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Swine Flu & Celiac


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happygirl Collaborator
So does that mean that Tamiflu is Gluten Free?

According to Open Original Shared Link and Open Original Shared Link, it is.

From a UK site: Open Original Shared Link - states it is gluten-free.


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Mtndog Collaborator

I think moving it to Gab/Chat would be good.

I am concerned as we are due for a pandemic. I've read several articles on the subject (but I also think the media is blowing it out of proportion as they love to do). There are deaths with any flu but the way it has passed from person to person at the high school in NY is scary to me.

However, gemini is right that people with celiac have an overactive immune system, not suppressed. People on steroids, with HIV and antibiotics have suppressed immune systems. Mine is suppressed because I have Lyme and I'm on antibiotics so I'm a little more concerned.

I don't think having celiac makes us any more or less susceptible but it makes sense to take the normal precautions you would with any flu outbreak.

rumbles Newbie

Compromised is not synonymous with deficient. Generally,

there are three types of immune system compromises:

allergic disorders, autoimmune diseases and immunodeficiency

diseases. Because of their effect on the immune system,

vitamin deficiencies, chronic stress and lack of adequate/restful

sleep can lead to an immune system compromise.

I'm not trying to scare anyone, - quite the opposite: I'm

saying that we all need to make sure that we stay vigilant

on our diet and nutrition, get plenty of rest, exercise, practice

frequent hand washing and try to stay away from anyone

with flu symptoms, - and probably avoid large crowds where

possible. The same basic common sense that we use when

someone comes to work with the excuse that they have too

much to do to stay home.

From what I'm hearing and reading, statistically, so far it

doesn't sound as if this flu is any more lethal than the yearly

variety; the numbers that are in the news are the people that

went to a doctor or hospital, - there's got to be a whole lot of

people that just are riding it out at home with over the counter

meds and boxes of tissues.

Other than stocking up on some extra supplies and a bit more

gluten-free food, and following some common sense practices, I don't

think I'd get to concerned at this point.

YoloGx Rookie
Bea---

I was actually just thinking the exact same thing! I think God works in amazing ways and now that I have been gluten free for about a month I am feeling so much better and am hoping that if this does evolve into a pandemic...I am better protected for being so diligent in my food choices!

Hear hear to that!

Bea

RiceGuy Collaborator

I tend to agree about the media blowing this out of proportion.

According to the CDC, approximately 35,000 (or is it 36,000?) people die every year from the flu. I find it interesting also, that when there was a "shortage" of vaccine a few years ago, the number of deaths attributed to the flu was below average. Most deaths however, are of the very young and very old. One of the most hi-risk groups for contacting the flu, are nurses. And hospitals are a very common place for the spread of infectious diseases.

Let's keep in mind that pharmaceutical companies spend huge amounts of money on advertising. Major media companies like to keep their customers happy, and reporting on the spread of infectious disease not only fulfills this goal, but fills the airtime devoted to news stories. They like a media frenzy. It gets people to tune in. It generates revenue - not just once, but twice, since it gets people scared enough to get shots and take medications.

As others have stated, hand washing is one of the best thing you can do. That, and avoiding places where sick people are. And if you do get sick - stay home!

Lisa16 Collaborator

Iiiit's heeere!

Less than 20 miles from the large university where I teach-- a confirmed case.

Students are quite worried.

Just in time for finals week!

Well... I certainly hope Gemini et al.are correct. I agree about the media. I call the local news channels "horror mongers"-- they tend to get pretty excited around here about things like severe weather that never manifests and pandemics that fizzle.

That said, it does warrant watching and there is a danger in pooh-poohing the risk too. How tragic it would be if we all got wiped out by a media that cried wolf too many times. And many people will come into work or to class even though they are feeling sick. That is what our ethic teaches us. We are full of contradictions.

Here's hoping it comes to nothing. But if you have a fever of 104 you definitely need to go see the doctor and for goodness' sake don't go to work or to class!

mommida Enthusiast

My husband's company is pulling out employees out of Mexico. The last man out should fly in on Saturday.

The actions that are taking place right now are the actions that determine the future (pandemic or not). The company is acting on the threat that travel in and out of Mexico may be cut off. The employees don't deserve to get stuck in Mexico :blink: , but they may be bringing H1N1 to the US.

By the way, if you want to wear a mask, you would only get protection from a mask that guards against TB. Very uncomfortable and Hard to breathe in. ;)


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whitball Explorer

I'm not one to freak out about stuff on a regular basis, but this issue does concern me. Because of the genetics of this virus and that this has not been seen before is scary. The virus will mutate. Hopefully not into a super virus. To be cautious is good and to have a few days supply of necessities on hand is wise also, in the event that people do panic and make a mad dash to the grocery store if this becomes a bigger problem.

lizard00 Enthusiast

I found this article to be very interesting; with info coming from WHO via BBC.

Open Original Shared Link

Tim-n-VA Contributor

Just for reference:

The World Health Organization website is: Open Original Shared Link

The US Centers for Disease Control website is: Open Original Shared Link

Note: I didn't read the article linked above, just wanted to distinguish between a BBC (or any other news) article about the WHO and the direct WHO info.

lizard00 Enthusiast
Just for reference:

The World Health Organization website is: Open Original Shared Link

The US Centers for Disease Control website is: Open Original Shared Link

Note: I didn't read the article linked above, just wanted to distinguish between a BBC (or any other news) article about the WHO and the direct WHO info.

Pardon my poor choice of wording, it was getting late. The article is from the BBC with direct quotations from the WHO. I didn't mean to imply that it was directly from the WHO.

