Not Sure Where I Belong?

[Rook's Mommy]

My ds is three months old. He has been very fussy and has so much gas. He also has a rash on his face, arms and legs. He is breastfeed as well. We were told that I should try cutting out eggs, dairy. It didn't help. My mom saw something on the boob tube about wheat intolerance. So after much reading and talking to his doctor (who told me to just put him on formula) I gave up gluten 2 days ago. I am not sure if it's in my head but he seems so much better. The brightness of his rash has left and we have only had two small crying jags. I have to wonder if it is a fluke or if it's working?

Any how, I have been looking at the site and

i don't know where I should post. I don't have the intolerance, but I do have to eat the diet. Any help I'd be ever so thankful for. I have so many ?'s.

Thanks,

Addie

[lonewolf]

Welcome! How wonderful that you are such a caring mother - your son is lucky to have you! Yes, you are very welcome here. There are other mothers who will chime in who have done the same thing as you're doing.

[Ursa Major]

Hi Addie, and welcome to this board. I doubt that it is a fluke that your son seems to be doing better. Many other breastfeeding mothers had the same experience as you, that their babies started getting better immediately after they eliminated gluten (or other allergens) from their diet.

You can post on the "Parents of kids or babies with celiac disease" forum for more responses from other parents.

Keep up the good work! And don't be shy to ask any questions that come up, there is no such a thing as a dumb question here.

[Rook's Mommy]

Thank you both so much. I will check out the forum thanks a bunch.

[GFBetsy]

Just wanted to add that your baby's picture is darling!

Also, If you are looking for help on the diet, check out the recipes section on the main celiac.com site. There's also a lot of good "getting started" information on www.eatingglutenfree.com. Also, nini (on this forum) has a "newbie" package that can be found by clicking on the link under one of her posts . . . if you use the search bar at the top of this page and type in "nini newbie", I'm sure it will bring up a link to one of her posts.

Good luck, and I hope your son's improvement continues!

[happygirl]

Addie:

Sweet, sweet picture!

Welcome to the board. If gluten is the problem----you are in the right place. If you need substitutions for things---let us know.

Try Tinkyada (rice) pasta....it comes in all shapes/sizes. Having a safe pasta (and this one is GOOD!) made such a difference for me.

Best of luck :)

Laura

[Rook's Mommy]

Thank you for the compliment. He was three weeks old there. He is three months now. Time flies..

I am going to look for the pasta. We tried some last night. It was ok. Not great, but I could get use to it. Dh even ate it. I picked up Living gluten-free for dummies yesterday. Stayed up until one reading it. I am still a little lost.

Oh and Rook's rash is back, is that normal? He was looking great. I thought that it might have been the fruit cocktail I ate last night. But I can't find anything about it. I am hoping this doesn't extend to dairy. Eggs I could do with out for the most party, but I cook a lot with milk. And adore ice cream. I just hope it's something that can happen until he is fully healed or what ever. I did forget his lotion yesterday. Maybe that is is.

[plantime]

Addie, you can post anywhere on the board you want to. Please do not feel restricted to one section! There are many good mommies on the board that have been through what you are now going through. Give them some time, and I'm sure some of them will chime in.

[Ursa Major]

Addie, unfortunately, many people with celiac disease are also intolerant to all dairy. My oldest daughter had to stop having dairy for four out of her five children when breastfeeding, because they are casein intolerant and were getting terrible eczema. When she eliminated dairy from her diet, the baby's skin would clear up. You may have to switch to things like sherbet as a substitute for ice cream.

[blueeyedmanda]

Welcome Addie, you will find so much help here. What an adorable little baby

[jukie]

Welcome, Addie...what an awesome mom you are! My 5 y.o. son had a very difficult infancy that, in restrospect, was likely related his/my food intolerances. Although I was able to identify and eliminate some of the things in my diet that he was reacting to while breastfeeding (which included dairy and eggs), we didn't discover that we were also gluten intolerant until just this year. It breaks my heart thinking about how difficult those first years were...if only we'd known. Anyway, he continued to be lactose intolerant until he was about 3.5 y.o., but is now able to tolerate milk products with no problems.

