ShayFL

For a food sensitivity/intolerance you can use ELISA. There are many companies that do this testing with A.L.C.A.T. being the most widely known. You have to take out the dots when you do a Google search for it. York labs is another lab that does them. They are not 100% accurate and you will want do do a lot of research before you purchase these expensive tests.

The most accurate way to test for sensitivity/intolerance is an elimination diet. There are many websites and books that can help you with this.

For a food allergy, you need to go to an Allergist, which is an M.D. that specializes in allergy. A real doctor.

For Celiac, you MUST go to a regular M.D. for proper evaluation and testing. Or you can purchase a full Celiac panel online through Direct Labs or other online labs (no doctor required). But I recommend going to a real doctor first.

I just have trouble with yeast.

Alas, I lived in denial of rice intolerance for quite awhile. Sigh.....

I am now SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) and doing so much better!!

Please go to a REAL doctor.

Actually when someone is overly thin, they DO need to gain some fat. Especially for women. Without enough fat, we lose our menstrual cycle because estrogen depends on fat. We also lose our ability to process the fat soluble vitamins like A, E and D. Fat is VERY IMPORTANT to the body. Fat insulates our organs and keeps them the right temperature for optimal metabolism. Celiacs typically lose the ability to digest fats until a gluten-free diet heals the intestines and proper digestion is restored. In this case, protein may be adequate and fat is what needs to be replaced.

Good fats = Olive oil, unprocessed coconut oil, nuts & seeds, flax, etc.

Bad fats = baked goods, fried foods, vegetable oils, excessive saturated fats.

Just me.

I didnt come in to question their accuracy AT ALL. They ARE another company making money off of sick people whether the product works or not. The gluten-free industry is growing by leaps and bounds and we are price gouged at the check out lane EVERY day!! The gluten-free industry is greedy.....very greedy indeed.

I am happy to see your opinion. Everyone has value even if we dont agree with what they say.

Just so you know....And I HATE to see doctors do this to their patients......I hope you can handle the Synthroid.....

the doctor said that they are having trouble maintaining the integrity of the strength of armour - to keep it consistent - and so the pharmacy is having trouble getting it - and so maybe its time for me to try a synthetic replacement.

This is something that has been used by M.D.s since Synthroid was first introduced. The argument has ALWAYS been that the synthetic is better because it is easier to regulate the strength. But if you do some research you will learn that Synthroid is the medication that has had the MOST/ALL of the trouble with consistency. Law suits have been filed against the makers of Synthroid NOT Armour.

When the pharmacy couldnt fill my Rx (so I ordered from my online source that had some left), I called and talked to someone at Forest Labs who assured me that there has been no problems with their medication that they are simply making some changes in the manufacturing process of the larger strengths. The lower strengths are not affected. I would bet they are looking to make the larger strengths smaller pills. They get HUGE and I could see where an elderly person could get a big hard pill stuck in the throat.

I will never take Synthroid unless Armour and Westthroid is discontinued. Even if it wasnt consistent (which I have every indication it is and they said it was and there have been NO reports to the contrary), I would prefer it over the synthetic which made me horribly ill.

The backorder on Armour will be lifted by the end of the year. I have enough to get me through 3 more months, so all should be fine. I use the 1 grain size (which is not affected by manufacturing process change). I multi-dose so I take these smaller dosages so I dont have to cut pills.

And there is always Westthroid another good natural thyroid that is exactly like Armour only it does not have the sucrose and cannot be taken sublingually. My husband takes Westhroid.

***According to the Federal Register, no currently marketed orally administered levothyroxine sodium product has been shown to demonstrate consistent potency and stability and, thus, no currently marketed orally administered levothyroxine sodium product is generally recognized as safe and effective.

The government found that often levothyroxine sodium drugs do not remain potent through their expiration dates, and tablets of the same dosage strength from the same manufacturer have been found to vary in potency from lot to lot in terms of the amount of active ingredient present. This lack of stability and consistent potency has the potential to cause serious health consequences to those of us taking these drugs.

Levothyroxine sodium was first introduced into the market before 1962, without an approved "New Drug Application" (NDA), apparently in the belief that it was not a new drug.

