Yenni

Okay, here is my story.

Didn't want to gain weight as a toddler.

Had constipation often as a child. Sensitive stomach. Skinny. Some food allergies.

Bad appetite as a teenager. It was a struggle to eat some how. Very skinny.

Aches in my knees and thighs off and on.

Late teenager/early twenties I started to get nauseous and get stomach aches when I ate, for longer time periods. Came and went. Doctors told me it was stress and checked gluten and lactose. Came back normal and I was told I had IBS.

I often felt worried and down. Often had canker sores.

When I was 27/28 that nausea came back really bad. I got daily diarrhea (which I have had ever since), foggy thinking, memory problems, irregular heart beat, really bad chronic fatigue, constant bloating, heart burn 24/7 that didn't help with any medication, sores in my throat from the acid reflux I had, ache in my muscles/stomach.. I am sure I have forgotten some of the symptoms. I felt I lost myself some how. My personality changed. I forgot my own phone number, couldn

I react to small traces of the stuff I am intolerant to in food. Like if a product is made in a factory with gluten/casein/soy (in my case) but the food itself is supposed to be free from it.

Are the saliva tests always accurate? I don't know much about them.

I had a negative blood test but positive results at EnteroLab.

Oh, so cute! We have a rescue puppy too. Well she is 2½ now. She is a german shepherd/lab mix.

I like the name Bodhi.

I was super tired like that too. It lasted a longer while for me actually. I had been tired for years but this last spring I was so tired it scared me. My husband started to read about Celiac and I eventually got tested at EnteroLab and it was positive.

I think the fact that I went for 4½ years feeling sick and with lots of stomach symtoms and brain foog makes it take longer to get back on track.

Like others have mentioned before, make sure to check vitamines, don't use plastic stuff in teh kitchen that has been used with gluten, check your shampoo, soap... So you don't get glutened still.

Were you checked for other stuff but gluten?

I got sick from Corn tortillas. The hard kind. It said on the bag that they were gluten free but they make wheat stuff in the same place so I am guessing it was cross contamination. For now I stay away from products like that.

I got sick from a gluten free brand of corn flakes too. It was that Nature's Path too I believe. I thought it was just me.

okay this may be a dumb question but I was looking at the Bil-Jac at petsmart and it says an ingredient was oatmeal. I thought with gluten-free that we should stay away from oats...

I have been thinking about that too. So far I have decided to stay away from Oats when it sounds like , at least in the US, that almost all places that harvest Oats also harvest Wheat. So I am thinking better safe than sorry.

The Bil-Jac Select has no Oats though.

Fresh Chicken By-Products (Organ Meat Only), Fresh Chicken, Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Fresh Chicken Liver, Brewers Dried Yeast, Cane Molasses, Eggs, Salt, Sodium Propionate (a preservative), DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menaione, sodium Bisulfate Complex, (source of Vitamin K), D-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganous Oxide, Inositol, BHA (a preservative), Iron Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Potassium Iodine, Sodium Selenite.

I do not always trust it. I have gotten sick from corn chips, creme of rice and Turkey. They all said Gluten free but they sure made me sick.

I trust the companies that have a dedicated factory or have a special routine making the stuff kinda.

I feed my pup Solid Gold Hund-n-flocken--I never noticed before that it has pearl barley in it. I'll have to try him on something else...which is too bad, because he loves this kind. And his fur and skin are gorgeous on it. It looks like the Holistique may be gluten-free, depending on your opinion on oatmeal...and of course the Barking at the Moon.

It looks like they have tinned options for both dogs and cats that contain no gluteny ingredients....

Watch out for soy (can hide under "Lecithin" ,but Lecithin can also come from Egg and sunflower oil) in dog foods (I see you are intolerant to soy like me). Seems to be really common in even the "hypoallergenic" ones. I have had a hard time finding a soy free on.

We did end up getting the Canidae here today, but it has Alfalfa stuff in it. I am not sure if I do well on anything in the Legume group. I'll have to see.

If the Oatmeal is bought in the US I have heard it is always comming from a factory that also has wheat, so there is the cross contamination issue there. I wanted to stay away from Oats because of that.

Does anyone know if IAMS dog foods are gluten free? I get the minichunks for my dog and they appear gluten free on the label. I'd like to know for sure. Anyone know offhand before I call the company?

Seems most IAMS/Eukanuba dog foods have barley in them at least. I am not fond of the brand when I have heard that they do animal testing.. (Open Original Shared Link). I just choose to stay away from the brand from what I read.

