aikiducky

Hi Joe, haven't been to this forum for quite a while but today this discussion caught my eye... hope this link works: http://www.livaad.nl/horecauitvoereng.php?optie=zoeken That's a list of restaurants in the Hague that are familiar with gluten free. You should I think still talk with the manager, preferably call in advance, basically all the precautions you'd take eating at a new unknown restaurant. But at least at these places someone has had a good experience (or if not, there's a warning in one of the columns). And most people speak excellent english so you'll be able to communicate with the restaurant staff. If you come across a shop called De Tuinen (sells vitamins and scented candles and bath salts, that sort of thing) they usually have some gluten free bread and cookies on a shelf. I don't know Den Haag well enough to tell you where you'd find a health food store. The supermarket chain Albert Heijn (AH) puts a gluten free logo on their own brand products, however, they are gluten free under the codex norm (so under 200 ppm gluten is allowed). If you don't see the word for wheat "tarwe" in the ingredients you're probably ok. Or if you're not very sensitive, you might tolerate that small amount, considering that this is just a short period of time. I think they have some salads that are gluten free that might make a nice lunch for example. I work at home so I'm not really familiar with lunch problems. Hope this helps! Pauliina

Amber, as far as I know the dextrose etc. aren't processed differently in different parts of the world. They are considered safe because indeed the amount of gluten left after processing is very very small. Some people, including me, do react though, which makes shopping a bit of a pain... I don't know the source of the glucose syrup in the free from range, might be a good idea to contact the manufacturer. I got sick the last two times I visited Britain, despite being as careful as I could, so I don't feel very trusting about British gluten-free products anymore... But it's always hard to avoid cc when travelling so it could also be that. Pauliina

About chocolate candy and lactose - all milk chocolate will have some lactose simply from the milk that is one ingredient. But lactose is also commonly used as a sweetener in chocolate, so some chocolates will have even more lactose because of that. Pauliina

My first quick thought is fatty acids, are you supplementing those since our diet is apparently very low fat? Pauliina

Just a quick note that buckwheat despite it's name has nothing at all to do with actual wheat, so unless you're avoiding buckwheat for some other reason, it shouldn't put you off a product! Pauliina

It sounds to me like your mother-in-law really doesn't have a problem with accommodating you, so it's really just a problem of your own making so to say. Think about it the other way around: if your mil would have celiac, and you would cook for her for the first time - would you prefer that she gave you very clear instructions how to go about it, or would you like her to be shy about it and maybe get sick from food you cooked for her? How about writing an email or letter, making a list of all the important points to look out for. You can write and explain that you don't want to be picky, but that unfortunately this diet requires that cross contamination has to be kept to a minimum, so you've written down the things to watch out for. Call it " The <insert your name here< Feeding Manual " or something cute like that if it makes you feel better. That way she has something to refer to. Or just have a heart to heart and tell her how you're feeling bad about it. Sounds like you're close, so why not. You might find that she really doesn't mind. Pauliina

(((((((HUGS)))))))) You're not a hypochondriac, you're really ill. You're doing the right thing putting your health first. You'll get there, with time! Seriously, a couple of years from now it's quite possible that you'll be healthy enough to handle both work and school, and a couple of years after graduation it won't matter one whit that you took some time to heal before finishing school. I should know, I finished studying when I was 32. People can't make up conditions to help after they've given that help! You'll pay the few hundred dollars back as soon as you can, and if I was you I wouldn't expect more from them. I think now that you can concentrate on just work and healing that you'll manage, you know. I hope the gluten depression will start to lift soon, that will also make things easier to bear. Hang in there. Pauliina

One thing you could do is keep a symptom diary. Give how you're feeling a number every day, and over a longer period of time you might start to notice that even if the numbers do go up and down, there is a general tendency to improve (or not, in which case you need to figure out why). Even better, combine it with a food diary, that way you can see if there are any patterns with certain foods&symptoms. What spunky said - I've been gluten free four years now, and I do feel better (just generally healthier&stronger) this year than last year, and last year I already thought I'd healed completely. Pauliina

Mama2two, I see you've been around for a while, is it that you have celiac children but no diagnosis yourself? If you don't, maybe it's time to ask for the blood tests for yourself? Now that I've been gluten free for four years, I notice I don't get as depressed after getting glutened, and it lifts quicker again. A sign of getting healthier I hope. Whenever it happens though, I remind myself that the feelings are temporary and will pass in a couple of days, I try to take it easy for a couple days and I postpone any big decisions until I feel better again. Pauliina

Imagine if the situation was the other way around... How sick would you get of telling your boyfriend or partner "it's ok, you don't need to feel guilty"? How about feeling appreciative (is that a word, lol) instead, everybody loves being appreciated. Pauliina

Have they seen him when he's sick afterwards? Or do you always leave before that? My family was even more supportive after they saw how sick I got from accidental gluten exposure a couple times. Telling them about it was not as effective as seeing it with their own eyes. It's not that they didn't want to believe me (in my case at least) they just couldn't quite imagine. I agree that ultimately, grandparents and other family have to get on board with the diet or no more visits, it's just too risky. But if it does happen, consider hanging around until the symptoms kick in so that they can SEE what the consequences are of their actions. Pauliina

I think it depends on what you have been eating to replace it. If your diet has been low on fiber, for example, and you suddenly eat a lot of whole wheat in some form, the increase in fiber might be uncomfortable. And any sudden change in eating habits might give you some digestive symptoms, but I'd think that would pass in a couple days if it's just from changing your diet and not from an actual intolerance. I think. Pauliina

Not that I know of, especially since they were both positive and the TTg was pretty high. EmA is very specific for celiac. How are you being treated for the B12 deficiency? The symptoms sound like they could come from that. Pauliina

About the accuracy of the tests - if you want an official diagnosis that a doctor will accept, what you need is a blood test (nowadays usually endomysial antibody (EmA), tissue transglutaminase (TTg) and total IGA) combined with a biopsy of your small intestine (so an endoscopy, NOT a colonoscopy). I think the parent site of this board, celiac.com, has some articles about testing. None of the tests are 100% accurate, but the blood tests above are quite specific meaning that if they are positive it's very unlikely to be anything else but celiac. Ditto for a positive biopsy. Stool testing can tell you whether or not you are sensitive to gluten, but not WHY you are sensitive to it. Another way to find that out is by taking gluten out of your diet, the reintroducing it. If step one relieves your symptoms and step two brings them back, you are probably sensitive to gluten. But that doesn't tell you anything about the reason why. I'm not officially diagnosed myself, I'm four years gluten free and healthy and happy without a diagnosis. But I encourage everyone who still hasn't been gluten free for too long to seek an official diagnosis. After you have been gluten free for a while your intestines heal, and your bloodwork returns to normal, and then it's almost impossible to tell whether or not you have celiac or not. A person with celiac needs to be strictly gluten free for the rest of their life (depending on your age, maybe even for a good 50 years!), including all kinds of life situations where you might need an official diagnosis. If at all possible, try to get one before going gluten free. Pauliina

It's past 2 am here so I'm not my most coherent... but wanted to post a quick note of sympathy in any case. Pauliina