VioletBlue

I too dislike all food related TV commercials. None of the stuff in commercials is ever edible by me. On the flip side I get a small thrill out of knowing they paid to place that commercial in front of me without knowing I can't and would never eat their products. They waste a few pennies every time I watch one of them. At least they pay in some small way for the privledge of annoying me

Violet

I have a problem with corn. Things like whole corn kernals or popcorn or cornstarch pass through my body in record time, under fifteen minutes from first ingestion. This was how I can to realize that powdered sugar contains conrstarch I seem to be able to tolerate things like organic corn flour in small amounts, but not ground corn. For awhile I was able to eat rice chips that had small amounts of corn in them in place or corn tortillas, but now that I'm allergic to sunflower, and hence sunflower oil, there isn't a chip out there I can eat. There's pretty much no point to Mexican food at all. I miss that dearly.

Pamela's pancake baking mix does not contain corn, but relies on rice and tapioca flour and potato starch. It makes good muffins and cookies as well as pancakes. The recipes are on the bag.

Violet

Yes, that is a little odd and uncomfortable to watch.

I remember the first time back in 2003 when I joined several email lists full of firefighters and what I would call professional "fire chasers". I was rather stunned by their fascination with pictures of fires. Many of them have vast collections of fire pictures. Some of them drool over fire pictures the way other men drool over Playboy. That still concerns me sometimes, LOL.

Still I wish that were the most inappropriate thing I've seen or heard so far this . Fires always bring the wackos and attention seeks out of the woodwork it seems. And it's almost always hardest on the people just trying to get throught he day.

I sympathize with you entirely. I can not imagine what it must be like to lose your home.

Here's an example of a family who does not seem to feel the same way. They did this by placing the most inappropriate music to pictures of the fire in their area. I was pretty much disgusted when listening to pretty much a dance song being played to pictures of a disaster that is affecting so many people in so many terrible ways. Sorry to depress you but I need to vent this somewhere.

Don't worry, it's not a spam site or a porn link. It's merely the owner of the website who has posted this video to show his friends and family. Unfortunately I feel he's coming off in an entirely different fashion than he might think.

Open Original Shared Link

God bless all the families involved in this horrific disaster.

The flip side to this are people who consistently post nothing but roses and sunshine about this disease.

Let's be reasonable about it. It's not abject misery, but it is not a walk in the park either. No one appreciates having either side of the coin held up to them as the gold standard for how they should get through their life. I would frankly worry about anyone who consistently walked either side of the line.

No one is unduly criticizing anyone and you should have enough sense to see that. I can honestly see why so many people get stuck and have a really hard time with this lifestyle, from the reaction of some here. I am not comparing my life to theirs either....everyone on this forum comes forth with their story but it would seem only certain ones are popular.....those that focus on the bad.

Read what I am saying.....everyone has a right to feel bad over this and go through their time of healing and renewal. But when you post on a forum consistently with negativity regarding this disease state and get stuck in your path to healing, even a doctor will urge you to seek counseling or help of some kind to assist you to overcome whatever it is that has you there. I suppose you would take that as criticism?

My story was to show some that there is a bright lining to everything and things could truly be worse, not to criticize their bouts of anger and depression on feeling deprived. There is another concern here also....many of the posters have children, which means those children could end up developing celiac disease also. How a parent reacts and behaves to their own diagnosis will directly impact how your child perceives a possible diagnosis for themselves. Food for thought but I am sure there will be those that think I'm being mean for stating the obvious.

Use this as an excuse to buy an expensive ice cream maker and make your own ice cream. I did Best thing I ever did. Haagen Daze vanilla and chocolate are also gluten free.

violet

OK, I just did a search here and found this thread: Open Original Shared Link

It looks like vanilla is probably ok, but not chocolate. I'd be very careful though and try to get more information. Probably won't hurt tonight.

I did make a grocery run Tuesday. I was afraid the fires would start to impact deliveries to the local stores, and or we'd wind up with a voluntary evacuation which would also make food deliveries hard, or I would actually have to evacuate. I hit the grocery store and the organic store and stocked up on the staples. I've got a large plastic storage container that I started keeping stocked with emergency supplies after the 2003 fires when I was evacuated. I've got canned tuna and chicken, canned gluten-free fruits and veggies, gluten-free breakfast bars, cat and dog food, cans of chili, cans of beans and a few other things. All I've got to do is throw in the can opener some paper plates and plastic silverware and at least I won't starve. If I had to be out of my home for more than a week though I'd have to start shopping where ever I was.

