sunnybabi1986

I have had to take short term doses of prednisone for emergency control of asthma during forest fire season and severe poison oak rashes, and I will do anything to avoid taking it unless it's absolutely the last resort.

Yeah, the very short term reaction is great- it knocks down whatever it is, re inflammation, but the longer term reaction(s), even with tapering off carefully, is terrible. In my experience, besides the weight gain, it makes many of the symptoms you already listed worse. It will also, long term, tend to make you depressed.

If you are going to change things, make only one major change at a time, or you will not be able to tell what the cause and reaction is. Therefore, if you intend to change your diet, you may want to hold off on the prednisone to see if there is a difference, otherwise, the reaction of the body to the steroid is going mask your ability to feel any other reactions. Food reactions are usually pretty swift, it should not take long to see if taking out dairy and soy from the diet makes any difference in brain fuzz.

You could certainly have more than one thing going on here, but you should get tested for Lyme disease if you live in a Lyme tick area. You also should get checked out by an ob- gyn, and get your thyroid tested for both thyroid levels and anti bodies.

If you have not already, you may want to get rid of soy products from your diet. Soy depresses thyroid function in susceptible, sensitive people.

Many people find that they feel better on a good gluten free B vitamin complex, calcium and magnesium. Also, natural progesterone (not the artificial kind, which is a depressant) may help balance out periods.

You could have any of this, and yet still also be effected by accidental cross contamination by gluten. You may have to switch from eating some sorts of pre processed foods to those which are made by yourself.

Thank you so much for your reply!!

I was tested for Lyme(negative) and thyroid issues(all perfect). I already took the prednisone today and I feel like I should keep taking it for now, until my next dr appointment in 2 weeks. I think he's trying to see if my reaction to prednisone will rule anything out. I believe he's suspicious of mild lupus, but I just don't have the symptoms for a definitive diagnosis. There just aren't any good explanations for my symptoms. He ruled out fibro as well. The joint and muscle pain has become so severe lately that my life has come to a near complete stop. I'm so desperate at this point. I need a real life Dr. House And I really want to try to fix this with diet rather than meds, but I know my dr is trying to rule some things out with the prednisone. At the next appointment, I will talk to him about going off the prednisone, seeing how my body reacts, and then trying to see if I can determine any additional food intolerances/sensitivites.

So for the past 5 months I've been experiencing increasing muscle and joint pain, fatigue, anxiety attacks, mind fog and now heavier and more frequent periods. No gastrointestinal symptoms.

I've been to the doctor and had a ESR rate of 52(just means there's inflammation somewhere in my body, non-specific) and an ANA titer of 1:80(this just means there's a mild possibility I have an autoimmune reaction going on).

My rheumotologist isn't sure what to think, as I don't have any other symptoms. He ran some more bloodwork today and put me on a low dose (5 mg/day) of prednisone. I'm really really upset about taking it because I've read so many stories of "moon face" and weight gain. I've been slim and fit my whole life and I can't handle the thought of being overweight w/a chubby face. Vain, I know, but it matters to me. With such a low dose, I doubt I'll get the side effects, but it still scares me.

In any case, my question is this: Is there any possibility my symptoms could be caused by additional food intolerances/sensitivities(soy, casein, MSG, etc) that could be causing these symptoms and cause inflammation? Have any of you experienced this and saw your symptoms resolved after removing a certain food from your diet? Removing foods from my diet is difficult, but it's sure better than being on meds the rest of my life.

Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you in advance!!!

YIKES!! I started reading this thread, not realizing the old date, and completely flipped for a moment...I've been eating Berry Berry Kix for the past week and thought it was safe-- it is! I'm not losing my mind after all I double checked my box and there are NO gluten ingredients listed. Doesn't mean there isn't some chance of cross-contamination, I guess, but I'm not ultra-sensitive and I've been eating it for a week with no symptoms, so I guess I'm good!

I would email them and see if they have any suggestions, I've emailed them before and they're pretty quick to reply. They do have a recipe on the site for Coffee cake using the Baking Mix, so I can't imagine it would be too much of a stretch to make it a chocolate cake instead. However, I am not skilled in any way at altering recipes, so I won't even go there Maybe someone else has some ideas? I'd definitely try emailing Pamela's though!

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HOoray! I saw some of the new ones on sale yesterday *with* a coupon attached but I didn't buy it because I'd tried them before and didn't like them much...I may have to go run and pick some up now!

I used to have fairly irregular periods before going gluten free (every 5-8 weeks), with horrific cramping. I've been gluten free for 18 months now and my periods have become regular almost to the day, every 29 days! I've *never* in my life been able to predict the day I will start, so I'm pretty happy with that! My periods are also SO SO much less painful, for the most part. Some months I have no cramping at all and some I have mild/moderate, but nothing at all like before I went gluten free. My periods are also only about 2-3 now, compared to 5-6 days before gluten free, so YAY for improvement!!

