Diagnosed (I Think?)

[abby03]

Hello! I'm 17 and have had the Celiac blood tests and endoscopy done and am now starting the gluten free diet after visiting with my GI doctor a few days ago. She told me to start the diet even though my biopsy on my endoscopy came back negative. She said that my blood tests were positive, that all of my symptoms match Celiac disease, and that the endoscopy looked like Celiac, but the biopsy came back negative. I've been a little bit confused because I thought that the endoscopy results were even more accurate than the blood test. Could the blood test be a false positive? Do I still consider myself a Celiac even though the biopsy said I don't have it? Or do I just consider myself to be gluten intolerant? Regardless, I'm going to stick with the diet to see how I feel, but I'm just confused as to how one test said I have it and the other said I don't. Has that happened to anyone?

I also have a few questions about starting this diet if anyone could help me:

1. What's the deal with Swanson Chicken Broth? I've tried and tried to find out whether or not it's safe but all the info I found was old and the box says nothing. I'm assuming that it isn't safe. I know that progresso is safe but it's so dang hard to find around here. My grocery stores seem to carry only Swanson and then whatever the store brand is.

2. On my first night I was having frozen broccoli with my dinner. I looked at the bag (it was wal-mart brand) and it said "may contain traces of wheat" which really surprised me and showed me that I really, REALLY have to read EVERY label. I didn't use that bag but found another package of frozen broccoli in the back of the freezer. This package didn't say anything about allergies so was this one safe?(I think this was a grocery store brand) If the packages of frozen fruits and veggies don't say anything about allergens can I assume that they're safe or do they need to say "gluten free" on them?

3. Do I really need new kitchen supplies? We don't have a dishwasher but would I be fine with just new wooden spoons, colander, non-stick skillet, and baking sheet? What can I still use that has been used for gluten food and what do I need to get to be my own?

4. Riceworks Salsa Fresca chips taste AMAZING. Not a question but WOW are they good! Especially after tasting hint of sea salt nut-thins which I am not a fan of. Any other good product recommendations? I bought some wholesome-goodness Chipotle salsa last night that says it's gluten free and I bought some tinkyada pasta to try with a jar Prego pasta sauce I have that says it's gluten free. I've read that people have had issues with wholesome goodness and prego but are they okay as long as the jars say "gluten free"?

ahh sorry for so many questions! I'll stop there for now but I'm sure I'll have many, many more later! And sorry if I seem ignorant or a little uneducated. This is all very overwhelming and both interesting and frustrating at the same time. I'm trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can while trying to educate my parents when I'm not even educated myself! It's a little crazy but I'm excited to hopefully get the hang of it and start feeling better soon. Thanks to anyone who can answer any of my long questions!

[Mom-of-Two]

You will learn quickly to always read your labels, always! Most frozen veggies are just the veggie, was there any seasoning in that particular broccoli? I have never seen that before on frozen veggies, just be sure to avoid any cheese sauces, or seasonings and season yourself, steaming them gives the best flavor and texture I think.

My fave chicken broth is Pacific Natural Foods- they have soups and broths, many organic but all have gluten free labels.

Swanson 99% chicken broth and Natural Goodness chicken broth are gluten free but tend to have more junk ingredients, try to get a brand that has natural ingredients.

I hope the diet gives you great results!

[abby03]

You will learn quickly to always read your labels, always! Most frozen veggies are just the veggie, was there any seasoning in that particular broccoli? I have never seen that before on frozen veggies, just be sure to avoid any cheese sauces, or seasonings and season yourself, steaming them gives the best flavor and texture I think.

My fave chicken broth is Pacific Natural Foods- they have soups and broths, many organic but all have gluten free labels.

Swanson 99% chicken broth and Natural Goodness chicken broth are gluten free but tend to have more junk ingredients, try to get a brand that has natural ingredients.

I hope the diet gives you great results!

It was just plain broccoli florets, which was why it was so crazy to me! But it sure taught me a quick lesson, so that's good at least. Thanks for the suggestion on the chicken broth- I'll look out for that brand!

[sa1937]

Welcome, Abby! It would be very rare, if at all, to get a false positive on your celiac panel. False negatives are quite common. If the biopsies were taken in the wrong place, it's entirely possible to have them come up false, especially as damage is sometimes patchy. So consider yourself celiac and make yourself at home here.

I did replace a lot of kitchen equipment but a lot of that is because I wanted some new things. Definitely you need those things you mentioned but if you're talking about cookie sheets, parchment paper will be your friend. Or aluminum foil. A new dedicated gluten-free toaster is a must, too. Basically use good judgment...if you can get something clean, there's really no reason to replace it.

Kitchen Basics is a brand of chicken and beef broth that is gluten-free...my local Wal-Mart carries it. For store brands, you have to read the label. My local Food Lion stores now have "My Essentials" as their store brand and both the chicken and beef broths are gluten-free.

You might also want to check out this Newbie 101 info: http://www.celiac.co...ewbie-info-101/

[sa1937]

It was just plain broccoli florets, which was why it was so crazy to me! But it sure taught me a quick lesson, so that's good at least. Thanks for the suggestion on the chicken broth- I'll look out for that brand!

I think Wal-Mart has added a lot of CYA statements to their products...things they used to have marked gluten-free. So yes, we do become very familiar with reading labels every time.