Rusla

I gained tons of weight before diagnosis now, since the diagnosis I have lost 35 lbs and keep losing. I hope to get back to a normal weight this year.

I need to say "hi" to all the other Canadians who are new to this site that I haven't said "hi" to previously.

Lynxear--I know the feeling of feeling like a drunk that has been sober then has a drink. It takes a few crumbs for me to be so deadly ill and have dh and other nasty things when I get glutened. I have found it gets worse with each glutening. As for pizza's, I was out getting a small freezer today from a business I know and gives me a deal, when they had a pizza delivered. I wanted to pounce on it and eat it but remembered how sick it made me and I almost got sick there. I guess I need to make myself one of my gluten-free pizza's with goat cheese...so much better.

It does get easier if you stick to it, my getting very sick sure helps me stick to the diet. Now I have a little freezer I have a place to keep my gluten-free items I make etc.

For all the newbies--this is the greatest site and if you haven't joined the Celiac Association in your City I urge you to do so. They have some helpful resources for anyone who needs to be gluten-free.

Well the time of getting up is the time I am usually going to work at, just the whole incident is not nice.

Mine itch and burn, in some ways they look like my DH but on the eye. I wonder if that is what it is as it only affects one eye.

Is okay I went to see my friends at Bowness Health Foods and they have both potato starch and potato flour in bags in their refrigerators. So, I am fine. That is good for anyone else in Calgary. I get most of my flours there because they are cheaper and they are knowledgeable.

No Problem, as they say in Jamaica. I took it back to Safeway and the let me exchange it for Glazed Chicken.

The best part is I never ate one of the ones with gluten in it.

It is also in May in Calgary, Alberta.

I went to the store thinking there were some Lean Cuisines I could have, after the letter that was posted. Well I bought Honey mustard chicken, chicken a' la orange, and glazed chicken. Before I cooked any of them I called Stouffers at 1-800-387-4636, they informed me that the Glazed Chicken is the only one that is gluten-free and they do not have a gluten-free list because it would become out of date too quickly. They do not have the Portabello Chicken in Canada. They have many varieties of Haagen Das ice cream that are gluten-free. I suggest calling them before you buy anything.

Rusla, that's great! We don't go out too much anymore, it's tricky with a 6 year old celiac. We pretty much stick to the Crowfoot Chianti, but I'll make a mental note for next time we want a treat.

Thanks for the info. Have you tried that Chinese place south of the Foothills? I think it's on Parkdale or whatever Memorial turns into about 6 blocks east of Shaganappi. Oriental Palace. They had all sorts of things marked off on their menu that they could convert. I stopped in to look at the menu once after I heard they will convert recipes, but we haven't tried it yet.

I haven't been to that one but the HiiBall across from the Foothills will do everything they can to accomodate. My mother and I went there quite often and when I finally had my dx and had to switch things, the owner does his best. He came over and told me that things like wontons are obviously out and ginger chicken or beef are out or anything with noodles but they will change them for rice noodles and eliminate the soy sauce in anything else. Hoisin sauce and Black bean sauce is out because there is soy sauce in them. They make their own black bean sauce so next time we go, I will take my gg tamari and ask them if they will make the black bean sauce using that for me. Also the Silver Inn on 4st makes their coating for ginger beef or chicken out of cornstarch not flour.

Do they itch and sometimes burn?

I have had considerable trouble with them. I got them the day I got glutened this week. I went to my doctors partner because my doctor is on holidays. He gave me a cream I awoke this morning my eye had swollen shut and my head ached. I just got back a half hour ago from the hospital (from having my brother drive me over at 4am). They said that whatever the problem was compounded by the cream which I am obviously allergic to, so they gave me benedryl, and ice packs and it is starting to go down. Another lost day of work.

My last accidental glutening a few days ago at NYF not only did I get very sick, and itch all over but my DH came out on my skin over a period of two days. This has been the worst with a few minute crumbs of glutening. I find each time gets worse and worse. I am so very careful about being in contact with gluten.

I am not a big meat eater and not red meat. On occasion I have had pork but it is not something I crave or even want. My red meat problem started about over 30 years ago. My nose would run and I would get very ill. They figured it was the red dyes, antibiotics and other things that was injected into the meats. I used to stick with chicken and seafood and still do. Because I was getting sick from chicken, I would hardly eat in the last few years. I still barely eat it but now if I get any I get it from an organic farmer, like my eggs and honey. I don't get sick from his chicken or turkey because there is no anitibiotics or grain feeding, he corn feeds his chicken. I still do not eat a great deal of chicken or seafood. Getting it directly from him I really don't pay an enormous price for it like one would in a store.

