penguin

It's official. People are big fat idiots.

ive tried those yogurts and my symptoms got worse, it may have something to do with me being lactose intolerant too. not sure if i can have them, not sure if its the lactose thing or not but they really dont agree with me. shame cos they really do taiste lovely and even my kids ate them.

FYI, dannon is not gluten-free. Well, they might be, but they won't say that their stuff is free of gluten. It's best to just avoid the company altogether.

What's scary is that this woman works in a restaurant preparing food regularly. I don't think I'd want to eat somewhere where the employees don't know what the food is made out of

Please keep us posted on that as well.

I wouldn't want to do a gluten challenge and I didn't even have any symptoms. You have to wait until August!?

To have the best chance at a positive biopsy, you have to be eating the equivalent of 4 slices of bread a day for 3 months. My biopsy is August 21st, 3 months and two days after starting the challenge

I also deal with C most of the time. I've just started eating the new yogart Activia. It's supposed to help regulate you in 2 weeks. The yogart taste great and I'm a picky eater.

Kris

Dannon won't say that Activia is free of gluten. Activia's claims are pure marketing, any yogurt with a lot of cultures (like cascade fresh or stonyfield farms) will do the same thing and are def. gluten-free.

Chelsea, I forgot about your gluten challenge until I saw your response. It may be responsible for your iron deficiency.

I wouldn't be too terribly surprised. I'm interested to see what my bone densinometry comes up with.

how long or i meen how old should u be before u do clensis? my doc says i have a stool lodged in my instine, and it has not moved for about 2 months now, things can get past it but for some reason its 1 stubberd turd. figure a clense could probably really help me but i was not sure if there is like a age thing or something

Please research cleanses thoroughly and talk to your doctor before attempting one.

OK, so nobody is going to be happy with what my dr said...

He said for now, since I can't tolerate supplements, to eat large amounts of iron-rich foods, and they'll re-do the iron study every six weeks to see if it's getting any better. Lots of steak and eggs for me! He doesn't feel that it's bad enough yet to warrant IV's and whatnot. Hmm, since I'm on the pill I think I'll skip my period this month so I don't lose any blood.

Based on past experience, I'm pretty good at getting my iron levels up when I'm trying hard to do so.

And my iron hasn't plummetted per se, I've had small cells and whatnot going on a couple of years now. I don't think it's any worse than it had been. Nobody had ever done an iron study before to see why.

I guess I could *try* supplements again and see what happens. Maybe I'll try that florvital and see if I can do that. I'm going to pick up a copy of my labs tomorrow, maybe I misheard her on some of the numbers. If I start feeling crappy in the next few weeks I'll call back and demand some more aggressive treatment.

In a couple of stores here it is near the velveeta.

i try to cook on low heat for now, for some reason my kitti has really hyper sensative hearing and oil poping drives him crazy, i cooked on low last night with olive oil turned out great well atleast the chicken did, i did not eat the veggies because my roommate put his fork into the wok and he was using it to eat breaded goodies, so i refuesed to eat my veggies instead i just added some lettice and put the chicken into a corn tortia, but it was still really nice and tender chicken- anyone know if olive oil upsets the stomic though? my stomic today has been awful and the only thing i can think is maybe just plain to much oil.

Did your roomate sneak any other bites when you weren't looking? Were his goodies anywhere near your food? Crumbs? Does the cat food have gluten in it?

I found that gluten-free, fried foods didn't agree with me, but that was like, deep fried foods. Stir fry never bothers me, unless I have too much rice.

I would suspect something other than the oil...

Oh, and when stir-frying it's essential to have higher heat. A high medium should work nicely.

I called the dr's office but his nurse hasn't called me back yet. My doctor is fantastic but he's in a gigantic practice that's very busy so it's not as speedy as I'd like. I'll take it though, for a good doctor...

