LauraTX

Hey John, for bandaids, check out the cohesive wrap bandages at your drug store.  You can use that and some gauze.  I have them do that when I get blood drawn often, because the cheap bandaids tear my skin off.  If you don't want to drop the money on new products, any elasticized fabric will do- like old clothes, socks, pantyhose, and gauze over the wound.  Will at least keep the nasties out of it.

Bush's beans are all gluten-free, will say on the label, too.  They even make sure their vinegar in products is from corn.   I am pretty sure they make black eyed peas.  Otherwise you can make your own with dried, but that is no fun is it? Ah yes, they do make them: Open Original Shared Link

All their stuff is really good, especially their cocina latina stuff. 

I think you are going about things a great way.  Cant buy it, then make it myself!  I do the same thing.  One of my first things I made was fried chicken.  I actually bread it with gluten-free Bisquik.  I have thought about trying just white rice flour but my husband says it is so good and to just leave it alone.  I also did fried pickles.  Yum Yum!  Something that I haven't gotten around to is making actual properly fried donuts that are yeast raised.  I have some recipes bookmarked, but haven't gotten around to it yet since frying can be a lot of work.  Hope your A1 turns out well, there are probably a lot of good steak sauce recipes out there.  If you save the drippings from your steak meat that comes out while they are resting and put them in your dipping sauce (one time use that day only) it may up the tastiness.

Hormel makes gluten-free pepperoni, and special stuff for pizzas like crumbled cooked beef, ham chunks, etc.  They will label theirs as gluten-free on the back of the package if it is.  Jones Dairy farm makes ham that is perfect to use as canadian bacon.  As Karen said, most pepperoni, ham, etc is going to be gluten free.  Just check out whatever brands are at your store, and look from there.  Usually a search on your smart phone can get you instant info. For sausage, it depends on what kind you like. Loose italian sausage cooked up will be the crumbly type, and I have seen brands of that labeled gluten-free before, but don't buy them often enough to recall which ones.

Oh yes!  We have a few board members with no obvious symptoms of celiac disease at all.

I am one.  I get no solidly discernible symptoms when I am glutened.  Some people take this as a free pass to not follow a gluten-free diet strictly,  but because I understand what is happening inside my body when gluten goes in, I am even more strict about things like cross contamination, etc.  The down side of being a silent Celiac is you don't have your own built in gluten detection system so you have to be extra careful.  My Celiac was caught early, and after I went gluten-free my unexplained anemia went away.  So I did have symptoms of the untreated Celiac disease after all.  Just remember what that joint pain upon gluten consumption means in the body- damage is being done- and keep that in mind.  

I still have little faith in a Pizza hut employee actually wearing gloves, washing their hands, etc.  Unless it was a sit down location and I got the manager to serve me, I will still avoid it.  Also, if I wanted to eat an Udi's gluten-free frozen pizza with just pepperoni on it, I would go get one from the grocery store and bake it myself.  Not too excited on this one.

Have you had your vitamin levels tested?  Sometimes when certain vitamins are too low or high they can cause these symptoms.  Either way, when something is very different, a visit to the doctor is in order.  If you are on any new medications, check to see if that is a known side effect of one, as well.

Has a total IgG been run to assure the IgG tests are accurate?

The only way to know for sure would be to get ahold of some contact information for those who do the medical determination, and pose the question to them.  Sometimes they will have rigid criteria that would give a certain disqualification for certain health issues.  That way you don't waste your effort if it is futile. 

I personally am afraid of gummy anything. If it is sticky like gluten,, like latex, then I am not going to take it. But since you are taking that, you might want to consider putting your gummy vitamin into a small cup of hot water, let it dissolve and then drink it.

There are many other things that make food gummy other than gluten. You are totally safe to eat products like this as-is if you confirm there is no gluten or other ingredients you can't have in them.

After reading the posts on this blog I see that many people are very frustrated by others lack of information, or their attitudes. I think I am gluten sensitive and have joined here to study up and share anything I might know or to ask questions if I don't know. I have a latex allergy and find people who are very inconsiderate all the time. I also have a bad sensitivity to MSG. I get the "Bang my head against the wall" comments all the time. Go out and buy a bottle or box of "Accent" it is in the spice aisle and it is MSG. Taste it. Then tell me if you want that in your food. It is an additive...oh that means that is something extra they can charge you for when they make the food.

