Billygoat

I cut my spaghetti squash in half and put in an 8x8 casserole dish, face down in about a 1/2 of water. I cover with plastic wrap and then cook on high for 8 - 10 minutes, turning half way through. Sometimes the squash is too big even cut in half, so I'll stack it crooked like. Half way through the cooking, I'll switch their places and cook the rest of the way. It's very similar to steaming, it's just a lot faster.

I think I'd have to disagree with this. The first ingredient on this bread is sprouted wheat. They might not used "flour" as they are using "sprouted wheat", but that does NOT mean it's gluten-free. Flourless and gluten-free can mean two different things!!!

If the thyroid check doesn't show anything conclusive, you might consider your birth control. I'm half Japanese and always had beautiful thick straight hair. SO MUCH of it I had to have it thinned out when I got it cut. Just ridiculous amounts of hair. I went off birth control several years ago and it changed completely. It's not nearly so thick and now it's CURLY! Not pretty ringlet curly, but nappy white-girl curly. Sooo NOT attractive! I have to straighten it now to make it look like it used to. A girl friend of mine said her straight hair went curly after she had her first child. Hormones have something to do with those type of changes.

Viola, I think this is KEY! As long as it is realized that getting a solution can make the biggest difference. Whining to whine does not make the situation positive or get anything accomplished. I am in NO WAY condemning those that vent...I know it's necessary sometimes. This is a frustrating illness to have. But finding the solution is what makes this illness such an interesting phenomena. Random Guy, Of course! Seriously...when I get down about having this damn disease I get my husband to make a great potty joke. It's silly and sophomoric, but it helps ease the stress of not being able to eat normally. Besides, what is "normal" anyway??? phakefur, (Love the moniker by the way!) Sorry about that. I meant anyone with celiac disease. I think many people with celiac disease still suffer, despite being diagnosed and on a gluten-free diet. There are diet slip ups, people that don't understand what we go through, etc. We all suffer. But we all handle it differently. I think it's easier to tolerate this disease if you go into it with a positive attitude and a sense of humor. Andi

I'm a pretty positive person. Glass half full personality. I've not always been like that. I've struggled with depression for many years of my adult life. That's changed for several reason I won't go into now - a story for another time. But at one point in my life I realized that I HAVE A CHOICE about my reactions to life. When something happens that I don't like or unexpectedly pops into my face, I have a choice to act negatively or positively about it. I have a choice to NOT follow through with my gut-level reaction, which honestly, is not always the healthiest reaction. I guess I'm writing this because of an observation I've made on this discussion board. When I state this, I don't mean to sound patronizing and my intent is purely to stir up discussion. I read a lot of people whining. Whining about an unsupportive spouse, whining about getting "glutened", whining about how foods change their ingredients list, this that and the other. Rarely do I read a thread about a positive experience. Now before you get mad at me for stating that, think about this... We all struggle with something that is genetic. We cannot help being celiac sufferers. It is OUT of our control. Okay. So what IS in our control? What we put into our bodies. WE ARE ULTIMATELY in control of our health. Is it difficult? Of course it is! Who WANTS to live like this? Let me tell ya, I miss Krispy Kremes and Dominoes worse than any normal girl on a low-carb diet. I think you guys understand that better than any celiac disease spouse! But I guess I like to look at ourselves as PIONEERS. We are trailing through the ignorance of the masses - taking care of our health, educating our family and friends, tuning up our doctors, steeling ourselves for those weak moments or "mistakes" when we get glutened, training ourselves to be disciplined and read labels. THIS IS A GOOD THING!!! Just like the pioneers in the women's suffrage movement and civil rights movement, we are shouting from the rooftops how we can improve our lives and other celiac disease sufferers lives. Whining about it isn't accomplishing anything. All it does is make the frustrating moments that much more frustrating. Yes, venting can be healthy. Yes, this is a place to do it because people understand. But are you hear just to vent or to share a victory over this disability? There are some things that can help us change our attitude about this. Accept that celiac disease is something you can't change. Accept that YOU ALONE are in charge of your diet. Accept that there are people that don't give a flying fig what you eat or how you feel after you eat. Accept that some food companies will not be forthright about their ingredient list. Accept that your spouse will use the stuffing spoon to stir your gluten-free mashed potatoes without thinking. Accept that YOU ARE A PERSON OF POWER without having to be PERFECT!!! Like the doctors of centuries ago (and today if you think about it) our lives are experiments of trial and error. Eat something that doesn't work with your body? Eliminate it. Try something new. That doesn't work either? Find a home recipe that DOES work. The really cool thing about celiac sufferers TODAY is that we have options. Yes, Kinnikinnick charges a fortune for shipping. But we have the option of ordering. Twenty years ago, celiac sufferers just didn't eat donuts and bread. Yes, it's hard to find a place that carries gluten-free pizza dough and beer. Twenty years ago, a celiac would have laughed at the idea of eating pizza and drinking beer. This community has made LOADS of progress over the last several decades. Because of people like US! People that are the everyday consumers, making demands, educating the community, sharing recipes and experiences. So my questions to y'all is this: How are you turning the positive spin on your physical weakness? Are you complaining or accepting that it's one of the millions of things that make you YOU? Are you stepping up to the plate and taking charge of your health or expecting someone else to do it? Think about it... Andi

I hope it doesn't sound too insensitive, but here goes... WE are all in charge of our own destiny. I'll say it again... WE are all in charge of our own destiny. Do what you can do to get your boss to take you seriously. Get a doctor's note, whatever. But don't be surprised if your boss or his superiors, shrug, and toss the note aside. Why? Because as celiacs, it's OUR own responsibility to take care of ourselves...not anyone else's. So my advice is get your doc's note, but start sprucing up your resume and start hitting the sidewalks and Monster. Only YOU are in complete control of the situation. Don't wait on someone to make it easier for you. Take the bull by the horns and run with your life. Who knows? This might be the chance of a lifetime to land a job that really makes your clock tick!!! Best, Andi

I don't mean to be rude, as I realize this is a sensitive topic, but this makes no sense to me. After two weeks of ovulating and bursting a cyst you gave birth to your daughter? Did you not realize you were pregnant? So sorry to sound confused. I am.

