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[Alison R]

I'm a 31 yr old Texas girl, who like many others I see here has not been a stranger in the doctor's office. I was diagnosed with "benign familial tremor disorder" in 1998, I couldn't tolerate the medication they gave me and I wasn't willing to let the neurologist shove two long metal rods into my brain and a battery pack in my chest, so I went off caffeine and have just dealt with the shaking for mare than ten years. At 20 I was hospitalized due to an allergic reaction to soy, so no soy since 1999. My health seemed okay......until I got pregnant soon after I turned thirty.

After a second miscarriage last year the dr. found a 5.5 cm fibroid. My now ex-obgyn wanted to immediately do a hysterectomy. I said no. Removed meat with antibiotics and hormones in August of 2010, and my fibroid has shrunk to less than 2 cm as of November.

I managed get away without surgery again, but other things have not been the same: I have lived with almost no energy....sometimes sleeping 18 hours a day (Mom thought it was depression...but I don't feel depressed just exhausted), I've been forgetting things and have to write lists for everything, and not only have my tremors gotten worse, but I have been having mild seizures and seeing spots several times a day. Doctors have been clueless and have just tried to treat symptoms....but nothing has worked.

I have always had minor GI issues and bloating, but still nobody had connected it to possible celiac, in fact I had never even heard of it until December 27, 2010.

My fiance has had his own issues, an itchy skin rash on his thighs for over 5 months, foul gas most of his life, and recurring IBS-like issues to name a few. We spent Christmas day with his family and I knew he would have some issues because none of the food was healthy.....everything was breaded, veggies were nowhere to be found, but I didn't expect him to be stuck in the bathroom for several days and missing work. He thought it was a virus, I thought otherwise and did a google search. Thank goodness for google! I wanted him to go get a celiac panel done immediately....he's dragging his feet on that, but we went gluten free anyways on Jan 4th.

In just over a week we can both notice a difference. Not only has his rash started to subside, his gas and other intestinal issues have gotten much better, AND I'm feeling quite a bit better too!

I only went gluten free to be supportive of him. but my energy is rising, my sluggish digestive system is getting more regular, AND I haven't had any seizures in two days, I'm not shaking, and I'm not seeing spots. Maybe it's too early to say these things are gone for good, but I'm not waiting for a diagnosis....removing gluten has helped too much. I'm not saying I'm back to the old me (not even near it), but I'm hoping to get back to working full time soon.....and who knows - maybe I'll even be able to start running again in the next few months. This year is beginning to look bright for us and I hope to be a healthy, all be it caffeine-free, gluten-free, soy-free, bride later this year.

If anyone has great gluten-free cake recipes, I'd love you to pm them to me.....I am now planning to make my own gluten free wedding cupcakes....I'd like our family to know that gluten free can taste good. (Especially since I think a handful of them are probably celiacs themselves.)

[mommida]

I really love The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook by Cybele Pascal, How to bake without gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts and sesame. The cupcakes are awesome!

If you are going to make them gluten free, why not make them free of most food allergens for everybody to enjoy! Even vegans!

Congratulations!

[Alison R]

Thank you. I will have to look into that one.

My mother, trying to be supportive, went out and bought just about every gluten free flour she could find this week. So right now I have nine different packages of flour and two packages of xanthan gum and a package of guar gum in my pantry (along with several mixes and a small stash of pasta) for a family of two. I better get baking.....don't want this to all go to waste.