Brand New Here - Have A Few Questions

[wagongirl]

Hi, all...I will keep this short. Just had an endoscopy for upper right quadrant & belly button region pain. It came back positive for Celiac. My symptoms are pretty mild compared to most people, I think...bloating, moodiness, anxiety, occasional hives. I'm a 38-year-old active & weight-appropriate female. This pain/pinching feeling started about three weeks ago and it's not cramping...it's more like something is scratching the inside of my body, sort of a "niggling" feeling. It comes and goes and is not severe. I'm going in for blood work & a CT scan this week. My questions are:

1. What additional tests (if any) should I make sure the gastroenterologist orders? I've seen some people mentioning the camera pill. I'm extremely nervous about having some type of malignancy, so that's why I want to make sure I'm proactive.

2. I plan on going gluten-free as soon as my blood tests are done tomorrow. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a gluten-free cookbook? I'm an omnivore.

3. Anything else I should be aware of aside from gluten-free prep for the CT?

Thanks for your help in advance!! I've been lurking this site since the procedure and it's encouraging to find that so many are having a positive gluten-free experience!

[Jestgar]

Endoscopy is pretty much it for testing for celiac disease.

I'm sure others will chime in with books, but in the mean time, try searching the forum - you'll find some awesome recipes.

And welcome to the group!

[Celtic Queen]

I can't recommend a particular cookbook, but there are a ton of blogs with recipes on-line. Do a search for Gluten Free Goddess' blog. She's a chef and has posted tons of yummy looking recipes on line. There's a link here on the board someone put up recently about their favorite gluten-free blogs. Most of the gluten free blogs have lots of recipes. I still use my old cookbooks too - just avoiding those recipes that have gluten items or making substitutions as needed (like gluten-free tamari soy sauce instead of regular). Just be careful when you're baking. Most gluten-free flours don't react the same as regular flour. So if you're going to bake, you'll probably want a recipe that's been created gluten-free, instead of trying to substitute gluten-free flour in a regular baking recipe.

[Cathey]

Thank you Celtic I googled and found it,now in my favorites. I too am a newbie (blood and scope confirmed). I did order 2 Gluten Free Bread Machine Books. I'm throwing out the old machine concerned w/ cross contamination. Trial and error I'm not happy w/ the bread I'm buying. I did find Udi's brand @ Trader Joe's and not bad. I have thrown out 3 loaves or bread, 1 pkg of English Muffins,1 pkg. buns and 1 pkg. of muffins.

[wagongirl]

I can't recommend a particular cookbook, but there are a ton of blogs with recipes on-line. Do a search for Gluten Free Goddess' blog. She's a chef and has posted tons of yummy looking recipes on line. There's a link here on the board someone put up recently about their favorite gluten-free blogs. Most of the gluten free blogs have lots of recipes. I still use my old cookbooks too - just avoiding those recipes that have gluten items or making substitutions as needed (like gluten-free tamari soy sauce instead of regular). Just be careful when you're baking. Most gluten-free flours don't react the same as regular flour. So if you're going to bake, you'll probably want a recipe that's been created gluten-free, instead of trying to substitute gluten-free flour in a regular baking recipe.

Thank you so much!! I took the advice of another poster and didn't run out and buy a bunch of gluten-free stuff....I'm sticking with proteins, fruit, veggies, rice, salad, corn chex for now and will gradually add in some gluten-free items. Today is day 3 and I feel good....the main issue is the gnawing pain in my mid-abdomen. It seems to be getting worse instead of better =(...it's actually causing me a lot of worry!