An Intro Of Sorts

[CrazyCanuck]

Well, here is a bit of an Intro before I start posting...... (I tried to find a Introduce yourself thread but couldn't find one).

My Name is Jay and I am Gluton Intolerant.

Over the past few years, I have had a few issues arise with my stomach. Just passed it off as "eating to much" or "too spice" blah, blah, blah. Pushed through and even did Ironman Canada in 2006 (2.4 mile run, 112mile bike, 26.2 mile run). After that, things went downhill. In November 2006 I came down with a chest infection that put me out for three weeks. Then in February 2007, I was on the treadmill when I doubled over in pain, after about 15 minute of pain, I called my wife and headed to the doctors. The weekend was spent in and out of the ER for a possible appendicitis. That didn't happen and they ended up saying one day that I was constipated (Two bowel movements in the mroning before going tothe ER?????) and at one point, said that it was just a pulled muscle... In the end, it was left with "I don't know." Since then, I have gained 50 lbs.

Not happy with the diagnosis, I pushed my doctor (One thing I learned from my mom as she was dealing with cancer) that I wanted an answer. CT, Barium Swallows, MIR, two upper scopes, one below, blood work and I was labelled with IBS. Celiacs was tested for but came back neg. So IBS it was, except, I don't fit the IBS symptoms..... Done witht he "traditional" medical field, my wife urged me to go to a natural pathic doctor. So, I relented and went.

A food allergy test was done using the MVL process for IgE and IgG4. came back positive for Gluton Intolerance, and Dairy Intolerance. Ah ha.... Did some research and sure enough, there is at least 20 % of the population that are not picked up on simply blood serum tests. The Dr recommended the Gluton Free diet minus dairy.

So the plan,

1) I am going to my GP and will be forcing the issue of gene testing for Celiacs;

2) joining a support forum (done)

3) starting a gluton free, dairy free diet on December 1, 2008.

Yes, there is a delay in starting the diet. I have already cut back on a lot but I will need the next few days to say good bye to all the things I love, foodwise that is. Plus, I need to mentally prepare for the way of life (better than Diet) that I will be on. I am still angry at the diagnosis and the ignorance of the traditional medical field's labelling.

Thats it. I will be here for a bit. I can be opinionated, passionate and down right stubborn. Just tell me to get over it it that's what comes across.

[IChaseFrisbees]

Alright! It seems tough at first, I know saying good bye to my lifestyle of burgers, burritos and whatever else I felt like eating was very difficult, but honestly I spent a day feeling depressed and then was jumping for joy when it hit me that they had figured out what was wrong (I was afraid I had read stories about people with Celiac or other allergies being misdiagnosed forever.)

Welcome to the message boards, I'm pretty new here myself, but this place is a life saver; I'm on here at least 4-5 times a day.

I don't want to be a bummer, but it might take a while for you to start feeling better, and if that's the case just try to stay positive and get some support, I'm about 2 months gluten-free and very marginally improved, but I'm hopeful that slowly and surely I'll get back to my old self.

Congratulations on figuring it out, the rest is just discipline.

All the best

[Aponi]

Hi, Jay. Congratulations on your diagnosis. (I say that, because knowing what's wrong is always better than being in the dark with health issues, and with this one you now know what needs done to feel better.)

When I found out gluten was a problem for me, my reaction was mixed. For the first day I was happy to know what was wrong and sad because I thought I'd have to give up a LOT more than I have had to. After some research and experimentation, I've discovered I'm not nearly as limited as I first thought. I can make almost any dessert and main dishes as good (in a couple cases better) than those with gluten. It just took a little research to learn about other flours and gluten-free versions of things like pasta, seasonings, etc. My only real issues now are missing some restaurant foods (okay, mostly the convenience) and yeast breads. Most of the yeast breads I make are not bad, in fact most taste pretty good, but they are different and not exactly like the real deal.

Heck, last week I made chocolate cupcakes with ganache and buttercream filling (like Hostess cupcakes). I made 2 dozen thinking my family could eat/freeze one dozen and the other dozen my husband could take to work. After eating one of the cupcakes my husband refused to part with any of them and had me throw ALL of the extras in the freezer. LOL. They were better than Hostess. By the way, they froze very well, as do most gluten-free baked goods such as muffins, cookies, biscuits, etc. That helps for convenience with sweet tooth cravings.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know this isn't an end to all good foods. Most of them can still be made and enjoyed.

[Amber M]

Well, here is a bit of an Intro before I start posting...... (I tried to find a Introduce yourself thread but couldn't find one).

My Name is Jay and I am Gluton Intolerant.

Over the past few years, I have had a few issues arise with my stomach. Just passed it off as "eating to much" or "too spice" blah, blah, blah. Pushed through and even did Ironman Canada in 2006 (2.4 mile run, 112mile bike, 26.2 mile run). After that, things went downhill. In November 2006 I came down with a chest infection that put me out for three weeks. Then in February 2007, I was on the treadmill when I doubled over in pain, after about 15 minute of pain, I called my wife and headed to the doctors. The weekend was spent in and out of the ER for a possible appendicitis. That didn't happen and they ended up saying one day that I was constipated (Two bowel movements in the mroning before going tothe ER?????) and at one point, said that it was just a pulled muscle... In the end, it was left with "I don't know." Since then, I have gained 50 lbs.

