Going Gluten Free On Friday

[Harpgirl]

I'm going to have the blood test done for celiac on Friday. I've been having severe abdominal cramping and other symptoms for several months now and after a sonogram, endoscopy, hida scan, and colonoscopy, all coming back normal, my dr wants to diagnose me with IBS. The thing is, I can't seem to figure out what my "trigger" foods are. Just before my colonoscopy, I learned about celiac and that my grandmother has it. It never came up in any of my visits with my GI dr and that's a bit frustrating. After reading several posts here, though, I've decided to go gluten-free right after they take my blood anyway, because even if it comes back negative, that doesn't seem to mean much.

I was wondering, since I'm so new to this, can anyone recommend some good books to read on the matter? Preferrably some that have some good recipies in them? Thanks!

[ravenwoodglass]

Dangerous Grains is a good one and I like Bette Hagmans cook book although I find I rarely use it now. There are some good flour mixes around, I like Tom Sawyer for stuff like scalloped potatoes and Pamela's Baking Mix for stuff like muffins etc. So with the mixes a lot of regular recipes can easily be converted to gluten free without having to buy lots of different flours. Do check out the recipe section of the board as they have some good ideas there also.

[GFinDC]

There is scads of good info on this site you can read. More current than any book. Plenty of recipes too.

[Harpgirl]

Thanks Ravenwoodglass I wonder if I can get those on my ereader...

GFinDC, yeah, I'm definitely finding great info here, and as reasearch does seem to change findings frequently, I know it's a good idea to keep coming back. But when my computer's not handy, I just wanted to have a book available too.

[sa1937]

Possible books:

Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic by Dr. Peter Green

Living Gluten-Free for Dummies by Danna Korn

A book I wish I had bought:

The First Year: Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-Free: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Jules Shepard

ETA: But I think you'll find this forum one of the better places to get helpful info. So just read, read, read. And check the recipes, too.

[Harpgirl]

Thanks Sylvia, I'm a big fan of the Dummies books, so I'll definitly look for that one and the "First year" one too.

[love2travel]

Others have given you great suggestions. FYI there is no need to purchase many gluten-free cookbooks as lots of recipes are already naturally gluten-free or so easy to change (i.e. just use gluten-free soy sauce). gluten-free baking books are a different story. I would recommend Annalise Roberts, the CIA book or Blackbird Bakery - Gluten Free. There are some very good ones out there. There are hundreds of excellent websites, too, that include fabulous recipes. I could list tons but a favourite is Open Original Shared Link

[Cara in Boston]

All good book suggestions already. Check your library before buying them.

Another great book (still learning after reading ALL the others) is "REAL LIFE WITH CELIAC DISEASE, Troubleshooting and Thriving Gluten Free" by Melinda Dennis and Daniel Leffler. I ended up buying this one because it is so comprehensive - so I can share it with extended family.

Cara

[Harpgirl]

Thanks again everyone! I'm actually really looking forward to going gluten free as I really believe that's my problem. So I had my last slice of key lime pie tonight for both my birthday and a farewell to gluten. My taste buds loved it, but if I could cartoonize my gut, it would be looking up at me dolefully saying "Again? Why?" lol I hope to find a good gluten-free key lime recipe one day. But I'm more interested in finally eating without pain!

[ravenwoodglass]

Thanks again everyone! I'm actually really looking forward to going gluten free as I really believe that's my problem. So I had my last slice of key lime pie tonight for both my birthday and a farewell to gluten. My taste buds loved it, but if I could cartoonize my gut, it would be looking up at me dolefully saying "Again? Why?" lol I hope to find a good gluten-free key lime recipe one day. But I'm more interested in finally eating without pain!

Happy Birthday! The filling for Key Lime Pie is likely already gluten free so you only need to find a crust you like. There are cookies that can be crushed, pie shells that are ready made and I am sure someone has posted a pie crust recipe or ask for one in the recipes section. I'm sure within a couple months or so you will be eating a yummy key lime pie that doesn't make your tummy go 'Oh NO!' Hopefully you will recover quickly but some of us do have some ups and downs for a bit. If you get a bit moody for a couple weeks hang in there as it will lift.

