutes late leaving Nashville and three hours after eating. About the time we were supposed to take off, it started. I wretched in the bathroom for about 15 minutes but didn’t actually vomit. Stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and pain like it was rising off my skin and everyone could see it. I got on the plane and spent about half the 38 minute flight in the bathroom and the other half just feeling awful. I trudged in misery through the airport to get to my car. I drove home slowly and was simply miserable.
I pulled into the neighborhood and it was like all the pain went away. I got out and nothing ached.
The pain, nausea, and diarrhea all lifted. The bloating started and I looked about 5 months pregnant, but otherwise, I was not miserable. I didn’t vomit or have diarrhea all night. I did have stomach pain when I went to sleep and waking up this morning – but nothing severe. I made the family dinner and helped with homework. I didn’t eat dinner just because I wasn’t sure how it would go. All normal stuff. I did go to bed a little early, but I had also been up since 4, so I needed to go to bed.
I’ve been hardcore glutened twice in the last year. Once at a sushi joint, where the soy sauce they gave me was not gluten free and once at the beginning of the Nexvax trial. When I get hardcore glutened, initial symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and headache. Then it can take me up to a week of extreme fatigue and ongoing pain to get better. The idea that my symptoms lifted after a couple of hours is amazing.
Does that mean I didn’t get hardcore glutened? I doubt it. I felt too bad to not have gotten glutened. Could it have just been that when I got home I was just happy to be home? Maybe.
I don’t know what is going on in my body. It is a new experience. I was so sick before and I am not very sick now. Its interesting and hopeful.
I will know more over the next few weeks with the food trials from the study. But we will see.