bluejeangirl

This is the first year I've had bronchitis since the 80's. For close to 6 weeks now I've had the worse cough and is only now finally getting better. In the beginning though I couldn't sleep well I was coughing so much. Sometimes productive and other times a dry tickle, it was weird. The only thing different this year is we're running a space heater to heat the family room because of the high cost of heating a whole house. It's one of the tall tower type heaters. The other thing is being gluten free since Dec. So I don't know what it is, all I know is my ribs are sore.

I really would like to taste how McDonalds new coffee tastes like but to make it worth the trip it would be nice to order something else for breakfast. Since my favorite egg McMuffin is out of the questions does anyone know of a gluten free choice I could have?. Thanks

Gail

Its just my opinion but I think eating non-gluten breads made out of corn starch, tapioca starch, or potato starch has to have an effect on our guts. Corn starch especially, it looks like plaster of paris. I've had one of those Chebe bread mixes in my pantry for like 2 months and when I go to get it I change my mind about making it because it feels like baby powder in a bag. One things for sure if your diet is full of veggies and fruit you will not be constipated. Try to stick to the whole grains. Cereals are good at sticking to the whole grains but like I said its the breads you have to watch out for.

Beans will bloat me also. I have them in small quantities. Cabbage is the worse for me. My stomach fills with gas and pushes up into my esophagus. I feel like its choking me. I don't think I'm allergic to these foods I just think we lack the digestive enzymes it takes to digest them. But I have yet to find one that works.

I have to wait for my mascara to dry before putting on my glasses or I'll get streaks up and down the lenses.On the otherhand my nails have always been bad. Their soft and I have to trim them or they'll snag on things.

I have been diagnosed with celiac disease for almost two years now, I share the same frustration that many ppl with celiac disease have. Eating out, parties, conflicts with family meals and such; but it seems to get become almost boring trying to explain myself every time I go eat something. Yes, it is gluten-free, no I did not eat any chips and so on... I understand some ppl that I am close to have concerns, but it becomes very tiring. I was just wondering has anyone ever felt the need to just giving up? I am to the point where I do not care anymore. It is my body, my health, not theirs... Then again that almost sounds mean... Right?

I can only give you perspective as the parent. We just want to connect with our teenagers and forget we're asking the same questions all the time. I can see how that can be annoying reading your post. Maybe you have to explain that to them. When I would ask my son to many questions about something he would just look at me and take a breath and not give me the answer. I knew to back off. Sounds like your not wanting to give up because of the diet but because of all the explaining.....its not worth it, I would just let people know your sick of the scrutininy and would like a better subject.

Mally's Ma,

We just got a puppy, alittle long-haired miniture dachshound that oh so cute but a little devil most of the time. It reminded me of the time when my boys were babies and they needed all my attention all of the time. I never thought I'd get through those times it was very very hard. But you do and it does get easier. My boys are 21 and 23 now, where did the time go. I would put locks on all of the bottom cabinets and let them play with the pot and pans cabinet and tupperware. They loved making towers and beating the pans like drums, you might have to put ear plugs in. I would have the time to make dinner though and that was all I wanted. The cereals I like are Barbara's corn flakes and Natures Path Mesa Sunrise flakes made with Flax, Corn and Amaranth. They are a quick fix. And sometimes you just want to crunch on something.

Wow! THank you guys so much for your responses! I went to bed last night and there were only a few and got up this morning and there were 2 pages! I'm going to go ahead and do the blood test just because....it probably won't come up with anything, but what does it hurt to try. I'm going to talk to my doctor about what exactly he wants to find with a gluten challenge. If he just wants to see me with symptoms than I can handle that, but if he is wanting me to do enough damage to get a positive biopsy I'm just not up for it. It's not worth it, to put myself in that condition. It's just so frustrating sometimes! Thanks again everybody!

