New to the group and CD

December 1, 2008

Hi all,

Hi,

I have not been diagnosed with celiac disease, although I had the IgA

test and a half-ass endoscopy done. I was sick a lot as a child, and

over the past year and a half, I have been so sick I thought I would

surely die. I tried a TED, but I didn't really eliminate gluten as

well as I should have, so I assumed it wasn't CD or GI. I continued

to get very ill and doctor's want to shove every conceivable object

into every nook and cranny of my body. They say I may just always be

sick, and it could be an anatomical problem or I have IBS or this or

that, and they don't know what the heck is wrong. Doctors appear

poorly trained and can't seem to think outside the box. Finally, I

decided after oing some research, to attempt a REAL gf diet, and

voila. Suddenly, I started to feel better, and as time has worn on,

I've started to feel better than I have in a long time, maybe my

whole life. I still wondered if it was all in my head.

I accidently had a gluten contamination a couple of weeks ago that

confirmed for me that I am severely gluten intolerant. We've been

struggling to make the switch to GF, as far as the household is

concerned. The rest of the family has been extremely resistant to

getting gluten out of the house, however I kept getting contaminated

with it here.

My 4 yr old is showing definite signs of being GI. Several months

ago, he announced he would not be eating meat anymore, and he seemed

relieved when I told them there were lots of people who didn't eat

meat and they are called Vegetarians. We've been giving him

alternatives at every meal when there is meat served, but I've

decided that I'll support him even more by going vegetarian too, so

here I am.

Also, I've been wondering if I can get sick from only ingesting

gluten, or can it affect a person with CD just by being in the air?

Thanks for your help!

December 1, 2008

Sorry, but half-ass endoscopy really struck me as funny. Aren't they

always full-ass? LOL.

Anyway, welcome! Obviously, we are also vegetarian and GF, it can be

done, and actually isn't too hard once you've been working on it a

while.

Yes, if you are very sensitive to gluten, you can have a reaction just

to dust/particles in the air. Remember that if you can smell it,

there are particles in the air, and they can get into your body

through breathing, touch, etc. Some have reactions to things like

stickers, shampoo, etc. that they are exposed to through skin contact.

Remember to check the labels on any vegetarian alternatives you are

buying. Most veggie burgers, etc. have gluten added for texture.

There are a few brands in the US that are gluten-free, not very many

here (Canada). We make them from scratch instead.

Pam

On Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 1:29 PM, Lucy Diamonds <panthira wrote:

> Hi all,

>

> Hi,

>

> I have not been diagnosed with celiac disease, although I had the IgA

> test and a half-ass endoscopy done. I was sick a lot as a child, and

> over the past year and a half, I have been so sick I thought I would

> surely die. I tried a TED, but I didn't really eliminate gluten as

> well as I should have, so I assumed it wasn't CD or GI. I continued

> to get very ill and doctor's want to shove every conceivable object

> into every nook and cranny of my body. They say I may just always be

> sick, and it could be an anatomical problem or I have IBS or this or

> that, and they don't know what the heck is wrong. Doctors appear

> poorly trained and can't seem to think outside the box. Finally, I

> decided after oing some research, to attempt a REAL gf diet, and

> voila. Suddenly, I started to feel better, and as time has worn on,

> I've started to feel better than I have in a long time, maybe my

> whole life. I still wondered if it was all in my head.

>

> I accidently had a gluten contamination a couple of weeks ago that

> confirmed for me that I am severely gluten intolerant. We've been

> struggling to make the switch to GF, as far as the household is

> concerned. The rest of the family has been extremely resistant to

> getting gluten out of the house, however I kept getting contaminated

> with it here.

>

> My 4 yr old is showing definite signs of being GI. Several months

> ago, he announced he would not be eating meat anymore, and he seemed

> relieved when I told them there were lots of people who didn't eat

> meat and they are called Vegetarians. We've been giving him

> alternatives at every meal when there is meat served, but I've

> decided that I'll support him even more by going vegetarian too, so

> here I am.

>

> Also, I've been wondering if I can get sick from only ingesting

> gluten, or can it affect a person with CD just by being in the air?

>

> Thanks for your help!

>

December 1, 2008

Hi Lucy;

I'm so very pleased to hear about your successful self-diagnosis. That's the

way it has been for lots of us; same for me. I too feel better than ever in my

life before going gf. I'm healthier AND happier.

Sounds like you have grand wee laddy there. :-)

Welcome to our happy throng. It's a dandy list... lots of support and great

ideas!

Wishing you ongoing good health and happiness...