Sorry for any confusion!

happygirl Collaborator

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    • marion wheaton
      Thanks for responding. I researched further and Lindt Lindor chocolate balls do contain barely malt powder which contains gluten. I was surprised at all of the conflicting information I found when I checked online.
    • trents
      @BlessedinBoston, it is possible that in Canada the product in question is formulated differently than in the USA or at least processed in in a facility that precludes cross contamination. I assume from your user name that you are in the USA. And it is also possible that the product meets the FDA requirement of not more than 20ppm of gluten but you are a super sensitive celiac for whom that standard is insufficient. 
    • BlessedinBoston
      No,Lindt is not gluten free no matter what they say on their website. I found out the hard way when I was newly diagnosed in 2000. At that time the Lindt truffles were just becoming popular and were only sold in small specialty shops at the mall. You couldn't buy them in any stores like today and I was obsessed with them 😁. Took me a while to get around to checking them and was heartbroken when I saw they were absolutely not gluten free 😔. Felt the same when I realized Twizzlers weren't either. Took me a while to get my diet on order after being diagnosed. I was diagnosed with small bowel non Hodgkins lymphoma at the same time. So it was a very stressful time to say the least. Hope this helps 😁.
    • knitty kitty
      @Jmartes71, I understand your frustration and anger.  I've been in a similar situation where no doctor took me seriously, accused me of making things up, and eventually sent me home to suffer alone.   My doctors did not recognize nutritional deficiencies.  Doctors are trained in medical learning institutions that are funded by pharmaceutical companies.  They are taught which medications cover up which symptoms.  Doctors are required to take twenty  hours of nutritional education in seven years of medical training.  (They can earn nine hours in Nutrition by taking a three day weekend seminar.)  They are taught nutritional deficiencies are passe' and don't happen in our well fed Western society any more.  In Celiac Disease, the autoimmune response and inflammation affects the absorption of ALL the essential vitamins and minerals.  Correcting nutritional deficiencies caused by malabsorption is essential!  I begged my doctor to check my Vitamin D level, which he did only after making sure my insurance would cover it.  When my Vitamin D came back extremely low, my doctor was very surprised, but refused to test for further nutritional deficiencies because he "couldn't make money prescribing vitamins.". I believe it was beyond his knowledge, so he blamed me for making stuff up, and stormed out of the exam room.  I had studied Nutrition before earning a degree in Microbiology.  I switched because I was curious what vitamins from our food were doing in our bodies.  Vitamins are substances that our bodies cannot manufacture, so we must ingest them every day.  Without them, our bodies cannot manufacture life sustaining enzymes and we sicken and die.   At home alone, I could feel myself dying.  It's an unnerving feeling, to say the least, and, so, with nothing left to lose, I relied in my education in nutrition.  My symptoms of Thiamine deficiency were the worst, so I began taking high dose Thiamine.  I had health improvement within an hour.  It was magical.  I continued taking high dose thiamine with a B Complex, magnesium. and other essential nutrients.  The health improvements continued for months.  High doses of thiamine are required to correct a thiamine deficiency because thiamine affects every cell and mitochondria in our bodies.    A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function.  The cerebellum of the brain is most affected.  The cerebellum controls things we don't have to consciously have to think about, like digestion, balance, breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, hormone regulation, and many more.  Thiamine is absorbed from the digestive tract and sent to the most important organs like the brain and the heart.  This leaves the digestive tract depleted of Thiamine and symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a thiamine deficiency localized in the digestive system, begin to appear.  Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi include anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, headaches, Gerd, acid reflux, gas, slow stomach emptying, gastroparesis, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation, incontinence, abdominal pain, IBS,  SIBO, POTS, high blood pressure, heart rate changes like tachycardia, difficulty swallowing, Barrett's Esophagus, peripheral neuropathy, and more. Doctors are only taught about thiamine deficiency in alcoholism and look for the classic triad of symptoms (changes in gait, mental function, and nystagmus) but fail to realize that gastrointestinal symptoms can precede these symptoms by months.  All three classic triad of symptoms only appear in fifteen percent of patients, with most patients being diagnosed with thiamine deficiency post mortem.  I had all three but swore I didn't drink, so I was dismissed as "crazy" and sent home to die basically.   Yes, I understand how frustrating no answers from doctors can be.  I took OTC Thiamine Hydrochloride, and later thiamine in the forms TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) and Benfotiamine to correct my thiamine deficiency.  I also took magnesium, needed by thiamine to make those life sustaining enzymes.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins, so the other B vitamins must be supplemented as well.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   A doctor can administer high dose thiamine by IV along with the other B vitamins.  Again, Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine should be given if only to rule Gastrointestinal Beriberi out as a cause of your symptoms.  If no improvement, no harm is done. Share the following link with your doctors.  Section Three is especially informative.  They need to be expand their knowledge about Thiamine and nutrition in Celiac Disease.  Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for thiamine deficiency.  This test is more reliable than a blood test. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Best wishes!
    • Jmartes71
      I have been diagnosed with celiac in 1994, in remission not eating wheat and other foods not to consume  my household eats wheat.I have diagnosed sibo, hernia ibs, high blood pressure, menopause, chronic fatigue just to name a few oh yes and Barrett's esophagus which i forgot, I currently have bumps in back of my throat, one Dr stated we all have bumps in the back of our throat.Im in pain.Standford specialist really dismissed me and now im really in limbo and trying to get properly cared for.I found a new gi and new pcp but its still a mess and medical is making it look like im a disability chaser when Im actively not well I look and feel horrible and its adding anxiety and depression more so.Im angery my condition is affecting me and its being down played 
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