Here is a quote from Wikipedia (used as a short cut) "MSG has been produced by three methods: hydrolysis of vegetable proteins with hydrochloric acid to disrupt Open Original Shared Link (1909–1962); direct chemical synthesis with Open Original Shared Link (1962–1973), and Open Original Shared Link (the current method).^{Open Original Shared Link} Wheat gluten was originally used for hydrolysis because it contains more than 30g of glutamate and glutamine in 100g of protein. As demand for MSG increased, chemical synthesis and fermentation were studied.^{[Open Original Shared Link]} The Open Original Shared Link fiber industry began in Japan during the mid-1950s, and Open Original Shared Link was adopted as a base material to synthesize MSG.^{Open Original Shared Link"      So if you study this quote, I think you should be concerned about MSG if you are Celiac or gluten sensitive. Do you agree?}

Welcome to the forum, CrabbyJ.  Monosodium Glutamate does not contain gluten, and can be eaten by Celiacs.  A lot of people see the "Glut" part and worry, but if someone has a problem with MSG, it is a separate issues and unrelated to gluten.  Here is a primary source for some info.  Wikipedia can be a shady source of info once you get into scientific stuff.  

Open Original Shared Link

Did you do any other tests?

 interested.

Maybe stay away from vegetable oil, soy, cornstarch.  Gluten allergies can turn into multiple alllergies.

Celiac disease is not a gluten allergy. As you are new to the forum, please feel free to read around and check out Open Original Shared Link for scientifically accurate information.  

Laura,

I would recommend contacting your local council and asking which troop near you has opted to sell gluten-free cookies. You may have to leave your number, but someone from that troop will call you back. They can deliver cookies to you! And you might meet a nice Girl Scout who can supply you for life!

Yesss!!! *Evil Laughter*

Great Idea.  I see our local council starts Jan 16 and is included in selling of the trios cookies, the ones I want.  Will send off a message!

I always keep extra toothbrushes on hand for after someone is sick, etc.  If I ate a large amount of gluten and used it after, yes I would toss it.

I WANT SOME!!!

If anyone knows a girl scout who is set up to sell online and can get me the peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chip ones able to order.... I will be smitten!  I don't want gross toffee cookies, though.  PM me if you get a link, people!

Nut bag..... you dropped my mother in your sink?  LOL

I know, I know, everyone beat me to it.

As a fellow sufferer of OCD, I say throw the bag away.  Unless something is prohibitively expensive, paying for a new one is worth the peace of mind.  Could do a run through the dishwasher or clothes washer with whites or something, and nothing to lose there if it will prevent you from having to buy a new one if it survives the wash.  The more realistic gluten hater answer is to just wash well and use again.... but I would toss it.

I get eczema and scaly skin in place on my face where it may be rubbed/irritated.  A random old acne spot, etc.  I constantly use chapstick to prevent my lips from flaring up, and when I googled angular cheilitis, the corners of my mouth look exactly like a moderate case.   I also have lupus, which is an inflammatory disease, so my body tends to take any source of inflammation and run to the deep end with it.  After brushing my teeth or washing my face, sometimes more often, I apply a dimethicone based lotion to the spots.  I have never had the spots turn into sores, but I assume that is because I am really on top of taking care of it.  I try to be mindful when wiping my mouth that I dab at the corners instead of roughly wipe them, and that seems to help with the severity.  The corners of my mouth manifest in a different way than my eczema, though, so this is one of many things I discover I probably have but won't label myself with it, since I already have so much going on, lol.  I just chalk it all up to being secondary to my lupus.

Since the problem is inflammatory, there really could be a number of causes.  Cyclinglady's recommendation of asking your doctor for some things to try is a good idea.  Maybe have them write a few scripts or give some samples, and just do a good try on each to see what helps.  Definitely be mindful that it is going on the lips so it may get into your mouth.  (Jock itch cream, gross!  lol) Topical steroid creams like hydrocortisone (and other RX ones that can work better for the face) can help inflammatory skin conditions, so that may be something to tone it down and get it under control, but they are not ideal to use long term because of side effects like thinning of the skin.  Hopefully you are able to figure out how to keep in under control.  

are the Coconut Mocha Donut Shop Coffee k-cups gluten free?

Welcome to the forum!  Do note that a lot of the information on this thread is up to 5 years old, so product information may have changed since then.  I don't see any ingredient lists online for that flavor, so your best option is going to be writing the manufacturer.  

I would avoid glass if you are keeping whole grain/nut flours in the freezer, unless it specifically says freezer safe.  (I have learned that the hard way, lol)

I use snapware.  The name brand will last longer than the store brand, and they are square and stack nicely.  But definitely get something that is going to fit into the desired space... they make lots of shapes and sizes.

