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Hello, I just signed up on this website and Im looking forward to learning and hearing what everyone has to say! I live downtown Minneapolis and was diagnosed with Celiac Disease about a year ago, but I still have not found a doctor. Anyone in the minneapolis or surrounding area see a doctor for celiac disease that they like?

Nice to meet you all!

-Annie

I also live in downtown Minneapolis. Welcome! A recent thread about doctors: https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.php?showtopic=55010 I ended up seeing a different doc at the same place as Dr Torkelson's - Dr Jamie Feldman - and she was very good. No problems with my self-dx, and did lots of good celiac-specific followup tests. Asked some questions that showed me she understood celiac. Also Dr Ronda Stellar in Shoreview was good but too far for me now.

You should try Cafe Agri: Open Original Shared Link An all-gluten-free restaurant that's delicious.

Probably depends on what you think the company culture is, but I would probably ask where you're going to lunch because you have some food allergies and like to check the menu before going to a restaurant. It's a tough one, though.

My first thought was you're probably addicted so after getting you "fix" of gluten you felt better.

I don't use software, but I have a shopping suggestion. My parents have a list they made in xcel that has all the common stuff they buy (like milk, eggs, bananas, canned veggies, etc) with lots of spaces to fill in the things they don't buy frequently. They just circle the common stuff if they need it and write in other things. The list is organized in the order they walk down the aisles so veggies first, than canned goods and dairy last so they don't have to retrace their steps because they missed things.

One sign that you have a leaky gut is if you eat certain foods with a lot of color (beets, dark leafy greens, etc...) and the color comes out in your urine There's also a test you can do where you drink a sugar solution and measure how much ends up in your urine... I've never done it, but apparently some naturopaths will order this kind of test.

Interesting. Do you know why this happens? I can't think of a reason why off the top.

I love it! It always makes me laugh when people get concerned that I'm eating gluten. Like the time I told my friends I'd be making them fondue for dinner and one of them feels the need to tell me that "um, you do realize that you dip bread in fondue... won't that make you sick?" As if I didn't know that and would accidentally use wheat bread!

So Celiac disease is like an allergy except the response the body has? In an allergy there would be a histamine reaction and in Celiac the body attacks itself? Am I getting that right?

-Celiac is actually an autoimmune disease not an allergy so the body starts attacking itself when it sees gluten. No histamine reaction. Many refer to celiac as an allergy, including myself when I talk to waiters because the term allergy is well understood, but it's not technically correct.

Also, if blood work comes back positive for the antibodies does that mean Celiac? I mean are there other things that would cause that?

-Yes, it means celiac. I've seen some studies showing that it's possible for casein (the protein in dairy) intolerance in dairy to cause a positive, but I think it's relatively rare. Wish I knew where I'd seen that study. If you get a positive, you can safely say it's celiac.

And if so then what is the point of putting a child through a biopsy and making them sick again after going gluten free? Is there a benefit to being diagnosed for sure? What happens if we do not do the biopsy? Will the Dr ignore the condition?

-The is a very individual decision. While a positive blood test means celiac, some people need that biopsy for personal reasons like needing it for motivation to stay on the diet. The biopsy is reasonable to do if a doctor is looking for conditions in addition to celiac. It may also be reasonable to do it if you can get in fairly soon after a positive blood test. If it's going to be a while, you might want to just go gluten-free and start healing. Note that in toddlers especially blood test and scope aren't that accurate so you can easily get a false negative for one or both tests. Depends on the doctor - some still consider the biopsy to be the "gold standard", some will diagnose based only on a positive dietary response.

My house, my rules.

I'm nice about saying it, but that's how it goes. It's worked fine for my in-laws, who eat plenty of wheaty stuff.

Pretty much my strategy, too. I don't allow gluten in my house. If you don't like it, you can stay in a hotel. It's my life and my health, and I need to feel comfortable and safe in my own home. With the limited English, maybe your husband needs to talk to them before they come for you.

Some questions to ask yourself:

1. What would you do if you got a positive diagnosis? Would it change anything in your life?

2. What would you do if you got a negative diagnosis (because a negative is likely after 5 months gluten-free)? Would you go back to eating gluten or not?

3. Are the answers to questions 1 & 2 worth going back on gluten for?

My favorite gluten free restaurant (and the only exclusively gluten-free restaurant I go to) is gluten-free, vegan (with the exception of one trout dish), and uses fresh, seasonal ingredients so the menu rotates. This type of restaurant appeals to celiacs, dairy-free people, vegetarians and vegans, people who like organic, seasonal food, and environmentalists, and I think they will be a lot more successful than if if were just a gluten-free restaurant. The menu is limited - maybe 5 appetizers, 7 entrees, and 4 desserts, but I don't care. At other places I get the same thing every time because I know it's safe so 7 options seems like a lot to me. They also piked a location near a neighborhood known for it's "hippie", vegan, organic-loving, artsy residents so there's a good customer base.