I also wanted to mention that the Tinkyada pastas come in white rice, brown rice, and organic brown rice versions. Don't know which one you tried, but it may be worth experimenting with the others to see if they are more to your liking. (I personally found the brown rice version much more to my liking than the others.)

You have found a wonderful resource in this board...feel free to jump in anywhere!

[Rook's Mommy]

I can't believe how nice everyone here is. I have posted other place and it just doesn't seem active.

Here is our progress so far. We figured out why he got his rash back the last few days, cheese! I didn't have the wrapper anymore but thought it was safe because it was brick, I went to my mother's last night and went through all her food. ( After reading what I was showing them, they decided to become a gluten-free friendly home for their grandkids, and because it may help my moms RA) As it happens we eat the same brand cheese. It has wheat in it. So I came home and moved it to the gluten shelve of the firdge. I am really shocked at the learning curve. I there is so much to know.

Yesterday I went to the co-op and they were super helpful. They gave me a list of what every gluten-free item in the store was. Then asked if I wanted to be shown where they were. AMAZING! At the market you can't find any one to show where to find crap. We decide to try a few things. Not much mind you, it's awful pricey. But I got tortilla shells, because I already promised my dh that we'd have taco's tonight. Hopefully that goes well. He tried Amy's mac and cheese last night. That was not a hit by any means. It's was quite gross to the truth.

Now this is the part I can't believe, the difference it's made for Me! I have always had headaches daily for years, they are gone. I have always had joint pain in my knees, it's gone. My eczema is gone down a lot. And I haven't had stomach issues in 2 days. No icky feeling after eating that I normally get. In my dd I noticed she seems to be listening better. I haven't had to repeat myself twelve hundred times.

I am sorry this as turned into a book. I just wanted to tell you why I am so thankful. You have made my switch so much easier with the links, ideas and support. I the part I can't believe is the support I am getting from most of my family. My mom went to a gluten-free bakery with me and my kids yesterday. I and we were both blown away by how good it was. My dd had her first cup cake. She loved it!

Oh and one more thing, I couldn't find Tinkydada noodles any where at the co-op. Do I have to order it on line?

[plantime]

Wow, the changes your family is experiencing are awesome! I don't know where to find Tinkyada pasta, I use Mrs. Leeper's corn pasta. Glutenfree pasta is not cooked the same way as wheat pasta. For the Mrs. Leeper's, I bring the water to a boil, add the pasta, and set the timer for 7 minutes for rotini--8 minutes for elbows and spaghetti. As soon as the timer buzzes, the pasta must be drained. If you cook it longer or leave it in the hot water, it turns to mush. It also does not reheat well.

Was your mom diagnosed with RA via bloodtest? I was diagnosed via x-rays, but it turned out the damage was caused by celiac disease. The damage to my knees stopped when I went glutenfree. Shame joint damage doesn't reverse itself!

[Rook's Mommy]

My mom was diagnosed 11 years ago, but misdiagnosed for 10 years before that. Hers is very advanced. I have prayed everyday for something to help her. She is on so many drugs including shots. She has so many signs of celiac, we've been told were side effects of the drugs. It really has me wondering! I hope they are really going to give this a shot. It's good to know it worked for you.

[Nic]

I tried going to the Tinyada web site and ordering but you can't, unless I just don't know how. I also tried e mailing them twice about ordering because I wanted their grande shells to make stuffed shells with. They never responded. If you have a trader joes by you their brown rice pasta is as good if not better, just a little stickier when cooking so be careful. My son has not taken to the gluten-free macs and cheeses also. What I do is make gluten-free pasta and then use the cheese sauce from Kraft. My son does not have any dairy problems and I double checked with Kraft that the cheese was gluten free. So it tastes just like how he remembers mac and cheese to tastet.

Nicole

[Rook's Mommy]

Thanks for the mac and cheese tip. My dh will be thrilled.

[jukie]

A couple places you can find some of the Tinkyada pastas online include:

www.allergygrocer.com

www.shopbydiet.com

Hope that helps!

[kbtoyssni]

There are lots of other good pastas out there, too. I always get DeBoles brand (I think that's how you spell it - it's in a blue box). I think I must be the only person on this board with this opinion, but I don't think Tinkyada is better than other pastas. DeBoles is just as good to me.

And feel free to post where ever you think the topic fits best!