I would like to also thank you for your responses to my question of support groups and how people view self diagnoses. All I have to say is I don't care what a doctor or test reveal, gluen bothers me and I'm very happy to give it up and will avoid it anyway.

Okay Gang, here's an idiot proof cookie recipe. And by that I mean, if I can make them, anyone can. And it took me 3 or 4 tries to get them right.

From Carol Fenster's Wheat-Free Recipes and Menus.

1 1/4 cups flour blend

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup shortening or margarine at room temperature, or Spectrum spread

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 extra large egg

1 cup chocolate chips (she says gluten-free/DF)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

I just made these are they are the best gluten free thing I've ever made. I'll never go back to a dry ready made store bought.

My revisions were

I cup of Pamela's baking mix plus

1/4 cup of Montina all purpose flour

I used butter instead of margarine

more choc chips and walnuts

yum yum I love these I didn't know you could make a good gluten free cookie. I so wowed.

I'm in the same boat as you are. I've been gluten free for 4 mo.s and its so nice not to have the pain I used to have. My symptoms were muscle and joint pain so bad in the mornings it was hard to get out of bed. I'd have night sweats and dreams where people or animals were chasing me to kill me. I'd have depression that was awful and constipation. So I was afraid to go the GI with those symptoms because I never thought they were typical of celiac. Under the advice of a nutritionist/health food store owner friend I went Gluten free and felt so good I never turned back. I don't know what to do either since I don't want to touch the stuff. I tried oatmeal once and didn't feel good but not as bad as what wheat would do. My question is I can't go the the local support group for celiacs which is held in a meeting room in a hospital without a diagnoses right? I'm afraid of the officially diagnosed looking down on the self diagnosed. Any comments

Not that I drink daily by any means, but since my dx in Dec 05, i have been to several parties and its so depressing and annoying, on some peoples end, not to be able to drink.

Sorry im about to vent, but i was always the fun party girl and now im the depressed girl sitting and moping. and its worse when every 5 mins someone comes and asks you why ur not drinking, following that question, R U ok!?! Like why cant someone not drink just because.....gets on my last nerve.

Im kinda scared to drink at this point cause I dont know how my body will react.... How long did u wait after ur Dx to drink?

I drink about 5 oz of red wine with my evening meal. Its one of the little perks I look forward to since most of my diet has been excluded, my most favorite being italian. I don't drink any more than that and I don't drink to get drunk or party. So I really don't know what to advise you. Alcohol is hard on the lining of the stomach and intestines when drinking alone. If I were you I'd have a weak "gluten free" alcoholic drink with alittle snack food and be the fun and fantastic person you are. No need to explain anything to anyone. Just sip and take this time to enjoy people and make that your priority. I really feel like your going to turn this into something positive.

I feel worse in the winter but I live in Wisconsin and the winters are cold and overcast and I'm in constant worry I'm going to get the flu. lol. I think I probably have SAD but never wanted to get those light boxes.

I don't see as many people in the winter,, my parents go down south to live, the roads are bad to travel, can't afford vacations...I could go on and on. At least I know by march when I feel like I must have cancer or something terminal its just that I've been in the house to long.

Hi eveyone, I am so scared I was Diagnosed in Jan of this year and I went from 102lb to 85lb Iam 5'2" And I am so scared I do eat , I also have a slight eating disorder, well when you go through your life in pain after you eat you start to think the food is making you sick. Well I still have a fear of food slightly but now I just can't gain weight. I do eat , I eat eggs lunch meat Chicken Lots of Salads , Celery But none of these things are helping me What can I eat? Please feel free to e-mail me kmztoy@hotmail.com

Kim,

Do you still have an uneasy feeling when your stomach is full. Food issues are not easy to get over. I can tell you what I'd eat to gain weight but it mostly involves high fat foods and desserts after I'd ate a nice lunch or supper. You don't have to be scared to eat anymore. and keep telling yourself that. You said you eat lots of salads, well try eating smaller salads with like a grilled cheese on kinnikinnick Italian white tapioca bread. Have some chips with it. Have two Pamela's cookies the ones that are already made. It will take awhile to stretch your stomach and eat normal. But I keep looking at what you eat and its all the stuff I'd have if I wanted to lose weight not gain.

