misserinmog

I haven't had any problems w/ Vit C but my brother has. He doesn't have celiac though--he's got an ulcer. You should discuss this with your doctor as soon as you can, because this far after going gluten-free you may not be dealing with celiac-related damage to the small intestine. There may be something else going on in there.

But on a related note--do you find that vitamin C from food causes the same reaction? For instance can you drink orange juice, eat mangos, strawberries, and the like? What about processed foods fortified with Vit C? If those are all fine for you, you might want to consider trying to take your Vit C w/ food, or even just via food. I usually do that--I just get some mango juice whenever I've got a cold, and then get my regular Vit C from my daily gluten-free multi-vitamin.

Good luck! I hope you're feeling better soon, and that you figure out this mystery. I think it's safe to say we all know how frustrating medical mysteries can be...

Hi All

After 2 1/2 gluten-free years I still cannot tolerate ascorbic acid. Even small amounts (under 500mg) cause gut pain and D. I tried to use it sublingually and that didn't work either. I would like to be able to take Vitamin C. Has anyone had a similar experience and found a brand they can tolerate? Is there such a thing as transdermal Vitamin C?

Hi there and Welcome!

I know what he means about not even realizing he was feeling bad until he wasn't. Part of what makes diagnosis difficult is that some symptoms are not things you think of as "symptoms" but as "normal" like bloating, indigestion, fatigue, headaches, etc. It's not something that's alarming, and so you don't even give it a second thought. Then when it goes away, you feel better, and suddenly you're like "woah, that really sucked before!"

It sounds like you really enjoy baking. I like baking too, but I'm not that great at gluten-free baking yet. What I did find was helpful in learning about how gluten-free flours and recipes work is that it's easier to do the first try with a ready-made baking mix, see how you like the results, and then use the Ingredients list to tweak a recipe from there. Since gluten-free baking is less "science" than glutenous baking is, this has worked out very well for me. If you're hankering for something sweet while trying to figure out gluten-free baking, I recommend Bob's Red Mill gluten-free cake mixes, and Betty Crocker's gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are good, though really different.

Keep in touch, I love these forums--TONS of good resources and support.

-Erin

My husband was diagnosed with celiac disease four days ago, which is when we went gluten-free in our house. He was diagnosed when a routine blood panel showed he was severely anemic, which led to tests, and more tests, and finally the celiac disease diagnosis. He had almost no other symptoms, which is fortunate.

I made the decision to go gluten-free with him at home ... mostly. The only thing I'm probably not going to go gluten-free on is breakfast cereal, because I don't really like corn or rice based cereal all that much. I've already discovered that Lundberg wild rice cakes are very yummy ... much better than the disks of styrofoam I remember as old style rice cakes and a more than suitable substitute for wheat crackers, which was a common afternoon snack for me.

We have some things going for us. First, we live in a fairly large urban area, with a lot of good groceries (yay Wegmans!), specialty stores, and a long list of restaurants with gluten-free menus. Second, we are both avid cooks who mostly cook from scratch anyway, so really about the only things we needed to evict from the pantry were my breadbaking supplies and our whole-wheat pasta (yay for Tinkyada!). Third, we like a wide variety of ethnic food, so we have a wide variety of choices. And fourth, we have no kids, so this means only the two of us need to switch.

And I do know I don't need to switch (well, as far as I know anyway), but I want to. It'll make cooking a lot easier. Though honestly, it's a short list of recipes in my usual stable that will need any real changes.

Tomorrow we're going on a tour of some of the specialty shops, and I've got a shopping list from a new gluten-free baking cookbook I bought (Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts). I was an avid breadbaker before all this, and hope I might be able to learn to make decent gluten-free breadlike products. I do understand that it's hard to adapt gluten free bread recipes to a bread machine, so that's a bit disappointing, but I'll learn to bake it the old fashioned way. Crusty bread and beer are going to be the two things we'll miss the most. We've tried several brands of gluten free beer (we started experimenting a few weeks ago when it became clear what direction all the testing was going), but when your benchmark is Goose Island IPA and Stone Arrogant Bastard ... well, we'll stick to hard cider. I know I can still have beer, but somehow it seems rude to drink it in front of him.

So, we've been at this less than a week for real, but my husband says he can already tell his digestive system feels better (I think his exact words were "I didn't even realize I was feeling bad much of the time until I wasn't"). I know this is just the beginning, but if it makes him feel better, I'm certainly game.

I'm sorry I haven't gotten to read everyone's stories yet, it's late and I just got so excited to find out I'm not alone!