I've also come to realize that it's true what they say, this never gets easier. I lived through the Sylmar quake when I was ten, about 8 miles from the epicenter and then the Northridge quake about 9 miles from the epicenter. I was working on the campus of CSUN at the time and wound up working among the rubble in an army surplus tent on the athletic field. Then the 2003 fires and being evacuated. But it's harder this time becuase I've just had to sit and watch friends go through this. I can't fix any of it. The best I've been able to do is netowrk among some of the websites and lists ferrying info back and forth.

So far one friend has confirmed they've lost their home in Arrowhead. Another friend still has his in Arrowhead and my girlfriend in Running Springs still has a home as well. But they'll be going back to live literally with ruins all around them. There are people all over southern california who are going to need a lot of help and support in the coming months. I've watched people from Cedar Glen trying to rebuild since 2003. Many still haven't suceeded. More haven't than have in fact. It's going to be a tough road.

Violet

Judy. Finally saw info on the Running Springs Boy Scout camp. Some buildings lost, but it's still there! You can access it directly here: Open Original Shared Link

Violet

so sorry that this is affecting your friends.

My hubby and I spent 4 summers at the Boy Scout Camp in Running Springs. Loved that little town.

Have you hear about the camp or the town as a whole?

My son lives in LA near Hollywood and he said it's pretty dark with the smoke.

He has asthma so not a good place for him now.

good luck

Judy

To be honest, from my perspective, I'd be way more interested in a man who has a mixed drink or even wine in his hand than a beer. There's a certain level of sophistication involved there. Beer says schmoo and mixed drink says interesting and complicated. And I've never been the schmoo attracted type.

But that may just be me

Is it unmanly for a guy to walk around with a mixed drink at a bar?

From my perspective grief is different for each person, and each person's path through life is different. What works for one person does not necessary work for another. I have no right to judge where someone should or shouldn't be in the grief process because it's an individual process. People have things in their past, in their upbringing, in their present lives, in their very physical make up that determine how well they cope. What may seem like "too long" to one person is simply how much time someone else needs to process what has happened to them.

Do people sometimes get stuck in the process? Probably. But that's not my call, that's theirs. It's their grief, not mine. Have I gotten stuck along the way? Probably. But I'm doing the best I can, which is all anyone here is doing. No one should feel the need to stick to someone else's time table or bow to others expectations for them.

Grief, and I do believe that's what we're talking about, is a very personal experience. I would rather honor right now what people say they are feeling as their reality than tell them they should be feeling something else. Sometimes the most life affirming thing anyone can do is to commiserate with another. Say I understand how you might be feeling, I'm sorry you're having a tough time.

I am in no way intending to sound as if people don't have a right to grieve. If that's what a person has to experience to get to the other side of Celiac and not have any issues with it, that's totally OK with me. However, I have also seen people get stuck in the grieving process way too long or never seem to be able to detach themselves from the food issue and that's just not healthy. They adopt the "why me" attitude as their mantra and are stuck in misery and it doesn't have to be.

I guess I am lucky but I have never had any issues with food....cigarettes, yes, but not food. I have never yearned for anything from the pre-celiac disease days because I had hit end stage of celiac disease and NEVER want to be that sick again. I have found great replacements for my favorite foods, dine out successfully from time to time and love spending time cooking and converting and inventing gluten-free recipes. I realize that not everyone likes to cook but when you have celiac disease, you HAVE TO cook more for yourself so should at least try not to resent it so much. It is what it is. Maybe you could utilize that time in the kitchen with your kids and teach them to cook? Many parents don't even do that today and their kids hit college and can barely boil water. I loved the time spent cooking with my grandmother in my youth.

I know this will not sit too well with some but if the grieving process is prolonged or you feel stuck with no way out, a counselor might be a good road to head down to find out why there are such strong issues with food. People go through the same thing with alcohol and cigarettes when they have to stop using them and it's an emotional issue most times.

