dlp252

Christine - the cravings do subside after a while...I think it took me almost a week to get over them.

My D is back big time today...I think that's because I had beans and an artichoke yesterday...oh, and a gluten/casein free chocolate bar...so I've definitely been off the wagon since last week...mostly eating legal foods, but cheating with the ocassional illegal thing too.

I seem to be able to handle mostl cooked vegetables except spinach which I've been afraid to retry, although I think the artichoke was just too much--I had a JUMBO one, lol. I've also been afraid to try brussel sprouts because they are gassy by nature, but I may cook the heck out of some this week to try.

I've been using frozen fruit which has seemed to be going well too, but with that, I put it in a blender with juice to make a sorbet, so I think that makes it more digestable. The only other raw fruit I've tried is banana, which really seems to work well for me.

My system could also be off because of the sedation I had for my colonoscopy/endoscopy last week...I had three days of C then went normally, then C again and yesterday and today D. The only illegal things have been two Thai rice noodle bowls, canned beans, canned crushed tomatoes, the chocolate bar and I've been using Spectrum mayonnaise instead of making my own.

I miss yogurt! I love greek yogurt with a few sunflower seeds and a little liquid splenda in it...I don't like much anymore for breakfast and this was my breakfast staple. I've been tempted to give it a try, especially a home made version, but I've been afraid, lol. My symptoms have improved a bit since going gluten/casein free, but are no where near being "normal".

I cant help my self... late at night after everyone is in bed.... ive been eating some of my sons Gumny Vits!! Things are much tastier then the centrum I can no longer take (dairy)!!!

Hum, I don't think I'm surprised by this, lol.

(just teasing ya)

This baffles me. If I had a friend that said " I can not eat such and such for such and such reason" I would never say "YOUR A STUPID LIAR EAT UP NOW!" THats just shuch an alein concept with me that I still cant understand it.

I agree with this and feel the same way... Even if one of my friends or family said "I don't want to eat X because they sky will turn brown", I might think to myself, gee that's silly and probably not possible, but I would respect their desire to not eat X if they don't want to to.

I took a couple of days "break"...I didn't really go off too much, but I had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy on Monday, so afterwards the only thing I felt like eating was a Thai noodle bowl...so the rice noodles weren't legal. I've also added in some nut butter and most of my veggies (cooked). I have been eating some frozen fruit in a sorbet (so I guess that's raw fruit, lol. I've also had a couple of Lara bars which is raw.

I'm not losing weight either, even with lower calories...I'm thinking I may have to cut back on some of the fruit even though I didn't think I was having that much.

Corinne - I'm glad you're trip went well!!! Gives me hope for a couple of things coming up.

I'm a little better, but not good...I keep telling myself to call my Gastro and make an appt. to get a colonoscopy, its the only GI related test I have not had, too scared and embarrassed. does anyone know what they look for and what can be found with a colonoscopy? I don't want to do it at all!

I just had mine on Monday. In my case they were looking for anything out of the ordinary. I think GIs have a routine list of things they look for. I have pain in my left side...he said that is a symptom of IBS, so I think in addition to many other things he was looking to rule out anything more serious. He was looking for cancer, diverticula, ulcers (colitis, crohn's, etc). I was asleep during my procedure so don't remember anything about it...I also had an endoscopy at the same time...both procedures together took probably around 30 minutes. The worst part of the colonoscopy is the prep work you'd have to do...the colon needs to be squeaky clean, so you basically have to drink stuff that makes you have D, lol. They put in an IV when I got to the surgicenter, and that wasn't bad either. I don't remember much else except waking up in a recovery area and being loopy for a long while afterwards...had a good nap though.

Sorry, I've never been pregnant so can't help you there, but I think I'm just about to find out some of the ramifications of not taking care of my GERD. My allergist diagnosed me with GERD about 4 years ago...he had me take Prevacid before going to bed to control the acid. I also raised the head of my bed at that time. I ended up not taking the Prevacid for long...I really never suffered from heartburn, just a raw feeling in my throat...not really sore, just raw, and I was never sure the meds were actually helping.

