Terribly New Too Gluten Free Living ( Sad And Over Whelmed )

[MCKMNL]

My name is Missy.. I am a 37 yr old mom too 4 great kids. I recently , 2 months ago, found out through saliva testing, that I am Gluten Intolerant. I am struggling with this life style change, and feel lost and confused, with all of the info out there on this. A bit of background on my Health. I have no idea how this came about, I have never been sick a day in my life.. never any tummy troubles AT ALL.... I had a baby 10 months ago, and ever since his birth my tummy has never been the same, not too mention the terrible mouth issue I seem too be having. I was aslo told I have Candida as well. I honestly think I had thrush during my pregnancy, but no one treated it. During my pregnancy I noticed this very thick white chessy looking coating that was all over my tounge.. My OB at the time said NO not thrush, cause I had no sores..plus, if I ate anything this pain in my mouth would flare up. Fast foward too my sons birth.. I had a c-section, and he was born in january.. I was pre medicated with a pot load of anitbiotics before, during and after his delivery for MVP. Anyway 10 days after my son was born, my family got this horrrible stomach bug. I twas awful. The stomach cramping alone left you praying for death, the diarreha, and vomitting were horrendous as well. I was sick the longest. About 32 days on and off ( I also from saliva testing know I have a depressed immune system ) so I have all these whammies against me. It took me going too Chicago too get any aswers as too what was wrong with me. I see an Osteopath who has saved my life. He did testing on me that 6 different doctors here labled me as anxious and depressed from my sons birth. Anyway.. My stomach has NOT been right since. I deal with on and off again nausea, i seem too be allgergic too ANYTHING even fruits and veggies.. the minute I eat my mouth will start too burn like I just ate hot peppers, and I swear it feels like sores are about too break out, only they never do. Sort of burning raw feeling in my mouth. I am not sure if this is a symptom of Gluten intolerance or not.

I'm struggling with reading labels when i go shopping. I know it is wheat, barley, and oats that you are too stay away from but when I read it talks about hidden things as well. Like some processed foods.. So I have no idea what I should or should not buy. Can anyone here lead me in a direction (books, or other info )where it is easy too understand and grasp. Do I just look for wheat, barley and oats on the labels, If this is mentioned.. what, then don't buy it? What do they mean by hidden things in processed foods?

All I know is I am allergic too EVERYTHING, even applying my make-up will make my face burn, and turn red. I have never been Ill like this in my life, in fact up until my sons pregnancy which Is when I really think this all started, I thought I was rather healthy

My Osteo wants me too do the Candida diet for about 5 months, but I struggle with that too.. No fruit...thats a tough one for me..Is there any books that simplify there information.. something that offers shopping lists, or do's and don'ts too this life style change.

I would really appreciate any thoughts or help on this

Missy

[mandasmom]

My name is Missy.. I am a 37 yr old mom too 4 great kids. I recently , 2 months ago, found out through saliva testing, that I am Gluten Intolerant. I am struggling with this life style change, and feel lost and confused, with all of the info out there on this. A bit of background on my Health. I have no idea how this came about, I have never been sick a day in my life.. never any tummy troubles AT ALL.... I had a baby 10 months ago, and ever since his birth my tummy has never been the same, not too mention the terrible mouth issue I seem too be having. I was aslo told I have Candida as well. I honestly think I had thrush during my pregnancy, but no one treated it. During my pregnancy I noticed this very thick white chessy looking coating that was all over my tounge.. My OB at the time said NO not thrush, cause I had no sores..plus, if I ate anything this pain in my mouth would flare up. Fast foward too my sons birth.. I had a c-section, and he was born in january.. I was pre medicated with a pot load of anitbiotics before, during and after his delivery for MVP. Anyway 10 days after my son was born, my family got this horrrible stomach bug. I twas awful. The stomach cramping alone left you praying for death, the diarreha, and vomitting were horrendous as well. I was sick the longest. About 32 days on and off ( I also from saliva testing know I have a depressed immune system ) so I have all these whammies against me. It took me going too Chicago too get any aswers as too what was wrong with me. I see an Osteopath who has saved my life. He did testing on me that 6 different doctors here labled me as anxious and depressed from my sons birth. Anyway.. My stomach has NOT been right since. I deal with on and off again nausea, i seem too be allgergic too ANYTHING even fruits and veggies.. the minute I eat my mouth will start too burn like I just ate hot peppers, and I swear it feels like sores are about too break out, only they never do. Sort of burning raw feeling in my mouth. I am not sure if this is a symptom of Gluten intolerance or not.

I'm struggling with reading labels when i go shopping. I know it is wheat, barley, and oats that you are too stay away from but when I read it talks about hidden things as well. Like some processed foods.. So I have no idea what I should or should not buy. Can anyone here lead me in a direction (books, or other info )where it is easy too understand and grasp. Do I just look for wheat, barley and oats on the labels, If this is mentioned.. what, then don't buy it? What do they mean by hidden things in processed foods?

All I know is I am allergic too EVERYTHING, even applying my make-up will make my face burn, and turn red. I have never been Ill like this in my life, in fact up until my sons pregnancy which Is when I really think this all started, I thought I was rather healthy

My Osteo wants me too do the Candida diet for about 5 months, but I struggle with that too.. No fruit...thats a tough one for me..Is there any books that simplify there information.. something that offers shopping lists, or do's and don'ts too this life style change.

