Glutened: 6 Ways I’m Resetting My Nervous System

One month into my Celiac diagnosis, I had my first accidental gluten exposure. I think it was from Thai food, but I can’t say for sure. I know that when I placed my order, I asked about soy sauce… but I didn’t ask any other questions. Could it have been cross-contamination? A wheat-based bouillon in the soup? I’m still not sure. Not only did this experience teach me to ask far more questions, but it also made me realize I needed to take navigating life with Celiac disease much more seriously.

To be completely honest, I think I have a bit of PTSD from the experience. Because my first signs of being “glutened” showed up as intense panic attacks instead of typical GI upset, it had (and honestly, still has) me terrified. Hello, food anxiety!

That exposure was a month ago, and I still haven’t found the courage to step foot back inside a restaurant. I keep telling myself I will get there eventually. But in the meantime, I’ve had to focus on the immediate reality of resetting my body.

Here are the 6 things I’ve been doing to try and regulate my nervous system and finally get back to myself:

• Securing job protection (FMLA). I filled out FMLA paperwork at work. This felt like a crucial step in navigating this first year of my diagnosis. If and when I find myself glutened again, I know I can take the necessary time away from work without having to worry about my job security. Whether I actually end up using it or not, just having it processed has brought me immense peace of mind.
• The hot & cold trick. In the first few days following my exposure, putting a heating pad on my belly and an ice pack on my chest was one of the only things that successfully pulled me out of an anxiety spiral and brought me back into my body.
• Physical touch with loved ones. Letting my husband hold me or spending quiet time snuggling with my kiddos has been an incredibly powerful tool for breaking those intense, anxious loops.
• Acupuncture & cupping. I’ve been seeing an acupuncturist every ten days or so to help with nervous system regulation, and I truly believe it has helped. During one session, she did cupping on my back, and it surprisingly seemed to help settle the lingering chaos in my stomach.
• Therapy with a specialist. I quickly realized I needed to talk to someone. It is not the responsibility of my husband, my parents, or my friends to carry the heavy mental load I’ve been feeling. I found a therapist who specializes in chronic conditions. Having a neutral third party who completely understands where I’m coming from based on her own lived experience has been invaluable. Mostly, I just vent and cry – but dang, it helps.
• A medical safety net. I’ve visited my primary care physician a handful of times over the last month. They prescribed an emergency anxiety medication to have on hand in the event of a future gluten-related panic attack, as well as a short-term sleep aid for the insomnia that hit me two weeks post-exposure. While I prefer to regulate my body without medication when possible, there is massive comfort just in knowing those tools are in my toolbox if I need them.

On that note: if you are someone who finds medication helpful in the short or long term, please use it! We are all on our own unique healing journeys. We should use any and every tool available to get ourselves back to a place where we feel safe and well.