I went to walgreens and asked their pharmacist and he came up with a liquid adult iron but the bottle had been opened so he couldn't sell it. He also reccomended going to a compounding pharmacy so they could make it taste better

Up until going on my gluten challenge, I'd never had a C problem. When I was taking iron before, I would hope for that side effect! To no avail though, I just got black D

I refuse to eat liver no matter what animal it comes from because it's a biological coffee filter. Eww. I just can't wrap my brain around it

That and they don't treat calfs for slaughter very nicely, so I won't eat it on principle. That's about as far as my 8th grade PETA indoctrination got...

I don't know why I'm not weak and tired. I'm not even particularly pale. Maybe it's because my body is so used to functioning so undernourished that it's just coping? I've been anemia sickly, and I don't look/feel like that now.

Also, I have several little bruise looking things that are about the size of a shirt button. They just popped up recently, but they look brownish and yellowish (like healing bruises). They don't hurt, and I didn't hit anything or anything like that. They're on my upper arms and upper legs. Anyone know what those are about?

I had/have all of the symptoms except constipation. Man, sometimes I would wish for it though!

I had inconclusive bloodwork and dietary response and that's how I was dx'ed. I'm back on wheat for now though since I have an endo in August. Dr. says I'll always have to be gluten-free anyway since I'm duh intolerant, but we want to see if there is damage going on.

I think my bloodwork may have been skewed, because I definitely didn't eat Dr. Green's reccommendation of 4 slices of bread (or equivalent) a day. I stopped liking bread, pasta, gluteny things in general over time and never even realized it. I never ate pasta anymore (used to be my favorite!) because it made me sick

The funny things is that when I went gluten-free, I realized I hardly ate gluten to begin with! Even all of my spices and personal products were already gluten-free

I have never been to a BK where I haven't seen at least one onion ring in with the fries. The scooping bins are right next to eachother.

The Liver cleans the blood of toxins and metabolic substances- it is a blood filter. So it doesn't matter if it "happens" in the blood rather than WHY it happens- because of the liver.

That line about the immune system reacting to something it would usually ignore is true and that is the point I am trying to make. The question is why does it react in one person and not the other? Because each person's organs of elimination differentiate and some people have healthier livers and better digestive functions than other people.

Modern medicine is based on the flawed basis that the body just makes mistakes for some unbeknownest reason. Like with cancer, the conventional line is that cells forget to die and proliferate, like it's some accident. Same with allergies, the belief that body reacts to something it usually ignores. That line of thinking is great but it doesn't actually help anything does it.

I am a believer that people's liver's are often compromised from birth and then the consequences of this manifest itself in symptoms of disease like Celiac, Ezcema, Fatigue (in my case). They are all different ailments but consequences of the same thing.

Like 2kids4me said, the body is complex and relies on all of it's systems and organs to function. It is also true that it's genetics, not a flaw in the liver function. Everything she said is true.

In the case of celiac, there are two genes that have been shown for celiac. That's why the autoimmune response happens in celiacs. There are both environmental and internal forces at work in a celiac reaction.

And yes, the liver is a blood filter. Thing is, it filters toxins out of the blood, not other blood products, with the exception of old hemoglobin that is broken down and added into bile. The liver does not filter out antibodies, white blood cells, or lymphocites.

You are welcome to your beliefs.

Yes, merlin23 you have your beliefs.

The liver is a fliter - you are correct. So are the kidneys and the spleen. The bone marrow and genetics of celiac disease have been proven by mainstream medicine. You choose not to believe in that - - I do believe in it.

Autoimmune disease is complex.

You made the statement:

That line about the immune system reacting to something it would usually ignore is true and that is the point I am trying to make. The question is why does it react in one person and not the other?

The answer: Because of genetic suseptiblity, enviromental triggers, viruses etc.

Our bodies are complex and vulnerable, one organ does not "do it all" .