I work with a woman who also has celiac disease/GS and she is as stuck as a person can be. She keeps cheating and is always sick. She avoids me now because she got all upset that I don't cheat....found it hard to believe. I have never lectured her on sticking to the diet and tried to offer support but I have found many people who resent those that seem to have an easier time with it all. Too bad because she's a nice lady but she's going to have serious medical issues if she keeps on this way.

Recently at work they have started recognizing people's birthdays every month. They serve a big, gluteny cake and there are 2 Celiacs in my group. Instead of feeling sorry or angry about it, I asked the secretary to let me know what day each month they would be serving cake so I could bake and bring in something for the 2 of us that can't have their cake. It is now my mission to make the best gluten-free dessert they ever tasted so they will all know Celiacs are not doomed to eat sawdust, because that's what some of them think.

I am sorry you are having a hard time with this and hope your healing is complete and you can get past some of the anger over your new lifestyle. I'm sure it will happen and then you'll wonder what all the fuss was about!

I hope they're all safe too. Many are probably without computer access if they've been evacuated. I hope you stay safe Mango.

I'm here in San Diego County. It's scary here. I hope all of our board members from Southern California are safe

I haven't heard about the camp. Did it have a name? There are so many camps and church camps up here. It's not looking good for Running Springs. Homes in the northwestern part of Running Springs have been damaged or destroyed, we know that much. Those would be homes north west of the 18 330 split. I can't imagine loosing Running Springs all together but some people are saying that will happen if the winds pick up again tomorrow. I can't begin to describe how these small mountain towns take on such a life, such a place of importance. When you drive up and down and across the mountain as I did for so many years they become landmarks and goal posts and they take on their own personalities. Used to be if I'd reached Running Springs I was almost home for the day. Arrowbear was where I could stop for coffee on the way down and everyone was so friendly.

I can't even think about what it will all look like in the end. The devastation is beyond my ability to understand. Thanks for letting me vent. I think that's all I'm doing here. All my friends, all the people I know don't need to hear any of this right now. They've got bigger problems.

Violet

so sorry that this is affecting your friends.

My hubby and I spent 4 summers at the Boy Scout Camp in Running Springs. Loved that little town.

Have you hear about the camp or the town as a whole?

My son lives in LA near Hollywood and he said it's pretty dark with the smoke.

He has asthma so not a good place for him now.

good luck

Judy

I'm having a hard time at the moment. I'm incredibly lucky sitting here in this high mountain valley. The winds are blowing right and there've been no fires in the valley or surrounding ridges yet. I know I"m lucky. But I have friends who used to live in Lake Arrowhead. Good friends. I have friends who live in Crestline and Running Springs. They may never see their houses again.

I've spent as much time as I can on the local boards and groups without going nuts. The collective grief of all these people wanting to know if their homes are still standing is overwhelming. There's not a thing I can do or say to help them. I can't bear to watch TV for more than a few minutes at a time. I know these places that are burning to the ground. We've had several clients close their doors because of evacuation orders. We stand to loose a big chunk of business, as well as friends if they loose their dealerships to these fires.

I don't know, I'm just overwhelmed by the grief I've seen the last couple days. If anyone feels the same I'd love to hear it. I know I have everything to be thrilled and happy about. But it's just such a heartbreaker.

Violet

I think you have to allow people to feel what they feel. Most days I'm okay with this thing, but there are days when I'm not. I will be gluten free a year in December. Things happen to change how you feel. Incidents happen, new allergies show up, people are rude to you, a restaurant server gives you a blank look and an exasperated sigh when you talk about gluten. Your outlook may change from day to day.

Every person who comes here is going to feel differently, have a different take on it and be at different places. There isn't one path or one way through this. You can't know exactly what another person is feeling or going through. I've seen enough grief to understand that much. All you can do is support them, you can't make them feel or believe anything. People change when they're ready to change and not because someone else thinks it's a good idea.

Violet

Oh heavens, if she can accomodate a NIECE who doesn't eat red meat, why on earth can't she try and accomodate YOU.

Tell her she can go ahead and throw the shower, you just won't be there. Seriously, all that gluten floating around and nothing for you to eat, what's the point in you going and getting sick before your wedding? The shower is supposed to be for you, but it might make you sick? Where's the fun in that for you?

