srall

I am speaking only from personal experience here.  There may be much better advisers.  I personally get those cracks when I'm vitamin B deficient.   Usually a few high doses of b will get rid of those cracks pretty quickly.   I know celiacs are often deficient in b.   

 

Also, one of my really good friends is a nutritionist.  I haven't seen her on a professional basis, but she has told me in the past that those cracks might be indicative of yeast overgrowth, or yeast infection.  

 

So, I guess you could try the vitamins and getting rid of the sugar and yeast for awhile. 

 

eta:  When my daughter was first diagnosed that was one of her worst symptoms.  They took weeks to clear up (it seemed) but they did clear up.  I think it was a combo of high doses of vit B and diet change.

I have an app for whole foods on my iphone that we've used as we travel.  We go to Florida a lot, but never Pensacola.   Anyhow, probably like your travel, we now make sure we have a kitchen and know where all the WF's and Outbacks are.  I know that's not organic, but my daughter and I can get a steak and potato and they seem pretty aware of gluten free diets.  
The thing I love about Florida is it's so easy to get fresh seafood and a salad.  Honestly, that's one of the easiest states I've been too.  Not that there is necessarily a huge awareness of celiac, but easy to get seafood.

In MN I shop at the co ops and get organic as much as possible, but when we travel I sort of just do the best I can.  It doesn't always work as I am now dealing with muscle and joint pain from TG travel, but most trips we (daughter and I) come back in one piece.  Good luck on the trip.

I could give you a lecture about cheating, but I think deep down I know the only reason that I don't cheat is because I couldn't get away with it.  I got some cc at my inlaws house for TG and have been racked (wracked?) with pain for days.  I've also been sitting on a heating pad constantly. But it sounds like you're ready.  Once you get over the hump and truly start feeling better I don't think you'll be tempted to cheat anymore.
The one thing that still gets me all these 2 1/2 years later is that I still have bad days and like now, bad periods of time where I am just sick...can't get anything done, and it bums me out.  So, expect those days, and a possibly slow recovery, but embrace the good days...they are there for you if you are diligent.  Good luck.

Please don't tell us that that you wouldn't be able to handle our situation because you "would just DIE without breads and cakes" - we get it, you like bread....personally, I'd prefer to go an hour without running to the bathroom...  

(I heard that one THREE times this week!)

But more importantly, get yourself tested!!  I had no idea I had it, so you may not either!!!!

Sort of on that note:  I heard from 2 different people over one weekend that they put their dogs on a grain free diet because it's so much healthier for the animals...but they themselves would "die" without bread.

That I cannot "reverse" my gluten intolerance by eating small amounts of it, gradually increasing the amounts.  So glad it worked for you (I personally suspect your gut has healed for now and you will be hit hard again in a matter of time), but as for me and my child...um:  NO.

OH my goodness, it drives me crazy all the people I talk to who I KNOW are having gluten problems but don't even want to hear it.  (Because I was the same way I guess)

After my mother who was diagnosed with a wheat allergy and my girlfriend who actually had a dairy allergy (but figured it out doing an elimination diet) convinced me that I should at least try dropping gluten and dairy to get to the bottom of my many health issues, I finally was at least convinced to do a trial.  


O.    M.    G.    I felt human again.  I wanted to shout from the rooftops  "gluten free has changed my life"   I was amazed.

Then....after 7 months gluten (and dairy and corn free) I FINALLY realized why I was set on my journey.  My 7 year old daughter who had chronic diarrhea and constipation from the time she was off breast milk, who was the tiniest one in her class, who was ill all the time, had cold sores and chapped lips, hives and rashes...she was in much worse shape than I ever was...I realized that God (fate, Karma, the Universe) had made me sick so I would really understand how sick and miserable my child was, and because I understood I could make it better for her.

I;ll never forget the day after she'd eaten a piece of cake and collapsed in my arms that I finally figured out that she was going through exactly the same thing that I was and that I could make her feel better right this minute by eliminating dairy and gluten.

Neither of us have an official celiac diagnosis.  The  closest I came was the doctor saying "I think you have  celiac disease but you'll have to go back on gluten for two months to test"   (many symptoms and DH rash)...um no.   And for my daughter I wish I did it before I took her gluten free, but I didn't want her to feel that way for one more day.

My 40 year old brother absolutely should be gluten free....my husband can take it or leave it without getting ill.  My whole immediate family (dad, mom, brother) has diabetes...So, it's been quite a journey.  I worry for my brother, but my biggest blessing is my little girl who is now nine and completely on board.  I think she would go on a broccoli and celery diet to never feel sick again like her first seven years.  

I know for me a celiac diagnosis is probably meaningless.  I hope at this point that a "gluten sensitivity" diagnosis will help at school with my daughter.  I will put her in an apartment with a kitchen through college if I need to.  I hope she gets to have the dorm experience, but gluten free and safe will be the biggest priorities.

Oh...My MIL did go gluten and dairy free at my urging.  I urged because of her cholesterol and symptoms, but what she heard was "weight loss"....she's a believer.  She did the classic eliminate for 6 weeks then go out for a dinner and 'cheat" and got very very sick...so she's convinced.

So, I have 2 converts I guess.  Wish it were more.

I admit I am completely paranoid about gluten.  This comes from years of chronic fatigue, secondary infertility, miscarriage, migraines, rashes and very very bad joint pain...not too mention more than once having to give myself permission to just go to the bathroom in the car because I didn't think I could get home in time (for the record I made it every time).