It could also be that he has other food intolerances that are just starting to bother him now that his body isn't so overwhelmed dealing with gluten. I started to feel sick again about nine months after going gluten-free, and I realized it was peanuts. A food diary was really helpful in figuring that out.

Mild symptoms began at age 15.

Major symptoms began at age 22.

Self diagnosed at age 23.

Thank you! She's really close to where I live. I'm going to try her. I'll let you know how she is

Smoking Wrap?

I think she means there was gluten in the glue that holds the cigarette together. Some brands do contain gluten.

Yup, I used to see Dr Ronda Stellar at Shoreview Medical Clinic. I think she just got married and changed her last name, though.

If you do see a dietitian, I would recommend asking a few questions about his/her knowledge of celiac before making an appointment. There are some good ones out there, but most don't have a clue about what you can and cannot eat.

I used to have a fantastic GP who was very knowledgeable about celiac. I changed jobs a few months ago, and now she's on the wrong side of the city, and I can't get up there easily. Does anyone know of a good GP in the downtown Minneapolis or southwest metro areas? I just need a doctor who won't give me the evil eye about my self-diagnosis of celiac and who can put up with and help me through all my strange and vague medical issues.

Thai Kitchen makes some "ramen" noodles that I think are free of all the foods you mentioned. You just add water and microwave for two minutes so it's good for a hot meal when you don't have time to cook.

I've never had eating before going to a restaurant, not drinking, or bringing my own food anywhere make me feel like a social outcast or have my friends treat me oddly.... So, it sounds snarky, and I *definitely don't mean it to*, but... perhaps a perspective change on what you need to feel included? Maybe not... just what struck me when I read the post.

Either way, as the other poster mentioned, every day, every week we do this - whatever our level of restriction - we learn some slightly better way of getting through it.

A perspective change is what helped me. I see going out to eat as a social event, not a food event. I'm there to hang out with people, not necessarily to eat. So I eat before I go or bring my own food (to fast foodish type places) or order weird stuff like a banana and some milk. And I go out to bars and often don't drink or I order a soda. I do a lot of hanging out and watching movies rather than going out to eat. Once you start doing your own thing with the food, you'd be surprised how much it doesn't matter.

Unfortunately, what they want to do is get pick-up buffet-style food from a nearby restaurant, which is how they've done this in the past. It would be easier if it were potluck or a fancier catering company... In the past, for example, they've ordered food for 20 people (or however many) from places like the Olive Garden (won't work for me, obviously) and just picked it up -- getting big tubs of pasta and salad, and set that up for us buffet-style. So they'll want to do something similar, order a large take-out order in tubs from a local restaurant...

The ethnic food suggestions are very helpful, in this vein! Thanks so much!

Yikes I'd be concerned about this since you can't supervise the restaurants. What about something like Pei Wei or Big Bowl where they can order buffet-style for everyone else and a single-serving individually packaged gluten-free meal for you?

What about school? What's the lunch situation like? Maybe he's getting CC from the tables or other kids. Does he move to a classroom where kids have eaten on the desks? Art class?

You can't count on drugs or other cures. You have no idea if this drug will pass clinical trials or if it will be as effective as researchers are hoping. You have a cure available to you right now. You can stop eating gluten. I know it's not easy, but it's an amazing, side-effect-free solution. I'm sure you know the long-term consequences of continuing to eat gluten. It's up to you to figure out what will motivate you.

No i haven't had the chance to talk to my doctor, yet. It's not easy to miss class and take a trip home just for that, you can't just walk in...

I would definitely just give your doctor a call. I see my doctor in person once a year; everything else I do by phone and fax.

I seem to remember someone on here posting that they'd done it without anesthesia. They said it was uncomfortable and they wouldn't recommend it, but it didn't seem to be too awful. I remember them saying if you gag easily it would be hard to do it without anesthesia.

I see nothing wrong with feeding your kid gluten-free at home and sending her to school with gluten-free lunches, regardless of a diagnosis. Everyone eats differently. My mum never sent me to school with things like fruit snacks or chips, but that doesn't mean she was a bad mother and was "depriving" me. If your daughter is eating healthy food that she likes the taste of, who cares if it's missing an ingredient that most other kids eat. And with your family history, it seems like a responsible, logical decision. I have trouble understanding people who think a gluten-free diet is a deprived diet.