How Long Before You Start To Feel Better

[New-To-This]

My husband has been dealing with the gas, bloating, pain and distended stomach for over 30 years now. We are just getting started in eating gluten free (about 5 weeks now) and he just had another flare up about a week ago, although it was a minor one this time. He does not drink pop or beer, we have a small glass of wine with supper occassionally. He's starting to feel better again and I want to keep it that way.

I have been making all our meals from scratch, no corn, oats, wheat, barley, rye, bread etc, etc. I have ventured into making a gluten free cookie, so he could have a snack once in a while. Last night I was reading something that said I needed to clean out my toaster, what else am I missing?? The toaster has been thoroughly cleaned AND blown out with an airgun than washed. My husband is having a hard time believing a toaster can make him sick.

I have found several web sites with recipes, but not much on what steps to take when looking for hidden sources of gluten in your home. I have read and gotten rid of spices that where suspect and I cleaned out the pantry, frig, and freezer and sent everything with our college bound daughters. Which wasn't a lot to begin with. We grow our own vegetables, have plenty of apples trees, raspberry bushes and a strawberry patch, as well as raising our own chickens for butcher and I also have a few laying hens how give us fresh eggs daily. What I do buy in the grocery store states gluten free and I read the labels as well. I never bought much in the middle isles of the store and stick to the outer edges when shopping. How long will the flare ups continue before they stop? Is it normal to have an occassional flare up while your body is healing or am I still missing something.

[Ahorsesoul]

Your dh is so lucky to have you!!!!!

[amberlynn]

Honestly? Buy a new toaster. Then you won't have to question it.

I thought my bread maker was safe after thoroughly cleaning it, but nope, got sick as a dog for a few days.

[New-To-This]

Your dh is so lucky to have you!!!!!

Thanks.

Am I missing anything else that might cause problems besides my toaster?

My goal is to keep him feeling good.

Is it true that people can go through withdrawl from gluten?

[Ahorsesoul]

Replace any coated cooking pans, plastic ware that might hold gluten, plastic or wooden cutting boards, anything with tiny holes or crevices that gluten might not be washed out of.

Check personal care products, toothpaste, shampoo, gum, breath mints and supplements (vitamins), anything that might go into his mouth or be on his hands.

I've been gluten free for years and still I find things that have gluten in them. It's in the weirdest places. Took me a while to figure out that soy sauce had gluten. Then I found it in orange soda and root beer. Kept putting on tons of hand lotion because of dry cracked skin, yep, had gluten in it. Who knew?!

I sure do miss the fresh eggs and chickens that we had on our hobby farm. It's the best.

Is the animal feed gluten free? He could be getting cross contaminated when he feeds the animals. Of course when you tell him you are checking out the animal feed he might think you've really gone over the top but it is possible.

[Gfresh404]

My husband has been dealing with the gas, bloating, pain and distended stomach for over 30 years now. We are just getting started in eating gluten free (about 5 weeks now) and he just had another flare up about a week ago, although it was a minor one this time. He does not drink pop or beer, we have a small glass of wine with supper occassionally. He's starting to feel better again and I want to keep it that way.

I have been making all our meals from scratch, no corn, oats, wheat, barley, rye, bread etc, etc. I have ventured into making a gluten free cookie, so he could have a snack once in a while. Last night I was reading something that said I needed to clean out my toaster, what else am I missing?? The toaster has been thoroughly cleaned AND blown out with an airgun than washed. My husband is having a hard time believing a toaster can make him sick.

I have found several web sites with recipes, but not much on what steps to take when looking for hidden sources of gluten in your home. I have read and gotten rid of spices that where suspect and I cleaned out the pantry, frig, and freezer and sent everything with our college bound daughters. Which wasn't a lot to begin with. We grow our own vegetables, have plenty of apples trees, raspberry bushes and a strawberry patch, as well as raising our own chickens for butcher and I also have a few laying hens how give us fresh eggs daily. What I do buy in the grocery store states gluten free and I read the labels as well. I never bought much in the middle isles of the store and stick to the outer edges when shopping. How long will the flare ups continue before they stop? Is it normal to have an occassional flare up while your body is healing or am I still missing something.