I'm sure your party will be a huge hit! I made a gluten-free Baked Ziti a few weeks ago for some friends with Tinkyada and they couldn't even tell. I also used Pamela's Brownie Mix for fudge brownies and I swear they're better than Betty Crocker's! The really neat thing I'm discovering is that eating gluten-free is not just possible, but that it can be FUN! There are wonderful substitutions out there for the things you think you "miss", but you don't have to if you have the right attitude and are diligent about trying new things. Yes, I've needed an attitude adjustment for the fact that I can't have beer anymore. But I'm learning more and more about wine, vodka and tequila that I never thought I'd learn.

I feel like such a wino saying this... ...but thank God alcohol is gluten-free! I don't eat bread, pastries and pasta much anymore (unless, of course, it's gluten-free) but I definitely load the calories on via drinking. I only drink a few times a week, but sometimes it's really the only little vice I can enjoy.

I get 'em too. I used to get them all the time, thinking it just appeared for no reason. Now I can see that it only happens when I get glutened. HINT: When you feel the "tingle" of a mouth blister, get a bottle of L-Lysine. It's a pill that when taken, slows the growth of the blister. As soon as I feel one coming on, I'll start taking them - three times a day with meals. If I do that for at the very least two days, then the little blister doesn't hardly grow at all. Also, I stay away from nuts when I have one. They have a chemical of some kind that actually encourages blister formations.

Poppet, I fear you are making the same mistake that I made. I thought wheat-free meant gluten-free. It does not. Gluten is in other grains, as someone else mentioned. It is also in other ingredients in foods that you don't typically associate grains with. I've been wheat-free for years. Couldn't figure out why I felt a little better, but would have days, sometimes months of feeling like before. It wasn't until this past summer that I went Gluten-free. Since then I've felt better than I have in ages. My biggest pitfalls were eating oats, spelt, and all the gluten in dressings, sauces, marinades, eating out, etc. You might consider doing a little more research, eliminating gluten (not just wheat) out of your system and see how you feel in a month or so. That's what it took for me. A good month going VERY Gluten-free and I felt like a new girl. Good luck! Andi

Being 5' 2", I've never found a pair of jeans that fit that I don't have to hem. LOL!

Eeks! Stories like this make my skin crawl. How is there are so few people in the medical world that we can use as resources. This disorder has been around for eons! It's not like it's a New thing. But then again, my step-mom is a registered dietician and when I told my dad that he couldn't be eating oats, and other glutened items (some meats, condiments, etc.) he was completely surprised. He and step-mom had no idea gluten isn't just in wheat. He was diagnosed GI about 8 years ago!!! I've only been a few years and I know more than he does. Edited to add: I am also lactose intolerant and I cannot TOUCH yogurt. Get diahrrea so bad with that stuff - worse than milk and cheese!!!

I'm 5' 2" and 105 lbs. My mother is Japanese and fairly petite, so that's not terribly abnormal. I was 5' 2" at 11 years old in the 6th grade - so I thought I'd be tall like my father. But I stopped growing around that time, but that's also about the time I began struggling with child depression. My weight at it's lowest (due to bulimia) was in college at 80 lbs. My heaviest was right before I discovered I was GI - 125. I wasn't fat according to health books, but voluptuous. I'm happiest with my weight right now, except now that my voluptuousness is gone, I don't have any boobs anymore. But I can deal with that since I'm healthier now than I've ever been.

Wow! I'm totally in awe as I read this. I'm 34, have had GI issues for as long as I can remember. Was bulimic in late HS and college years. Like someone else said, I would b&p on all the stuff I was sensitive to...cakes, cookies, donuts, pastries, bread, (even alcohol!) but didn't realize why it was so easy purge those from my system. All due to low self-esteem issues, which I've struggled with since 11/12 years old. Of course, I struggled with severe depression as well - attempted suicide twice in my life, to be discovered too soon by friends. I never even considered that there might be a connection with celiac disease. But since being gluten-free, I don't deal with the depression at all. Seriously. I have bad days and occassional crying jags, but NEVER do I feel depressed like I used to. (Unless I get glutened, then it pops up sometimes.) I guess all that to say that I've had my eyes opened a little reading all of you people struggling with the same thing. Bessie, if it's any consolation, since I've gone gluten-free, I've actually lost weight. It's still a comfortable weight for me, but it was of concern to me initially as well. After thousands of dollars and hours on therapy and recovery groups, I'd worked hard to not obsess about food. And now here I am back to the same thing. But it is different. I obsess about the gluten, not the calories so much. And I've found that being prepared is really the best tool of defense. That means keeping a cookie or some crackers in my purse at all times that I can eat. Because bingeing today is so much more dangerous than before. Before bingeing on a box of cookies was a weight issue...now it's a health issue that I can't afford to do. So I try to have alternatives at hand for emergencies. God bless you girls. God bless you all for sharing such intimate issues. I'm relieved to know I'm not crazy. Andi PS: I also have a VERY supportive husband that helps me monitor my food for health issues. He also tells me everyday how beautiful he thinks I am. He has no idea how encouraging that is to my celiac disease and my overall emotional health.