gfp

Fries are ok unless there is cross-contamination (easily happens)

People keep saying this regardless to the oil testing positive to gluten.

If you read the actual testing report McDo's actually publish it says, buried into the middle somewhere that after they tested negative on an EILSA test the RAST test was positive for gluten.

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However McDo's say....

All these factors serve to greatly reduce the initial level of gluten from the original

wheat ingredient. The calculated level of any residual gluten in the final French fries

and hash browns is below the limits of detection (BLD) of the most sensitive

commercial gluten test.

Which is simply playing with words..... I underlined the one that is relevant....

I feel I must disagree about the blood test. There are people here who had negative blood tests, but positive biopsies. Before any of those blood tests will be positive, your intestines have to be in terrible shape first to make enough antibodies to show up in those tests. Once your villi are pretty much completely flattened, the blood tests are quite accurate. By that time you may have irreversible damage to not only your intestine but other parts of your body as well.

But it is true, we don't even know if that doctor did the whole celiac panel. If he didn't (and seeing how ignorant he is, it is doubtful he did), then the test was utterly meaningless.

It would be good to see which tests were done, and what the results were. There are labs (and doctors) who will declare a weak positive to be negative. Wrongly so.

Just joking really cos I think we all agree on the important parts.... but for an adult eating gluten there is a 98%+ correlation for a positive suite and biopsy.... and the last 2% has lots of explanations including mixing up at the lab...

To me the +ve serology is definitive because without the antibodies nothing is going to happen...leastwise as a autoimmune disease.... which doesn't mean you can't be intolerant to gluten/wheat.... it just means a different way...

So in some ways its just terminology.... an autoimmune disease must show a positive antibody response in order to be an autoimmune disease but then that is simply down to how we/MD's feel we/they need to classify....

I think there are plenty of explanations for non +ve blood tests and posistive biopsy or response to diet...

1) Lots of us realise what's happening and stop eating gluten! (pretty sensible IMHO)

2) Full celaic panels are not run (unfortunately I think all to often)

3) We still don't REALLY understand celiac disease.... perhaps its only partly autoimmune?

Either way...I think the biopsy is we mostly agree largely pointless for diagnosis although it can be useful to rule out other things....

Mostly as Ursa says... just look at this case... the doctor didn't even do the biopsy properly so the chance they ran a full panel seems unlikely...

I'll throw in my 2c and agree and disagree with everyone ...

Like the last two I completely agree on the biopsy.... and as vydorscope says this REALLY casts a lot of doubts on the compenence of your MD to only have 2 samples.... even 5 or 10 aren't going to guarantee it but 2.??? after the hassle and appointment etc. it seems a complete waste to get in there and only take 2.....

OK blood tests....

A whole series of blood tests is VERY reliable..... IF you are and have been eating gluten at the time and for several months...

However here is where I agree and disagree with vydorscope and ursa....

There isn't a single reliable blood test, rather a series that must all be run to get the best accuracy..... some are more specific and others make sure your range for that antibody is normal so that the figure from the other test is relevant or not...

Now I don't wanna drown you in info..... we can link to it if you like.... BUT a positve blood test is always diagnositc even if a biopsy is negative, like ursa says they could sample and keep sampling until they hit the right spot or not... BUT an eneterologist might not support this view... sorry I know that confusing but there is lots of research showing that celiac disease is not limited to the intestines and even further that it can manifest itself without any disgnositc symptoms in the actual intestines... (I'll link to medical papers if you like...just don't want to flood you)

As vydorscope pointed out the fact the MD only asked for 2 samples AND then says this is definitive is a BAD sign for that Dr.

Even a "stick in the mud" old school enterologist should be ordering 5+ and then say there is still a chance....

So this leads back to your blood tests....

I would assume in the absense of proof (since this is the safe option) that the MD didn't get a full suite of tests.... and therefore the negative result is not useful....

The tests can be very accurate BUT must be done correctly and must be done while your not gluten-free and not on a young child and....

Your first stage IMHO is to get the actual tests.... post them here so we can see which tests and the results...

