BlessedMommy

That's great that you got the endoscopy done. I hope that you get answers soon! Either way, though, like you said, you know gluten is a problem for you regardless of which box it fits in. Are you getting any celiac bloodwork done?

The irony is though that the scope is more likely to turn out falsely negative on kids, because their damage may not be as progressed as adults.

I'm glad that you found a safe place to eat. There's nothing like that feeling of relief when I find a celiac friendly restaurant to eat at! What is really cool is when you can find an exclusively gluten free restaurant to eat at. They're semi hard to find, but they are out there!

It's so frustrating when things don't go as planned on the road, but you can be assured that it will get easier in time and with practice. The gluten free diet has a huge learning curve, that's for sure!

I second Across's suggestion, Amy's frozen dinners are a great contingency plan. I'm going to a mother-daughter retreat with my girls in a couple months and I think that I'm going to be doing a number of Amy's dinners to make things simple, since I can't eat most of the cafeteria food there. I love Amy's dairy free lasagna and macaroni and cheese! 

It's best to get tested for celiac disease first before making any dietary changes. I changed my diet before I even knew that I should be tested for celiac and by the time I wanted to pursue diagnosis, it was too late and I couldn't tolerate a gluten challenge. I had a rare and serious complication from reintroducing gluten and for my own health and safety had to go gluten free immediately, without a DX. It's mostly okay, but I will always wonder if I actually have celiac or not. 

Have you talked to your doctor about celiac tests? Even if you don't have celiac, testing for it is the first step in the diagnostic process because a diagnosis of NCGS (non-celiac gluten sensitivity) cannot be made without first excluding celiac as a possibility.

That's interesting, I didn't realize that. Are symptoms and diet response more vague in children?

As a rule of thumb I try to eat mostly at restaurants that have an established protocol for G.F. food. Places like Red Robin and P.F. Chang's for example. Red Robin's is very careful of CC and even puts the "allergen" orders on different colored plates. 

Those tests are very strong positives. You may want to shop around and find a doctor who will diagnose without a biopsy or at least a doctor who will still diagnose based on the bloodwork, even if the biopsy is negative. What will this doctor do if the biopsy is negative? Will he tell her that it's fine to keep on eating gluten?

Negative biopsies should not overrule strongly positive bloodwork, IMO. That's how many people have gotten sicker and sicker is because they weren't damaged enough yet for the biopsy to come back positive.

I'm sorry that answers don't seem to be coming. I would double check with the doctor and make sure that all the blood tests were ran, not just the Ttg. If they were and they were all negative, then you could have the biopsy. If you've exhausted all testing options, you could try the diet 100% for about 6 months. If you experienced substantial health improvement then you would have your answer.

Best wishes.

After trying a few different cat foods, I finally settled on Purina Beyond grain free food for our cat. Open Original Shared Link

Our cat just adopted us a few months ago.

Our cat loves the flavor of the food! And apparently it's doing him good because MIL stopped by and commented on how healthy he looked and how good his coat of fur looks. She asked me what I was using and is now considering feeding her cat G.F. food too.

You could try this one and simply substitute a gluten free flour blend.

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First of all (((hugs))). Second of all, breathe! Everything will be okay! 

1) Yes, it gets easier. The gluten free diet gets easier with time and practice.

2) I wouldn't worry about educating someone if they don't want to be educated and don't care about your wishes. Just get a different house sitter who won't gluten your kitchen.

3) Unfortunately on glutenings, I don't know of any sure tricks to get through them. Mainly water, rest, and simple food. 

4) If you are going to an area and think that you'll eat out there, I would research as much as you can before hand about safe restaurant options and do as much of your homework ahead of time that you can.

5) Brush teeth and floss before kissing. Don't allow food anywhere other than the kitchen and make sure that things are cleaned up well. 

6) Always bring your own food. Take it from me, it's easier just to make a rule up front that others may not cook for you than to allow them to do so at first and change your mind later. Another option is to host gatherings at your own house and make the whole meal gluten free. Think of it this way, if you had a life threatening allergy to something would you want someone to cook for you? Most likely not, because any mistakes could be deadly. Most other people wouldn't want that responsibility anyway.

Celiac IS life threatening, but it will just kill you slowly rather than quickly. No need to feel rude or apologetic, just make an up front rule that others can't cook for you.

Hang in there! You can do it.

If my 2 year old has eaten something gluteny, is it sufficient to wipe her face down with a baby wipe? Or does it need to be washed with soap and water?

Seems like one could theoretically get glutened by kissing a gluteny baby face and it's becoming more of a worry now that my kids eat more gluten.

Keep in mind that there is a 5 factor list. If you have 4 out of 5, it is solid enough for a celiac diagnosis.

1) Symptoms of celiac

2) Resolution of symptoms on the gluten free diet

3) Genes for celiac

4) Positive bloodwork

5) Positive biopsy

So if you had everything but the positive bloodwork, then likely the doctor could diagnose it from those other factors.

There are other members here who have gotten negative bloodwork and a positive biopsy and their doctors diagnosed them with celiac. I think that unless you can find some other explanation of why the biopsy is positive, then that is pretty diagnostic right there.

Thanks everybody! She did not seem bothered in the least by what I wrote, but completely skipped by the testing part that I mentioned and asked for my favorite bread recipes. That's alright. Everybody has to make their own choices.

I just know, that for me, I started cutting out wheat before I was even aware that I should've been tested for celiac and I wished that I would've known then what I know now. Luckily, I know how to live 100% gluten free and therefore hopefully avoid any complications from possible celiac, but it pains me to see people cutting things out of their diet when I know that they most likely aren't going to bother buying certified gluten free oats, avoiding CC, doing a kitchen purge, being careful with restaurants, etc.

It sounds like you do have celiac, if you have the genes for it and the villous atrophy. The blood is most likely negative from your diet.

Good luck with your GI appointment!

If a Facebook friend posts that they've developed a wheat sensitivity and are looking for more rice based recipes, is it at all appropriate to post any gentle suggestion for them to go get celiac tests before removing wheat? Or would they be considered unsolicited advice?

It's just hard for me to watch other people remove gluten before (or go gluten light) without getting tested because I know all too well the problems with that approach. 

Yes, they need to be tested. Celiac can be asymptomatic, so there's no way to be sure that they don't currently have it, without testing them.

Good to know, thanks! We purchased the Vitamix 2 1/2 years ago and have never regretted it! 

So I could whip up gluten free bread dough with a hand held mixer?

So, is it worth it? What does it really do to baked goods that I can't do with a spoon and some elbow grease? Does the texture turn out better when beaten with a stand mixer?

If you used to bake without one and now have one, how are your baked goods different now that you're using one?

Thanks in advance for any comments. 

Yes, I'm the one who makes the millet bread.

We have a Vitamix and I grind my flours in the dry grains container. Super fast and easy. I also have a flour sifter, to get any small bits of grit out.

^I was just about to say the same thing!

My pregnancy test with my oldest was a very "weak positive" but I was just as pregnant! 

My Meijer store recently started carrying So Delicious coconut milk yogurt. It's really good! I've recently bought the vanilla and raspberry flavors and hope to try other ones as well.

I love soy, but it's nice to have some variety and not have all dairy substitutes made out of soy. 

It is also certified gluten free.

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