RiceAddict

Well, it's 2am and I'm up with bad D and the typical glutened symptoms. This one is weird though, I was in Chicago over the weekend and had no appetite so I ate VERY little, fresh fruit, cheetos, Mt Dew, a Wendy's frosty, and a Mrs. Leepers dinner leftover when I got home. These are all staple foods for me and so not out of the ordinary at all, yet I still have glutened symptoms. Granted I could just have a bug or be exhausted from a strenuous weekend and little food, but then I really started to go over everything that I ate. Well, this morning in the hotel I went down to check out the continental breakfast--you know the type, where there is nothing I can eat. I opted just to have juice. It was apple juice and came in those little one cup containers with the peel-back foil lid. This was the only thing out of the ordinary for my diet in several days. Is it possible that the glue used to hold the foil to the cup is a wheat paste similar to what is on envelopes? Seems a little far fetched, but I suppose it could happen. I would assume that it is corn based perhaps, but does anyone know for sure? I eat little cups of applesauce all the time with no problem and they are packaged in a similar manner.

Whoa! Didn't know about that one. Can you post some details or a web link?

OMG!!! gluten-free pasta at Victorias! I am so going back to Rochester this weekend. Jennas-auntie you are my hero! God bless you.

That's a good point to make about Mayo wanting to redo everything. I see how it makes their system go smoother, but it is a big-time reality check for a lot of folks when they say "I just had that test done" However, they have tried to schedule tests or bloodwork at the clinic for me on days that I am not scheduled for anything else. That is when I put my foot down and say that I cannot take a full day off work to get a test done that I can have done at home over my lunch break. While they do prefer everything to be in-house, they will work with you about getting things done at your home dr. Mayo also has outreach doctors. They travel (usually to smaller or rural communities) to perform Mayo services at local clinics. I do not know if GI has an outreach dr or where he/she might go, you may have to call and ask. I did my initial workup with an Endo and saw him once more in Rochester, but now he just comes to my home clinic for followup every 3 months, it's great. The store in Rochester is call "The Gluten Free Cupbord" www.glutenfreecupboard.com It's on 3rd Ave not far from the big Walmart on Broadway. I know that Valentinos 130 Elton Hills Ln Nw has gluten-free pizza, and I have HEARD that Whistling Binkies-south had red bridge beer, but I have yet to check that out. There is an Outback that has very knowledgeable staff, ate there yesterday and wonderful as usual.

Hey yall! I'm a 20 something going to be a 30 something real soon (AAAHHHHH!!!!) My sister lives in Johnson Co. I get down to see her on occasion, usually looking for places to go hang out, would be kinda fun to hook up with a celiac or two for a gluten-free night on the town.

Count me among the proud! I am a collections specialist at a museum. I've been in several museums over the past few years and it is great. I basically advise as to the best way to store, organize, and handle a variety of historic, artistic, and cultural object. Learning history or culture from a book is one thing, but when you are able to hold it in your hands it takes your breath away. Here is the current project I am leading: Object of the Move

There was athread on Taco Bell a few months ago. When my parents came up to visit we went to the mall and were looking for a place to eat. None of us were terribly hungry so we decided to try to find fast food. I remember what was discussed on that thread, and on others advice I ordered a steak bowl. It was good, but that has been my only experience with them, and it was a good one. It would have to be a special circumstance for me to return to any fact food place asside from a Wendy's Frosty.....oh great, now I'm hungry!

May has a specialist for almost every condition known to man. They also have the capacity to test for anything in the human body that can be tested, and all state of the art. That is both good and bad. If you have symptoms that noone else can figure out, that is good. However, the Mayo system is set up so that you see a doctor and anything that lies outside their specialty gets you shipped off to another department so a quick visit can end up being a 2-3 day stay with tests, follow-ups, and seeing more specialists. I have kidney disease and when the spring allergy season started up I was getting wattery eyes and sneezing a little. I just wanted my Dr to let me know if taking Benedryl or some other over-the-counter remedy would not be harmful to my kidneys. He totally ignored my question and proceeded to schedule a consult with an allergist. "NO!" I said. I did not whant to see an allergist, I know what is wrong, there is junk in the air that makes me uncomfortable and I know what I want to take and I just want to know if it will be detrimental to my condiiton. He was very hessitant to answer and really tried to get me to see the allergist, but finally he caved in and said that Benedryl and others were alright. So I picked some up on the way home and slept like a rock and woke up free and clear the next morning. It is just their mindset to really specialize to the point that it gets annoying. So like I said before, don't let them take control of you life. You CAN request earlier appointment times for almost every department, lab, and test. Don't wait around an extra two days just for a xray or something dumb. Go right in and ask if they have an earlier opening and they will help you. Anyone going to be at Mayo on Aug 2? We can have lunch. There is also a small gluten free store in Rochester, pricey, but they have EVERYTHING.