If your already gluten-free that's one thing, if not then you might be better getting a full suite of tests before you make the leap...

One thing most of us will tell you is IF it is celiac disease and you go back gluten-free you are not likely to want to go back onto a gluten challenge to get test results. Mostly we find after becoming gluten-free we react more violently and generally feel worse if we try eating gluten specially. Once the body adjusts to gluten-free it can be hard to keep it up just for a test that is in reality confirming ehat the diet is telling you.

at that point it's easier to buy new......

Its not as much hassle as it sounds.... but its equally not something to do every week....or you'll soon have no pan left...

If you are the sorta person has that stuff lying about anyway

Hmmm, loss of short term memory in a thread on marijuana..

Verrry Interesting

That's what the thread was on.....? I guess i forgot

Ho hum off to take the clothes out of the fridge and hang the dishes out to dry .... and in case your wondering ... nothing illegal just gluten!!!!

LOL .... made me laugh anyway

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According to those two sites, the answer is that generally the green contains a poison and shoudl be avoided but it would take over four pounds to harm a healthy adult.

Edit to add:

Nantzie posted at the same time as I did and her source has a different answer. Take your pick.

Im not sure its really different.... If I ate a pound of peas I'd be in agony and 1/2 pound of peanuts would be like a lead weight...

Im not sure I remember how many carrots it takes to kill you either but again you'd have to be pretty commited to killing yourself that way... Like lots of stuff to much of a good thing is usually toxic.... be it Vitamin A or green bits on potatoes.... so you could say carrots are toxic.... too if you want to be a pedant.... or you could say carrots are a nice healthy food... both are technically correct....

The green stuff isn't good for you, but it's water soluble. I cut it out and boil those potatoes (mostly since I fear I'm slightly sensitive to nightshades).

Yeah i think its just one of those mildly irritating things that usually a little bit of does no harm....

Your not mean to eat raw potatoes either.... but I often munch a couple of raw fries ... and it doesn't seem to affect me....

Sarah.... I wish I could give you a simple answer.....

I just got glutened 2 nights ago.... first night I was weird but mainly only depressed, confused and hot/cold sweats...

Then last night .... I felt like just crying on the toilet floor between stuff coming out of one end then the other... and I rarely vomit from gluten... felt like crap all day until about 4-5 PM... now I feel quite a bit better but I expect either tomorrow or the day after I'll relapse then maybe be Ok for a week and have a bout or two of D....

This is really one of the most frustrating things for me.....

I have found by basically going 100% gluten-free risk free that I can get symptoms up to 4-5 weeks later.... they just get less severe and further apart...

Whereby its sorta interesting for me as an adult to limit myself to basic fruit, vegetables and washed meat for 6 weeks at a time that's me imposing that on me....so Im not sure it would be really helpful for the kids...

In general you can just cut out what you suspect... and stack the odss in their favor... so I'd say don't risk fast food the chance of CC is just to high and avoid anytihng risky as best you can (like Lay's) but in the end you can't realistically let them have a normal childhood and make it risk free.....

Damn..... I spoke to soon.... just got gripes in my tum.... so it looks like another tough night.

And the suggestion to go dairy free for awhile is valid since the enzyme that breaks up lactose is the first to go when the disease sets in, but we found that hard to follow when our son was first diagnosed. It was enough of an adjustment to not have all our meals revolve around gluten like it was (but now I can't believe our meals were ever that consistently centered around gluten as I am reminded every time I'm around others and eating), and our son was being very picky. Our pediatric g.i. suggested we use Lactaid tablets every time we gave him dairy, and it helped tremendously. He didn't have any problems eating cheese, ice cream, pudding, or milk. And we found with him that within a month he didn't need them anymore.

Yeah the only thing about dairy is whether its casein or lactose....

At 6 she is somewhere on the border between tolerating milk and not....

Indeed you made me think of something compleltely new.... and me being glutened at the moment that's no mean feat...

