I was wrong about my celiac reactions…
and that has made all the difference.
For years, I thought my celiac “reaction” was diarrhea.
I was wrong.
When I went through four controlled gluten challenges during the Nexvaxx trial — I learned something that completely changed how I understand my disease.
My gluten reaction wasn’t what I thought it was.
For me, it was vomiting — usually 2–4 hours after exposure.
Then fatigue.
Brain fog.
A couple rough days.
But diarrhea?
That barely showed up in the glutening picture.
And honestly…I was surprised.
Because I had spent years blaming symptoms on gluten that may not have been gluten at all.
And that taught me something bigger:
Not every symptom is gluten.
That may be one of the hardest things to talk about in celiac spaces.
Because fear can fill in a lot of blanks.
And uncertainty can make every symptom feel suspicious.
But learning my actual reaction pattern changed something for me.
It gave me confidence.
Not recklessness.
Confidence.
It helped me focus more on understanding and managing risk—
and less on living in fear.
And just to be clear—I am not encouraging anyone to “test” themselves with gluten. I did the gluten challenge in a doctor’s office attached to a hospital. I was in a safe place under medical supervision.
I’m sharing what I learned from it.
And what I learned was this:
Celiac doesn’t have to stay a mystery forever.
You can learn your body.
You can recognize patterns.
And understanding lowers fear.
That may be one of the greatest gifts the trial gave me.
And it’s part of why I push back when every symptom gets blamed on gluten.
Sometimes it is.
Sometimes it isn’t.
Learning the difference matters.
What symptom did you once blame on gluten that you see differently now?
I’m curious.
PS – A paper was published as a result of the Nexvaxx trial confirming that I was not alone in the vomiting 2-4 hours post glutening. It is the standard reaction. Just in case you wanted to read the study – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31457091/
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