Are you guys driving home?  Say you are DD and then the conversation is over.  Anyone who tries to serve alcohol to a DD (desginated driver) needs a kick in the shin.

Congrats on the engagement!  I definitely recommend not going beyond your means for a big wedding.  You can do something nice for a reasonable amount.  

Definitely the easiest ways to cut costs are skipping a meal-have the wedding mid afternoon and just do snacks, and since gluten-free food can be expensive, focus on things that are naturally gluten-free.  Wedding cakes are expensive to begin with, so if you have a family member (or even yourself if you want to do that) who can do cupcakes, you can get away with buying a couple boxes of gluten-free cake mix, make frosting, and then whatever small decorations for the tops, like some of those fancy sugars, etc.  If you are blessed to know someone who can do a cake and make it look really nice, same thing with that... just have them make it in your kitchen on your gluten-free cookware.  Even if you have to buy extra pans and such for this, it will be much lower than the cost of getting something from a bakery plus the added cost of a dedicated gluten-free bakery.  

For food, definitely meat and veggies, fruit, things that are naturally gluten-free and not as costly are a good way to go.  If you have veggie people, you can do something like Kabobs and make various kinds.  (I am assuming you will be doing this in warmer weather, lol)  They can all be put together the night before, cooked in an oven or on a grill the day of and kept warm.  Can do some with chicken, beef, tofu, then various veggies so everyone gets what they like.  In general, avoiding gluten-free substitute foods will help keep the food costs down, especially if you want to do a meal.  Salad is something that is cheap and filling and easy to make, and you can have a few bowls of naturally gluten-free salad dressing out for people to dress their own.  Fruit salad as well, just get whatever is in season and good and throw it together.  Brisket you can feed a huge crown with, at a decent price.  Could do BBQ type sides or something like mashed potatoes and corn, etc.  A taco bar would be an easy thing to keep everyone happy and gluten-free.  Just do the meats, keep hot in crock pots, and all the sides.  White corn tortillas and hard taco shells, etc.

Lately I have heard a lot of people doing things other than cake for weddings.  Like root beer floats, chocolate fondue with fruit, sundae bars, etc.  If you aren't a cake person this may be a fun thing to do, especially for something like an afternoon wedding where you don't do a meal.  Appetizers that would be easy to do... wings (can cook in batches on grill or in oven and keep warm in crock pot/warming trays you can get at party stores), veggie trays with olives, pickles, hummus, ranch, basically everything but the crackers.  They sell crunchmaster crackers in bulk at Sams club if you don't want to go without.  Lastly, not serving alcohol will save on the budget, and also ensure no bad drunk guests, lol.  

Here are a few other good ideas that would go well with family doing it and budget friendly:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link (I make this with a pork roast and bbq sauce, put it in and forget about it, few hours later perfect pork)

Thats good to know!  The old schar pasta was very corn-y to me.  

Another technique I use at my pharmacy is having them add a note to my file that pops up when the Pharmacist is verifying, that says "Please consult with patient before filling an existing RX with a new NDC.  Please keep same manufacturer if possible."  This way, as I am on a lot of meds for my health conditions, it makes everything easier to keep track of.  Helps put it in their face a little bit, so ask them if they have something in their system that will show a note each time something is filled.

In cases like this, you really have to judge based on your relationship with the person, etc.  If you don't feel that mentioning "My friends really liked those things you got me, I had to give them to them since they contained my allergen, so they say thank you, too! haha!" (Kind of a way to say it with humor)... Then I would wait until around your birthday, or a few months before Christmas next year, and just let people know to avoid giving you food since you have a food allergy that can make things difficult.  I use both of these techniques depending on the person.  With my general extended family, anytime around holidays I tell them, or tell someone to tell them, just don't get food for Laura.  Kind of like when I extend an invite to someone to come to my house, I always remind them to let me handle the food so they can just relax, and that jogs their memory, since it may not be at the top of people's minds.

People who you are not close to, or who may not handle being told things like "I can't eat your gift but thanks!" well, just let it pass and like StephanieL said, give it to someone who will enjoy.  But if you are going to see someone year after year, sometimes it is a sanity saver to throw out the "no food for me" message early before the holidays.  Just use your best judgement, be grateful, but remember you don't have to be completely dishonest with everyone every time.

Maybe its just the brands at my favorite grocery store, but I have problems finding shelled nuts that are not processed on shared equipment with wheat.  There is one type of small package in the baking aisle that is okay, others have a warning.  I can't recall what brand that is, though.  I also buy Hines Nut co which are certified gluten-free and local to my area.  Usually I am buying nuts for baking.