Self Diagnosed- And Fell Off The Wagon

[BcG3987]

Hi everyone! I have been reading all the topics for a few months now and finally decided to actually post something. For the past few years i have had serious issues with food- Which I have only come up with one possible reason- Celiacs or a Gluten/Wheat Intolerence. I never realized how many things could be tied to it- I have been on anxiety meds as well as depression- I get sick every single moring- often thinking i was pregnant but never was- and food going right through me within minutes- I have alwasy been very underwieght-until the past year when i have acquired what my friends call the "beer gut" which i cannot lose no matter how little i eat or what i eat. Unfortunatly it has led to other eating issues. I finally put myself on a gluten-free diet, and almost immediately felt better. I woke up feeling like i actually slept- I was in a great mood- could think clearly- not constantly running to the bathroom after a meal- It was amazing!! Until a breakup and moving caused me to fall off the wagon- And I was ok for a little bit-So i thought maybe i was wrong- maybe it was in my head- well one month later to the day and i feel horrible everyday- all of my original symptoms are abck and with a vengance. So i have decided as soon as im in my new aprtment (4 days) im going back to gluten free no matter how hard it is. (Im italian and LOVE pasta and breads!!) Another problem i have is that im a very easy eater- i like to jsut throw something to gether im not a huge fan of health store food. I like burgers and pasta salad- Alot of the recipes on here are a little too much for my tastes. Im 23 usually on the run and miss being able to stop at burger king and pick up a burger or chicken fingers on a saturday night- Well enoguh of my rant. Any comments are appreciated!

[mushroom]

Hi everyone! I have been reading all the topics for a few months now and finally decided to actually post something. For the past few years i have had serious issues with food- Which I have only come up with one possible reason- Celiacs or a Gluten/Wheat Intolerence. I never realized how many things could be tied to it- I have been on anxiety meds as well as depression- I get sick every single moring- often thinking i was pregnant but never was- and food going right through me within minutes- I have alwasy been very underwieght-until the past year when i have acquired what my friends call the "beer gut" which i cannot lose no matter how little i eat or what i eat. Unfortunatly it has led to other eating issues. I finally put myself on a gluten-free diet, and almost immediately felt better. I woke up feeling like i actually slept- I was in a great mood- could think clearly- not constantly running to the bathroom after a meal- It was amazing!! Until a breakup and moving caused me to fall off the wagon- And I was ok for a little bit-So i thought maybe i was wrong- maybe it was in my head- well one month later to the day and i feel horrible everyday- all of my original symptoms are abck and with a vengance. So i have decided as soon as im in my new aprtment (4 days) im going back to gluten free no matter how hard it is. (Im italian and LOVE pasta and breads!!) Another problem i have is that im a very easy eater- i like to jsut throw something to gether im not a huge fan of health store food. I like burgers and pasta salad- Alot of the recipes on here are a little too much for my tastes. Im 23 usually on the run and miss being able to stop at burger king and pick up a burger or chicken fingers on a saturday night- Well enoguh of my rant. Any comments are appreciated!

Welcome (again ) to the world of gluten intolerance. When we feel good we can often forget how badly we felt before. You have just been reminded. I think it's a good idea to make the move your day for removing gluten - nothing with gluten goes into your new apartment - ever!! Of course that doesn't mean you should go out and buy chicken fingers tonight .

Good luck with remaining on the wagon this time.

[EvieLS]

Hi everyone! I have been reading all the topics for a few months now and finally decided to actually post something. For the past few years i have had serious issues with food- Which I have only come up with one possible reason- Celiacs or a Gluten/Wheat Intolerence. I never realized how many things could be tied to it- I have been on anxiety meds as well as depression- I get sick every single moring- often thinking i was pregnant but never was- and food going right through me within minutes- I have alwasy been very underwieght-until the past year when i have acquired what my friends call the "beer gut" which i cannot lose no matter how little i eat or what i eat. Unfortunatly it has led to other eating issues. I finally put myself on a gluten-free diet, and almost immediately felt better. I woke up feeling like i actually slept- I was in a great mood- could think clearly- not constantly running to the bathroom after a meal- It was amazing!! Until a breakup and moving caused me to fall off the wagon- And I was ok for a little bit-So i thought maybe i was wrong- maybe it was in my head- well one month later to the day and i feel horrible everyday- all of my original symptoms are abck and with a vengance. So i have decided as soon as im in my new aprtment (4 days) im going back to gluten free no matter how hard it is. (Im italian and LOVE pasta and breads!!) Another problem i have is that im a very easy eater- i like to jsut throw something to gether im not a huge fan of health store food. I like burgers and pasta salad- Alot of the recipes on here are a little too much for my tastes. Im 23 usually on the run and miss being able to stop at burger king and pick up a burger or chicken fingers on a saturday night- Well enoguh of my rant. Any comments are appreciated!