Flare ups are pretty common for the first couple of months, but things will only continue to get better. Make sure he takes the time to thoroughly chew his food, this is one of the most simple and most effect ways to improve digestion and speed up healing. I cannot stress this enough. It is especially important if he is eating high fiber foods, which it sounds like he is, because our bodies have no way of breaking down fiber any further than it is already broken down when it enters our stomachs, so chew chew chew.

Pancreatic enzymes in between meals have also helped me immensely, especially with complex carbohydrates.

Make sure he's drinking plenty of water, this is also crucial. Probiotics also help with flair ups.

He is also probably suffering from Leaky Gut Syndrome, you can do some of your own research on the topic, but insoluble fiber helps to heal that, NOT solube (like I used to believe). Again, just makes sure he chews it up good or there may be some abdominal discomfort.

And, get a new toaster.

Good luck!

[jackay]

Did you butcher and freeze your chicken before you went gluten free? How about fruits and vegetables? My freezer is stocked with organically fed chickens that were cleaned and cut up in a glutened kitchen. Also, I froze lots of fruits and veggies in a kitchen that also contained gluten.

I really can't afford to replace all that food. I really, really can't. I haven't been able to work for four years and my husband is unemployed due to the economy with no prospects of a job.

[Ahorsesoul]

I was gluten free when we had our chickens. We had someone who would butcher them for us. We'd do 40 or so at a time. Fruits and veggies will be fine.

Meats, veggies and fruits are naturally gluten free so don't worry about what you have stock piled. It's mainly the processed foods that have gluten in them. Turkey and some meats can be injected with broth that might have gluten in it but if you raise you own that wouldn't be a worry. Lunch meat could have gluten-remember it's processed and not natural.

Anything that might be thickened I check labels, even jelly and jam. Well, I check all labels when I shop even if I know it was gluten free last week. It's a hassle but worth the time.

Have you noticed if you are feeling better going gluten-free?

[New-To-This]

Replace any coated cooking pans, plastic ware that might hold gluten, plastic or wooden cutting boards, anything with tiny holes or crevices that gluten might not be washed out of.

Thanks I need this type of information!

Check personal care products, toothpaste, shampoo, gum, breath mints and supplements (vitamins), anything that might go into his mouth or be on his hands.

Gave everything supsect away to college daughters, lol.

I've been gluten free for years and still I find things that have gluten in them. It's in the weirdest places. Took me a while to figure out that soy sauce had gluten. Then I found it in orange soda and root beer. Kept putting on tons of hand lotion because of dry cracked skin, yep, had gluten in it. Who knew?!

I sure do miss the fresh eggs and chickens that we had on our hobby farm. It's the best.

Is the animal feed gluten free? He could be getting cross contaminated when he feeds the animals. Of course when you tell him you are checking out the animal feed he might think you've really gone over the top but it is possible.

I feed the girls, they are my little hobby, he occassionally collects the eggs, but the rest is up to me. I feed egg mash to them, alfalfa, table scrap such as left over veggies, pumpkins, apples, and in the summer they get lots of bugs, grass, and garden greens.

[New-To-This]

Did you butcher and freeze your chicken before you went gluten free? How about fruits and vegetables? My freezer is stocked with organically fed chickens that were cleaned and cut up in a glutened kitchen. Also, I froze lots of fruits and veggies in a kitchen that also contained gluten.

I really can't afford to replace all that food. I really, really can't. I haven't been able to work for four years and my husband is unemployed due to the economy with no prospects of a job.

Our freezer broke down just before we butchered our chickens so we got a new one. And I went out and bought a bunch of stuff just for butchering my chickens. I store them in a big plastic tub in the basement so I don't have to try and track down suppplies scattered around the house. Fruits and veggies fresh from the garden are gluten free so no problem there. Good luck finding jobs, I know how rough that is right now. Thanks and stay healthy!

[New-To-This]

I was gluten free when we had our chickens. We had someone who would butcher them for us. We'd do 40 or so at a time. Fruits and veggies will be fine.

