margotb

Hi all, I have Kaiser and am feeling frustrated that the good doctors I have found through my insurance are not really partnering with me to get me healthy. I get the feeling that they just don't know what to do with fatigue and other symptoms of unwellness that are going along with my celiac experience. So I think I want to find a functional medicine...

That's a great trip. Thanks. My TSH is in the normal range but I have heard that many functional doctors think that mainstream doctors are not measuring for wellness (just for whether the thyroid is in disease range). My most recent TSH was 1.6 and the normal range on this test is .10 to 5.5 according to my health provider. I have socially met an alternative...

Hi everyone, I was diagnosed back in late March 2011 and have been gluten-free since. Overall I have been better and there a but there have been many periods of still feeling very tired and getting frequent colds. The recovery has not been straightforward. Over the last few months I have had more weird symptoms like: -muscle weakness (feeling tired...

Hi! I am having anxiety and needing to sleep more. I was tasked by my doctor to root out unsuspecting places where gluten could be hiding. I thought my Ambien equivalent Zolpidem might be where I got glutened. I called and they told me while they do not certify their drugs as gluten-free and have no information about the production facility, no gluten...

I meet people for lunches often and there are not many places now where I feel safe going to eat. San Francisco only has two totally gluten-free places. As a compromise, lately I have been meeting folks at Whole Foods and eating from the salad bar. I picked from things like spinach, tomatoes, almond slivers, tuna, and shredded carrot today. All naked items...

Hello everyone. I know that everyone's healing process is different, but I just wanted to ask and get a sense of how I am doing compared to others. I did my biopsy after a six-week gluten challenge March 28. The biopsy revealed moderate to severe intestinal damage. During the last four weeks of my gluten challenge I felt horrible: very low energy, persistent...

Hello! I'm researching to write a blog post about gluten labeling laws around the world. I have found out some information about the US, Europe, and New Zealand and Australia. For example, here: Open Original Shared Link I want to know about other countries too. A Brazilian friend sent me a link to the law in Brazil. Amazingly, Brazil passed a law in...

I appreciate your dilemma! Colombia is wonderful. I was actually in Colombia for three months last year and the celiac symptoms started when I was in Cali and eating pan de queso every day. So much bread, god, I had no idea! I want to put in a pitch for Argentina. I was in Buenos Aires last year and earlier this year and found the level of celiac awareness...

Thanks for this advice! It is very helpful to hear from others. With regard to Starbucks, do you mean that the coffee drinks can contain gluten if they contain flavoring, or other products? I was thinking just buying regular coffee must be OK, or even a soy or lowfat latte. Hope that is true. . . And now I am reading about tea bags. Adjusting to this...

I did my gluten challenge for 5.5 weeks. Two GI specialists told me very different things about how long was necessary. The head of the department told me I should wait for three months (and I thought NO WAY AM I SITTING IN BED FOR TWO MORE MONTHS!) and the GI specialist who did the procedure thought 5.5 weeks was plenty. Apparently it was since the test...

Hi all. Thank you for your thoughts. . . Just thought I would provide an update. I postponed to think and research more and decided to go ahead with the biopsy. I found that I respected medical authority in this case--two doctors told me they recommended it because this would be a 60-year commitment to a strict diet and I should know. And I found that...

Hello everyone. I recently received the official biopsy results that showed moderate to severe damage caused by celiac. Even though I knew it was 95% or more likely that I have celiac based on my symptoms and blood test results, I found it quite a shock to find out that it's really official. I'm reeeling but also I have a lot of hope about embracing gluten...

Do celiacs really have to worry about gluten in makeup? I'm confused. I thought we would only have to worry about ingesting gluten. Can it actually be absorbed by the skin? For example, I thought touching a bread crumb is not important to avoid but eating one is. So is the idea that we ingest make-up when it drops into the mouth or that it is absorbed via...

Hi! I'm posting in a state of confusion and frustration, and I am hoping to find some informed people to respond, or at least some people who have gone down this road. Here's my story in a nutshell: In October and November 2010, I was traveling in Colombia and found myself increasingly fatigued, prone to infections, and so tired I just didn't want to...