This Is My First Post

[Joybird]

I've been reading about celiac disease and gluten intolerance for about 2 months. A friend, dietician, suggested that this might be my problem. Here's my history:

I am a 50 year old female

Diagnosed with spastic colon at 22, now called IBS

Had migraines from 20-45

At 40 I was diagnosed with hyperthyroid, family history of Grave's disease (sis, father, grandfather) I wasn't given the diagnosis of Grave's though, took tapazole for 12 months, went into remission. no meds now

At 45 I started having panic attacks, often including problems with digestion, needing to run to the bathroom

Now at 50 I can't go anyway without having a br nearby

My bathroom probs are very severe, lots of cramping, tremendous bloating, alt with dia and const, burning feeling in bottom

Always had the feeling that wheat was a culprit, drawn to it, overeat it, feel sick

Now the symptoms are very severe when I eat wheat, had 3 blueberry muffins over the weekend and am still suffering

Started the gluten-free diet this AM, difficult for me because I am also a vegan, vegetarian that doesn't eat dairy, so my food choices are pretty slim. At this point I plan to eat fruits, veggies, brown rice and beans (all plain).

I could use any comments or help that I can get at this point. Thanks in advance

BTW I don't plan to get tested for celiac disease. I just plan to try the diet and see if it helps

[tarnalberry]

Hi! Welcome to the board. I hope you find something that helps you.

Remember that, to be gluten free, you need to avoid more than "just wheat". Wheat, barley, rye, and oats all contain gluten. But so do a lot of other things that you might not think of, like soy sauce (and many other sauces), and miso (if fermented with barley). Read labels, reference the safe/unsafe list here on celiac.com. It can be tough to get enough protein being a celiac vegan, especially at first, but beans and lentils are a good place to start, and you may already have some of the higher protein, alternative grains like amaranth, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, and teff. (Those can be found in flours as well.) Give it at least a month, being *strictly* gluten-free, before giving up on the diet (two or three months would be better).

Good luck!

[jknnej]

The only reason I caution you about starting the diet w/out testing is because you will NEVER want to go back on gluten again if you feel better and the doctors will make you go back on gluten if you ever want a test.

My advice? Get the blood test and skip the endoscopy if you're that passionate about it.

I would NOT start a gluten-free diet without the test; you may not realize how restrictive it really is. Don't get me wrong, once you get the hang of it it's fine BUT it is very difficult at first and you have to be absolutely meticulous about avoiding gluten. This means almost no eating out (even if you find gluten-free restaurants there's ALWAYS the risk of cross contamination so most of us eat out rarely), changing hair/beauty/laundry products, getting new kitchen utensils, and if you live with others who are NOT gluten free you have to be even More careful about avoiding crumbs, not mixing utensils, etc.

I just want to make sure you see what a huge sacrifice it is and that is why it is best to be tested. Otherwise it is not worth inconveniencing yourself and your entire family; ie. no dinners out, no holiday at the relatives or neighbors houses, difficult traveling, etc.

Think about it! Believe me, it took my family a LONG time to get used to gluten-free lifestyle and they still don't understand why I can't eat over, etc. Unfortunately no matter how nice my parents are they just don't exercise the same caution as I do when cooking. The result: I don't eat anyone's cooking but mine or my husbands. It is really hard work to be completely gluten-free.

People you work with also won't understand why you are so careful at restaurants or why you harass the waiter so much! They will get sick of it fast. LOL

Again, I'm not saying it's that bad once you're accustomed to it! But please don't take it lightly; it is a big deal and it is NOT that easy!

and, if you plan on doing the diet kind of "half way" like I'll avoid wheat but not be as careful as us, then if you really DO have celiac disease you are damaging yourself more and it could shorten your life span!

You have nothing to lose by getting the test; it is a simple blood test and it will make the difference of a lifetime. If you don't have celiac disease you can STILL avoid wheat. But if you DO have celiac disease you MUST go stricly gluten-free. See the difference?

I hope you don't think I"m preachy; I just don't want to see you make the same mistake myself and others have made; it sucks! Trust people who have lived with this for awhile!

[kevsmom]

I also suggest that you at least get the blood test before going gluten free. If you do have Celiac, you are talking about a life change, not just a diet. It's very important to know for sure. Celiac patient's who don't take care of themselves are more prone to many problems, Lymphoma being one of them.

There are a lot of resources out there to help you if you do need to be on a gluten free diet - this being one of them. I have gotten a lot of great information here.

For a while I was living on fruit, salads (You have to be careful about salad dressings)and corn tortilla chips. That diet gets old really quick.

You can eat things like corn and rice pasta, but only with certain sauces - you must read the labels.

Good luck!