Deborah

Finally, I

decided after oing some research, to attempt a REAL gf diet, and

voila. Suddenly, I started to feel better, and as time has worn on,

I've started to feel better than I have in a long time, maybe my

whole life. I still wondered if it was all in my head.

I accidently had a gluten contamination a couple of weeks ago that

confirmed for me that I am severely gluten intolerant. We've been

struggling to make the switch to GF, as far as the household is

concerned. The rest of the family has been extremely resistant to

getting gluten out of the house, however I kept getting contaminated

with it here.

My 4 yr old is showing definite signs of being GI. Several months

ago, he announced he would not be eating meat anymore, and he seemed

relieved when I told them there were lots of people who didn't eat

meat and they are called Vegetarians. We've been giving him

alternatives at every meal when there is meat served, but I've

decided that I'll support him even more by going vegetarian too, so

here I am.

Also, I've been wondering if I can get sick from only ingesting

gluten, or can it affect a person with CD just by being in the air?

Thanks for your help!

.

December 2, 2008

Hi.

Your story sounds a lot like mine. When I went gluten free, for the first

year or so I was extremely sensitive to gluten in the air. If the neighbor

downstairs made toast I got sick! I'm not quite as sensitive now but I do

notice it and certain things still bother me. I'm allergic to pork and

whenever someone cooks it, to this day I get sick! I don't have any allergic

kids in my house so there is gluten and meat and dairy and eggs here all the

time. One of my biggest grips is that there are always crumbs everywhere! If

you can get your whole family gf, do it! Especially with a small child in

the house, it is best! There was a show on the documentary channel the other

day about food allergies and some of the parents on it had lost their

children because of anaphalactic shock reactions. Although anaphalactis is

not common with CD, you could have a true allergy to wheat as well, which

could cause anaphalactic shock! I lived most of my life is a state of mild

anaphalactic shock because nobody listened to the warning signs or diagnosed

me. I recommend finding that documentary and making your family watch it.

Seeing that death is a possibility will make them less reluctant to help the

transition. I believe it was called Foods that Kill. I know it's a little

deceiving if you only have CD, but the illness experienced from a reaction

can be so bad that you may wish you would die! (I've been there!)

DO NOT CHEAT! EVER! One bite will hurt you! It's not fun! When in doubt,

don't eat! Eating out is a challenge and very frustrating! I have a lunch

box and small containers for butter, soy sauce, salad dressing, etc. At

Kmart I found some squeeze bottles by the shampoo that are for traveling.

They work great for condiments! Order everything plain, explain to the

waitress, double check on meals your not sure about, and don't be afraid to

send something back, even if you have to send it back 2-3 times! Always pack

a snack just in case!

Buy one loaf of each kind of safe bread that looks/sounds good and hopefully

your whole family will agree on one or two kinds. Dixie Diners and Spice of

Life have some good meat analogs. Spice of Life is spicy, so the little ones

may not go for it. The roast chicken Not! from Dixie Diners is really good!

The chicken breast Not! are bland, but good for casseroles and BBQs and

other recipes with lots of flavor. Anything you'd use tofu in, that would

work equally well.

Be cautious of chips, nuts, and various snack foods as many are processed on

the same equipment as wheat and have cross contamination. The 365 brand has

safe nuts. I prefer veggie chips and glutino pretzel sticks. The pretzel

sticks with roasted pine nut hummus is to die for! (IMO)

Amy's brand has some really good meals for a quick meal. I'm addicted to the

baked ziti kids meal. They have a rice focaccia in it that is so perfect! I

wrote to the company and suggested they put out a pan of the bread because

it would go great with anything! (Hint: everybody write and suggest this to

the company! lol)

Most gf breads taste best toasted. Bob's Red Meal products are good for

baking but I didn't like their pizza crust. I like GFN pizza crust the best

http://store.gfnfoods.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD & Product_Code=2GFNPZ\

09 & Category_Code=BM

I bake it as a thin crust pizza on a pan that has holes through it. (You

have to cover the bottom tightly with plastic wrap first so the dough

doesn't ooze through. remove before baking.) Then refrigerate overnight and

bake the next day with toppings and it taste really close to a real pizzeria

pizza! I like Follow Your Heart brand vegan cheese.

Hopefully these ideas will help you get started on the diet. I've tried a

lot of foods, wasted a lot of foods, starting out, so I thought I'd try to

help you out with what I've learned, and hopefully save you some $$$ in the

process. lol Good luck, and ask about products before wasting all your

money. I've probably tried virtually everything and I'm sure many on here

has as well! I wish I would have know more people when I first started out

because I unfortunately wasted more food and money than I'd care to admit!

lol

Take care....

On Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 3:29 PM, Lucy Diamonds <panthira wrote: