lonewolf

Chrissy,

I'm so sorry about the problems your daughter is having. My oldest is 14 and I feel for you - I can't imagine how hard it would be to see my child so sick. I hope and pray that the doctors will have wisdom to figure out something that will really help her. Cyber hugs from mom to mom.

((((((((((HUGS))))))))))

Are you allergic to eggs? If not, they would definitely help. If you are, try some Ener-G Egg Replacer. I usually sift a tsp. in with the dry ingredients and then stir a tsp. in with water to add to the wet stuff. Also, a teaspoon of lemon juice will react with the baking soda to make bubbles, which will make a lighter texture.

My kids love these pancakes. They're really easy too - I would never spend the money for a mix.

1 Egg

2-1/2 Tbs Oil

1-3/4 C Milk (rice milk or whatever)

1-1/2 C gluten-free flour mix (I use Bette Hagman's regular mix + 1 tsp. xanthan gum)

1/4 C Sorghum flour

1 Tbs Baking Powder

1 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer

1/2 tsp Salt

1-1/2 tsp Cinnamon (my secret ingredient)

Mix the wet stuff, then add the dry stuff. Sometimes I add ground flax meal and Montina flour for extra fiber by replacing 2 Tbs of flour with a Tbs of each of them. Yesterday I added a mashed up banana too.

Anyone have a really good cupcake recipe???

The gluten-free Pantry mix is great. You can also make them from scratch following the White Cake recipe in the recipe section here. Sorry I'm not good at doing the links. My kids all loved the cake and I'm going to make cupcakes out of it next time. (I added a pack of coconut pudding mix to it, but you don't have to.)

I'll just list things that have gone away or improved since I went gluten-free, since I have never been officially diagnosed.

Dental enamel problems/dozens of cavities as a child (NONE in the past 10 years)

Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriasis (improved, not gone)

Excema (improved, not gone)

Rosacea

Excessive gas

Alternating D and C

Loud, gurgling stomach

Debilitating intestinal cramps (only get now when glutened)

Brain Fog to the max

Blurred vision

Nephrotic Syndrome (in remission for past 2 years)

Editing here. Almost forgot:

Tonisillitis so many times I got them out at age 23

Thyroid problems - been on Armour Thyroid for 10 years

I have something on hand for my son just in case he can't have the snack. When it's my turn, I usually make homemade cookies (no one has ever noticed they're "different") or gluten-free rice crispy treats. Every once in a while someone else will bring something he can eat (like Lays chips or safe fruit snacks), but I decided to not bother asking since so many people are clueless and I don't want to get into the "I brought this special for your son, what do you mean he can't eat it?" thing.

I also bake cupcakes ahead, frost them and then freeze them. It has come in very handy for birthday parties and any occasion at school where treats are handed out. The last birthday party my son went to was a pizza party - I made an Amy's pizza for him and sent a cupcake and some sorbet. (He avoids dairy for the most part, but I allow him a little cheese now and then, but not ice cream.) The birthday boy's mother was very nice about it - as have all the mothers been. One mom even called ahead and asked what he could eat and bought it for him!

The calcium ones are better than the plain Gummy Vites. Not that I would ever sneak any when my kids weren't looking.

Thanks for this thread. I'm having problems with joint pain, too. I definitley think I notice it with glutening. It is primarily in the knees, but sometimes my elbows. When I wake up in the morning it feels like a tight, sharp stabbing pain/ache in the knees. Last night, it seemed to get worse after I ate, (but not gluten) and I woke up with aching knees and elbows. I think the elbow problem is from my cubital tunnel, but I am wondering if I should see a rheumatologist- because is it from food intolerances or maybe fibro/RA??? Help! Is this familiar to anyone?

Like I said in my previous post - I discovered I had other food intolerances and got better when I eliminated ALL of those foods. The rheumatologist (2 of them actually) told me that changing my diet wouldn't help. When I went back, excited that I was getting better WITHOUT their medications I was told that it was crazy to think that what I ate would affect how I felt. At that point I realized I was on my own if I wanted to get all the way better. I'm not saying don't go to a rheumatologist, but be careful of what they tell you about your diet.

I would suggest finding a doctor in your area that does the ELISA testing - it's not foolproof, but it's a good starting point. Or you could try a modified fast (rice, vegetables and fruit) for a couple of days, see how you feel and then start adding foods, one at a time and see what you might react to. There's a really good chance that you have other foods to eliminate besides gluten.

Another thought - It's a lot easier to put an 18 month old on a gluten-free diet than an older child. Why not just start now, BEFORE she has a lot of health problems. My 11 year old is having troubles with following the gluten-free diet because he knows what he's missing and doesn't want to miss it. He's only been doing it for 3 months and it's a struggle, even though I'm totally gluten-free too.

THE COCONUT IS NOT gluten-free. IT ISN'T ON THE TRADER JOE LIST EITHER..DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S IN ONE OF THE GUMS THAT MIMICS WHEAT OR NOT...

What? I thought there was just a problem with some soy in it. I've been eating it for a couple of years with NO problems - and I'm sensitive to soy too. According to their website (Sharon's) it was gluten-free last time I looked.

Oh yeah, why does everyone say it's lucky to have only Celiac? I must have missed something; I feel like just Celiac is extremely difficult I can't imagine having more problems than that.

A lot of us, as you can tell by the other posts in this thread, have many other problems, including food allergies. You're right, Celiac is difficult. But from my perspective, it would be "easy" if I could eat eggs, soy and dairy, and "all" I had to avoid was gluten. Others have it way worse than I do.