I also go to Mayo for a variety of medical issues. They were actually looking for something else when they stumbled upon celiac--I had never even heard of the disease. So I had the one week with GI back in November but that was all my experience with that department. I saw Dr Arronson, he was a resident. He said I was his 4th celiac diagnosis ever--what luck. He was great, but I did not get a lot of info from him. I had a follow-up with dietary and they were worth their weight in gold! All the other services I have had there I am very happy with. That is a big place and they can be kinda pushy so just stand your ground and tell them what YOU want, they will listen. Good luck.

I am usually not a breakfast person, but today I woke up early somehow and was hungry. I was thrilled that I would get to try my new waffles. Alas, I gave my toaster to one of my summer interns to use since I never had a use for it, guess I'll have to wait 6 more weeks to eat my waffles. As for the Walmart gluten-free pasta, I had a horrible problem with it sticking to the pot. On the advice of a friend I added just a little bit of cooking oil to the water before adding the pasta and that helped quite a bit. I don't find the taste to be that terribly bad, but I spice up my food quite a bit. There is another grocery store in our small town that caries a different brand of rice pasta for about the same price, don't recall the name though. Renth--what Amy's products does your Walmart have? Frozen dinners, canned soups? I want to know where to start looking.

Do you know about the Great Value brand? First off it is usually the cheapest of all the products, second, they list gluten-free right on the package if it is so. I find it much easier, say I'm looking for BBQ sause or something, instead of reading all the ingredients for all the brands I first look at the Great Value to see if it says Gluten Free and then I buy that one.

I was so upset for months that our Super Walmart didn't carry any rice pasta. I probably looked more than a dozen times. I mentioned this to a friend and the next day he called and said he had found some and exactly where to look. Sure enough it had been there all along, cleverly disguised in a bright blue box with GLUTEN-FREE in giant letters right on the front. Can gluten cause temporary blindness? I'm thinking that there is a trend here, as the Walmart brand labels ALL gluten-free food and now is carying waffles and gluten-free pantry mixes (they are in the baking section with brownie and muffin mixes by the way) Hopefully we can expect more from them in the future.

I can't believe it! I live in the middle of nowhere in NE Iowa and my Walmart had brownies, muffins, and Vans waffles! Holy Buckets Batman! I am definitely writing a letter to express my gratitude. We have a very small coop grocery in town but the prices are out of this world. Muffin mix was over $5. I'm not much of a baker so I never thought twice about not buying a mix for that price. I don't neccessarily think the specialty stores are ripping us off that much. There is absolutely no way to compete with Walmart's volume buying/selling capabilities. Even large specialty store chains like Whole Foods or Trader Joes can not come close to buying the volume of product that Walmart can. So Walmart gets the cheap price when they buy and simply pass the savings on to us minions. The turn around volume at Walmart is tremendous so I think they further lower prices by not marking them up as high as other chains, thus attracting even more business. It really is genius.

Sorry I'm a little late here, but there is no additional advice that I can think of that Doll has not covered. I think one month is a bit of a crunch to try and get a pump and learn to use it, plus you are getting ready for a big trip and we all know what a nightmare that can be. I too wear a pump and it is the most amazing medical advancement that I have ever experienced! The freedom is absolutely unbelievable, I eat ANYTHING ANYTIME I want (gluten-free) and my BS stays in range. I used to live in New Zealand and I had to fly 12 hrs over the date line (arriving 1/2 day before I left) I was on Lantus and Humalog at the time and it was a total disaster. Going west was harder than coming back to the US. I think it is good that you are maintaining control with NPH/Regular. Lantus/Humalog and pumps are not JUST for people who have poor control. It is a lifestyle decision. Gluten-free is bad enough, you don't want to be stranded somewhere when your insulin peaks and be forced to eat a doughnut or something bad for you. I would DEFINITELY talk to you endo about either option, you can always go back to NPH if you are unhappy. I do know one guy in California that was on a pump for 3 years and decided to go back to MDI, his choice. Good luck and take lots of pictures!