The Chunks one looks gluten free to me though...if I am not missing anything. I dunno what "natural chicken flavor" really means.. I would call them to make sure.

Ingredients

Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp (Sugar Removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Fish Meal, Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Flax Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Fish Oil (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract

It has a lot of "fillers" (in this case Corn) in it. I am personally not fond of that.

For more info on pets and a gluten-free diet, check out Open Original Shared Link!

That is a really good page!

Our dog have been eating the Solid Gold Barking At The Moon for a about 2 months now. She got really bad with gas on it and vomited some times. We went to the Vet, he told us to give her probiotics pills. She got better for a bit but now she is bad again. Our Vet said dog foods high in protein are often hard for dogs to digest (and our dog have a sensetive stomach). So now we are looking for another dog food instead. Hard to find one that is both soy and gluten free so far.

There is one that sounds really good; Life's Abundance. Free from corn, gluten, soy and casein. But we cant find it in town here. Too spendy to get it shipped every month. But I thought I'd mention it for others.

Also Canidae has a free from "corn, gluten, wheat, soy, grain fractions, fillers or by products". Also a cat food. But this brand was mentioned in this thread from before.

There is a kennel that is selling this one in town. We hope to be able to buy from them. The price is pretty good too.

I did a search about gluten intolerance on Google and this place came up. I started reading some and found a lot of good information and VERY friendly people. So I signed up. I think I wouldn't have done half as well without this place.

Thank you everyone!!

I picked up that EnerG Egg replacer today. I was so happy when I realized I could use it (looking at the ingredient list). Funny the things that make you happy these days.

Okay, now I have a couple of things I could try. I am a lousy cook so far in my life. This has forced me to actually start doing it more. Scary.

Carol Fenster's book sounds like it would be something for me. I think I am gonna see if I can find it tomorrow.

(Looks like she has made 3 books? Are they all free of all the "bad" stuff? Has anyone checked them all out/used them?)

Thanks again everyone! Love this place.

Is there a pizza crust that is gluten, casein, soy, corn, nut, yeast and egg free?

I am almost embarassed to ask this...

The Pizza commercials on TV is making me crazy. I have never been that big on Pizza but now it seems to be what I dream of the most.

I am gonna take a stab at that crust too. I am an amature baker so we'll see how it turns out.

I saved it in Word. Thanks for sharing this!

Sounds like a great thing to eat at home. Be able to enjoy the food and not be worried.

I am planning on staying home like that in the future too. Eat at home before we go. Now I can't because we live with family (nightmare).

Not sure what I am gonna eat for Thanksgiving yet.

Dr Fine (behind EnteroLab) recommended Culturelle. Open Original Shared Link

I ordered some, so I haven't tried them yet.

I think they are free from all the "bad" stuff. I guess they are really ahead on research too.

I ended up getting Kirkman Labs EveryDay multivitamines.

Now, it seems they are for kids.... I must have been brain fogged when I ordered.

These.. Open Original Shared Link

But it still looks like the dosage is the same for kids and adults, so I guess these should be fine for me still.

The size of the pill isn't very big at all.

They are free from corn, wheat, casein, gluten, soy, starch, added preservatives, artificial colors or flavors.

How much Calcium do you all take a day? I can't have Casein so so far I have taken 1000 mg of calcium a day.

Now I will probably end up taking 1300 mg..

I have horrendous reflux! They put me on prevacid, but it's hardly done anything. It makes me feel like I can't breathe fully (apparently if it irritates your espophagus enough it cuts off your inhale). Do others have reflux issues? Is this something that comes with celiac?

I have absolutely terrible heartburn. It is way better since I stopped with gluten/soy/dairy but it is still there. I haven't done this for that long yet though.

But yeah, I got sores in my throat and I have been on Protonix 40mg/twice daily for 3 years (before that I tried others that helped less). The Protonix only took away the worst and my doctor asked me to eat another medication in addition to Protonix which only made me feel sick instead.

The only thing that has made any difference with this is stop eating gluten/soy/diary. I still have it every day though, but not half as bad.

I am hoping it will go away with some time.

I absolutely hate taking pills, too. But even though the ones I take are regular sized (about the same size of any other brand I've tried that made gel caps, which are the ones you can open if you want), I have no problem swallowing those. I HATE pills that have any square corners, I wonder why anybody makes those. Those get stuck in my esophagus (or more likely my hiatus hernia), and I have to make them go down with food.

So, If you're anything like me, those hypallergenic ones will be fine. They will let you order a sample for $3.85 I think. I did that before I ordered the large container, as that's a lot of pills (it will last me four month at taking three pills a day, which is what my doctor ordered me to do).

