Poppi

Hiding them behind the broccoli, eh?

and in the car and my purse and my knitting bag and the basket under my bedside table and behind the sorghum and amaranth flours in the cupboard.

What the heck? I love coffee. Love is in fact not a strong enough word to describe how I feel about coffee. Sweet brown nectar of the gods.

But I get this weird mini-gluten reaction to it. I'm fine, I drink a cup of coffee and about half way through I feel super sleepy, my stomach just get unsettled and nauseous and my back pain starts to flare up. It only lasts a couple of hours and luckily it passes and I don't deal with 5-10 days of inflammatory symptoms like I do with gluten but it still makes me sad.

I just went a full month with no coffee and then got my son to grab a cup from the shop across the street. Same reaction.

Oh well. Now I know, right?

One other question ... are you still breastfeeding? I believe gluten can come through breastmilk so if she is still nursing you would need to be gluten free.

If I were going to make granola bars I would probably try Open Original Shared Link and use gluten free oats. I've had good luck with Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats but as kareng said, not everyone can eat them.

If it's just the convenience of a bar that you miss I have Lara Bars (I only like the chocolate flavours) and Enjoy Life Coco Loco and Caramel Apple bars stashed all over the place.

My issue is with people who call eating gluten-free a "fad"....fad? Celiac disease almost killed me

Like my chiropractor ... or should I say my ex-chiropractor. Last time I was there I commented that I was really sore from accidentally eating some gluten. He went off on this tangent about how his wife has gone on this gluten-free kick so now she only makes their cookies out of barley and spelt and oats .... and this celiac thing is such a fad and next month it'll be something different. Then when I insisted that all those things his wife cooks with have gluten and that celiac is really serious and I can get sick from a few crumbs he called me a freak.

Time to shop for a new chiro.

I was at a potluck with two other "gluten free" people. Both had hot dogs with buns and finished off with birthday cake.

The only reason people like that bother me is that they cause other people not to take us seriously. Oh well, it doesn't matter too much in the grand scheme of things. Only once a month or so do I even eat food I didn't prepare with my own hands and then I do my best to ensure it's safety. At least the fakey-gluten-free people have caused the gluten free market to expand somewhat.

Hey people do not get me wrong here. For about three years between 18 - 21 yrs old, I did wonderful things. I fished, hiked, camping, took photos professionally for the US Army. I traveled around the world, see many different people and learned that all people are equal and they all want the same things out of life. I was very happy back then. I almost felt normal. I was in college studing to be a writer. It was then the manure hit fan.

My disease took me out of the game of life. I am a living example what happens to the human body when, my two diseases are not taken care of right away.

And what we are saying is because we have celiac then our children won't have to suffer the consequences of decades of undiagnosed celiac disease. We are aware of the symptoms and the possibility of silent celiac and our children will be tested often.

As with any disease, you know for sure that is in the family tree, it can be pasted along to your children. Child are innocent people, they do not deserve to be born with one foot in the grave before coming into this world...

... How, was I expected to tell my sons that, they were going to grow, be athletic, get a good educations and go on to college. At the same time knowing, that I had diabetes, heart conditions,and celiac Disease in the family tree. These things would put a screatching halt to the have happy life thing.

Having diseases, cost allot of money to control, it robs us of our future. It keeps us from working normal jobs and buying homes and giving things to our children and wives. Life is hard enough for normal people but, for the disabled it is evern harder and more costly. Sure, we the disabled do what you can and must to survive another day but, that is not living, just existing only.

First of all. I. AM. NOT. DISABLED. Celiac disease is not a disability. A change in diet and I am healthier than I've ever been in my life. Because I have celiac my children will not have to suffer, they will be tested periodically and won't have to suffer the cumulative effects of years of undiagnosed celiac disease. I do not simply exist. I live! I kayak, surf, swim, hike, play with my kids, travel with my husband. I'm an amazing cook, I have friends and a garden and chickens in the backyard of the house I own. I have an education and have worked at "normal" jobs before I chose to stay home and be a homemaker. My life is everything I ever wanted it to be just without gluten on my dinner plate.

Secondly. There are many diseases in everyone's family tree. My grandfather has alzheimers and pancreatic cancer. My father has celiac. My father in law has type 2 diabetes as does his brother and father. Nobody is in 100% perfect health but raising our children to live happy healthy lives can head off some of these predispositions. My children may or may not have celiac disease but they play sports, do well at school and are expected to continue succeeding and excelling throughout their lives regardless of what type of food they are able to eat.

I was the biggest fast food junkie ever before I went gluten free and I've not once cried over a burger. Gluten free bun, homemade patty, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, cheese and tomato.... voila! Burger!

Being diagnosed with a life changing medical condition can cause people to go one of two ways. One can either get proactive and find ways to make their life better or one can wallow in self pity. I chose to get proactive and as a result my life is better than it ever has been. Apparently your son is choosing the latter option.