I use this spray often and I haven't had any problems with it. However, I know that sometimes it does drip down my throat slightly if I spray it too high up in my nose, so *if* you're super sensitive and *if* the product contains any gluten(very unlikely!), it's possible that you may be reacting.

However, I have noticed that if I'm very congested before using the spray, it loosens up the mucus and causes it to drain into my stomach while I'm sleeping(yuck, right?) and will make me nauseous the next morning Maybe that's your problem?

Let us know if you reach anyone at the company, I'd be curious to know what they say

I ate at I-HOP last month and had a great experience!

I did notice on the menu that the the omelets contain pancake batter to make them fluffy, so I pulled the waitress aside explained to her that I have a "wheat allergy" and asked if my eggs could be made separate and without any batter. She spoke to the manager, who spoke to the cooks, and I received a lovely bacon and cheese omelet with fruit on the side. The waitress was very understanding and said her son has the same problem(wheat allergy?), so I trusted that she was taking of care of things behind the scenes for me.

When they brought out my plate, they brought it separate and assured me that it had been double checked and did not contain any wheat Yay for IHOP! OR at least the one I went to!

I would *Love* to see a refrigerated gluten free dough that could be formed into biscuits, crescents, or cinnamon rolls...like Pilsbury has now I so miss the convenience of popping those biscuits into the oven without making a mix!

I have spoken to customer service representatives of Silk a few times now and they have assured me each time that there is no gluten in any of their products, processing, or on their equipment. They don't deal with any gluten products at all.

I believe you are probably thinking of Rice Dream Rice Milk, as Shopgirl mentioned.

I'm 5'1" but it's totally genetic...my dad is 5'4" and my mom is 5'8"...I'm just a *tiny* person

I made the cheesy bread balls the other day with Sharp Cheddar and they were *Amazing*! They also mention on the package about adding herbs to make the flavor different, so I may try to throw in something interesting next time

I use Swanson (but keep in mind, Swanson Organic broth *does* have gluten) OR Best Choice Broth, they actually put "Gluten Free" right on the front of the box Hooray for cheaper off brands!

I made this recipe awhile back and it was delicious! You make your own BBQ sauce, pour it over the meat, and cook in the crock pot(like you did) until it's nice and soft...just be sure to use a gluten free soy sauce like La Choy

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p.s. I just subbed white vinegar for white wine vinegar, I don't think it makes any difference

I had my wisdom teeth taken out last summer and I ate a lot of tomato soup. Here's a recipe that's fairly simple and you can use Lactaid milk to make it lactose free for you:

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion

1 Tablespoon oil

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground mustard

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

3 cup milk

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup cooked lentils (optional)

Prep:

Heat oil, add onion, and saute for about 3 minutes or until soft but not brown. Add garlic and spices. Cook for another minute or so. Carefully add tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 4 minutes. Add milk and broth. Simmer 4 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Carefully transfer mixture to food processor or blender; process or blend until smooth and return to saucepan. Stir in lentils(if you like) and heat through.

It'll make a big batch so you'll have lots to warm up later

I've not personally dealt with Applebee's, but I do remember several people saying they've had really good experiences there!

Just make sure to communicate exactly what you want and need to the server and make sure he/she understands about cross-contamination. You can have a good experience anywhere, really, if you're careful--I went to IHOP a couple weeks ago and had an amazing bacon and cheese omelet, with NO cross-contamination, yay!

I don't know if your meds have gluten, but I do know that antibiotics in general mess up my digestive system pretty badly...and fast, too! I take a probiotic to counter the antibiotic, maybe you could try that? Hope you feel better soon!

Unfortunately, I'm in the same boat as you all...you really don't want to even know how much I weigh, I don't want anyone to pass out at their computer

I've always been tiny, but after going gluten free, I've had a *very* hard time keeping my weight up and I am so sensitive to taste, I can hardly stand all the "yummy" gluten free pastas and breads everyone loves on these boards. To make matters worse, my doctor thinks I have an ulcer, which has made it even more difficult to eat, since I'm nauseous after every meal I hardly eat anything, it's pretty pathetic.

In any case, my husband bought me a blender for Christmas (yay!) and has been making me delish smoothies for breakfast! I can't have milk, so we use Vanilla Almond Milk, strawberry yogurt, and frozen veggies like strawberries, bananas, mango, blueberries, etc. I haven't gained any weight yet, but I just started drinking them last week, so I'm crossing my fingers. I'm getting a lot of nutrition, along with a decent amount of calories, so I thought I'd mention it for anyone looking for a good breakfast idea to maybe gain weight

The Thunder from Down Under is *the most amazing* dessert I've ever had! Having said that, though, I stay away from the ice cream they serve with it, as I'm lactose intolerant...I let my hubby and toddler fight over the ice cream Perhaps you have a bit of lactose intolerance?

