bartfull

The hunger will ease. You are going through gluten withdrawal. Try eating a bunch of small meals instead of the usual three a day. Go to the thread, "Newbie 101" to learn more about coping with the diet, avoiding cross-contamination, and lots more. And feel free to ask as many questions as come to mind, to cry on our shoulders, or rant and rave. We have all done that here and you'll never find a more knowledgable or supportive group of people anywhere. Welcome to the club none of us wanted to join! But keep in mind that it gets easier, and as you start feeling better and better, you will be thankful that it's celiac - no drugs or surgery required to get better. Just a healthier diet that you will learn to enjoy.

Good for you! Temptation all around you but you didn't give in!

I have a friend here who isn't so good at resisting temptation. She told me yesterday that for the past SIX MONTHS she has been eating pasta and bread! Her DH is unbearable, her stomach is so bloated she looks pregnant, her diabetes is getting worse, and her eyesight and hearing are too. Yet STILL she can't stop!

We all have choices to make and you made the right one, for you and for those who love you. I think you deserve more than just a gluten-free treat. I think you should treat yourself to a concert or a ballgame or whatever else might be your passion.

No, worrying about cross-contamination is NOT "going overboard".

Seriously, if you touch my food after eating a sandwich, I WILL get sick. If I just pick the croutons off of my salad, I WILL get sick. If I just eat the pie filling and don't eat the crust, I WILL get sick. If my boyfriend kisses me without brushing his teeth after eating pizza, I WILL get sick.

So if you call trying NOT to get sick "going overboard", I suggest you think again.

When I was a kid I thought (along with doctors and other family members) that my Mom was a hypocondriac. One day she would complain of a stomach ache. The next day she would complain of a back ache. The day after that her feet were tingling. At least twice a week she complained of headaches. Mom had a king-sized case of chronic insomnia, and she also suffered from psoriasis for years. We all thought it was all in her head.

Years and YEARS later, she was diagnosed with celiac disease.

I keep reading here about folks who have gone through the same thing. While I have no hope of educating doctors who SHOULD know better, I thought that perhaps any of you who have family members who doubt your symptoms are real should show them this. Maybe you could print it and hand it out to all of them and they'd finally believe you:

http://www.mayoclini...ECTION=symptoms

It's bad enough to suffer the physical symptoms, but to have loved ones doubt you makes it so much worse. I will forever feel guilty for accusing my Mom of being "crazy". Maybe if all of our family members would learn about celiac it could prevent them from going through the same thing Mom and I did.

I believed my hands and feet were suffing with some kind of contact dermatitis. I believed my digestive problems stemmed from alcohol over-indulgence. I believed my insomnia was due to being a night person. I believed my thinning hair was genetic. I believed my brain fog was from getting older.

And even though I knew that with celiac in my family the odds were I might have it too, I believed that if I kept on denying it it would go away.

Boy was I stupid!

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but here goes...

I have a guitar student who is the sweetest, most wonderful little girl I have ever known. Her entire family has been one of my greatest blessings. She has a sister who I believe has celiac. She gets stomach aches when she eats gluten, and she also gets "spots" which sound like DH. She has a cousin with celiac and she has given up gluten because of these things, but she hasn't been vigilent. She doesn't check for CC, nor does she read every label, so it is only the obvious things like bread and cookies that she has given up.

Yesterday I talked to her like a Dutch uncle. I told her how serious this is. I told her about cancers and lupus and diabetes, and a lot of the other things that can happen to people who continue to eat gluten, even in small amounts. I even mentioned celiac crisis, and while I told her it was very rare, I stressed that she could be killing herself if she doesn't become more strict.

Well, I think I scared the daylights out of her. She left here looking so depressed it broke my heart. I DID tell her that sticking to the diet is not that difficult once you get used to it, and I told her about the great tasting breads she can get right here at our healthfood store. We talked about some of the great recipes for flourless cookies and cakes. I gave her the addy to this website and strongly encouraged her to come here and read as much as possible.

I'm worried that it might have backfired though. I'm worried that she may think it's too hard and she will give up. Or maybe that I scared her so much she will go into denial. I offered her as much help as she needed, but now I'm wondering if I gave her too much info at once. Maybe she'll never even want to talk to me again.