[Harpgirl]

Well it's the end of my first day, and already, my cramping, while not totally gone, is certainly not as intense as usual this time of night. Other than SoyJoy bars while out and about, I kept it simple with mostly whole foods, and the thing I'm finding the most challenging is getting my 3 year old to understand that mommy can't eat certain food. My grannie took us out to a tea room for lunch and he threw his bit of scone into my cobb salad. Fortunately scones aren't very crumbly, but I realize I have to somehow make him understand that he simply can't do that. Today's only the first day, but if he does that a month or two from now, I may really feel the trace gluten. Anyone else been there with young boys?

[Harpgirl]

Oh, and thanks for the birthday wishes Ravenwoodglass! I've actually never made my own key lime pie before, which is weird because it's my favorite, but obviously, I'll be giving it a try soon. lol I'm sure it will be easy enough to find an apropriate pie crust.

[Harpgirl]

Oh, I just thought of something, some meds and suppliments may have glucose, right? I've been taking Ranitidine (though it obviously doesn't work as well as I'd like), prenatal vitamins and Expecta, as I'm still nursing my 16 month old. The labels don't say anything about gluten (the Ranitidine is a prescription and I've already thrown away the info), but is there anything specific I should be looking for? Thanks.

[Roda]

Look on your RX bottle it should have the manufacture listed or you could call your pharmacy and find out. I tood RX Ranitidine last year for two months to heal an ulcer. The generic I took was gluten free but I don't remember the brand. It might be easier for you since you have little kids to give them gluten free snacks to eat while you are with them. Little kids are notorious for touching everthing. You could potentially get cc'd from something they touched after eating a gluteny snack (ie toy, door knob, remote and you touch it then eat a nice gluten free sandwich and bam, your cc'd). Since there is family history It might not be a bad idea to get them screened. However in young children blood work can be higher with false negatives. Is your grandmother gluten free too?

edited to include another question.

[Harpgirl]

Hmmm, maybe I'll try my 3 year old on Larabars and Soyjoy. He likes the FiberOne bars I used to eat. He is such a picky eater, that the only things I can think of that he'll eat without gluten is applesauce, bananas, and an occasional hotdog. I tried to give him some of my chicken from my salad and he spit it out. He wouldn't even eat the marshmallows from the ambrosia salad. My 1 year old, on the other hand, ate up all the ambrosia. lol I didn't even get a bite!

[Harpgirl]

Yes, but not the grandmother that took us to lunch today. This one's diabetic, but she's had enough GI issues in her life that I wouldn't be surprised if she had celiac too. But at 87 years old, I don't think she would be interested in changing her diet yet again even if she had it.

[Harpgirl]

LOL My husband already gave me a goofy nickname: Gluten Mutant. He may regret that if my withdrawls are as bad as some of these other people I've been reading on!

[Harpgirl]

Oh, I just thought of something, some meds and suppliments may have glucose, right? I've been taking Ranitidine (though it obviously doesn't work as well as I'd like), prenatal vitamins and Expecta, as I'm still nursing my 16 month old. The labels don't say anything about gluten (the Ranitidine is a prescription and I've already thrown away the info), but is there anything specific I should be looking for? Thanks.

I think this question got lost, so I'm pulling it down here. I still would like to know if anyone knows what I should look for in the vitamins, please.

[ravenwoodglass]

I think this question got lost, so I'm pulling it down here. I still would like to know if anyone knows what I should look for in the vitamins, please.

You may want to call the maker and ask about the gluten statis of the meds and supplements. Some will say they are gluten, soy etc free on the label but I don't know about the ones your taking. Some supplements can have wheat and barley grass and still be labeled gluten free so do read all ingredients. As for the script the bottle may have the maker and if it does do a search with the companies name and the words contact information and you should be able to get a phone number. Some pharmaceys will check gluten statis for you but some don't so personally I always double check.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I think this question got lost, so I'm pulling it down here. I still would like to know if anyone knows what I should look for in the vitamins, please.

As Raven said you should contact the manufacturers to find out the gluten-free status (unless they say gluten-free on them). Avoid anything that is labeled gluten-free but has wheat grass or barley grass. There are not any regulations regarding labeling of gluten-free viatmins and medications so the comapnies can get away with calling items containing wheat grass/barley grass as gluten-free. But they are not really safe for celiacs to use.

[Roda]

Look on your RX bottle it should have the manufacture listed or you could call your pharmacy and find out. I tood RX Ranitidine last year for two months to heal an ulcer. The generic I took was gluten free but I don't remember the brand.

Here is what I worte to your question earlier. I'm reposing it for you to see.

[Harpgirl]

Great! Thanks for the info guys! It looks like I'm good with what I've got.