Bobbykat Littlecub

[BobbyKat LittleCub]

Hola, I am BobbyKat! It's nice to meet you all! I thought I should post an introduction, so you can better know me.

First some facts about me. I am a female Native American/Cheyenne, Canadian French; 48 years old; profoundly deaf; crippled from Spina Bifida, Scoliosis, & degenerative arthritis; diabetic; dyslexic; asthmatic; a bit hypertensive; and possibly going bald as well; allergic / intolerant of high acid fruits & all seafood & all poultry as well; I suffer eczema & a bit of psoriasis too; and I'm not skinny at all, and there is so much more.

I know that most my facts sound bad lumped together like that, and I have no need of pity. I just had to get that out of the way because it is all part of who I am, but it's just not all that I am.

But first I must deal with a new one to add to that list, celiac. I have to say it's hard for me to accept. I've had problems with my stomach & digestion all of my life. I've had a bleeding ulcer and GERD, severe pain, and chronic diarrhea for years. No medicine has ever taken has cured all of those symptoms together. I never had a clue as to why the medicine failed me so bad. I always felt an impeding doom, and I even told my best friend that I knew I was dying and that I wouldn't be here much longer. I just couldn't explain to her how I knew. It wasn't until I bought a new crock pot did I get a clue. I liked it so much I made all my meals with it, but not for breakfast. Since I'm on every diet known to man or so I thought, I noticed every time I ate my puffed wheat in the morning I would get so much sicker. My stomach would swell, my guts would rebel, and I would get nauseous. I told my doctor I thought my problems were an allergy to wheat, so he told me to only eat gluten free food. I thought okay, I'll try it and see if I get better. Sounds simple don't it? It wasn't. I didn't have a clue. I read the ingredients on everything I bought. I suffered so bad with the pain, I had to be rushed to the hospital. My pain was so bad, that I couldn't tell the doctor where the direct pain was located only that it was my stomach to my groin both front and back. They did a cat scan, and they found I had both kidneys full of stones and a stuck kidney stone. Now I've had kidney stones & infections most of my life, and I didn't even recognize it as such. They treated me and sent me home, only to have me back within the hour. The pain would not subside in anyway, so I was admitted. They did all kinds of tests, and performed surgery to remove the stone the next morning. That day I found out I had celiac disease from my kidney doctor. It was a disease I've never heard of. He told me that because of my celiac disease, I can't absorb nutrients and all that calcium built up in my kidneys. He also said I've had this disease for most of my life and the damage was great. Then another doctor came in and looked at my rashes and instructed me to take a multivitamin everyday, and added yet another diet to the existing ones and she told me I can't have no gluten what-so-ever for the rest of my life.

Now this is a lot to take in, and I'm trying to come to terms with this. I found a new store to shop in that has food for people like us, but the gluten free food cost so much more than I can pay for. I only have a link card, and not enough money. I don't know what I can buy anymore because apparently most foods have gluten, but it's not in the ingredients list in any way that I understand it. If the ingredient list had listed gluten, wheat, barley, rye, or oats, I'd know to stay away from it. I need to be educated to deal with this. I have no idea what I'm doing...

[Bubba's Mom]

Hello..and welcome!

I think it's best to avoid the "replacement" products..at least for a while anyway?

Shop from and eat the items in the outer parameter of the store. Fresh fruits and veggies, whole meats (not processed like hot dogs, etc) eggs, and once you've healed..some dairy.

There are many things you can cook like stews, chilli, grilled or roasted meats, potatoes,rice,etc.

If you've had a lot of health issues and tried various diets to cope with symptoms, you may only need to go gluten free? There are a lot of recipes online. It's not as hard as it sounds. Just takes some getting used to.

This can be the start of a much healthier life for you!

[GFinDC]

Welcome Bobbykat,

Sounds like you are in the right place.

You may be surprised by how your health can improve after going gluten-free. Your vitamins are a good idea, but they will do more good after you have been gluten-free a while and your gut heals some. In the meantime some people take sub-lingual vitamin B-12 as it is absorbed in the mouth, not the gut. Your docs should test you for vitamin and mineral deficits as they are common with celiac. Lots of us are low on Vitamin D, and some people take shots to get their B vitamins and or iron up. You may not need those, but your docs should test for it anyway.

I'm going to post in a snippet from another post I did a bit ago:

quote

There are many changes taking place in your body especially your digestive system after going gluten-free. your gut can start to heal, which can lead to better absorption of nutrients, antibodies can start going down, and your body doesn't need to use as many resources to create them. The villi of your small intestine may start producing more lactase enzyme also. The bacterial balance of your intestine will shift as gluten eating critters starve or adjust to your new diet. That may result in bloating and discomfort for a while. end quote

Some probiotics may help also. I avoid multi-vitamins myself, and stick with combos of 2 or three vitamins or minerals instead, like a cal-mag-zinc pill, or Vit D, or a B-12. Those pills with zillions of ingredients always make me sick, so I keep to simpler ones.

The pain you described could be the result of intestinal damage. The small intestine is about 22 feet long and has a lot of surface area, which can all become inflamed and irritated by gluten. I had gut pain for years before I found out I had celiac, and it took a while to go away but it did.

Congrats on your diagnosis, you have a chance now to make a new start!

[BobbyKat LittleCub]

Thanks for the welcome guys!

I have many questions, I'm just not sure where to start. Okay, I got one.

What are all the unusual words that mean 'gluten' in ingredient lists of product labels?

[mommida]

There should be a list of foods to avoid on the Celiac.com original site that got you here.

I suggest you add some Biotin to your vitamin supplements. Lets see if that will help with hair growth. (It is safe with no none toxicity level for your body, so is B12)

[GFinDC]

Here you go:

Unsafe Gluten-Free Food List (Unsafe Ingredients)

[BobbyKat LittleCub]

Thanks GFinDC! That will be a big help!