Meats, veggies and fruits are naturally gluten free so don't worry about what you have stock piled. It's mainly the processed foods that have gluten in them. Turkey and some meats can be injected with broth that might have gluten in it but if you raise you own that wouldn't be a worry. Lunch meat could have gluten-remember it's processed and not natural.

Anything that might be thickened I check labels, even jelly and jam. Well, I check all labels when I shop even if I know it was gluten free last week. It's a hassle but worth the time.

Have you noticed if you are feeling better going gluten-free?

I make my own jellies and jams, and we where never much for store bought processed foods to begin with. I found gluten free recipes for the creamed soups so I can still make swedish meats balls and stuff like that. Yes I was quite surprised whe I went to buy a turkey for thanksgiving and found it had wheat in it!!! Why, why, why! Its suppost to be poultry not pasta or bread! I got one at the health food store about 40 miles away so we could eat gluten free for thanksgiving. I found that natural peanut butter is gluten free but the rest are not. Some of the things you would think are save just blow me away when I see what the labels say.

Overall I am feeling better, but I still have problems with constipation, not my husband though. He now says he as had the runs for 30+ years, it is getting better though for him. I just have to figure out the constipation issue for me. It was nice not being bloated for Thanksgiving for a change , I was always so miserable after we ate, but not this year!

[sunnybabi1986]

For me, I didn't start feeling better until I replaced my nonstick cookware. For 5 weeks I held onto it, unwilling to let them go because they make my cooking so much easier. But after getting sick over and over and over again, I finally gave them to my sister and got them OUT of the house so I wouldn't be tempted. Voila! As soon as I ditched them, I started feeling better! In the last few weeks since I got rid of them, I've progressed immensely, feeling better everyday and finally getting my energy back. I've had a few gluten episodes, but they were from cross contamination at family's houses, not from my own home. I also got a new toaster and threw out my wooden and plastic cutting boards, as well as any nonstick baking pans, cookie sheets, muffin pans, and my old collander. I really didn't want to let go of everything, but as soon as I did, I realized how much they'd all been making me sick! Hope this helps! Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Janie

[ksymonds84]

In the beginning some with Celiac will be temporarily lactose intolerant. Also, some not all have other intolerances such as dairy (protein casein) and soy being the biggies. After close to two years I finally feel great after discovering the soy intolerance as well. You may want to limit or eliminate dairy for a few weeks to see if it helps and again it may only be temporary if dairy is the culprit.

Personally, I have never had problems with any fresh meat (no matter what they are fed) but I do check to make sure that the chicken has no added broth but keep in mind that Wheat has to be listed if its in there.

I didn't replace any of my pans (as long as not scratched) but did replace wooden spoons and cutting boards. I have my own toaster and colander for pasta since I live with gluten eaters. Hope he feels better soon.

[Ahorsesoul]

2 or 3 prunes may help the constipation or increase the amount of beans on the menu to daily (if beans are tolerated)

[New-To-This]

Prunes would be fine with my system, but beans and me don't get along, lol!

I can clear a huge room after eating just a few, LOL!

Not very lady like so I steer clear of them, they are one of those "I may like them, but they don't like me items", lol!

As for soy, I have yet to find a soy product I like, It must be like oysters, you have to eat a lot of them before it grows on you, and then it still can be hard to eat. Osyters is a family Christmas tradition when we go to FL to see the folks. The first oyster is always the hardest, after that they get a bit easier for me after 8 years, lol!

Thanks everyone! This has been very helpful and I hope others find it helpful as well! Have a wonderful weekend all!

[New-To-This]

Okay............. HELP!!! So frustrated!!!

My husband felt good for the first time in a long time yesterday. And jinked himself by saying the last time he felt this good he got sick the next day. Well today he is miserable to the point of not being able to eat supper tonight. Even when he's had the flu he eats something.

He is self diagnosed as it runs in his family.

Its been 5 weeks since we started this and 30 some years he's been miserable with these symptoms. When will the bloated tummy and sever pain stop?!?!

Also he comes in at night after working, has supper and falls asleep in his chair at 5:00 - 6:00 lately. Than is up by 4:30 AM. He can't stay awake no matter how hard he tries. And once he wakes up in the morning he can't fall back to sleep.

