Newly Diagnosed

[JuliaE]

Hi, everyone. About three weeks ago I was diagnosed with sprue after having an upper and lower endoscopy. A bit of my history: I'm 22, and three months ago my total iron level was 14 (it's supposed to be 35-150, or so) which is why I had the endoscopy. From reading these boards, I believe that the combination of my hypocondria (I only went to the doctor originally because I had a headache), my overly conscientious doctor (my hemoglobin and hematicrit levels only indicated mild anemia), and my father's history (lymphoma was found after presenting with anemia, which is the only reason the GI felt the endoscopy and biopsy during endoscopy were necessary) led to a correct diagnosis much sooner than most. Going by when I really began losing a significant amount of weight (I lost about 25 pounds since November, 15 of it in the past three months), I think the celiac couldn't have been triggered more than a year ago.

My question is, do you become more gluten intolerant after going on a gluten-free diet? At this point, I never really felt sick, other than from my severely low iron, and as soon as my doctor put me on a high dose of iron I felt better. Right now I don't feel like eating something that may have been contaminated with gluten, but doesn't actually contain gluten, is going to effect me. Will staying completely gluten-free make me more sensitive?

Also, I'm a vegetarian, and the majority of my protein used to come from fake meat products, but those all contain wheat. Are there any gluten-free brands of TVP?

Thanks,

Julia

[GFBetsy]

Dont' have a lot of answers to those questions, but wanted to say Welcome! There are lots of threads about vegetarianism on the board . .. perhaps they might have some of the information you're looking for!

Best Wishes!

[mouse]

I also wanted to welcome you to the forum. You cannot just go a little gluten-free, but must go gluten-free all the way, which means to try and not have any cross contamination. Any amount of gluten will keep your small intestine from completely healing and could impact your health in some powerful ways, further on in your life.

Also, yes, after you have been gluten-free for awhile, you will notice that the smallest amount will give you problems. Some of us react within minutes (which makes it easier to finger out what triggered it) and some react in about 3 days. Everyones reaction can be a little bit different. I forgot - there are some people who have no reactions, but the damage is going on none the less.

[Ursa Major]

Hi Julia, and welcome to this board. Yes, it appears that after being gluten-free for a while, that you get more sensitive to gluten. At least your reactions might get stronger and more obvious.

It is actually VERY important to avoid cross contamination as much as you can, as you might never heal completely if you don't, even if you don't get obvious symptoms from it.

Make sure you also check all your personal care products (shampoo, conditioner, lipstick, soap, lotions etc.) for hidden glutens. If it says wheat germ oil, oat bran or barley extract, don't use it but replace it with a gluten-free product. Also, a lot of vitamin E is made from wheat germ oil.

I personally don't feel a vegetarian diet is healthy, and will therefore leave answering that question to others here. And as Betsy said, there are several threads going on that subject already. To find those, put into the search engine 'vegetarian' or something like that (you'll find it on the right upper corner when coming into the forum, not when you're in a specific one), and should find lots of info.

[mommida]

Celiac can be different for everyone. You may become more sensitive.

It may seem like paranoia to go through and eliminate gluten from products that aren't intended to go in or near your mouth, but take the advice from from very sensitive people and get rid of lotions and shampoos.

Amy's products have some vegatarian meals that ingredients are gluten free but watch out for CC. The company is starting to have some dedicated gluten free lines check out their website.

L.

[lorka150]

Bob's Red Mill TVP is made in the gluten-free facility. It is safe.

[AndreaB]

I just wanted to say welcome!

I second what everyone else has said so far.

I am a former vegan. Left the diet due to my intolerances so I can't really answer your question on vegetarianism. There have been numerous discussions though. I do have a thread I started in the recipe section. Gluten, dairy, egg and mostly soy free stuff, mainly "cheese", mayo....those types of things.