Not happy with the diagnosis, I pushed my doctor (One thing I learned from my mom as she was dealing with cancer) that I wanted an answer. CT, Barium Swallows, MIR, two upper scopes, one below, blood work and I was labelled with IBS. Celiacs was tested for but came back neg. So IBS it was, except, I don't fit the IBS symptoms..... Done witht he "traditional" medical field, my wife urged me to go to a natural pathic doctor. So, I relented and went.

A food allergy test was done using the MVL process for IgE and IgG4. came back positive for Gluton Intolerance, and Dairy Intolerance. Ah ha.... Did some research and sure enough, there is at least 20 % of the population that are not picked up on simply blood serum tests. The Dr recommended the Gluton Free diet minus dairy.

So the plan,

1) I am going to my GP and will be forcing the issue of gene testing for Celiacs;

2) joining a support forum (done)

3) starting a gluton free, dairy free diet on December 1, 2008.

Yes, there is a delay in starting the diet. I have already cut back on a lot but I will need the next few days to say good bye to all the things I love, foodwise that is. Plus, I need to mentally prepare for the way of life (better than Diet) that I will be on. I am still angry at the diagnosis and the ignorance of the traditional medical field's labelling.

Thats it. I will be here for a bit. I can be opinionated, passionate and down right stubborn. Just tell me to get over it it that's what comes across.

Hi Jay, Welcome. I have only been gluten free for since the end of July this year. I had Celiac tests that came back negative (after being gluten free for a bit). I knew I had a problem with it because I had (by advice from my allergist) done the off and on diet. I decided it was worth having the gene test and did so recently. As it turns out, I have gluten sensitive genes from both parents and have gluten ataxia. It explained all of my health problems for the last 30 years!!!!! I had just gotten so much worse the last 2 years and decided to get to the bottom of it.

I have also discovered that fresh foods and replacements are not so bad. Learning to bake the desert items is new for me, but they are better! "Pamala's Pancake Mix" is the best and has many receipes on the back for many things-cookies, cakes, etc.

Some of the frozen things are good, some suck! The prepared loafs of bread I have found to be terrible. Your better off having a bread maker and doing your own with gluten free recipes. There is a lot of info on this site and many others. You will find gluten free products more expensive which I think is descrimination. But, you have to do what you have to do to feel better and stay well. Good luck. Keep in touch. We are all here to help eachother.

[rumbles]

Hi Jay,

Welcome to our health club! You're in the right place, as the people here are really great, and there's tons of information on just about everything gluten related.

Don't get discouraged, as once you take the first step and go completely gluten free, and start feeling better, it becomes easier with each day, until it eventually becomes second nature. In time, you should feel so much better that you won't want to ever go near gluten again.

It will take some looking (grocery stores, whole food markets, Internet), but eventually you will find a good gluten free version of most of the foods that you are concerned about giving up. If you're creative in the kitchen, after a bit of a learning curve, you'll find that you'll be able to make most of those foods yourself, and find them to be much healthier and better for you.

There's quite a few of us that understand the weight gain thing first hand; while you've been eating, your body hasn't been able to absorb the food properly, and has starting to react incorrectly. It could be anything from a temporary condition that will resolve itself after you go gluten free, to another food intolerance (there are quite a few that can be related to gluten intolerance, and it may only be temporary, - you may 'recover' after being gluten free and removing that food from your diet for six months to a year, or like for some of us, it may be permanent) to an acquired sensitivity to carbohydrates. You might want to read up on the posts about vitamin deficiencies, as some are very common with gluten intolerance, such as B-12 (has to be taken sublingually - dissolved under the tongue until the digestive tract has healed), iron, magnesium, zinc, calcium. Before taking any supplements, make sure (either listed on the label, or call the manufacturer) that they are gluten free.

Unfortunately, this is an all or nothing health club. Reducing the amount of gluten doesn't lessen or shorten a reaction, so once you go gluten free, you need to go completely gluten free; but the sooner you go gluten free, the faster you will feel better. Best of health to you. We're here to help when you have questions, or just to listen when you need.

~ rumbles

[CrazyCanuck]

It has been a slow build up for the past few days but.... Looks like tomorrow will actual be the first truly zero gluten day. I know that once i finish making the turn, there is no going back, but I am ready.

I will be booking an appointment with my GP tohave genotyping done to confirm (a requirement from work as they do not cover a naturalpath, yet).

Aslo heading out shopping for some reading material / cook books. Any suggestions?

[Amber M]

It has been a slow build up for the past few days but.... Looks like tomorrow will actual be the first truly zero gluten day. I know that once i finish making the turn, there is no going back, but I am ready.

I will be booking an appointment with my GP tohave genotyping done to confirm (a requirement from work as they do not cover a naturalpath, yet).

Aslo heading out shopping for some reading material / cook books. Any suggestions?

Check this site out, there are alot of things including recipes you can have or buy. There are alot of other sites too. If you have a local health food store, they will work with you too. Good luck! Keep us posted on your progress!

[lizard00]

Welcome Jay!

It has been 365+ days since I have purposely ingested gluten... since you started it off like a recovery meeting, I figured I'd go with it!

Seriously, it's been right about at a year for me, and in the beginning, there was a lot to learn and adjust to. It truly does get easier with each day, and especially as you begin to recover your health. That's a great motivator.

Anyway, please feel free to ask your questions. We've all been there and needed direction, so we're always willing to share our experiences.