And then I am paranoid on behalf of my young daughter who by age 7 was so sick she had fevers and strep more days than she was healthy, rashes, distended belly, sunken eyes, ruined teeth, ADHD, chronic diarrhea...and oh, I was gearing myself up for a cancer diagnosis, was thankful it was only gluten and dairy (and corn) so...um, yep.  Terribly paranoid.  

And unapologetic.

Oh I know I know.  That drove me crazy.  Now what drives me crazy is people saying "Are you still doing that gluten free diet?".  Um, yes.  That would be a forever thing.

I don't know if this will help, but what I tell people is that it's easier to think about what you can eat instead of what you can't.  I usually just say, the diet is pretty easy (hee hee); I just eat a lot of meat, veggies, fruit and nuts.   It seems like most people can wrap their heads around that.

I didn't ever comment on your last thread, but I read through it and the responses.  I agree with Irish Heart.  You have your answer.  You are gluten intolerant.  That is not food poisoning.    That is exactly the response my mom had when she was accidentally given a wheat tortilla in a restaurant, and even now she's not convinced it wasn't food poisoning.  It's just a little too coincidental for me...or I guess technically it is food poisoning since gluten is poison to YOU.

Drop the gluten and good luck.  You are going to feel amazing in a few months, if not weeks or days.  Safe journey!

You're welcome    My son is a different child after going gluten free despite negative blood tests. His baby and toddler years were so hard. So very very hard. He had quit growing and after he went gluten free he is normal height.

Same with my daughter.  She is 8 and is actually quickly outgrowing her clothes and shoes.  Expensive, but I'm so happy.  She's so much more mellow and happy gluten free.  So am I, come to think of it.  

Also, thanks for not backing down.  So often I just ignore the naysayers, but it's important that those of us who are self diagnosed are heard.

Sadly I have talked to two people (not a big sample but telling). One of my friends who just started her residency when I asked her what she knew about celiac and she told me that it was a disease you only have to look for in children. The boyfriend of my friend who just finished his residency in GI said that anyone who hasn't had a biopsy and thinks they have celiac should go back on gluten to get the testing as way too many people think they have celiac who really don't have any problem with gluten. Being this is what people are learning in med school right now, I'm not too hopeful about the current generation of doctors knowing much about celiac.

As someone who tested negative for celiac, I have a hard time with doctors who assume that a negative celiac test  means that gluten isn't the problem.  My poor younger brother has been suffering for years because of a negative blood test for celiac that his GI did.  This poor man felt great on the Adkin's diet but he's convinced that it was the fact that he wasn't eating sugar.  His health keeps declining (stomach issues, depression, diabetes) but because celiac is ruled out it must not be gluten.  Unless a test confirms something, or unless there's a drug to treat a symptom, then it's all in the patient's head...and it's so frustrating that so many serious symptoms can be alleviated for people just by changing diet but this information just isn't getting out there.

That's such an insaaaaaaane risk. Does she not get that the cancer risk ONLY decreases with a strict, 100% gluten free diet? I mean, I know we all have to die of something, but that seems so needlessly preventable. Also...painful. Ouch.

Hey, you're preaching to the choir here.  I know.   Long term risks aside, I would think the short term consequences would be enough to stop me...she talks about having to race out of the classroom to get to the bathroom on time (she's a teacher).   She must not have other symptoms, at least that she notices.  I for one would not be at work after the fact.  I'd be in bed with a water bottle with a lovely rash and or hives.

I felt a little guilty after reading some of the replies.  My MAIN annoyance is when people say they are eating gluten free, and then turn around and eat something like a REAL cookie or piece of pizza  because it was just too tempting for them.  I have been gluten-free for over 5 years now, but I'm still in a little bit of denial about the whole thing.  And, I have had numerous other problems since the whole thing started.  I haven't felt like my old self in a LONG TIME.  It was more venting than anything because life seems SO DIFFICULT and CONSUMING and OVERWHELMING Now (and I just wish it didn't have to be that way).

Well, Lexi, in all fairness I do agree it's annoying and misleading for the general public when someone claims to be gluten free then eats a hamburger at a party.  I have a friend like this who is celiac but still every once in awhile will eat what she wants...usually at a party that I'm at.  She admits she pays dearly later, but then people wonder why I don't just let loose too.

My concern I guess is that I get so annoyed when people question my diet, and my daughter's because we never tested positive for anything, not even an allergy, but we were so sick.  And I hate defending this to others.  So, I feel like I shouldn't question another person's choices either...even if it's just skipping a glutenous meal now and then, which I honestly believe everyone could benefit from.

Well, seeing how I found out I was gluten intolerant because I did a cleanse I don't really see the harm in it.   Eating gluten free is free and legal and we don't need anyone's permission.   Since my daughter and I both tested negative for celiac, I get annoyed when people question my self diagnosis.  I wish people would not worry about what I'm eating nor would they worry about what I'm feeding my daughter.  We're doing great.

Also, my husband eats mostly gluten free, for the same reasons as a couple of other posters, and he's less gassy, and has lost a lot of weight.  He said last night he knows that his mostly gluten free diet is keeping him slim.

If other people will quit worrying about what I'm eating, I won't worry about what they are eating.

Phew!  I was really worried about you.   You will have a wonderful wedding, you'll feel healthy and have an awesome honeymoon.  This will be one of the very best times of your life.  Congratulations and have fun!