So, I had a chance to try them first. Which is a great idea, and you ought to do that, too.

Thanks Ursula!

Dr. Fine talked about what he eats on a day to day basis in one of his lectures at his Dallas seminar that was held in March. It's on the DVD you can buy (see www.intestinalhealth.org). I'll try to go back and find it on my DVD so that I can tell you. I can't remember right off which lecture it was (he gave many lectures).

I am gonna buy that DVD when I get the money here. Thanks though.

Did you like the seminar? What kind of impression did you get of Dr Fine?

Okay, so I haven't had the money to order any vitamins yet. I meant to ask you both if the vitamins are big in size. I really hate swallowing big pills. Seems I have to work up courage every time...

I saw that the one brand had the smaller sized pills. If the original ones are large I'll go for the small ones intead.

The spring I first got sick, when it all started... I turned in to a totally different person. Besides all of the stomach problems I couldn't remember my own phone number. I was constantly super tired. Couldn't do my job. I had to quit. (I worked as a nurse so I couldn't make any mistakes-I also hated the job.)

I couldn't remember things my husband and I had done, movies we had watched, things we had talked about. I kept on asking the same questions because I couldn't remember what he had answered.

It was creepy. I felt like I turned 65 that year, when I actually turned 28... I felt I had gotten Alzheimer’s.

I had cold hands and feet. Some times you can get that just out of being so tired and stressed.

I have been in this fog for 4,5 years now. It actually has come and gone some and I can remember my own phone number now, but the memory is still bad. I am still tired and that comes and goes too.

I felt I used to be stuck in "how things are supposed to be". How one is supposed to lead ones life. The invisible rules of society. I have dropped that now. I don't think you should even think twice about doing things to take better care of yourself. Go to Mexico! Take the time you need. The rest/life can wait. It will still be there later. If you still want it.

I couldn't find that Chicken sausage. What was the brand?

I meant to post this picture from Dr Fine's online lecture.

It made me wonder what to eat. What is left.. It would have been great to hear what he eats during a week.

(Hmm.. doesn't wanna work. I don't know why. Maybe because it is a "GIF".)

It's on this page:

Open Original Shared Link

Has some interesting stuff on why not to eat it too.

Same thing here. I have been gluten free for a year and a half. I will be doing great for two weeks or even a month and then I feel as if I have been gluttened and it takes me a week to get better. It is VERY frustrating. I am going to quit using shampoo with wheat in it and see if this helps. I also haven't replaced my pots, but I think I will. SOmeone else mentioned my can opener.

I also eat too much dairy and that could be a problem, but that is frustrating, because I am already vegetarian and for weeks at a time I can eat dairy without a problem, so I don't feel that is the problem.

Sometimes I think it is companies that aren't being very careful about CC. I read somewhere that they did a study and up to 25% of companies were not following rules for CC issues for allergies.

For some reason I have had the hardest time accepting that I am SO ultra sensitive, but it does seem to be the case. I am SO much better since I quit eating out completely.

I have a house full of gluten too and still cook gluten food.

Yesterday I didn't eat anything weird that I knew of. I was starving and had a pizza made out of Kinnikinnick bread. My stomach hurt so bad and major indigestion after eating it. I didn't overeat, so I don't know. It is VERY frustrating when you try SO hard and for me I will be doing so good and then BAM! It really sucks.

I also read that some adults can take up to 2 years to fully recover after being gluten free.

Hope you figure it out and I do too!

MOnica

I have been thinking about if it is even possible to get fully recovered in a house with gluten in it... I live with my husbands family right now and the house is full of it. Crums in the kitchen 24/7, the grandkids (who are here every week day) don't wash their hands very well so there are sticky stuff everywhere, they bathe the little girl in Aveeno Oat stuff and do not rinse it of, my mother in law uses hand lotions with oat all the time... It is just hell for a gluten intolerant it seems.

But even if one do not live in a house that is quite as full of it, it seems hard still. Especially if one is sensitive (seems like I am too).

I have decided not to eat anything processed in a non-gluten/soy free factory for a while. Seems the stuff that is made in a dedicated factory is the only stuff I can get away with so far. I have gotten sick from Corn Chips, Creme of Rice.. other stuff that I can't remember now. It is scary to try new stuff now.

Interseting to hear that 25% fail to follow the CC rules. But I believe it. I have worked in a coffee warehouse and I know how bad it can be there.. I have two friend that has worked with food in factories too. One worked with potatoe chips and the other at one of the Taco places. It was pretty bad they said. None of them eat that stuff now.

Sure ain't easy.