>>Modern medicine is based on the flawed basis that the body just makes mistakes for some unbeknownest reason. Like with cancer, the conventional line is that cells forget to die and proliferate, like it's some accident. Same with allergies, the belief that body reacts to something it usually ignores. That line of thinking is great but it doesn't actually help anything does it. <<

Actually the knowledge of how allergies are triggered is the basis for treatment. Its histamine release that causes the rashes, wheezes etc that create the symptoms. That is why ANTIhistamines stop the response. Not a liver flush.

Cells are genetically coded to go through a cyle of growth and then die off (we shed dead skin cells daily, our internal organs replenish their cells daily in a set cycle and pattern). Cancer cells dont die off but grow abnormally fast and in an uncontrolled manner/pattern because of malfuction in the sequence.

You will have a response to this I am sure- you are welcome to the last word. Readers of this post can choose to agree or disagree with anything I have stated or that you have stated.

Anyone reading this thread should use their own judgement, ask questions and look at facts not testimonials.

A healthy diet, exercise, eating right for your body and listening to your body are the guidelines I adhere to. My body needs insulin injected to function well, my children need gluten free diets to remain healthy.

Well said.

The immune response happens in the blood, not the liver. The immune system consists of bone marrow, lymph nodes, the spleen, and the thymus gland. In an autoimmune disorder such as celiac, the immune system gets activated because it reacts to a substance (in this case, gluten) that it would normally ignore. Antibodies are produced and lymphocites get activated, and it's a self sustaining reaction. Again, the liver has little, if any to do with it, and liver flushes and cleanses are dangerous for someone with a dysfunctional immune system.

I'm not even going to address the bit about scientific studies because I don't understand your logic.

Also, your Celiac friend that eats wheat is doing a lot of damage to his body and is putting himself at great risk of cancer.

I always had trouble pumping, so don't be surprised if you're not getting out as much as the baby could. Unfortunately, we celiacs cannot benefit from what others use to bump up milk supply ... beer. I don't know if gluten-free beer has the same effect, but you could give it a try.

I think wine works too, from what my mom and sister have said.

Well, the whole point of a liver flush is too improve the flow of bile which in turns enables the body to drastically improve the digestion of food. I have not got celiac disease but from what I have read celiacs cannot ingest wheat/gluten without inflamation. This reaction is largely down to not having the digestive capability to deal with food. Liver flushes improve both the digestive secretion of bile from the liver and pancreatic enzymes and therefore the inflamation would occur at a lowel intensity and eventually not at all.

Inflammation isn't the issue with Celiacs. It's an autoimmune reacton in which the body thinks the wheat is poison and attacks both the gluten and the villi of the small intestine. Antibodies are produced by the body in this reaction. So really, the digestive system has little to do with the reaction to the gluten itself, it just gets the effects of the reaction.

Sounds delicious. My great-grandmother always made a dish that was called goop. It was what we would call chili-mac today.

Have you seen "Over the Hedge"? They name the hedge Steve.

My grandmother's chili mac is goulash. I don't know where the heck she learned it, because it is one of two things she can make halfway decent

Yes! That movie was so cute! I love that they named the hedge Steve. In my family we have a tradition of naming cars and plants, I don't see why I can't name a pot

I made "goop" for dinner Or at least that's what DH called it...part of the problem was that I only had half of my food unpacked and I had less than a cup of rice left

I did onion, garlic, smoked sausage, lemon pepper, chili powder, paprika, 2ish spoons of tomato paste, rice, and then I used onion soup as the liquid for the rice. It turned out pretty well! Like jambalaya only not...

I've named the pot Smilla and she lives on the stove because she's too heavy and pretty to live in a crowded cabinet

DH objects to me naming inanimate objects, but special things need special names

My car is named Azul...

for the pepper steak stir fry what do i use for the broth? and what brands of broth are gluten-free. Also what pepper??

Mc Cormick pure spices are gluten-free, and if there is gluten in anything they make it's clearly listed on the label.