I just have to agree with everyone on eliminating the diet to fruit, veggies, and protien. Carbs are hard to digest. They sit in the gut attracting water to move them out and because they are not digested they cause permeated guts or leaky guts. That means foods get into your bloodstream and that causes the food allergies. A good book is Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall.

You might find out you can eat the veggies you said you have trouble with if you eat them without carbs. So its a pretty plain diet buy better then what you've been eating.

My gums USED to bleed, but no longer after gluten-free. I am taking extra vit C...have been for a couple of months but not seeing improvement. hmmmmmm.................

Vit K deficiency also results in bruising. Have you been on any antibiotics? That can cause a problem with vit. K loss. I think foods high in K are cabbage and broccoli, and canola oil. What else comes to mind is maybe being on aspirin therapy? That can cause your blood to get too thin.

So I'm at work. I'm crampy and bloated and downright miserable and it's occurred to me that this is exactly what it feels like when I get glutened.

Tylenol isn't doing jack for the pain. And anything stronger (ie: Ibuprofen) destroys my stomach.

Can't micro the corn bag at work because that would just be embarassing...

Anybody have any suggestions???

A good calcium/magnesium supplement works by relaxing the muscle and therefore no cramping but the hitch is you have to be taking it for at least one month to get the benefit. So I guess this is good advice for your next period.

I have never bruised easily, but now I look as if I get beaten regularly. I am dreading summer b/c I am not going to want to wear shorts. Usually the bruises are on my legs. At night if I don't put a pillow between my knees they will bruise. My husband a couple of months ago squeezed my thigh and I had a perfect handprint on it the next day and it didn't hurt at all when he did it. Yesterday I was moving my treadmill and it momentarily landed on my foot. It hurt a little, but today it looks so bruised it looks like something is broken. This has me stumped b/c it didn't happen until I went gluten-free and my D has all but completely stopped and I had malabsorption before, but not now. I am taking a lot of vitamins, etc. What gives and should I be concerned? Or just wear long pants this summer?

Bruising is a sign that your not getting enough vit. C. Try increasing you intake. I bet your gums bleed when you brush your teeth. Another good one is CoQ 10. That really helped me with the gum bleeding. It helps increase the intregrety of the vessel walls. But the C is the biggest issue.

Let me start off by saying that I know I have intolerances to onions, garlic, soy & milk/lactose in addition to gluten. The night before last I ate an Amy's frozen meal (Enchilada Bowl or something like that) and it did have onions, garlic and soy in it. I knew that it would probably upset my system a tiny bit, but I was NOT prepared for the way I felt for the next 24-36 hours. The previous time I ate it I just had some gas and minor gas pains for a couple hours. This time I was miserable with severe cramping and looser stools, but never D. Not sure if it was a cross contaimination issue (since they do make wheat items in the same place) or if the other tolerances just kicked in. I can tell you one thing...I will NOT be eating that again. I was in a hurry and didn't really have much other choice than a gluten-free donut, which I will choose next time I am finally almost back to normal, but going with very safe foods for a while...things I know won't mess with my stomach/intestines.

Anyone else have any issues with Amy's products?

YES! Everytime I have something prepared from Amy's I do. I don't know what it is though. I'll have trouble sleeping and be restless all night and when I do sleep I'll have frightning dreams. I feel like a do when I have MSG. So unless its an ingredient that's a derivative of MSG I don't know. I suspect it is.