Since that time, almost every manufacturer of orally administered levothyroxine sodium products, including Synthroid, has regularly reported recalls that were the result of potency or stability problems.

In some cases, problems result from the fact that levothyroxine sodium is unstable in the presence of light, temperature, air, and humidity. Just since 1991, there have been no less than 10 recalls of levothyroxine sodium tablets involving 150 lots and more than 100 million tablets. In all but one case, the recalls were initiated because tablets were found to be subpotent or because their levothyroxine tablets lose potency before their expiration dates. The remaining recall was initiated for a product that was found to be too potent. During this period, FDA also issued warnings to a manufacturer regarding a levothyroxine sodium product that lost potency when stored at the higher end of the recommended temperature range, and one whose potency ranged from 74.7 percent to 90.4, instead of the required 90 percent to 110 percent.

Problems also stem from formulation changes. Because these products are marketed without NDA's, manufacturers have not had to file for FDA approval each time they reformulate their levothyroxine sodium products. Manufacturers have changed inactive ingredients, physical form of coloring agents and other product aspects, resulting in significant changes in potency, in some cases increasing or decreasing potency by as much as 30 percent. As a result, in some cases, people on the same dosage for years became toxic on the same dose. There is evidence that manufacturers continue to make these sorts of formulation changes which affect potency.***

***Because Armour Thyroid medications require a 4.22 to 1 ratio of T4 to T3, batches of desiccated thyroid are mixed until the desired ratio is obtained. This method ensures that each strength of Armour Thyroid will be consistent every time.***

If I had to pick one thing to eliminate from your normal diet, I would say dairy. It is so very hard to digest even for non-celiacs. And if you never completely eliminated dairy (at least for a few months while you were healing), you may have never healed completely.

You may be able to add it back in at some point. Why not try a 1 month dairy free trial?

Why not just stick with whole foods? Im not going to whip out a blender in a restaurant and puree my food with water and then test it. You take a chance whenever you eat out or eat questionable foods or foods you didnt make yourself. These tests wont change anything.

I would only find them useful for liquids like rice milk. If I drank rice milk.

If a food makes you sick, do you need to test it? Why not, dont eat that food again?

Just me. Another way for a greedy company to make money off of silk folks......

I dont know how any doctor can say something isnt connected. Every cell in our body is connected in some way. If one system is off, the rest of the body suffers. If a disease causes deficiency, then that deficiency can cause other symptoms. And those symptoms can cause anxiety and depression. And on and on it goes.....it is like a domino effect.

Being from the South, GBC is at every holiday gathering. I just have never liked green beans. Never. So I dont eat them. Fresh, frozen or canned. Yuck! NowI t here is the interesting thing. I have had A.L.C.A.T. testing done 3 different times over the past 12 years and EVERY time green beans show up as highly allergic. That blows a hole in the you can only test POS on Elisa if you are actually eating the food. My body just rejects green beans.

I think a version could be made with zuchini or yellow squash that would be yummy.

It doesnt have to be sweet. But I prefer that. I've eaten turkey paddies and veggies for breakfast. Nuts and fruit. I just get bored easily.....

Oh Geez....your Doc. might just win the award for complete ignoramus. I thought I'd heard it all.

Please get a new doctor. Your life can depend on it!

Rapid unexplained weight loss can be the first sign of diabetes. Since diabetes and Celiac often go hand in hand, ask for a glucose tolerance test and have them test your insulin levels.

That is blood cortisol. I did saliva because my M.D. is Holistic and believes in it. A lot of M.D.s do not. So you would have to pay out of pocket for it. So go with what insurance covers for now and save some money.

That melamine stuff is awful. I feel for you there.....

That peachy crisp thing sounds a lot like my cobbler. Yummy!! I made one today. It is all gone already.

My biggest issue is breakfast. I know I wont want pumpkin warmed smoothies every morning. Though when its cold it sure hits the spot. Eggs are out. And I have never liked meat first thing. I guess cobbler will have to be an option. Or eggless brownies......

Yeast was my FIRST thought too. The baked goods you do like dont have yeast.

Sorry we got off on a tangent.

Anyway, yes you should have your Ferritin tested and your morning cortisol. There are 2 antibodies for thyroid: Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb), Thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) There are actually 3, but these are the two you need.