I had an endoscopy and a colonoscopy on Monday of this week....apparently the doctor saw something in the esophagus that he biopsied--I should find out next week what that's all about, but the raw feeling in my throat is almost constant now, so I'm thinking I need to do something.

Here is the link to the other thread:

Open Original Shared Link

Good luck! Take a list of questions and/or symptoms with you, lol. I forgot to mention two very important things to my GI when I saw him that I wished I'd mentioned. I see hime on Monday again for my endoscopy/colonoscopy, so I hope to have time to mention them then.

Sorry I couldn't help more!

Thank you Donna. I guess feeling sick right now doesn't help me cope with this as well as I should. Hopefully all is well with my intestines and organs. I'm afraid I've had this for a long time and my body has suffered a lot from it.

I posted but I don't see the post under Pre-Diagnosis, Testing and Symptoms. Any ideas as to why?

Thanks for the welcome,

Carol

Very understandable...it's so difficult even when we're feeling good. I think most of us here have had either Celiac or Gluten Intolerance for many years and didn't know it because we didn't fit the standard criteria for it so the doctors didn't consider it.

Wow, I've not heard of it before...I just did a quick search on Yahoo, and most of the hits were for Diabetic Retinopathy. I also saw at least one for hypertensive retinopathy.

I placed a post under Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms but I can't find it.

Any ideas?

Carol

All new posts go to the very end of the section you've posted it in until a moderator sees the post and "pins" it. You can also click on "View New Posts" to see all new posts whether or not they have been pinned.

Hi Carol, welcome! I don't know if I have any specific advice for you, but please try not to be scared. You are already on the right path by consuming a lower carb diet, but you do need to be careful of anything that contains gluten (that includes wheat, barley, rye and oats and any derivative of them, and spelt, kamut, and triticale). Be careful of malt too...that is almost always made from barley.

It can be very overwhelming at first, but it does get better eventually.

Thanks Donna!!! That makes me feel better and right now I can use me some feeling better....lol

Oh good! When is your procedure? Mines coming up on Monday, yikes, lol. I'm also having both endo and colonoscopy done at the same time.

Well, I just went to the Bare Essentials store and got my colors done and it has very good color and coverage. It really does feel like I'm not wearing anything! I was going to get it there but the starter kit was $75 and $60 at Sephora, so I ended up getting it there. I hope I can put it on as well as she did! Thanks for the help guys!

You're welcome...just remember to swirl, then tap off the excess before putting it on....start with a little bit, you can always add more, but it's harder to take it off, lol.

I start with a very thin application, then use a small brush with a tiny bit of the foundation and use that as a spot concealor--again just a little goes a long way.

I don't know if it's a complete waste of time, but it definitely might not show anything. My doctor ran a celiac blood panel even though I've been gluten-free for 4 months...he agreed that it probably wouldn't show anything, but said we could run it to have some baseline numbers for reference down the road.

I was scheduled for a colonoscopy (the reason I was seeing him in the first place), and he wanted to do an endoscopy as well (at the same time)...in my case it was to check for damage from GERD, but he said while he was in there he would do a biopsy to check for celiac damage...again more of a baseline, than actually expecting to find much I think.

In the end I don't know what benefit the baseline numbers might provide other than to see at some point down the road how things are progressing or worsening for me. And, I'm not sure if we weren't doing the endoscopy anyway if I would have opted for that just to check for damage after having been gluten-free so long.

I quit wearing any makeup a long time ago because it felt like my skin was just coated with weights. It also was full of herbs that I am allergic to, and caused weepy eyes and welts. Is BE something that you all would recommend to me, since I am so allergic and don't like the weighty feeling on my skin?

I only wear makeup on special occasions and Sundays, lol. I also hate that weighty feeling on the face. I really don't feel it at all--it really doesn't take much so that helps. This doesn't have herbs, just minerals, but I suppose there is a chance that someone could be sensitive to the minerals.

ChelSE--Bare Minerals is the makeup portion of BE.

Thank you! Did you just get the little sampler pack that they have at the store?