I love this sweet young girl (She's 13), and I love her family. I told the other kids that they and their parents should all be tested too. I want them well and healthy and happy.

Did I do the right thing? And if I went overboard, how should I fix it? I'm afraid that I, with my big mouth, did more harm than good.

(If you are reading this honey, please forgive me if I scared and depressed you. It's only because I love you so much.)

The withdrawal can definitely cause depression but so can celiac! I hate to see anyone go on medications that have side effects and almost all meds do, espeically meds for depression. Could I suggest you just give the diet more time? You might well find that as you heal, your depression will lift. (((HUGS))) to you.

My advice? NEVER feed your cat first thing in the morning or she will start waking you up REALLY early! Wait until you've been up for a couple of hours at least.

Also, when your cat starts walking between your legs or flopping down in front of you as you walk, NEVER stop and pet her. If you do, she will continue to be a tripping hazzard for the rest of her life.

I suffer from both of these problems with my cat. She starts trying to wake me at three in the morning. And it doesn't matter where I plan on putting my foot, she is guaranteed to be there. She is 13 years old and will never change. I am 58 years old and will never change.

I keep telling her that one of these groggy mornings at 3AM, she will trip me on the way to her dish and I will fall, break my neck, land on top if her and squash her flat. They will find us both dead and wonder what happened.

Lately I say things like, "When I was diagnosed with celiac disease...", even though I never got tested by a doctor. I am SELF diagnosed, but if I say that no one takes me seriously. The way I say it, I'm not lying exactly, just heading off the misconceptions.

I no longer eat the junk food full of chemicals that would have killed me in the long run whether I had celiac or not.

And I feel closer to my Mom even though she passed away several years ago. She had celiac, and now that I understand how badly she suffered I wish I could tell her. But she knows...

Flavoring and "natural flavor" are USUALLY carried on corn.

I have only tried hot dogs once since going gluten-free. These were organic bison hot dogs. They were gluten-free and I got REALLY sick from them. They tasted SO good I ate two. About an hour or so later I had to close the shop and go home where I proceeded to vomit for the rest of the evening.

It was the spices. I had been eating bland foods and wasn't healed enough to handle those spices. Now that I have been gluten-free for almost 15 months and am starting to gain back other foods I lost, such as corn and potatoes, I plan on, not right away but within the next few weeks, trying them again. If they still don't work I'll know I still have some healing to do.

Did anyone else notice this: "I don't feel as fatigued and when I get up I start cleaning the house as I have the energy to do that before work" ?

Rob, do you have a brother? And can he cook? I NEED someone like that!

Newbie 101 should be required reading for every new member. Like, maybe before anyone is allowed to register, instead of terms of service they should have to read Newbie 101 and then be given a test to prove they read it.

I just wish I could get my FRIENDS who deny they have celiac symptoms to read it. Maybe I'll print it out and give it to everyone for Christmas this year, along with a loaf of Udi's and some Blue Bunny All Natural ice cream. If they knew they could still eat delicious food, maybe they wouldn't balk at the idea...

I never had kids of my own, but I did have a great Mom and Dad. When I was born I was very sick. I almost died at birth and it was touch and go for the first three years. My wonderful parents did everything they could to keep me alive and grow healthy. My Dad mentioned one time that when I was an infant he would always sleep with his hands behind his head, holding onto the headboard. That way his arms would fall asleep and that would wake him up every few minutes so he could go "check on the baby". Every time I think of that I could cry. How did I get so lucky to have such WONDERFUL parents??!!

Reading your stories here reminds me of them. Every time I read something in the news about parents who abuse/neglect their own kids, I come here and read about parents who would do anything for their kids, and never give up trying to help them. It helps me to get the bad taste out of my mouth.

So I just wanted to say thank you for giving me back my faith in humanity. My wish for you all is that YOUR kids will look back at all you have done and get teared up when they realize how much you love them, just the way I do when I think of my parents.

God has blessed your children by letting them be born to you. And may he bless you all richly! You deserve nothing but the best!