Mesadora

You have come to the right place! What your doctor told you is true - up to a point. You DO run the risk of all sorts of nasty "complications" like cancer and lupus and other autoimmune diseases IF you don't stick to a gluten-free diet. And you MAY suffer fertility problems and miscarriages IF you don't stick to the gluten-free diet.

 

But the good news is, if you DO stick to the gluten-free diet, chances are you won't develop other problems, and chances are you can pump out as many children as you want.  

 

I'm glad you read the newbie thread. It's a great place to start. You truly do need to be careful about cross-contamination. It can all seem overwhelming at first, but honestly, there will come a time when you won't even think about it. You will likely go through a period of withdrawal -  and it is a very real, physical withdrawal. You may get headaches and mood swings and constant hunger for a couple of weeks. Then it will settle down.

 

You may also have a few meltdowns at the grocery store. That's when you come here and cry on our shoulders. Between all of us here, we have MILES of shoulders and we're more than glad to comfort you. But there really are SO many foods that are gluten-free naturally - meats, fresh veggies, fresh fruit, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, even most potato chips and ice creams. And even though it's best not to go hog wild buying gluten-free substitutes at first, when it comes time for bread, there are some really good ones out there such as Udi's and CANYON BAKEHOUSE. Yeah, they're expensive, but that'll keep you from overdoing it - they are really fattening and have hardly any nutrition. But they make a nice treat when you just feel like having a sandwich.

 

So please, DO go COMPLETELY gluten-free, and please, lean on us here. We're all in the same boat, and those of us who have been at it for a while are living better lives than we ever have. We eat healthier, we feel better, and we are happier, with more energy and MUCH more positive outlooks than we had before.

 

You're going to be fine. Better than fine. And you will live a normal life with children and whatever else you want because you will have the good health with which to pursue these things.

Hello my name is Anne

I too am new to this whole life of Gluten free. I wanted to say something that I have found to be completely true. Going to the grocery store ends up becoming a mental breakdown for me. I unfortunately have NOT turned my house over into gluten free and it's become so challenging that I have suffered nutrition. My levels went from 98 to a 8 in 6 weeks. My doctor still says this is way to high and the reason I am so tired is because of this. I have heard my levels should be below a 4 so I am continually trying. I basically was told that I had without a doubt celiac and to look it up and don't eat gluten. Then I was sent on my way. It's been since the end of July and I am still trying to figure this whole thing out. I commented on your post specially because of the grocery store comment. Today specially I went to the store and walked around on circles to finally putting some udis bread in my cart and left. I actually cried from frustration. I just resist the change and sometimes feel as if it isn't fair. I however know this is being stupidly selfish and I can conquer this just like I conquered breaking my neck and the possibilities of never walking again. I wanted to thank I for your reply to the poster. It not onky helped her. But it helped me too. Thanks

Anne.......I know cyclinglady gave you stellar advice but I have to say something here......you need to start educating yourself on Celiac if you are to lead a normal life.  I have to admit I was a bit offended at the notion that you just want something normal so your response was to not eat.     Celiac's are normal and we eat normally.....we just eat much healthier than most people and eating healthy is NORMAL.  It's the rest of the country who aren't eating normally...they are eating processed crap that is making them unhealthy.  

 

I know you are in shock and any lifestyle change takes a bit for that shock to wear off but you need to start reading books on Celiac so you'll know all you need to know about living normally with it.  You also need to take control of your household and if that means there is no gluten allowed in the house, so be it.  Your family can eat gluten till they burst outside the home.  If you allow gluten food in the home, then you need to set up rules for them to follow so you will get better and stay well.  I could say more but am cutting you some slack here because you are a newbie but you will never be in a good place with this if your attitude stays the way it is.  Take control of the situation and things will improve dramatically.

 

You also need to stop eating out right now and learn to cook nutritious gluten-free meals.  It is still too early in the healing process for you to eat out.  This is so important for you to do.  Colorado is a super state for gluten-free....I have been there and I was impressed with the knowledge.  You live in one of the healthiest states in the country so will have plenty of support.

 

I wish you well and hope your adjustment goes more smoothly but it is totally up to you to make that happen.  We can help you find alternatives for your favorite foods too so just ask!  Be well......

Wow....I was having a hard day and I could relate to the posters life....I didnt mean to offend anyone at all, especially you "gemini"  We all have our times...our issues...our moments and I was having one... It became discouraging when I went to school to be a chef.  i learned to cook certain foods a certain way growing up.  I have a sick parent living with me that has to eat HIGH calorie foods including gluten bread....and massive starches....It is hard when you work 70 hrs a week in your car and travel constantly along with having 4 children who wont eat gluten free if I held them down and smashed it up their noses and down their throats.....I apologize once again.

The biggest step for me was getting on this site in the first place..I make one posting and am having a rough moment and I get smacked on the hand for feeling sorry for myself....yes, I probably did need it but I really didn't intend for any of it to be negative...I just needed some help....My daughter in law has her doctorate in Nutrition....she constantly is telling me she will sit down and help me figure out what to do and what to eat....so far this hasn't happened and she is very busy, so I understand...Its not her responsibility...It is mine...so therefore we come back to me signing up by learning off of the website. 