My husband actually bought me a blender for Christmas, so I've been having smoothies and never thought of adding the vitamins that way! I'll head out to the health food store tomorrow and see if I can't see if I can pick something up...are there any specific vitamins you all can suggest? It'll be a little while until I can get into the specialist and/or my test results are back, so I'm kind of on my own until my doctor tells me what's going on.

This may sound silly, but what does sublingual mean?

Thanks for the help, Skylark! I so appreciate it

I saw my doctor today and she is referring me to a GI doctor since she is just family medicine and admitted that I know a lot more about celiac and relating problems than she does. She strongly believes I have an ulcer, though.

She decided to run a huge panel of tests to make sure I'm not deficient in anything, though, and they ended up drawing a LOT of blood. I mean a lot. And I'm tiny, so I nearly passed out after they took it, from losing so much blood. I ended up drinking a massive amount of orange juice to replace to fluids I lost and realized after the fact that this was *terrible* idea, since I likely have an ulcer. I ended up nauseous, with my stomach burning and could barely stay awake. They then brought me Mylanta, which I downed to reverse the effect of the orange juice. Another bad idea!

Turns out Mylanta has saccharin and sorbitol, so now I'm at home, dizzy, running to the bathroom every few minutes and feeling like I'm dying (I have serious artificial sweetener problems). To make matters worse, my panic attacks are coming back, my stomach is cramping from the stress, and I'm exhausted.

I didn't know where else to turn and I know so many of you have had similar experiences, so I guess this is an okay place to vent I'm just so tired of being sick and the thought of eliminating more foods from my diet might spiral me into a worse depression. I'm having a hard enough time on the gluten free/lactose free diet as it is.

Anyway, sorry you all have to hear all this, I just need someone to talk to right now who understands...thanks for listening!

-Janie

The last week has been rough. I've been getting sick to my stomach after nearly every meal and I'm having a hard time eating anything. I'm nauseous all day and the past couple days I think I've started having anxiety attacks. I go to bed with my husband and turn out the light, but when the light goes off, I start panicking. It's the most terrifying experience I've ever had and I can't get my heart rate to drop. My hands shake, I get dizzy and I can't think straight. I turn the light back on and it barely helps. I hardly slept last night.

This morning I actually woke up the same as when I went to bed My hands are shaking and I literally feel like I've been drugged. I feel like I'm losing my mind and it's scaring me to death. I got an appointment with my doctor tomorrow (if I can make it that long without losing my mind) and I need ideas and questions to ask her.

I know that vitamin deficiencies can cause some serious neurological symptoms and I'm kind of suspecting that's the culprit. I really don't eat well and I can't stomach multivitamins often enough. My typical "glutening" symptoms are stomach cramps and nausea, but this really feels different. I've never ever had neurological symptoms in my life. I'm actually having trouble typing because I can't read the screen right and I feel like I'm walking in a haze.

Any ideas or suggestions on what to talk to her about?

Thank you so much!

-Janie

Truvia is stevia and erythritol, no cane sugar.

However Purvia is stevia and dextrose(sugar).

You're right! I meant to say Purvia but it came out wrong Thanks for correcting! I won't touch Truvia since it has erythritol.

My husband's grandmother took us to IHOP last week and I was SO stressed out, but the waitress who served us was awesome! I told her I had a wheat allergy and asked if my food could be made separate to avoid cross-contamination. She told me she completely understood, that her son has the same problem. She spoke with the manager, who personally spoke to the cooks in the back who made my omelet. When they brought the food out to me, they assured me that it had been double-checked and assured me it did not contain any wheat, yay! I didn't get sick at all, so they must have done a good job!

These are the kind of experiences that make me feel so much better about eating out. You can tell by the way a waiter/waitress handles the situation, whether or not the restaurant actually cares about taking customer requests seriously and I'm very happy with IHOP right now

Another thing that helps to make you more confident is to *really* stick up for yourself and make sure that they are treating you right and understanding what you're asking of them.

I'm looking into buying an 11 lb bag of Arborio Rice on Amazon since I've been making Risotto so much, but the rice is from Italy and I'm not familiar at all with packaging/processing in other countries. Is there any chance that this rice would be cross-contaminated for packaged alongside gluten products? I'd hate to buy the whole bag, just to find out that it makes me sick I know, at least at Wal-Mart now, there is a disclaimer, "May contain traces of wheat" on the rice bags...is it a problem in other countries?

Have any of you purchased rice from Roland Superfino Arborio Rice? Thanks in advance!