I would really appreciate any thoughts or help on this

Missy

I am so sorry that you are so ill...celiac disease has so many presentations its hard to diagnose. Many celiacs also have multiple food intolerances. I really hope that you can get to a major medical center where you can be seen by a top credentialed GI doctor. Many MDs dont see alot of celiac in adult patients and therefore are slow to recognize it. Large university med centers are often yoiur best bet for complex diagnois. Good luck!!

[missy'smom]

I'm afraid that I'm unfamiliar with many of the symptoms that you mention but pregnancy/chidbirth was the trigger for me. I'm about the same age as you and until I went gluten-free, wasn't well a day since giving birth. I too was given a strong dose of IV antibiotics and think it weakened my immune system. I caught everything that went around and got the worst case of it ever, over and over again for a year. I started taking an antioxidant formula and that helped alot. But if I stopped taking it I started catching every cold, flu etc. again. It took me another 7 years to find out about celiac disease.

Given the severity of your symptoms I would also encourage you to purse further medical evaluation.

It can be easier in some ways to start with fresh, pure ingredients. If you click on site index on the top left corner of the screen you can find a list of forbidden ingedients. By law wheat is require to be listed. barley is not. So that's more of a hidden ingredient. It can be found in malt and carmel coloring to name a few. If you see wheat, barley or barley containing ingredients or oats do not buy that product. Only certified gluten free oats are considered safe for those with celiac disease and they are not used in mainstream products. If it says, "made in a facilty that also manufactures____", then you have to make a decision about what potential there is for cross-contamination and how that will affect your health.

Good Luck. I wish you health.

[marciab]

I'm sorry to hear you are having such a rough time.

If you're planning on being tested for celiac disease, you need to be eating gluten. Did your Osteo tell you about celiac testing ? I found out the hard way that once you start feeling better off gluten, you'll never go back to eating it. So accurate testing will be out of the question.

But for right now, I'd start on the elimination diet. You'll need to eat plain chicken, fish, turkey and plain veggies and fruits. Low acidic fruits will be the easiest on you ... pears and apples. And peas and asparagus are easy veggies.

Also No wheat (unless you are going to be tested for celiac), dairy, soy, eggs or corn or anything else you know is bothering you.

I'd add probiotics and digestive enzymes to your diet. For digestive enzymes my GP told me to start eating papaya, mangos and pineapple since I would be needing foods.

I'm sure others will chime in ... Try to relax and take your time learning about all the new foods you've never eaten as opposed to concentrating on all the ones you can't have anymore.

It gets better .... Marcia

[Offthegrid]

It is *really* overwhelming at first, and no one seems to understand. I know I felt that way for a long time, and still I meet terribly insensitive and stupid people -- but it doesn't bother me as much now.

You can subscribe to a gluten-free list -- I forget the name of the Web site, though.

I'd recommend writing down a list of basic products you want to buy, and then looking them up on the manufacturer's Web site. Many of the big companies now will state on the Web site if a product is gluten-free. Kraft does not hide gluten. And McCormick will clearly label the spices if any gluten is present.

I'd also go dairy-free immediately, too.

Like other posters said, your best bet in the beginning is to stick with plain meats, veggies, fruits and nuts. If you seem to react to fruit, maybe try eliminating citrus?

Keeping a food diary will help. For me, it sometimes takes 2 or more days to react to something, so you may have to look back a while. I know for others it can take longer to react.

I react to soy, also, but just assumed I was still getting glutened.

[happygirl]

See the list at the bottom of this page: Open Original Shared Link

It includes companies that don't "hide" gluten. If you don't see wheat, rye, barley, malt, or oats on these labels, then it is safe to eat. If it has one of the offenders listed, it isn't safe to eat. Takes the guesswork out of label reading.

Hopefully this will help some.

[MCKMNL]

See the list at the bottom of this page: Open Original Shared Link

It includes companies that don't "hide" gluten. If you don't see wheat, rye, barley, malt, or oats on these labels, then it is safe to eat. If it has one of the offenders listed, it isn't safe to eat. Takes the guesswork out of label reading.

Hopefully this will help some.

That List is fantastic.. OMG Thank you so much!

Thank you everyone for your warm thoughts and help..I really appreciate it

Missy

[Crystalkd]

It's okay to be overhelmed. I was. My allegeies almost cost me my life as well. I'm not sure what my trigger was. I have mild Cerebral Palsy as well and a surgery I had could have set it off. It's okay to grieve. I did!!! It's hard! I found the easiest thing to do was go back to basics and add things from there as I learned more about what I could and couldn't have.

[wowzer]

I know over the years when I had my itchy spells, it seemed once I was like this, it took forever to get back on track. Things that normally didn't bother me did. I hope that you are feeling better soon.

[DM11545]

Hi Missy ... so sorry to hear about what you are going through. I would like to chime in on the candida problem and maybe offer my thoughts. Candida can take on a life of its own and has a whole host of tummy (and other) symptoms that can be somewhat similar to celiac. Antibiotics are definitely no help for candida and cause candida to flourish. I had a really bad case of candida a couple of years back and it seemed like I would cycle through diahhrea and constipation in the same day (the same hour sometimes) with all kinds of other "fun" symptoms. I cut out all sugared foods (pop cookies etc.) and milk. I then started taking acidophilus religiously before I went to bed and during the day. I always bought acidophilus from GNC as I always like their quality and I usually took more (sometimes 2x/3x) than what was recommended. It took a few months but it cleared up incredibly well and I no longer have the bad symptoms that I had back then. I continued to take acidophilis for a couple of years after.