Or a more moderate approach would be to take a big bowl of carrot and celery sticks with you and when anyone asks why you're not eating explain it to them.

Okay, that propbably wasn't moderate. That was probably more of the "Rub it in the MIL's face" approach.

Moderate approach, take food you can eat and guard it from the gluten and enjoy the event as best you can. The important thing is for you not to be sick or overly stressed on your wedding day. If you can shrug off the MIL and take your own food and be fine with that, go for it. But personally I still think it's pretty crumby to serve food the bride to be can't eat at a shower to honor her.

Violet

Fritos Ground corn, corn oil and salt according to their ingredients label. That's true for every size, but not for the flavored chips. Have no idea what those contain.

Regular beer, as someone pointed out, will hurt a Celiac in the long run whether there are immediate effects or not. Wine is an option as is mead or sorghum beer if you can find it. Hard liquor or mixed drinks are also an option. Wine coolers are not always a good choice because they can contain gluten.

As long as you don't have additional allergies, there are other alternatives besides beer. I personally never drink in public anyway, so I've always been fine at events and get togethers with soda water or diet coke. The whole point usually of getting together with friends is to be with friends, so let that be the focus instead of what you can or cannot drink.

Violet

I went to the trouble to request that the local organic store order some Solea Potato Chips. Not only are they gluten free, they were supposed to be made with olive oil which means they were supposed to be sunflower oil free. I'm allergic to sunflower oil. I looked them up on their website. They list only olive oil in their ingredients on their website. Olive oil is the whole selling point of the chips for heavens sake!

So I pick up two bags today at the store, bring them back to the office rip them open and enjoy my first potato chip in quite some time. They're not bad tasting all things considered. Then I look at the ingredient list on the "Olive Oil" potato chips and it says "Olive oil and safflower and/or sunflower oil.

I guess if I start to itch like mad I'll know for sure.

What is the point of making potato chips fried in Olive Oil, marketed as fried in Olive Oil only to NOT fry them in Olive Oil? Has the world just gone mad or something?

They're getting such a nasty email. I'm so damn tired of this kind of bait and switch. "Here you go, nice safe Olive Oil potato chips" Ca ching ca ching "Oh, by the way we use a mixture of oils like everyone else. Sorry, nothing really special about us after all."

Violet

Glutenous Rice is another name for Sushi rice, Short Grain White Rice or Sweet White rice or vice versa. It's stickier than longer grain rice, and shorter so it's perfect for Sushi. You can also find Glutenous Rice Flour aka Sweet Rice Flour, which is used to make Mochi.

Violet

Rice AND water? I think you're being overly optomistic there

I don't know when it ends. I don't appear to have found that magic place either. I have no words of wisdom. But I understand your frustrations.

Violet

*shudder* The year before I was diagnosed I bought a bale of hay to grow potatoes in. Long story, but it's actually a really neat way to grow them. Anyway, that fall after I harvested the potatoes I broke the bale down and spread it over the front and back garden to protect the wintering over herbs and bulbs and the roses. I was diagnosed that December. When I went to clean up the straw in the front garden in Spring I had a bad gluten attack. It was terrible. I didn't realize straw was wheat. DUH. After sitting there all winter there was a lot of dust involved. After that I bought a mask with respirator to clean up the back garden.

So, from my perspective straw is not a good thing to have around, particularly if it's sat and decompossed for a while.

Violet

Here is an excellent site that rates dog foods by quality: Open Original Shared Link

It's no oincidence that the highest rated foods are all grain free. I feed EVO red meat dried and Evangers pure canned meat to the dog. The cats get Evangers Holistic Pheasant. Yes, the animals eat better than I do most days. I also found a great dog treat from Solid Gold that is essentially just dried lamb lung. Yeah, sounds yuckie but the dog loves it and it's pure protein.

Violet

I was diagnosed last December. There are still days now when it gets to me. I said something obscene to the TV last night when a commercial came on. It was one of those burger place commercials that shows the fluffy bun. This one claimed their whatever was healthier. Yeah, right. I hate those commercials. Hate pizza commercials too, LOL.

But overall I cope. I eat mostly whole foods, very little grains. I keep a gluten free baking mix around and make muffins or cookies with it occasionally, but I've given up on bread. Amazingly, life does go on without bread, and life is worth living without it. I would not have believed that just a few years ago.