As for suggesting we should not have children? How dare you? My father has celiac and I certainly have never wished he had chosen not to have children. My children are happy, healthy and glad to be alive and if they are diagnosed with celiac in the future I will be able to serve as a role model in how to live a full life without gluten.

I have a family of 7 and I am the only gluten free one (although my oldest son is getting tested this summer and I fully expect him to test positive). The vast majority of the food in this house is gluten free and we are lucky enough to have 2 kitchens so it is somewhat like keeping a kosher house. We have a gluten kitchen and a gluten free kitchen, gluten pots and gluten free pots etc... I realize this is not practical for most people but on a smaller scale it can still work.

Of course everything I cook is gluten free and the other family members are free to eat gluten food outside the home or even inside as long as it's cooked in the gluten kitchen and not eaten at my table without some serious cleanup afterwards.

That's like telling someone who was diagnosed with lung cancer to keep smoking so they can see if it gets worse.

Rather than add gluten back in it seems more logical to keep aiming for total purity in your gluten free diet and perhaps remove corn, dairy and/or soy which cause so many people problems. Keep up on the vitamin, try to eat a whole foods diet to reduce contamination issues and rest well and give your body some time to heal.

I know this if off topic..but did Spring come to Canada yet??

No.

Well, not on the West Coast anyway. April and May have been the wettest and coldest on record. It's miserable out there. I bought a new COAT today.

Wait Wait Wait!

You are all breaking the imaginary rules of my hypothetical situation. You don't have Lara Bars and you can't use your children as bait.

You are not prepared! You have nothing except the standard emergency kit in the cruise ship life raft which contains 3 days of drinking water, high calorie/high protein bread, some fire starting stuff, flares and a first aid kit.

There. Now what? Huh?

So, imagine you are in a survival situation. You've shipwrecked on an island or something and the only food in your survival kit contains gluten.

Do you eat it? Would it make a difference if you were alone or with your children?

***********************

I'm not sure if I would eat it. I wonder if the resulting diarrhea in a place with no health care, clean water or electrolyte drinks would kill me faster than I would have starved to death. Even if it didn't the pain and fatigue and mental issues would probably make it harder for me to do the other things necessary for survival like searching for safe food and water and constructing fire and shelter.

On the other hand, wouldn't it be silly to starve to death if you had food available to eat? If I fed it to my kids and didn't eat it myself then all I'm doing is ensuring that my kids have to fend for themselves alone after I starve.

Hmmmm...

Oh, and my apologies for a morbid start to the morning.

Cheat? Never.

Even if we eat out I research the restaurant before, call ahead and talk to manager and/or chef and double check whether they really understand before I order and eat my food. I also only eat out once every other month or so and do it when I don't have anything really important for at least a few days after in case I get sick from cc. Gluten is no joke. I have to take it seriously.

As far as cheating on purpose? I can't imagine a situation where I would do that. Honestly. I've even debated with myself what I would do in a survival situation where the only available food is gluten-containing. Eating it would make me so sick that I'd probably die faster than I would starve to death.

I'm there with Coke/Pepsi. I went without for a couple of months then I saw the Pepsi throwback with real sugar instead of HFCS and bought a case. I plowed through 6 cans in 2 days and then gave my head a shake (gently because I had a raging headache from all the sugar) and gave the rest of the case to my 15 year old son and his friend.

I just can't be trusted with Coke ... or coffee. So neither have a home here anymore. I miss my morning cup of joe like you wouldn't believe but I feel better without it and that's what matters.

This is where you all gasp in horror.

We are a family of 7 living on a smallish island off the West Coast of Canada. Cost of living is high here and coupons are basically non-existent in Canada.

I spend $1600 a month on groceries.

So my grocery budget hasn't changed because it simply can't. I don't have more than that. I'm buying more fruits and vegetables and fewer crackers, cookies etc etc. I've had to change how I shop because the hard fact is that I can't spend more than $400 a week.

On the last Wednesday of the month I spend about $150 at the 20% off sale at our local health food store. I get cereal, pizza crusts, baking mixes, flours ... whatever gluten-free products I need for the upcoming month. Then I do the rest of my grocery shopping as normal. When we have spaghetti I make sure the sauce is gluten-free and cook 2 pots of pasta.

The one huge change that has been made is taking bread off the menu. My husband will make the kids a sandwich in a designated area and clean up after but there are no longer buns or bread with dinner because I just can't keep track of every crumb and I don't want the food on the table to be contaminated or get sick from leftovers that had crumbs drop in. If the little kids eat gluten foods they are highly supervised and there is immediate clean up. The big kids eat their gluten foods downstairs. I do not prepare any gluten foods myself.

I still make dessert a couple times a week and we eat basically the same menu as before with fairly minor changes.