I will go to Newbies and see what I find....I will see what info I can learn from others that have been dealing with this a lot longer than I....however....somedays I will have a moment...I will wish i could have something like i USED to have...something for instance...like a sub from my favorite sub shop...No they r not gluten free, nor do they have any options....sometimes I will miss those days but i haven't recovered enough to know the feeling of goodness that comes from being gluten free....so please be patient...I will get there eventually and I will be much more tactful when replying, if i ever do again, to other postings....

thank you for the reply and thank you for the ideas...anne

Tonalyn

I to am from colorado. I also have kids and I never even got the goodbye pizza or beer. I understand your qualms. I am suffering from them as we speak. I just don't eat anymore. I however gained serious amounts of weight. My liver was over 800 and high is 35. My vitamin D was so deficient but I was tan as tan could be...I am 2 months into gluten free and today I became so discouraged.... I just wanted something normal. I cannot figure it out and my family isn't following the diet with me so I am just watching everyone eat. My problem persists from being southern. We fry and bread everything. Lol. But currently I stopped cooking completely. I have found that red robin rocks. They have gluten free bread and offer to wrap any sandwich or burger in a lettuce wrap. I just hate thinking u r outside eating. Ugh. I understand because I am not eatjnf at all since I don't know what to eat. However if I have to go to red robin everyday to just get something that isn't contaminated then I will and hopefully it isn't contaminated since my scores are still elevated to a 9. However they have dropped in 2 months from 97. So that's encouraging. Please if you find out any great places to eat or breads to make. Send then along. I would love to have a normal meal again soon.

Thanks

Anne

Hello my name is Anne. I have officially been diagnosed with celiac disease.

It all started when I became so tired that I could barely move. I had my thyroid tested and of course it was horrible. My doctor said that everything would get better when I started my medication. Umm... He was wrong. We then decided to take some blood tests and my liver scores were elevated. My weight also had shot up around 6 pounds in a month. The doc decided to watch my liver scores and directed me to come back in a month, hoping they would decrease below the "high 35" mark on the blood test. As I dragged myself around doing my normal routines. I went to another dr who thought I had possibly cystic fibrosis and wanted me to have a colonoscopy. Boy was I mad! I really didn't want to do that! Nope!! It actually took me eventually 5 office visits to my endo dr before he talked me into doing this horrible thing! Anyways back to the liver.... As I kept going the liver tests kept increasing. Doubling in fact and so did the weight. In 6 months my liver went from 98 to a whopping 867 and I gained a total of 45 pounds. I was a mess. The doctor hadn't a clue. He was at a loss. I finally made my appt to have my colonoscopy to find out what was causing such pain in my stomach. As I laid tense and nervous. He assured me all would be well. Umm... I awoke to some news I really didn't ever expect!!! This doctor has been doing colonoscopies for 20 years and never in his life has he ever seen a small intestine in such disrepair. He said it was awful and without a doubt I had celiac disease and probably have had it for years, if not my whole life.

As I left and started investigating my new life. I realized that my entire existence had been fighting weight gain. I would blow up and shrink. Blow up and shrink. I became a vegetarian in 2004 and started eating only cereal due to a massive car accident. I lost so much weight and finally felt wonderful again. It happened to be rice Krispy's. Knowing now that they r not gluten free... Due to contamination, I think they were enough to just get my body close to where it needed to be.... I however didn't know this and started gaining the weight again just by changing cereal.

When I went back to check my liver scores after eating NOTHING with gluten. I found that my normal 25 year doctor did not believe I had celiac disease. He basically said that I weighed entirely to much to have something like this and usually people diagnosed with this are skinny, nearly starving and they have IBS constantly. Well I didn't. I gained weight. I didn't have IBS. if anything I was the exact opposite and couldn't go at all.... I was exactly everything against the rule book. I was a big girl with a bad liver in his eyes, until my liver test came back completely normal. 100% normal. A score of 27. In one month it had gone right back down.

Now it has been three months and I have had many ups and downs over having celiac. I was raised in the south. I cooked southern. I loved to cook and I she a huge skinny family that loves to eat. It's been hard and on many days I find that I just don't eat much or anything at all. I work too long and too hard and I am petrified I will eat something contaminated. I also cannot seem to get my gluten level below a 4 which is where my endo doctor prefers it to be.... I am sitting strong at 8. But hey.... It's better then 98 where it was previous.

I guess I just need some support from people and some help knowing what to eat. I love in my car Monday-Friday. I work on the go and I don't know how to change my house into a gluten diet without changing my children and husbands lives too.

I also wanted to let people know that u don't have to be skinny as a rail or have emergency trips to the bathroom to have celiac. It could be simply an unexpected weight gain with massive exhaustion like myself.

Any thoughts would be sincerely appreciated. I just need some advice and support on what to eat and what products to use. I have been doing this completely alone and it's beginning to get nerve wracking. I miss my old food and sometimes I just want to pretend like it never happened. However it isn't worth the feeling of dragging myself around.

Thanks so much

Anne