red island

Or you could invite her over to your house to do some baking with you and send some goodies home all wrapped up for her to put in her freezer.  Then she could bring goodies that you know are safe when she brings in treats for the class.

A question that pops up though.  Although I've been having symptoms (not as severe as before), and amenorrhea was the major problem I had from ingesting gluten, I still got my period last month. I thought  that even the smallest trace can cause full-blown reactions.. so why did I get a period! Could it have been a one time fluke

I have been reading this thread with interest because I just cc'd myself last weekend while cleaning out the bin that my sheeps' alfalfa pellets were in. I developed muscle and joint pain and stiffnes and am still having some wild mood swings - usual symptoms for me when I get contaminated - but all the GI symptoms are missing...so I am getting different reaction to breathing in the offending gluten as opposed to eating it.  Maybe that is the case with you too.

I checked out the alfalfa pellets last fall - they are made with pure alfalfa, no wheat starch filler, so I have not been as careful as I should be when working with them. But I never considered til now that the alfalfa itself is more than likely contaminated with wheat. And it would be if it was grown in rotation with grain crops. Ugh, live and learn.

I think that there is a higher incidence of venting here because we don't want to be always complaining about our situation to the people in our lives. Speaking for myself, I have already had friends distance themselves since I have been diagnosed and am afraid that the people I have left in my life will get sick of hearing me vent. I try to keep things informative and add a bit of humour when I am talking to them but honestly, there are times when you just have to let off steam and this forum is perfect because everybody here understands and is going through the same thing.

I had that moment one Sunday in December when I realized that I had spent the whole afternoon Christmas shopping and never once thought about where the washrooms were located in the stores. Normal life is Awesome.

In the beginning I just stuck with a few of my favorite gluten-free brands and a whole lot of fruits and veggies as I was very fatigued by the time I was diagnosed.  I also have had a very long history of diarrhea to the point where I would not eat before I went to town to do any shopping. While the diet seems restricted I actually have a whole lot more freedom now as the diarrhea is gone and I dont have to know the location of the washrooms in every store I go to!  And now that I am perkier, I am enjoying exploring the aisles of the grocery store - I just found some gluten-free foods in the Asian section last week. And I am rediscovering baking - I made gluten-free brownies that were to die for last week.