I asked the pharmacist about baby vitamins and she looked at me like I was nuts. I guess I need to talk to the dr today

I bought some prune juice and orange juice and made myself a nice iron cocktail with it last night (prune juice is high in iron and the oj helps it absorb). By the way, I don't reccommend prune juice right before bed if you want to sleep through the night

I swear to god, if my mom were here she would be holding me to the floor forcing me into eating liver. When I had mono she was shoving spirulina shakes down my throat. Yuck!

The anemia explains why I got so flippin' tired so fast when we were moving...

Patti- The blood tests were taken about 1 month into the challenge, last Friday. The last bloodwork before that I had (CBC) was in December. My hemoglobin was 12.4, which is low normal, but still normal. My RBC's were still small and my platelets were still high though. I was really surprised with these results yesterday! Apparently my blood has gotten worse since then I don't know what my hemoglobin was this testing round, since it was an in depth iron test.

Marcia - Thanks for the buffalo meat tip. Maybe I'll mix it with beef and make a meatloaf this weekend.

Thanks for the updates! I'll keep you all posted!

How do you do a search inside option?

Ok, here's a link to the book on Amazon:

Open Original Shared Link

On the picture of the book it says Search Inside, click that. Then it's going to ask you for login information (username & password) that you have if you've ordered from them before. Actually, when I did it just now it didn't ask. Anyway, when the online reader comes up, put "yellow cake" into the search box and several links will pop up. The recipe is on pg 35

I don't have a lot of luck with iron suppliments. They are very hard on my stomach. Before I was diagnosed, my hemiglobin was at 8. My doctor told me to take a suppliment, and I first tried Enzymatic Therapy--it made me terribly sick. I then tried Slow Fe--it was better, and I stuck with it for a while, but stopped because of the nausea. I deceided, on my own, to take a Centrum every day, eat the iron-rich foods that agreed with me (luckily I have no problem with meats), and see if that along with the gluten-free diet would help. After 6 months, my hemiglobin was up to 14.6!

The thing is that I can't take centrum, because it makes me nauseated and makes my throat burn. Any adult vitamin does that, and even the kids ones do it to me now.

When I was a poor student and I was trying to donate plasma, I ate cream of wheat and oj to bring my iron up enough to do the donation. It worked for a few days... then they got my more comprehensive bloodwork back and I guess I had some antibodies going...

Anyway, can't tolerate vitamins well.

Does anyone know if those levels I have are really bad? Or only a little bad?

Soooo, the GI's office called today with my iron study results. Big shock! I'm more anemic than I thought!

Hematocrit 19 when over 40 is normal

Saturation was 4% when 20%-50% is normal

Ferritin was 4 when over 10 is normal

Is that really bad?

Anyway, the doc wants me on an iron supplement ASAP and is asking the dr about what I can take since supplements generally make me sick. Just icky feeling and burning in my throat, nothing big, but enough to keep me from being fully functional. My mom says I need to be on them whether they make me sick or not based on those stats

I think I'm going to try baby vitamins, since they're liquid. Would they be gentler?

What do y'all do? I hate liver and sardines, and I am allergic to walnuts. Beans don't sit with me well. Ideas?

I went to Border's today to look for Annalise Roberts' book, but all they had was Betty Hagman's. (Incidentally, all their gluten-free cookbooks were not in the cookbook section, they were well-hidden in the ALLERGY section , and yes, I suggested to the staff that they change that).

Are you allowed to post the recipes for the yellow cake and coconut cake, or would that be violating copyright? (My son't birthday is coming up.)

It's probably not very kosher to do that, but I imagine that if you cited the cookbook it would be ok. Something that I do (and always do before buying a cookbook) is use the search inside option for the book. I searched that book and found the recipe (it's on page 35). I don't think you can print it, but you can copy it down and try it. I just hate buying cookbooks when I don't know if the recipes are any good, so I try to make one recipe first before buying. You could always try that