I think I started with a little sample pack that I ordered from QVC, but the color was wrong for me. I am dark featured, and supposed to have olive complexion, but I ended up needing a light foundation. That was, however, enough for me to decide I liked it. The one I ordered from QVC was a bit too dark, but the girl in the store helped me pick out one that was just right. Also, the girl showed me the correct way to put it on...it seems like you should put a lot on, but you might be amazed how how little it will take.

So as a newbie, I've been trying to have a totally gluten free lifestyle which includes makeup, shampoos and everything else. I just got rid of all my old makeup and went for Neutrogena (stuff that I know is gluten free) because it's cheaper than Lancome and Bare Essentials.

I've tried a few different kinds now of the foundation and it makes me breakout and doesn't last very well. Does anyone else have this problem? Is Bare Essentials really worth the money to switch? I actually have a Bare Essentials store near me and I want to go there, but I'm just trying to figure out if it's really THAT much better.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

I love my Bare Minerals foundation and makeup. I tried Mary Kay for a few months, which I also liked, but I keep coming back to Bare Minerals. If you go into the store, they will give you a demo (or at least they do at the stores by me), and that way you can get an idea of the correct color. I like that it feels light on the skin...not like wearing most liquid makeups I've tried.

ETA: the stuff lasts forever too...I've had most of my stuff forever, lol.

I love Atkins...that's what I was doing until my allergist suggested an anti-yeast/candida and rotation diet...and those were basically lower carb. The two times I followed them (without eating low carb junk food and while following the rotation diet) were the times I felt the best...as soon as I added in the whole wheat low carb tortillas (they're healthy so I thought) I got sick.

I'm doing SCD right now just to give my intestines time to heal, but will most likely go back to a lower carb diet because I generally feel much better on it.

Glad that your biopsy went well. I go tomorrow. I am nervous as well. The Gastro is doing both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy - since I developed hemmoroids and a fissure (Im sure from the frequent bathroom trips ... I don't do well on medicine so I am mostly worried about the drugs.... Will they cut it with anti-nausea medication if I ask? Definitely hate the waking up drunk part.

I'd mention it to them. The nurse called yesterday to do the pre-procedure questions. One of the questions was whether I'd ever reacted to anesthesia, and I said that when I had my surgery in 2001, I was very sick afterwards, but wasn't sure if it was the anesthesia or the pain meds afterwards...She said she'd note it on the record to give me something for the nausea. I did the same thing when I had my surger in January of this year (at the pre-surgery call by the nurse) and I also mentioned it again on surgery day, lol. I wasn't sick at all this time, although I did feel nausea when I went home (but never actually had to be sick).

I was not out all the way, but I do not remember any part of it. When I got home, I sat in my little recliner and slept for several hours. It does take a while for the anesthesia to completely wear off, so just lie down and take it easy! Let us know on the results, we would like to hear the good, bad, and even indifferent.

That's just about the same thing that my friend said...she was awake but doesn't remember anything about it.

I have a question...since my mind is almost always on food, how soon afterwards did you feel like eating, lol.

Donna- i have a question about this. This was my understanding about using probiotics as well, but i just started taking them last week after a visit to a nutritionist. All of the sudden the last few days i have had a bit of D, but not like i have been glutened, more like my body is trying to flush something out of it (i.e., no pain, cramps, etc. Just D). Could this be the probiotics at work flushing out the bad bacteria? Or does it not work that way?

Yes, I think they can actually work that way. I'm not sure it's technically flushing out, but I do think that it can cause D sometimes. They don't affect me that way any more but I do believe in the beginning they did.

I still don't understand the Probiotics. Rachel, can you spell it out for me in laymens terms. I think that you have to take Pro to counter the Anti-B, when you need them....other than that I don't know. Should I be taking them now .

Lisa

I'm not Rachel, but I'll take a stab at it. Our bodies contain bacteria, both good and bad. They live there in a sort of balance until something upsets that balance. If you take antibiotics, for instance, they kill both the good and bad bacteria, but the bad stuff comes back quicker. Other things can upset the balance as well, so we take a probiotic to help balance out the bad stuff. I try to take them all the time because I have sooooo many things going on, lol.