2 Days Gluten Free

[matt77]

Hello All. My name is Matt. I found out 2 days ago That I have Celiac. I never heard of this before. I have no Idea what I am doing. I am trying to stay away from the obvious stuff. I still have this ridicules pain under my left rib. Does anyone else have symptoms like this? I'm all new to this and it's a little overwhelming.

Any input would help. For example, I don't even know if I should drink soda. Or what to stay away from besides wheat & whey and of course Gluten.

[Nikki69]

Hi Matt,

I got diagnosed last week and only been gluten free for a few days so feeling overwhelmed with you. This site is a great source of information though and people here are great

I have mainly stuck to plain meats/fish salad and potatoe until I can get my head around it and it has made a difference as feeling so much better!

A book I order from Amazon arrived today, Gluten free for Dummies, so I'm hoping that will help.

If there is anything I can do to help just ask.

Take care, Nikki

[angel-jd1]

Matt-

welcome to the board. You will find this place to be a wealth of great information. When I was first diagnosed I found it very helpful to just read old posts from members. It cleared up alot of questions for me. There is a great search feature on the board. If you put in pepsi, it will bring up all the posts for that. Or whatever brand of soda you are curious about (as long as it has been discussed before on the board).

Don't be afraid to ask questions, there are lots of great people here to help!! Hang in there, it does get easier!!

-Jessica

[GFinDC]

Hi Matt,

Welcome! Yes I had pain for years in my abdomen, left side. Doc couldn't explain it of course. Said everything was fine. Anyway, my pain eventually went away after going gluten-free. It took months but it did go away. I only get it now if I make a mistake and eat gluten in something.

I think the best way to start the gluten-free diet is make all your foods from scratch at home. Avoid any restaurants food or processed foods. Also cut out dairy if it bothers you. You can make lots of great tasting meals with veggies and meat, maybe some rice or quinoa or other non-gluten grains.

Things to watch out for are hidden gluten in things like natural flavors, vegetable protein, and starch. Vitamins and medicines can also contain wheat starch or gluten. Basically any food you buy that is processed could have gluten added. Since wheat is a recognized allergen, it should be labeled on the ingredients. But rye and barley also contain gluten and are not required to be labeled.

There is a list of companies around here somewhere that always labels for gluten ingredients. There are also articles on the main celiac.com site page that can be helpful regarding ingredients to watch out for etc..

It may seem a little overwhelming at first to have to learn how to eat all over, but it is something that people can learn just like they learn anything else. So, take it easy and take some time to research. There is lots of info here including a recipe folder for ideas.

By the way, as you proceed on the diet your body will probably go through a healing process that can be a little confusing. I had gut spasms for the first couple months while healing. Just a part of the intestines coming back live and gaining some tone after being inflamed and irritated I think.

[angieInCA]

Hi Matt and welcome.

I too had the left side pain but it was a bit lower, just a souple of fingers south of the belly button to the left. It's still there after 7 months of gluten-free diet but it's slowly going away as time goes on. When I get glutened it does flare up for a couple of days.

As said before, this site is a wealth of information. I think I spent my first 3 weeks just reading old threads and posts to try to get as much information as possible. I know at first it's confusing and scary but please come here and ask questions. There are some really great people on here willing to help and listen when the going gets rough. Remember you will go through the 7 stages of Grief ( I know I did). Be aware of that and allow it to happen, just don't get caught up in dwelling on it.

Following the gluten-free diet has it's challenges but I think you will see the rewards very quickly. I found relief for things I didn't even realize were related to ingesting gluten. I'm 48 years old. I was misdiagnosed for 47 years 9 months and 18 days. I feel better now than ever in my life.

[mattathayde]

hey another matt

i also have that pain, its pretty common for most celiacs to have discomfort in their guts. it might be more so of your rib being a little out of wack than any thing else

there are good lists around of things to look for that you would not expect but i suggest to just start off with simple homemade meals that you know what every ingredient is. it will take a while for your body to straighten it self out.

my main suggestions are get a good gluten free multi vitamin that is guaranteed to be gluten-free and try to eat at least a semi balanced diet and you will see improvements. when i started i didnt go gluten-free fully but i still got a lot better and lost a good amount of extra weight. now that i am gluten-free and follow the above i am much better

whey, you dont need to stay away from unless you are lactose intolerant too. its wheat rye barley along with spelt and oats (oats only because they can be cross contaminated in the food chain) or things derived from those.

-matt

[Wenmin]

Try this list for a few mainstream ingredients that can be found at almost any local grocery store....

Print yourself a copy and use it whenever you shop...

homepage.mac.com/sholland/celiac/CFfoodlist.pdf

It reallyhelped me when I first started out!

Wenmin

P.S. Just found gluten free honey nut chex cereal with lactaid milk...great breakfast!