It's a give and take process. You have to find out what works for you, and what you can live with. I can live without bread though it grieves me, but I compensate in other ways. As someone else suggested, eat what you like that is gluten free. It may not be a balanced diet, but it beats eating nothing, or eating something with gluten in it. Find a way to bring food that makes you happy and is gluten free into your life.

I used to love to bake bread. Now I don't see the point. It takes a dozen or so expensive ingredients to wind up with a loaf of bread that has a shelf life of a day and doesn't taste like wheat bread. So I bought an ice cream maker and channeled all that bread baking enthusiasm into making gourmet ice cream. And I grew enough tomatoes this year to can a whole bunch of salsa. I've taken up canning with a passion. It's another channel for the energy and enthusiasm.

It helps to be open to the options. At one point I sat down and make two lists. One list of everything I could not eat in every possible variation I could think of. I am allergic to corn and sunflower and a list of other stuff, so it wasn't just gluten on the list. Then I made a list of everything I COULD eat, whether I'd ever eaten it or liked to eat it. Of course the list of what I could eat was huge compared to the list of what I couldn't eat. That got me to start experimenting with foods I maybe hadn't tried before, or had often. The process brought a whole lot of other foods into my life, some that I now love. Every time I feel confined by what I can't eat, I try and bring something new into my diet.

Everyone copes differently. And it takes time. A lot of what people eat and how they eat is habit. You're creating a new habit in your life. I read somewhere it takes 21 days to break a habit or create a new one. Be patient and forgiving with yourself and try and focus on the positive. Hard I know, but it beats the alternatives.

Violet

I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis about seven years ago. It was with me almost constantly. The mornings were the worst for the coughing. And when I'd have a major coughing fit my temperature would go up suddenly and drastically. About two years ago I started having hot flashes. My period became extremely irregular and unpredictable and the doctor called it early menopause.

I was diagnosed last December with Celiacs. Once I stopped eating gluten the bronchitis almost entirely went away. It does come back with a vengeance when I'm accidentally glutened or eat something else I'm allergic to. Cold weather also tends to make it worse, but it is not nearly as bad as it was when I was eating gluten and all those other things I've since come to realize I was allergic to.

The early menopause is apparently here to stay however. But the hot flashes have significantly reduced in frequency and temperature since going off gluten, and while my period is still irregular, going as long as four months without a period, my cycle is no longer the crazy wild insane schedule it once was. I was also severely anemic by the time I was diagnosed which had an effect on my cycle. I've also read that some Doctors believe untreated Celiac can bring on early menopause. Not that I mind, I was really done with the reproductive organs anyway, but it was making me feel old. Now that I have something I think I can blame early menopause on, I'm somehow comforted, go figure.

Violet

I would agree that there wouldn't seem to be any reason why a Celiac couldn't donate blood. The only thought I have otherwise is whether or not that person should donate if their iron levels aren't as high as they should be as a result of anemia. I could see where it might be a concern for the donor's health as opposed to the recipient.

I think the food issues have to do with where you were when you were diagnosed. I was always hungry and I had gained significant weight in the years prior to diagnosis. Now hunger is no longer the constant issue it once was, and even when I am hungry it no longer has the urgent do or die attitude to it that used to exist.

So I have lost weight since going gluten free. But I also don't eat much of any grains or special gluten free foods. I eat mostly whole foods now including dairy which I've never had a problem with. Prior to diagnosis I ate breads and pastas and cookies and cakes and frozen and pre-packaged foods all of which were bound to be higher in calories. So I think it depends on where you were prior to diagnosis and how you choose to pursue the gluten free diet as to what effect the diet has on your weight.

For me the most obvious immediate signs of healing were that the acid reflex and the diarrhea went away. My mood and outlook also improved significantly. And my nails have finally begun to grow again. I think any significant change along those lines is an indication of healing. But then we all express the disease differently, so healing is different for all of us.

It also takes time. A couple months is just the beginning. I've been gluten free since last December and my nails have just only begun to reflect that. All the other things that are secondary like the vitamin and mineral deficiencies take months and months and sometimes years to reverse themselves.

Violet