I also use San-Jay it has a blue and silver label. That is the one of their Tamari's that is wheat/gluten-free. I use Other VH sauces like plum and sweet and sour also. But for soy sauce I prefer the San-Jay.

That is a much much better letter than what I got from them and it was written by someone else. So, maybe they canned the other one. I can now go back to eating my lean Cuisines that don't have wheat...yay. I do miss their pizza's but as long as I can have some of the others it will be great. I can suffer without the pizzas

Thanks bunches.

Welcome Carol,

Congratulations on finally finding out what has made you so sick. It does sound strange to say this but it was such a relief when I found out. This was because we now know how to keep ourselvess from getting sick.

Make sure you have no wheat or wheat glutens in your toothpaste, makeup, and other things.This is not the most horrible diet in the world, actually I find it easier than I thought. Yes, I get really sick when I get accidently glutened but believe me it stops me from craving gluten when only a crumb will make me so very ill.

This is a great board with lots of support. I hope you like it here.

You could make gluten-free lasagna with meat, or vegetarian. Turkey with rice stuffing or gluten free bread stuffing, chili, you could have a totally gluten-free menu and who would be the wiser. You could have buns on a separate table to avoid cross contamination.

I also take along some of my favorite gluten-free cookies. Make sure you have all your own toiletries with you.

I wish we could get that magazine in Canada but they refuse to send it here. They break my heart.

I had constant strep throat and tonsillitis growing up. When I was 21 I got tonsillitis and it would come back within 36 hours after stopping the antibiotic. My (old) dr. had me on "maintenance dose" of pennicillan. I am now allergic to every antibiotic in the penicillian family - concidence? I think not! I did have my tonsils removed at age 21 too.

Same thing happened to me. After being on Penicillian for three months, I am now allergic to it.

First I am glad I have coworkers that are mature enough and have health problems that,they don't do the things that happen to some of you.

I have had some ask me if it is hard to live like this and if I miss anything. They are genuinely interested. I tell them sometimes I miss pizza but then I will go home and make my own. I tell them there is nothing I really miss because, I can have all the same stuff just done differently, more healthy and I won't be sick from eating them either. I tell that it doesn't bother me at all.

I had tonsillitis all the time that, when I was 20 I was on antibiotics for 3 months straight until they took them out. Then two weeks ago I had a sore throat, I went to a walk in clinic and the dumb doctor looks in my mouth and says;"Well you don't have tonsillitis." I told her that was good because I had no tonsils.

I suffer so extensivly from a few grains of being glutened by accident. There is no way I would ever deliberately eat something. Yesterday for the first time in my life I was craving KFC, I thought of the day before when I was accidently glutened and almost got sick thinking about it, no way I would cheat. The reprocussions are too great.

It is in my cook book at home. Which I won't be home for at least another 7 hours. If no one has posted it by then I will.

Age 62, no symptoms

My long-time sickly sister was finally diagnosed with celiac, so I went to my GP to ask about having myself tested. He said "there is no blood test for celiac" -- when I told him there WAS, he went out of the room and came back with a paperback book (Doctoring for Dummies, I guess) -- he searched the book and confirmed that, no, there was no celiac blood test

I went ahead on my own and got the DNA test, and was positive for half of one of the markers.

ROFLMAO Doctoring for Dummies, I love that.

Shirley: What were you a prize hefer?

I am still working on finding a way to make puff pastry. It is one of the toughest to adapt, as I have found out.

NO! They are NOT the same thing. Potato starch is very fine, like tapioca starch. Potato flour looks more like all-purpose wheat flour. I can't really describe it very well. The starch is bright white, and the flour looks like it's not such a brilliant white and it's not as finely ground.

Tapioca starch and flour and Tapioca starch flour are the same...Potato starch and potato flour are very different.

I get potato starch at the Asian market or health food store (usually the asian market) and Club House makes a small box of potato flour, it's orange and yellow and about 4" wide by 6" tall. It'll be in the baking section. Look around sometimes they hide it. If the word starch is on the box, it should be starch if it's not, it should be flour. When you open the package you'll be able to tell which is which.

You'll notice the recipes rarely call for potato flour unless you're making a flour blend. Other recipes will call for 1/4 or 1/2 cup starch pretty regularly.

edited to say I have NEVER seen potato starch in a regular grocery store, but potato flour can be found in the baking section...mfg by Club House.

Good luck.

What store did you see the potato flour in? I was in safeway and saw Bob's red mill but I am kind of scared of his with so many people being glutened from his stuff.