It makes me wonder if the onset of celiac disease in 5-10 year olds might be partly caused by interference as their lactase naturally decreases... like the celiac disease was there but the lactose intolerance wasn't and its the lactose intolerance actually tips the balance vy just overloading the poor gut?

You're so right gfp couscous is wheat.

Back to topic, I enjoy quinoa made into a tabouleh type salad, or any salad for that matter.

You can use quinoa for breakfasts and desserts as well cooked and sweetened with fruit and yoghurt on top.

Cathy

Hey I actually found this....

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In the United States couscous is known as a type of pasta, probably reflecting the influence of Sicilian immigrants. However in most other countries it is treated more like a grain in its own right.

Being a European that lived in North African and the middle east... I presumed that was the only definition BUT according to wikipedia...

The name is also used for prepared dishes made from other grains, such as barley, millet, sorghum, rice, or maize.

Either way though quinoa seems a really good alternative.... as you'd guess from my above statement i have considerable experience with 1001 different cous-cous' indeed everyones mom always makes the best.... so I was really suprised when I tried quinoa and found it really worked

So I learned something new as well

Couscous was traditionally made from the hard part of the hard wheat Triticum durum, the part of the grain that resisted the grinding of the relatively primitive millstone.

Its like soy sauce.... WOW is that a complex subject.... I considered myself a soy sauce expert of sorts until I found out just how many thousands of distinct types there are.... just check wikipedia if your interested but beware its a long long read!

Hey.... I'm really glad you took it like that and its made you feel better about yourself....

Honestly, I think Carla is spot on... I just didn't say it quite the same cos... well perhaps its better from another girl ? or I thought it might take a couple of steps to get there...

If you're not comfortable with religious stuff, I'd say Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus for BOTH of you to read. It really helps see things from the other gender's perspective.

Yep, the book definately has some good stuff.... I don't actually agree with it all but well a) I'm weird so perhaps I'm just not typical (noone ever accused me of being normal) but It honestly doesn't matter.... what it does is show you how your partner may feel... and this in itself is beneficial.... just realising that those differences do exist....

I actually did see another book once... which I thought was actually better but I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, just it was actually quite old.... (like 80's or so) ... but once again ... I think the most useful thing about either was they actually get you thinking how your partner could feel.

Also remember that depression is greatly helped by exercise. Exercising just for that reason would be good for you.

Very good point and I forgot to mention... I think its one of lifes little ironies that when we are feeling down the thing that is FREE and actually benefits us directly can just seem like so much effort...

i'd love it to be him walking w/ me on the beach in 60 years!

I honestly think you just answered your own question by that

yeah, my plans in life aren't very set in stone. all i know is i want to have a family, and i want to be happy. other than that i'm open for pretty much anything. i think i've got the career thing figured out, it's just a matter of getting through the school. i can be quite a worrywart sometimes.

Put those two together..... so we know where you want to be in 60 yrs you know where you are now.... and I think everything in the middle can be dealt with bit by bit....

What I have realised for myself is I can be a real worrywart too.

One huge difference for me is getting glutened.... I'm not sure where one triggers the other exactly but I got glutened 2 nights ago... and i spent that night worrying about just about everything for retirement to seriously who knows what...

When I did get to sleep.... I had the weirdest dreams.... I dreamt we got a kitten that was going to be killed if we didn't adopt it and then the poor thing escaped and got hit by a car....? Then I had another series of strange and upsetting dreams inbetween the times I was alternating hot/cold and running forwards and backwards to the loo.

Tried reading but had nothing in English.... and when Im tired and glutened French is a huge effort.... worried some more about stupid stuff and finally managed to get to sleep about 7AM.... (not to mention worrying about falling asleep and not waking up to check out of the hotel...getting the hire car back and ...... )

Anyway.. you know what ... non of any of it was actually important, I just woried myself into thinking it was.... worse possible case I pay an extra room on the hotel... the car didn't need to be back till 3PM.... I don't have a cat... and aliens were not invading... and even if they were worrying about it isn't going to make a blind bit of difference!

i've been on and off several medsquite a few of these can actually make the sexual desire thing worse for quite a time after you stop taking them...something you can see your doctor about...

i know i love him, i just am not "in love" w/ him the way i used to be. i guess i'm just frustrated b/c i don't really know how to find some middle ground where we can both be happy and satisfied w/ each other. Hey I think Nanzie answered that one

You're just not falling anymore.

