Discoveries and realizations. That seems to be a constant.

So, it seems that my PMDD symptoms are far worse when the timing falls right after a glutening. That's what they call it on the message boards and web sites I've been to: a glutening, or being glutened. That refers to an accidental ingestion of something that you later learn or figure out contains gluten and you didn't know it. And it only takes the smallest of amounts. A bread crumb can do it. When I first read that fact last year, I thought "That must be only in the worst of cases," but I've inadvertently proven it to myself more than once, the hard way.

I'm often amazed that I ever had good days, ever, back before I started on the gluten-free diet, when I was eating large amounts of the stuff on a daily basis. I saw a posting on a message board lately, though, from someone else who commented on the same thing. I guess once you start healing, you are even more sensitive. I also had such a mixture of symptoms back then, so that it was often difficult to pinpoint and describe exactly where I hurt or what I was feeling. I just knew I felt varying degrees of bad all the time. That is one of the really nice things, now: I can almost always identify just what I'm feeling and what is causing it.

But in the last six weeks, I've been glutened . . . let's see, I've lost count . . . I think four times. Possibly five. The last time, the one before Sunday night, which I'll write about in a minute, was the super-healthy vitamin that contained barley grass. That was just plain stupid on my part. I was in a hurry reading labels at the health food store, looking for multi-vitamins with good quantities of antioxidants, and they were going to be closing soon and I didn't want to hold them up. So I went to the brand I've bought many times before, remembering that the label on the variety I'd used had said, "no gluten" when I'd bought them before. I couldn't seem to find the formula I had bought before - again, probably because I was trying to rush - and when I found the super-healthy looking ones and saw "no wheat" in the list of what they don't contain, it didn't raise the red flag it should have. "No wheat" does not necessarily mean "no gluten". That's one of the very first things you learn. Later, after I took one, I looked at the label more closely and saw the barley grass. I went to bed shortly after that, and the next morning, sure enough, my belly was hurting in that unmistakable way, and I went through the series of symptoms I always go through, for a full week.

Sunday was the conditioner that comes with my hair color. I can't believe it took me this long to figure that one out.

I had been complaining that it seemed I had this almost constant gluten-feeling so much of the time. I reexamined everything I do on a regular basis (except I somehow missed the fact that I color my hair regularly).

• I stopped licking envelopes. I'd read that envelope glue, if made in the US, is generally gluten-free, but that can't be guaranteed if it is made elsewhere. I seal several envelopes every day at work. Some of the envelopes are the ones that come with the bills and some are the ones we buy at the office supply store. Who knows where some of them are made, or where their glue comes from. So, just to be safe, I started using a glue stick on every single envelope. No exceptions.
   
• I stopped sharing the toaster at work and brought my own in several weeks ago. I'm going to bring in an extra little microwave I have at home to use at work, because Coworker has this one frozen dinner he buys a lot that spills some sweet-smelling sticky stuff inside the microwave every single time he makes it. I think he tips it when he picks it up. The thing is, he won't ever clean it up himself *, and I refuse to clean up after him because he just spills new sticky stuff again as soon as it's cleaned. Since I don't know what's in the stuff and I sometimes heat things on a paper plate in the microwave, and paper plates can absorb the sticky stuff, I'll be using my own microwave, just to be extra safe.
  * After writing this entry, I got to work this morning and opened the microwave to heat some water for tea, and it's been cleaned.  I don't know who did it, if it was Boss or Coworker.  I may still bring in my little microwave anyway, but I'll wait to see if Coworker spills again before I do that.
   
• I was reading the ingredient label on the cat food that I give Emily for treats (her vet recommended buying two different flavors of a really good cat food and using one as treats, rather than giving her regular brand cat treats, because her stomach is very sensitive to the treats and a lot of the brand name cat foods) and I saw Oat Fiber. (Her regular Science Diet food doesn't seem to have gluten, other than corn gluten, which is ok.) I keep her treats in a small plastic jar, and since I noticed the Oat Fiber on the label, I am extra careful to wash my hands right after filling the jar, and I pour the treats out for her, rather than pouring them in my hand first. Since second-hand gluten is a problem (you can't even kiss someone after they've eaten gluten), I got to thinking about when Emily licks my fingers, and I'm even more careful now to wash my hands in between her kisses and eating any finger foods or touching my mouth. I give her treats to her at night only, now, which helps to narrow that down.

The thing about gluten being transferred from hand to mouth is why one must also make sure any cosmetics, lotions, soaps, shampoos, etc., are gluten free. If you can transfer it to your hands, you can transfer it to your mouth and not even realize you've done it.

And that's part of how I was glutened by my hair-color conditioner.

As I was rinsing the conditioner out after coloring my hair Sunday, I was wondering if I'd ever checked the ingredients. I've been using this brand for several months. When I first went gluten-free, I went through all my regular daily products and checked them out, but I couldn't remember checking out the hair color or its enclosed conditioner. I was rinsing it out of my hair and it was running down my face, arms, etc., getting all over, and without thinking quickly enough to stop myself, I licked my lips before I had a chance to wash it all off. And, again, by the next morning, there were those symptoms, and they're still there.

I went to the manufacturer's web site and did a live chat to ask if it's gluten free (in case there was something else I'd missed that was the source of the gluten), and the rep said they can't guarantee they don't use gluten ingredients. The thing is, this brand covers the gray better than any other I've used. So I thought about the process I go through, and when I rinse the color out, I shampoo afterwards and put the conditioner on, letting it work while I take my regular shower. So any possible glutens in the color itself would be gone by the time I'm done. I decided to buy a brand of conditioner I know I can trust and use that whenever I color and not use the conditioner that comes with it. Normally, I use a leave-in conditioner that I know is ok, so this is only an issue when I color my hair.

Sheesh! I hope I've finally weeded out all the little stuff that keeps causing problems.

It's good to know that the Yaz is really working for the PMDD, though. I was getting confused, because I would be doing great for a few months and then not well at all for a month or two. Timing. If I can avoid being glutened for several months in a row now, I'll be able to really test my theory.

I wrote a survey about gluten-free life! Any GF people want to take it?

I've been enjoying reading a blog called Nancy's Place. She's gluten-free. I first found her when I was doing a search for a product called GlutenEase. She wrote an entry about having tried it that I found very helpful. I went ahead and asked at my health food store, and they carry it, so I bought some, but, like Nancy, I am going to be very careful about how often I use it. I don't want to become complacent and feel like it's "ok" if I slip up and stop being vigilent because I have a band-aid. If there is still the chance that the damage is occurring anyway, regardless of whether the symptoms are blocked, then it isn't a good idea to cover it up all the time. I bought it just to use for those times when I realize after the fact and am kicking myself. At least I might be able to lessen the effects some. My hope is that they'll expire before I use them all.

Nancy also wrote two neat entries, Thirteen things she hates about being gluten free and The things she loves about being gluten free. It briefly crossed my mind to make a list like that too, but my list would be very similar to hers, so I won't.

That's all for now. I hope some of the information in this post is helpful to someone!