Have your MMA tested as a serum B12 doesnt always give an accurate picture of your B12 status.

These will be a good start to hopefully getting you better soon.

We're sisters there....believe me.

I still hold on to a shred of hope that I can someday get off Armour.

There are people that get better after gluten-free for an extended period of time too.

Fingers crossed.....

Thanks Mia!

I have a bag of pecan flour....but not 3 cups worth. Might try grinding my own from whole nuts.

Wonderfull news!!

Mother of J, if you figure out what "causes" autoimmune attacks and how to fix it, you will win the Nobel Prize. There is no cure. Only management. Just like Celiac is managed with a gluten-free diet. It doesnt cure it.

I am with you, if there is a root problem, fix it. But the issue is that researchers have not figured out what that "root" is.

And I am not going to lay around in a coma 1/2 dead waiting for a "cure" when I can feel great taking a natural thyroid supplement and enjoy my life. Believe me I fought it. I spent too many years of my life studying alternative medicine to end up taking a prescription drug. Those pills sat on my counter for months before I would take them. I always thought I could "fix" it. And I tried everything you think of to do so. I eat healthy. No one eats healthier food than I do. I tried supplements. Acupuncture. Biofeedback. Cognitive therapy. Chiropractic. Cleanses. Skin brushing. Saunas. Sweat lodges. Rolfing. Raw food. Vegan. Vegetarian. Prayer. Faith healers. You name it.

At some point you have to say, hey, maybe there is a way to "fix" this, but G-d hasnt shown me it yet (or MAYBE he has.....). What he has shown me are these Armour pills. I dont want to live a miserable life forever, die and have G-d say.....you should have taken the pills. They were the answer to your prayers. And I am sooooo glad I finally took them. They really did give me my life back. Not 100%.....but man what a difference! Synthroid did not work for me as I had tried them 12 years ago after my daughter was born.

TSH stimulates the thyroid. So as long as there is a lot of TSH floating around in the blood, the body attacks the thyroid. It is kind of like a red flag that tells the immune system...look at me....Im over here. So when you suppress the TSH, the immune system doesnt see the thyroid as a threat anymore. There is nothing to say it is there.

There are many theories as to why an organ like the thyroid gets attacked. Some believe toxic metals or perhaps a virus/bacteria get lodged there at one time. So the immune system attacks to get rid of the irritant. The immune system is smart....too smart. Over time it has learned "we must attack the thyroid" and the immune system doenst "unlearn".

That will be the key, a way to get the immune system to "unlearn".

Now some people's thyroid can heal on Armour. They take it for a few years and they start to get hyper, ween off of it and they thyroid works great again. Maybe a 3 - 7 year rest is all that is needed for the immune system to "forget" to attack it.

Autoimmunity is a very interesting disease process. And so very complicated.

In the world we live in with so many toxins in the air, water and food. With all of the negative energy floating about via radio waves (cell phones, etc.). You cannot avoid taking things into your body that can trigger autoimmune diseases. I believe they will just continue to increase in the future, unless something is done about our polluted environment.

Ive been making that pumpkin smoothie "warm" now since it is cold here. Delicious and satisfying.

The Kimchi I bought is mild. Not hot at all. I did burp it all day though..........cabbage.

I've been enjoying eggs since SCD, but am beginning to suspect I have just been living in denial. They always bothered me before, but I added them back in because on SCD, so many things are made with eggs (baked goods!!). So out they go again!

I have one recipe for peach cobbler that doesnt take the eggs. And a few others like baked apples. It will limit me, but I need to find out if this nagging "stuffy" nose is from the eggs. I suspect so as that was my main symptom with them before.

The dairy makes me swell up and cough mucus (tho the kefir only caused swelling) and the eggs stuff up my nose.

Please share any dessert recipes you have that dont use eggs.

I personally will never take a drug when a healthy dietary change cures me. All drugs have side effects and some arent known for years and can be horrible (liver failure, heart failure, etc.) Why on Earth would I take something that could ultimately destroy my health when living gluten-free is very doable and healthy?

Have you considered dairy? Intolerances can show up at anytime.

New girlfriend or boyfriend whom you kiss that may have eaten gluten prior to your kissing them?