I think a lot of this is thrust upon us.... think about it noone ever writes books about the happily married couple... loads of Barbara Cartland stuff gets written about what we are meant to expect... and Romance movies and the like but hey happy couples don't make for a funny show or whatever....

I think lots of us waste what could be happy times just worrying why its not like in the movies.... of course we know movies are just movies... but all the same.

he is very frustrated by my loss of sexual desire. he tries to keep it inside, but it doesn't work so well long term, and we have little tiffs every week or so where he has to express his frustration, and i get to express my guilt...i know he's very sensitive to the issue.

Really its normal.... that what we guys do.... I'd be pretty shocked if you said otherwise.... indeed the fact he is doing this is in a weird way because he loves you so much.... be wary of the guy who isn't getting any and doesn't seem bothered....

This is how us guys judge how much you gals love us.... yeah.. I know its shallow... but its all about our self exteem which is so fragile and here is the key for i want to make it right, i'm just not sure how to.

We need attention like little puppies... we need telling how strong/protective/sexy we are.... even if that's not what's exactly going through your head I'm not suggesting you lie.... just make a big fuss over the things you can....amd minimise the rest.

sexually, i have a hard time enjoying it. i don't know if its what we're doing, how we're doing it, or if there's some sort of block in my mind against it. or all of the above? part of the problem is that i've spent so much time doing it for him, not really focusing on me, and now i'm not sure what i like, or when i stopped enjoying it. we've talked about it, and he is very adamant that i don't just give in when he wants it. he wants me to enjoy it as much as he does. but i don't. ever. this is where i'm stumped.

Hey thats a lot of stuff.... assuming your OK being lectured by a guy ... I'll continue....

Look it doesn't matter.... your not both going to feel like it all the time at the same time.... but what Carla says is really true...

(I feel like someones going to attack me saying this as a guy... but whatever....) Carla's first post said you just gotta stop yourself not going along .... actually she said it so well I'll just repeat it...

What I suggest as far as the sex, be open to it. Tell him you are much, much slower at getting ready for it than he is and talk to him about how to help you catch up. It doesn't matter if you are wanting it when he's initiating it, it matters whether you let him bring you along or not. I can't tell you how much it will do for your love for him to do this for him, and his love for you because you do this for him. Once you get going, you will enjoy it, too. Just be open to it, stop turning him down. You will be SHOCKED at the change this will make in your marriage.

Lets just be practical for a moment.... if your going to have kids its going to involve sex.... you know.. its the way it works...

i want to be a wife, i want to be a mother. and i want it to be w/ him!

You can either make this enjoyable or not.... lets face it .. why choose not?

I think you are just scared of getting started and then getting icky....

I don't want to trivialise the whole thing but its like riding a bike or roller blading.... Im not very good at roller blading and only do it a few times a year... so each time I start again I'm back looking like its my firs time... I watch some of the people swooshing down hills and doing incredible stuff and I think WOW.... how can they do that....

You know what the only difference is... PRACTICE.... when you start off you get a lot of bumps and grazes... everyone does... and so did they.. they just picked themselves up and tried again.. and again.

Skiing however is a different matter.... even when Ive taken a break of 5 yrs (ex didn't much care for it) I'm totally comfortable after about 5 secs.... I don't have to go back to green runs and bunny hills... Im stright for a double black... or off piste and by the time I'm up the lift I'm ready....

Why? Because I got so good at skiing I don't even really need to think about it....

The reason I mention it is because if I was just naturally crap at rollerblading I wouldn't possibly be such a good skier... the skills are practically all the same...

So I know I have potential that if I wanted i could be a great roller blader.... if my girlfriend was more into it I'd make an effort but she's not so I don't....