I had horrible joint pain too (everywhere except my jaw) and it went away when I eliminated eggs, dairy and soy, as well as gluten. It got a little better right away, but it took about 8 months before I could make it through the day without large doses of ibuprofen (careful with that BTW, I now have kidney disease). Now, 10 years later, I'm pain free, and have been for about 8+ years.

What other bins are near the gluten-free bins? In our local health food store, the potato starch and tapioca starch is near the salt, sugar and dried beans, but the rice flour is right next to oat bran and near rye flour and spelt. I won't buy anything that's close enough for easy CC.

Liz-

You know what made me curious?? My doc mentioned and I read also, that steriods (as in treatment for psoriasis) can cause rosacea. Interesting...I wonder if my meds may have helped trigger this rosacea...

Interesting. I knew that there was a reason I avoid ALL medication now. I haven't used any steroids for quite a while for my psoriasis - maybe that's why the rosacea went away. And I've used a LOT of probiotics. My psoriasis is still worse though - I'm sticking to fruits, vegies and lean meat today until I clear my body of any trace of eggs or anything else. I wish I had the willpower to do a 3 day fast - that usually helps too. (Although it's hard to fast while you're on jury duty).

I get dehydrated lentil and black bean soup from our local health food store,

gluten-free pancake mix works well,

dehydrated potatoes (from a box of scalloped potatoes) and a small can of chicken or turkey makes a decent meal-I'm sure you could substitute tofu or beans for the meat,

gluten-free rice pilaf in boxes (Lundberg brand is good),

and all the nuts and fruits, etc. that you would normally take.

I don't backpack, but we do go bike camping, where we take the same type of food. I'll add more if I think of anything. There is another thread somewhere on here that has more ideas - I don't know how to link or I'd find it for you.

Prednisone is NASTY! I was on it for 9-1/2 months (several of those months at a very high dose) and I managed to gain only 26 pounds by trying to starve myself and exercise a lot. I still (over a year and a half later) haven't been able to get rid of the weight. AARRGGHH!

lonewolf--

thanks... i also have psoriasis...ever notice any overlap? eggs and hot showers... my dh says my showers are too hot...will have to explore and see

I'll be curious to see if you discover a connection with eggs and rosacea. I've been cheating a little bit lately with them and my psoriasis has flared up big time. It was almost gone - with the help of Dovonex and now my arms are covered again and inside my ears. Until you reminded me of the rosacea I had forgotten about it - I hope it doesn't flare up too. It seems like when I had the rosacea my psoriasis was really bad. I have it everywhere you can imagine and a few places you probably can't . If I had the willpower, I'd go back to fish, rice, fruit and vegies - the only diet that cleared my skin up 100%.

I was diagnosed with Rosacea about 4 years ago (also have psoriasis), had it off and on for 2 years and now it has gone away. I got REALLY strict with my diet (eggs seem to be a trigger for me) and stopped using sunscreen with zinc oxide (also seems to have triggered it) and I haven't had it reappear. Heat - hot showers and too much sun triggered it too. Oh, and the only thing I use on my face is organic coconut oil - sounds greasy, but it's not if you don't use too much. Coppertone sunscreen didn't seem to bother my skin, but I do a layer of coconut oil first.

Yea on the eggs, but I am runnig out of foods I CAN eat heh. I REALY hope milk is not the issue... I can live wiht out bread, but ice cream???

Welcome to my life! No gluten, no dairy (except for occasional raw goat cheese), no soy, no eggs. You'll begin to appreciate sorbet, rice dream, tea dream and smoothies to satisfy your ice cream cravings.

You eat about 5 times as much as I do (and you're probably thin, too ), so it could be a challenge, but you can live quite nicely on meat, rice, rice pasta, rice bread, rice cakes, nut butter, nuts, fruit, vegies and water. Learn to bake lots of cookies and muffins and pancakes and eat planned leftovers and you'll be fine. Really, feeling good is way better than eating what you want, and your restrictions will probably be temporary.

Here's another easy candied nut recipe:

2 generous Tbs. pure maple syrup

2 C pecans (or almonds or walnuts)

Heat syrup in a sauce pan over med. heat until it's bubbly. Add nuts and stir to coat well with the syrup. Reduce heat to med. low. Continue to stir until syrup "sugars" - it will go from moist to dry on the nuts. (This will take 3-4 minutes.) Remove from pan and cool on a plate. I usually double this in a large saucepan.

I also like Almond Breeze, but think the Vanilla is a little too sweet. They also make an "original" that is sweetened, but not much - only 8 carbs per cup and 2 varieties of unsweetened - regular and vanilla. I mix a carton of unsweetened vanilla with the regular vanilla and it's really good. The original is good for baking, because it isn't too sweet and doesn't have too much nutty flavor. My favorite use of the regular vanilla is to make hot "cocoa" using carob powder and peppermint flavoring. Dairy free and much lower in sugar than regular cocoa. (I try to limit my chocolate.)

I had recurrent tonsilitis for years - long before I knew anything about Celiac. I ended up getting my tonsils out at age 23. If I had known then what I know now, I think I could have avoided it by changing my diet then. My naturopath said that she sees people with chronic tonsilitis get better when they are diagnosed with food allergies and eliminate those foods.

Anyone know of any gluten free/soy free dark chocolate? Im not a big fan of chocolate, but every once in a while it would be nice- but every chocolate seems to have soy or soy lechtin.

Do you react to soy lecithin? I'm intolerant to soy, but can handle the lecithin. The Food Allergy and Anaphylactic Network (FAAN) says that the soy lecithin isn't usually problematic for people who are sensitive to soy.

I was at whole foods today and saw some new Lundberg Farms rice chips- anyone try them yet?

YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUMMY! My favorite are the Sante Fe Barbecue, followed by the Pico de Gallo.