The cookbook "The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten Free" has some good stuff in it. My family has happily gobbled up everything I've tried so far and I am the only gluten free one. The Holy Cow Cake would be a great one for a picnic.

I love the Gluten Free Pantry Chocolate Truffle Brownie mix. It makes perfect brownies. Better than any I ever had eating gluten.

I know those aren't from scratch but they're pretty failproof.

Can you pack up a package of non-perishable foods for your return trip home? Lara bars, juice boxes, gluten free cereals, Enjoy life bars and granola, Thai Kitchen noodle bowls. Then you can pick up milk, yogurt and fruit at a store somewhere.

I have a "survival kit" in the van in case of emergency or just getting stuck at someone's house and needing a full meal. It contains a box of Enjoy life chewy bars, a few lara bars, a bar of Cocoa Camino dark chocolate, 6 Thai Kitchen noodle bowls (you need boiling water for these), juice boxes, a box of rice crackers, a few individual size tins of fruit, some sesame snaps, a couple bags of chips, some tea bags and all the necessary utensils and cups. I've gotten in the habit of packing a thermos of boiling water when I go out as well. So in an emergency situation we'll have food and I only need to grab some cheese and fruit at a store to have a picnic.

If you do hit a McD's I believe you can have the Premium Southwest Salad (no chicken) and of course a pop/coffee/tea and a sundae or milkshake.

You don't need permission from a doctor to stop eating gluten. If your bloodwork comes back negative and your doctor won't order the biopsy then just stop eating gluten and see what happens.

I chose not to get tested for a number of reasons. The biggest one was that I had accidentally gone gluten free for a couple of weeks while on a cleanse and just wasn't willing to make myself sick again for a few months. Also, I don't have life insurance or critical illness insurance right now and I do't want any offical diagnosis of celiac to drive the rates up. I gather this can be an issue for health insurance in the states. If you've never been formally diagnosed then you don't have a pre-existing condition, right?

There is a tea store up the road from me and the lady who owns it has a daughter with celiac and she promises me that her teas are safe as her daughter drinks them and works in the store as well. It's all lovely loose leaf tea and I drink it constantly all day.

My morning drink is half a cup of warm milk with half a cup of strong brewed chai tea and a little bit of sugar.

Then for the rest of the day I usually drink various flavours of Roiboos with Hawaiian Colada and Blood Orange being my current favourites. If I need a bit of a boost in the afternoon I make a cup of wild blackberry black tea, no cream or sugar.

I love tea. I have a whole cupboard devoted to tea and the things needed to brew it.

As far as grocery store tea goes I really like the Tetley that comes in the round boxes with the plastic lid. Warmth (Cinnamon Spice), Mojito (Mint Lime) and Earl Grey are my first choices.

Yes, yes and yes.

You might need a break from corn. Try avoiding it for a couple weeks and then trying it again.

The teflon pot is the most likely culprit. I had to get rid of all my pots and baking pans and replace with with stainless steel and glass as I was getting glutened from the residue that just can't be washed out of the pots.

Plastic and wood utensils can hold on to gluten as well.

It sounds like your symptoms are similar to mine. I have to ingest a fairly large amount of gluten to get digestive symptoms but the slightest contamination brings back the muscle aches and the neurological symptoms. Everyone is different but I have actually been digesting dairy and corn better than ever before since I went gluten free.

If the meal was prepared at their house then it could be a contamination issue - my guess would be the homemade ice cream or the gluten free cake. Was the cake baked in a non-stick pan previously used for gluten cakes? Was the ice cream made from a cooked custard base that was cooked in a non stick gluten-contaminated pot? Was it made in an ice cream maker that has previously made cookies and cream ice cream? Were either of them stirred with a contaminated wooden spoon? That would be enough to bring on several days of fatigue, brain fog and soreness for me.

I hope he enjoys it! If you can get him to eat this then you can at least get his caloric intake up. Good luck!!

For me the muscle cramps and achiness is my first symptom that flares up with even the tiniest contamination - I know you were looking for experiences with every day soreness but I did have to learn with the daily pain for many years before I went gluten free. It's really hard to cope with.

For me it usually means just riding it out for the week or so that it takes to subside but there are a few things that help:

- advil takes the edge off

- an over the counter muscle relaxant like robaxicet before bed can help the muscles relax through the night and I often feel less sore the next day.

- swimming and a soak in the hot tub at the rec centre

- stretching and yoga or even higher intensity exercise if you can manage it, working the muscles does help.

- massage therapy if you can afford it or have medical coverage. I get six 45-minute massages a year through my insurance which isn't much but they definitely help when things get bad.

For me it gets worse throughout the day so I try to get all my hard work like laundry, vacuuming and cooking done in the morning so I can take it easy in the evening. A hot soak in the bathtub when my hubby comes home from work helps me get through the evening as well.