The mistakes I've made were investing in all of the flours. I thought I'd be baking but the few attempts I've tried were so dissappointing that I don't want to waste my time doing that anymore. I'll just buy the mixes like Pamala's brownies once every other week. One loaf of millet bread lasts for two to three weeks since I only have one slice in the morning with eggs. I hardly ever eat cereals...once a week, but I have like three boxes sitting in the pantry. And I make Pizza every sunday with a premade pizza crust by Sami's bakery that is made with millet. Its fantastic!. But everything adds up. Our eggs are farm raised. Our beef is grass fed, chicken is the Smart brand chicken, we'll buy spinach, two kinds of lettuce, zucchinni, carrots, celery, mushrooms, onions, garlic, green beans, asparagus, and three kinds of fruits every week. I don't do well eating alot of beans and rice but that's what I would have to do if I didn't have the money. I would only make pasta once a week since that's expensive. I'd make a lot of soups. Actually when you don't eat alot of starches you don't get hungry as often. Its all so complicated now. I miss the days I could get away with eating a ham sandwich with cheap bread for lunch. But it'll pay off I'm sure in the end with good health and with the expense of medication thats a good thing.

I just got my first copy of "Living Without" magazine and in the very first article called Give Them Bread they have a recipe called The Ultimate Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Sandwich Bread. The picture shows the bread and two little boys eating it toasted and it looked so good. So I'm sure you've heard this story before but it turned out nothing like the picture. I followed the recipe to the tee and made it in a bread machine like the recipe said. I'm making the bread and I'm thinking this is so heavy how is it going to rise. It calls for 3 eggs and 1/4 cup of oil and a lot of milk 1 1/2 cups. The flours were 2 c. of brown rice, 1/3 tapioca, 3/4 sorghum flour. I used bread machine yeast from red star. Its still warm but I sliced it and it looks like a sponge with a lot of little holes, very moist and heavy. I'm afraid of eating it because of trouble digesting it. How do I get bread to have a rounded top??? Mine has a big dip. Did anyone go thru this and figure it out? Thanks.........I hate baking and this is why.

I'm also hypogycemic. I have to watch my carb intake so I don't get peaks and dips. So my breakfast is usually:

2 farms eggs over easy

1 slice of brown rice bread or millet.

coffee and half and half.

blueberries

I eat lunch at 11:00 because I'm too hungry to wait or I'll have a snack like a protien shake and eat lunch at 2.

Lunch is

big salad or stir fry veggies with applegate turkey pattie or chicken breast or pork.

Snack:

peanutbutter on rice cakes or hummus on crackers or veggies.

Supper:

today we had taco's with guacamole and chips.

I'm a good cook and abit of a foodie along with my husband so eating good and using the best ingredients mean alot to us. We used to love eating at resturants quite alot but didn't enjoy feeling sick after. I can pretty much turn any recipe I see into gluten free. Except when it comes to making breads and desserts.

So far I'm not to sick of eating the frozen gluten free breads Enjoy life I think is the name. I usually have fruit and whipped cream for dessert.

Don't sweat it, your body is likely in 'regeneration mode'... rebuilding damage from gluten posioning; bones, muscle, skin, organs, etc. My hunger increased dramatically at first, and continued for 4 months... I regrew hair, my skin improved, muscles firmed up, shoulders broadened, gum disease healed, etc, etc. To be honest, I ate everything in sight... mostly quality foods, but some not so good; ice cream, candy bars, potatoes, grits, sausage, and other low nutient foods. But most was quality items like chicken breasts, [local] eggs, fish, nuts, seeds, BE Peas, collards, etc, etc.

For some reason, now I can't get enough raspberry sorbet... mixed with lowfat chocolate ice cream/milk, it's better than heaven!