Falling off the 'wagon ' happens to all of us but the results of staying away from gluten are the proof it helps. Want you to know that improvement in most cases does not happen overnight..there is a healing process that takes some time, may depend on how long we have been having problems/ gluten. Wish you lots of luck and hope you have better days ahead. a gluten free friend, EvieLS

[GlutenFreeManna]

Welcome back! I keep thinking I might fall off the wagon because I'm self-diagnosed, but I keep getting accidentally glutened every few weeks so I haven't had a chance to fall off.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but gluten free does not equal health food at all. You can make fried chicken gluten free, you just can't pick it up in a bucket from the Colonel. I know the hardest part is the amount of time it takes to cook gluten free. What you can try is looking into Once a Month Cooking meals. Basically you spend an entire day cooking meals to put in your freezer. Then the rest of the week or month you can just pull out what you want to eat and heat it up. I think this would work well for some meals if you are cooking for one. Find a good gluten free chicken fingers recipe, make up a huge batch and freeze them. That way when you are wanting chicken fingers you can just pull them out of your freezer and reheat in the microwave or oven without a lot of mess.

When you are on the run keep gluten free snacks on hand. These do not have to be healthy, but you're body will probably thank you later if you eat fruit and veggies for snack sometimes. There are plenty of mainstream unhealthy things though like Lays Stacks or fruit roll ups. I was just looking at the Betty Crocker gluten free page today and amazed at all the products that are gluten free. Get yourself some hamburger helper and potato buds if you need really easy meals. Open Original Shared Link

[BcG3987]

Thanks so much for the support and ideas. Helps having people around who understand. My mom thinks im a hypochondriac, but every symptom seems to be tied to celiacs. I know its not an immediate fix going gluten free but i can tell you the improvements were. Anxiety- gone, Acne- gone, no more gurguly stomach, it was great- which is why im starting it over- T minus three days til the move and i threw out all food containing gluten- My cousin even said she will do it with me - just so im not tempted.

[bridgetm]

I can't remember the brand name, but I saw some gluten-free breaded chicken at the store a few weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to try it but it looked pretty good.

Yesterday marks month four of gluten-free for me. I too am a burger and pasta lover. My mom makes great burgers on the grill, but they do nothing to end the urge for a bacon cheese burger (WITH the bun!) or one of those rodeo burgers from BK (you can feel your arteries clogging with each swallow, but the process is somehow enjoyable). One of the hardest things about being gluten-free is not being able to spontaneously grab fast-food when I'm out with friends. I have to plan hours ahead... "What might I be hungry for after a few hours at the mall? What will my body need after a day on the beach?" To make it worse, I am also dairy- and soy-free and am in the process of cutting out some sources of fructose. Some of my friends stopped inviting out because of the possibility that they might want to stop for food and don't want to put me in that situation; similar story with my mom, so I seem to be slowly becoming a hermit.

However, I feel better. It's all worth it. Hang in there.

[sb2178]

You can still do the burger! Just have to make it yourself. Go to Trader Joe's-- they even have them shaped and all you have to do is throw it in a pan. Keep some frozen french fries (Ore Ida seems to be pretty safe) in your freezer. Or get brown rice or a sweet potato that you just have to microwave.

Switch to bean salads instead of pasta salad. Canned beans (drain), some vinegar, some oil, maybe chop an onion or throw in some parsley or dried herbs. 5 minutes-- and you can make up enough for 4 days or so. Tuna salad, same deal. Eat it on cucumber slices or rice cakes (some people do like them...).

Mac & cheese, so far the best substitute I've found is canned white beans (drained) with a splash of soy milk and grated cheddar cheese. Acceptable substitute pastas and white sauce TBD.

Frozen veg are your friends. Oh, blessed is the microwave and the digestive tract of those who use it wisely. There are some rice noodle bowls that can replace ramen (to which you can add above frozen veg).

And, there is always chocolate, peanut butter, and apples [or insert favorite fruit]. What else do you need? You'll survive, and the "health food" tends to be the weirder esoteric stuff. Pizza now, that I need to figure out and it may end up being in the health food spectrum.

[bridgetm]

A potato note: Alexia makes great fries of all varieties. Sweet potato, chipotle sweet potato, salt and pepper yukon, plain yukon, etc. And if you ever have trouble with soybean oil, these are still safe.

[i-geek]

You can still do the burger! Just have to make it yourself. Go to Trader Joe's-- they even have them shaped and all you have to do is throw it in a pan. Keep some frozen french fries (Ore Ida seems to be pretty safe) in your freezer. Or get brown rice or a sweet potato that you just have to microwave.

Yes. Also, Kinnikinnick gluten-free hamburger and hot dog buns are excellent. They're sold in the freezer section of some stores. Udi's bread is also wonderful and could also be used in place of hamburger buns.

Mac & cheese, so far the best substitute I've found is canned white beans (drained) with a splash of soy milk and grated cheddar cheese. Acceptable substitute pastas and white sauce TBD.

I make homemade mac-and-cheese using the same recipe I used for years pre-gluten-free with two changes: Ancient Harvest corn-quinoa elbow pasta (can be purchased on Amazon or in several stores- i've found it at Whole Foods) in place of the wheat pasta, and brown rice flour in place of all-purpose flour to thicken the white sauce. It was indistinguishable from the original dish to me and my gluten-eating husband.

[sugarsue]

The super walmart near us has a gluten free section and sells Annie's gluten free mac and cheese. We love it.

Also we think, Mai-Fan Rice Sticks is a really good pasta substitute, also available at super walmart.

Easy low carb recipe books could hold a lot of ideas for you too.

Good luck and I'm glad you found out what makes you feel better!

Susan