Its 6:45 PM and he went to bed about 30 minutes ago, more miserable than I've seen him since we started this.

Worry and frusterated!!!

Is this normal? What am I missing? I've noticed that since We've started this I'm more tired too.

I don't know what to do anymore!!

[Ahorsesoul]

Time for a food journal (keep track of food and brand name and ingredients put into the meal, all condiments also). It sounds like he's getting something with gluten. Maybe a soda or something no one would even consider has gluten in it. Or it might be cross contamination from a pan, cutting board or plastic ware.

[New-To-This]

Time for a food journal (keep track of food and brand name and ingredients put into the meal, all condiments also). It sounds like he's getting something with gluten. Maybe a soda or something no one would even consider has gluten in it. Or it might be cross contamination from a pan, cutting board or plastic ware.

Thanks.

Unfortunately he ended up in the hosptial Saturday night. Long story short he will be there for most of the week. He has diverticulitis and diverticulosus as well as the small intestine so swollen it was blocked and causing sever pain. So sever that it took 2 doses of morphine to get it to a point where it was bearable. When he comes home he will be on a gluten free soft foods/ liquid diet for a month or longer. Hopefully that will clear up 30 years of damage. We will be seeing a specialist to see where we go after he's been on the liquid soft foods diet for a month.

He had the H1N1 flu and quit smoking about 10 weeks ago so his immune system was trying to adjust when he had his flare up a month ago. That is when we went on the gluten free diet. During most of this time as well as the last 30 plus years he has had bloody stools as his intestines where in such disarray. We think if we had known what was wrong years ago we might have been able to heal his intestines with the gluten free diet, but its been to long and to much damage had already been done, and that is why he ended up in the hopital.

I am hopeful we will be getting his system back on track and we WILL be continuing with the gluten free diet. After the pain he was in he said there is no way he will cheat on this diet if it will prevent this from eve happening again.

This is the first time he has been in the hospital since he was born over 50 years ago, so this has scared him quiet a lot.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and thanks again everyone for all your insight and help. I am sure I will be asking a lot more questions, as we live in a small town and are working with a small hospital until he is well enough to see the specailists. Any help with finding cream soups and soft foods that will be tastey and gluten free would be GREATLY appreciated.

[jackay]

I pray that your husband is more comfortable soon and that he recovers fast. Keep us posted.

[New-To-This]

Dear Hubby came home Wednesday night the 16th. We have been very careful and are slowly prgressing from soft and liquids to slightly more solid foods. We are having chicken tonight. Each morning he has gotten up and said I feel better than I have in a long time, and it surprises him it continues the next day. Before if he felt really good, the next day he's have a painful flare up that had him in bed for up to 3 days.

He still can't believe he's feeling this good every day. And I can hug him again without him complaining about it hurting his tummy

We have decided to stay away from even gluten free bread for a little while longer, as we want his intestines to heal up more before eating it. Each day feels like a victory!

And he has a hard time with believing he was in the hospital, still can't believe it had to get that bad to feel better. He didn't have anything for 3 days and them jello, broth, yogurt for the next 2 before going home.

I went to the local feed store to pick up egg mash for my girls and I found an excellent deal on a 19 pound range free turkey ($15.00) so of course I got one! Wish I'd had my checkbook or more cash, lol! I'd have gotten more! So we are having that for Christmas with my gluten free stuffing I make from the heals of our gluten free bread. We had it for Thanksgiving and the one daughter who came couldn't tell it was gluten free. She loved it! I am making crustless pumpkin pies again as they went over very well at Thanksgiving also.

Best Christmas present I could get was getting my husband home, with him feeling good and keeping him that way!

Went out and bought a new toaster, cutting board and frying pan. I am not taking any chances! I don't want him to get sick again! Other than feeling a bit weak he's doing really well. The first few days he was home he was a bit light headed once in a while, buth that seems to have past. Thank goodness! He's back out in his shop slowly getting back into the swing of things and comes in tired, but he's not falling asleep at 4:30 5:00 anymore

Thank you everyone for your suport and help.

May you all have a Wonderful Christmas and a Joyful New Year!

[Ahorsesoul]

So glad he is better. Enjoy this time together.