GC

I think the biggest mistake when going on a gluten free diet is to only concentrate on whether a food is gluten free or not and if it isn't you eat it. While it is important to find foods that are gluten free its easy to fill up on carbs. I remember eating half a bag of barbra's jalepeno cheese curls and couldn't stop. I was caught up in it being a safe food but after so many days of eating like that I kick up alot of candida. I'm reading alot of post where people are asking why they feel a certain way and I know its candida which I think goes hand and hand with celiac because our guts are out of balance. Read up on this if you can. Also my blood sugar was making me crave more and more sweets and feeling tired and crabby. I went to a high protein, high veggie, low carb diet and I feel great now. And no hunger and mood swings. Its the way I usually eat but forgot to keep it up when I went gluten free.

I would pull up to a bakery for breakfast and have a warm cinnamon roll with lots of icing with coffee and cream.

Then I'd have lunch at a grill and have a Hugh juicy burger on a hard roll with the works. I'd have jalapeno poppers and onion rings for the side with a big mug of beer.

Then for supper I'd have beer battered perch, fries and a big slice of homemade bread with butter. Beer again.

Dessert: chocolate cake and ice cream

Hi, I'm also new to the board and was trying to put mick66 last works in quote but screwed it up. Anyway sorry to hear about the hospital stays to get you to put the weight on. I think I'd put bricks in my pockets before that happened but I'm just joking because you have to somehow gain that weight. I went from 143 lbs to 118 over the period of a year though so it wasn't drastically lost. I'm 5'7". I just wasn't hungry and always felt boated with alot of gas and "constipation" so I never suspected celiac. I'm still not diagnosed BTW. I went off Gluten after reading up on my symptoms and buying some books. I knew my digestion wasn't well so I bought and read The Inflamation Syndrome and Dangerous Grains. I gave up eating gluten grains as a new years resolution. I'm feeling better then I have in a long time and the biggest improvement was my sleep and the aching in my body. I've gained 3 lbs and my appetite is better. I eat 3 to 4 small meals day whether I feel like it or not. I'm eating alot more veggies after reading the inflammation diet, which I feel will heal me faster. After eating this for 3 weeks I had my first (excuse me if this is offensive) normal bowel movement that was formed and strain-less in about 5 yrs. I was shopping on a Saturday morning with my husband in the grocery store and had to excuse myself to my husbands surprised and when I returned I could hardly contain my excitement in the middle of a store. hehe. Anyway I don't want to go on to long but the point I would like to make is in the beginning I feel it also important the what you eat not only gluten free but lots of fruit, veggies, and quality protein. I also went off dairy and soy. I didn't eat alot of beans because they are hard to digest. I ate rice corn and buckwheat pancakes and that was about the only grains. I'm now eating the gluten free breads and slowly eating the gluten free grain products. But I don't feel as good as I did when I was eating mostly fruits veggies and protein. I want to say more but don't want make this any longer.

I'm no expert only being on this for a month.

Gail

Hi, I'm new to the board, but not to the gluten-free diet. I have had celiac disease for about a year now. I know what you guys are going through with the weightloss, it's awful. I lost so much weight and was so malnourished that my gi doc put me in the hosp. on a picc line for 3 weeks, I gained 20 lbs. Within 2 weeks or so I lost most of it, but tried to stay at one weight to maintain so I wouldn't have to go in the hosp. again. I go to see him every month to get weighed and examined. I kept going down again even though I drink 2 Boost plus and whatever else I could eat. Six months later I was put back in the hosp. and they surgically put a port a cath in my body, on my left side over my chest, below my shoulder, I had to get nourishment this way, a feeding tube, just not directly in my gut, I already have pain from chronic pancreatitis, costochondritis, neuropathy, osteoporosis, basically I have pain everywhere. This diet is hard to gain weight, either that or it's the other dx's I have. I dread going every month cause I'm afraid he will send me to hosp. again. So far I've been gluten-free but I think recently i got glutened cause Iam more nauseus than ever. I have stayed the same weight for a couple of months now, I'm not sure how I'm doing it, but I totally get where you guys are coming from. I have read almost all the posts on weight loss with this disease but noone has mentioned going to a hosp. to get nourishment, even though I didn't like it, it did help.