I was always a little overweight growing up, but not horribly so. My highest weight as a teen was 174 (I'm 5'3", so that's a lot, but I was a size 16). I then went on a diet and worked hard to lose the weight, and I did. I got down to a size 14, 154 lbs. (what's with the 4's? my body seems to like them no matter what scale I use) and then went off to college. I tried hard to avoid the Freshman Fifteen, and mostly I succeeded until second semester freshman year, and suddenly the weight starting piling on. I hadn't changed much of my eating habits, and I was walking and exercising more, and generally being really careful. But I had changed something--I started taking birth control pills. I'm not sure that's what caused my symptoms, but my weight kept going up and I was TIRED all the time, and mentally fuzzy. It was like my brain was under a fog all the time. I started getting these really strong cravings for things, like broccoli (which is cool, I like broccoli). Not for weird things, but definitely reminded me of my mother when she was pregnant with my little brother--hormonal cravings. My doctors, and I tried several, just kept telling me it was "probably" PCOS and the only treatment was to lose weight--which of course was what I wanted to do, but couldn't for some reason. They were really unhelpful.

For years I've been experiencing other classic symptoms of celiac as well, only not really thinking much of it. It was "normal" for me. Intermittent constipation and diarrhea and constant bloating... it was uncomfortable, but nothing I ever thought to go to my doctor about. I was also experiencing symptoms of mild anemia, irritability, depression, irregular (and then altogether missing) menstruation, migraines. The ironic thing is, I went to my doctor about my migraines in the very beginning of the weight gain--they started around the same time--and my doctor, also a naturopath, told me that migraines sometimes are caused by wheat allergies or other related issues, and that I should go completely wheat-free for a week and see how I did. I did it, and it was hard, but because I didn't know about gluten, I didn't really get everything out of my diet that had wheat or gluten in it, and so the challenge failed. It might have gone better if I'd not thought my doctor was insane, too--I didn't really think wheat could cause migraines. Ah well... seven years later, now I know better.

After years of trying to fight back the weight gain, I got up to 235 lbs. and through Weight Watchers I got it hovering around 215 for the last year, but it took two different tries, each of which I had to quit because they were making me sick each time. I didn't get it--WW doesn't prescribe specific foods, they just tell you to eat less fat and more fiber and count your points. Well... what I didn't know what that all the "high-fiber" foods I'd added to my diet were what was making me sick because they were all wheat-based. Ha! My doctor thankfully didn't ignore my questions about celiac, and we did a gluten challenge. She felt my rapid and severe improvement on a gluten-free diet was enough to diagnose me with celiac, and so here I am now. I was diagnosed in May 2009.

I immediately lost about five pounds, and one full size. I can fit into my "tiny" size 18's now, and my size 20's and "large" 18's (you know how it goes, some brands are just bigger than others) are practically tents on me now. My weight jumps up and down from about 212 to 215 now, and I'm still trying to lose more weight. I'm getting married in February, and I'd like to go down another size or two before getting my dress.

I'm so happy to find others in my situation, and I look forward to going back and reading everyone's stories more carefully tomorrow. I'd love to find out what sort of dieting tips and tricks you all have too.

-Erin

Hey I am a newly diagnosed Celiac and I am also morbidly obese. My doctor practically laughed in my face when I asked to be tested and the only reason I got tested was because my extremely skinny mother was diagnosed and her doctor said all family members should be tested. So there I was getting laughed at. Funny thing of course... I ended up having it. I thought that people with celiac disease usually were malnourished. Am I way off base? Anyway I weight a LOT and I am wondering if there are more out there like me.

I am a 23 year old female. I am not a heavy eater but have been huge since I was maybe 8 or 9 years old. I have also been diagnosed with PCOS, Sleep apnea, Chronic Migraines, Depression and anxiety, Graves disease, high blood pressure... Lots of things. I have a hard time losing weight on any diet even when working out. I train a lot with my dad and he ran an ironman last year...here i sit extremely big losing maybe 3-4 lbs when working out. I don't get it and frankly my doctors have been dumbfounded. I have yet to become completely gluten free because I make a lot of beginner mistakes. If there is anyone out there in the same boat or even on the same ocean, has the gluten-free diet helped you lose weight at all? Or at least helped you be able to lose weight.

Thanks for any input

I hope this is the right place to put this request for advice. If not, please forgive me, moderators I'm a newbie.

I was just recently invited to a lunch meeting with an adviser for a graduate program I'm planning on applying to. I want to make a good first impression, so I'm really nervous about this meeting. I wish I could say I was just nervous about the professional aspects of this lunch, but I'm almost more worried about the food stuff. This meeting will be in DC, and I'm from the west coast. I'm completely unfamiliar with the area, I have no idea what I would suggest for a lunch spot if I was asked for a suggestion. Even worse, I have a feeling he will suggest a place since the goal of the meeting is acquaint me with the area and with the department. LOL. Good intentions, right? Is there a polite way for me to say "gluten makes me sick, let's not eat lunch"? Please, help! I'd like to get back to being nervous about academic stuff instead of gluten stuff.

Thanks

-Erin