No Fair!

[luvs2eat]

No more wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oats was rough, but I've done it for 10 years. It's a no brainer. If I can't cook it myself, I don't eat it. It really wasn't that hard.

Years later, it became pretty obvious that dairy doesn't like me much anymore. That's been MUCH harder. You can't recreate cheese and butter. I avoid it as much as possible, but do eat it sometimes.

Now, I can no longer deny that alcohol doesn't like me anymore either. Now I'm starting to feel sorry myself. This is not fair!!

Yea, I know... but I can't even have cheese with my whine!!

[sahm-i-am]

Oh My Word! I am so sorry!! I've been gluten-free for 1 1/2 years now and finally adjusted.

Yeah - it isn't fair. I mean, why after 10 years is this just now showing up???? God, that is scary and frustrating. For 10 years you have been

faithful and diligent and NOW you get other issues? What the heck??? I am soooooo sorry! I can't offer advice but I can give a cyber hug.

On a brighter note - Enjoy Life makes dairy free chocolate!

Feel for you,

Wendi

[bigbird16]

Ugh. I know the feeling of finding one more thing. Last week I realized sorghum is off my safe list. That means no more Bard's Tale beer (or any other gluten-free beer). May I suggest as a decadent treat, a wheel of Dr. Cow aged cashew nut cheese? On your favorite rice crackers (or as plain wedges) it tastes like the honest to goodness memory of cheese. It has tang and bite like cheddar. It spreads. It contains only nuts, salt, and acidopholus. It's expensive, but sometimes one just plain deserves it. Go get you some cheese for your whine!

[Poppi]

That sucks. I would have myself a serious cry if my body started rejecting dairy.

I can't drink coffee. I feel glutened for 3-4 hours if I do. I have honestly found going without coffee almost as hard as being gluten free. Obviously it's easy to avoid but I don't drink alcohol so coffee was my social drink (not to mention my delicious way to wake up in the morning).

[AVR1962]

Have you tried aged cheese? Or lactose enzymes? Dairy was my hard one too, subs just do not work as they have too much other stuff in them that I react to. I hear you with the alcohol. I have had to stay away from it myself and I used to dearly love cooking dinner, munching on some wonderful cheese while sipping on wine. I have had to limit myself one glass twice a week! You'd think I'd lose weight with all I have cut out of my diet, hum??

[Leper Messiah]

I agree this completely limits your options - I have to avoid dairy, soy, gluten obviously and bloody corn too which is even worse than dairy at limiting your food options as almost all gluten free foods contain at least some 'maize' or other corn derivative and that includes multivitamins. So in essence, I empathise entirely!!

Just out of interest how did you determine dairy was problematic? What are your symptoms?

Alcohol will generally be bad to all persons due to the fact it is a mild diuretic, gets into every cell of your body and let's not beat about the bush here...a poison, however mild or tolerated. I would expect you to cope with this relatively mild stress unless you are in the middle of a gluten reaction, where your body - specifically your adrenal glands - are having to deal with all the inflammation caused by your reaction. On top of other things, such as stress generally in your life, your adrenals may be struggling to keep up.

I can't drink any alcohol in the 2 weeks of my reaction, after-which my resistance goes back to a level I would consider normal. I know you say you've been gluten-free for 10 years, and have a lot more experience than me, but I thought it might be helpful to add.

Another thought could be leaky gut, but after 10 years of being gluten-free I think this is doubtful. I would hypothesise that most leaky gut is caused by the reaction to gluten and for any other chronic inflammatory stomach/gut/bowel diseases.

[mommida]

It is hard with more restrictions, but you can do this.

First try probiotics to make sure you gut is as healthy as possible. (I think alcohol and cheese are harder on your gut when there is a yeast overgrowth.)

If these foods are really out it is time to concentrate on what you can have. Hummus can have "creamy" cheese texture, and a good source of protein. I really love The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook, by Cybele Pascal.

[Skylark]

There was a poster here a while back who figured out a gluten-free diet can be low in molybdenum (grains are a major source), which is needed to metabolize alcohol properly. He started on a trace mineral supplement and recovered better alcohol tolerance. Maybe it will help you.