40 replies to this topic

[jknnej]

I can't wait until March 15. I have to eat my old normal diet until then. My endoscopy was to be Feb 1 but since I've been gluten-free I have to eat "regular" again until the test. What a bummer. I am miserable at the thought of feeling bad for the next 6 weeks, but the doc says so, so I will:(
Any tips on how to control the tummy aches?

[celiac3270]

This is what helps me--

If you have nausea, peppermints help (I use Altoids, but any gluten-free ones will do). For stomach pains/aches, I find that a heating pad helps soooo much--and the curled up, fetal position I always naturally take when I have celiac-related stomach aches. Of course, wear loose pants, etc.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

That is awful. I don't think I could do it. . .even for the test.

[KaitiUSA]

Try taking enzymes when you eat....ginger tea and peppermints are good. Probiotics are good as well. I hope all goes well and hope you can feel good again soon good luck!

[jknnej]

Thanks. I will keep posting on this as a way to vent my problems of the next 6 weeks! I really appreciate your support.
I had Mac n cheese tonight..it didn't even taste good to me to eat real pasta again, oddly enough. So far it's three hours later and no stomach ache but my hands turned red and I have a slight headache.
Oh boy, six weeks and counting!! I couldn't do it without you guys!!!!
Jennifer

[mela14]

i don't think i could do it......i just get so sick from eating it i would be in bed the entire time feeling like i swallowed poison.
i would keep ckeing with them to see if there are any cancellations or any way that they can take you sooner.
good luck to you!

[whimsygirl]

Hi, also a newby, and just in case you're not a very big peppermint person, I thought I'de let you know the cinnamon Altoid gum was great for me. As soon as something made me nauseous I'd have to have one. I had soooo many containers of it just to not run out it looked like I was an addict or something. And I have to say my mind misses a lot of the "old" foods and if I try to eat them they don't taste good to me either. I think our minds are harder to retrain than our stomachs.
Anyway good luck,
Whimsygirl

[celiac3270]

Hi, also a newby, and just in case you're not a very big peppermint person, I thought I'de let you know the cinnamon Altoid gum was great for me. As soon as something made me nauseous I'd have to have one. I had soooo many containers of it just to not run out it looked like I was an addict or something. And I have to say my mind misses a lot of the "old" foods and if I try to eat them they don't taste good to me either. I think our minds are harder to retrain than our stomachs.
Anyway good luck,
Whimsygirl

Wow...are you sure that Altoid gum is gluten-free? Have you called the company? Cause I thought that maybe 4-7 months ago, there was a post about gum. Someone asked if it was gluten-free and someone else said it wasn't. If my memory is incorrect, I apologize for scaring you, but I just wanted to alert you to that in case you were accidentally consuming gluten.

[jknnej]

Hi all,
Thanks for your great comments! They are helping me! I confess, today I have not yet had gluten. I couldn't do it AGAIN after last night. But it's OK...since my test is not until March 15 I have a little leway (sp?). The doc said when I get to two to three weeks before I have to be really serious and eat it all day. I'm going to start that probably like mid feb. Now i'm trying to slowly wean myself back. I'll probably eat graham crackers or an English muffin for a snack tonight.
Tammy, I will have your strawberry shortcake with whip cream. Not the beer, though. I'll have my hubby drink that for you; he loves beer...lol.

[cdford]

My endocrinologist had the best advice...tell the gastro doctor to go jump. If your blood work was clear cut and you get better going gluten-free only to have symptoms when you eat gluten, the only reason the endocrinologist could think of to put me through it again was stubborness or money. He kept shaking his head and muttering something about that hippocratic oath they had taken. I won't repeat it here since it made me blush. I wish now that I had taken his advice and refused. It took months to get over that three weeks.

Interestingly, I found that the stuff I expected to taste so good felt funny in my mouth and didn't taste right any more. The white flour stuff like pizza dough just coated my mouth and felt yucky. It had the strangest consistency. Between that and the consequences of eating it, it just was not worth it.

Wishing I had had the guts to refuse to deliberately harm myself...

[tarnalberry]

Good luck making it through this time. I hope it passes as quickly as possible!

BTW - the cinnamon altoids is gluten-free, but the peppermint is not. the company will clearly list gluten containing ingredients on the packaging, and the peppermint flavor uses wheat starch that the cinnamon ones don't.

[celiac3270]

The gum, you mean, right? you're not referring to the actual mints.

[jknnej]

Well, the thing is this: only ONE of the three blood tests came back positive. My doctor said that means I only have a 50% chance of having it. He said if all my blood tests came back abnormal that would mean I have a 97% chance...but right now it's only 50/50.
He said he realizes that I can eat gluten-free if I like it and that's not a problem but he said, "Do you really want to always worry about cross contamination when you eat/travel to the point that someone who actually has the disease has to worry if you might not even have it? I realized he is probalby right. It is a HUGE pain to eat out/travel. You can order gluten-free food but there's no guarantee. If I don' t have celiac disease I can eat out /travel without worrying. If I accidentally gluten myself, I might not feel well, but it won't damage me if I don't have celiac disease.
That's my main concern; what do you think? I will eat gluten-free no matter what the diagnosis, but if I accidentally gluten myself I wouldn't have to worry if I don't have celiac disease. plus, this is the rest of my life we're talking about. If one day I really want to cheat and I DO have celiac disease, I won't do it. If I don't, I may cheat once in a while. But I agree; foods don't taste the same. That regular pasta I had the other night was gross to me and I used to love it. So I may not cheat anyhow.
Help! So confused....
Maybe it's better to be sick for a couple of weeks and be sure for the rest of my life......