Sex isn't really much different... honest....

First time I ever put ski's on (I was 18-19) I thought it was freakin impossible! First time I went up a chair lift and came down a bunny run I was TERRIFIED...

So I had to push myself ... I was a poor student just paid out for a week of hell.... and I couldn't afford not to try...

But you know what.... its not scary.... the scariest thing is just fear of it being scary... and once you get the hang of it and start concentrating on enjoying it instead of being terrified you suddenly forget to be terrified...

... and that's just it.... its like a magic wand... all of a sudden your concentrating on enjoying the experience not on making yourself scared of it...

The only thing is you gotta go through that scary part.... because from where you are its the only way down.... dragging the skiing analogy to its limit here.... (groan) but your up.. your commited and you know you just gotta somehow ski down...

Feel free to subsitute your own choice here.... it could be riding a bike or horseback riding ... lots of things start out scary then become fun once you practice...

i do have a hard time w/ not thinking about my physical imperfections. Oh come on.... is that a picture of you two...? I can see me slipping back into my ski analogy.... erm Must be my boots don't fit right... or my smashed up ankle or knee... it doesn't matter.... I know this sounds all too easy.... but you just need to concentrate on enjoying yourself and pleasing your hubby... nature has equiped us wonderfully so we don't need to worry about the actual act....it just forgot if we start thinking about it too much that that would get in the way.... concentrate on pleasing him and helping him please you....

Another way to look at it is lookig at mans closest relatives... the actual closest is the bononbo and the next closest the chimpanzee. People who study them tend to classify most of the differences based onthe different sexual behavior between bonobo and chimps.... which put succinctly is chimps use agression to get sex....whereas

The species is best characterized as female-centered and egalitarian and as one that substitutes sex for aggression. Whereas in most other species (chimps) sexual behavior is a fairly distinct category, in the bonobo it is part and parcel of social relations

So basically just look to mans closest living relative.... either way... sex is pretty much here to stay.... and its going to either be something negative or positive.... lol i was a big tease when we were dating. i'll work on that one, along w/ the working out.

Look back to the chimps and bonobo... You can either use sex to get what you want or let it come between you and be an issue.

I realise this may FEEL dishonest..... like your being manipulative.... that's cos your a girl.... I feel the same way about buying flowers... just doesn't make any sense to me.... BUT I now realise it doesn't have to.... All it needs to do is make my girlfriend feel wanted and loved.... at your ages I would have felt like a fraud....like buying flowers is just some cheap scam.... (you'd probably not understand that but you don't have to its a guy thing)...

oh i'm terrified of divorce. my parents just went through a brutal 2 year divorce. Are these the same parents told you that your marriage wouldn't work....??? Doesn't sound like they are experts but perhaps they were projecting their own problems on to you?

i can make this work. what do you guys think? where is the best place to look for sex help? a therapist? books?....

I don't think there's a single best answer for anyone and everyone is different....

I think Carla gave you some wonderful advice.... I just feel awkward as a guy saying just go for it and learn to enjoy it...

But you already said the most important things.... you do love him, you'd like hiom to be that guy on the beach in 60 yrs and I can make this work...

Where can I start.... or more accurately where can you start....

If you feel something in your upbringing is giving you a guilt complex that's one thing... with my ex-wife it was because she was basically out with a guy the night her mother died (after a long struggle with cancer).... of course she didn't share this until AFTER the divorce and until her shrink explained to her that her mother probably passed away when she wasn't around deliberatly .... so in this case it might have helped our sex life significantly NOT to have a photo of her mom next to the bed....

However this is really just where it started.... the real problem was really that the longer it went on the bigger the problem became and the scarier it seemed....

One thing I noticed was when sex was impossible my ex could be quite flirty... but the more realisable it became the more she would pull away.... perhaps I'm reading too much into your dreams but this does seem to be at least partly applicible for you too... the whole when its unattainable thing...

If you find the whole subject embarassing ... along the lines of watching TV with your parents and suddenly Mr Elephant jumps on Mrs Elephant and the voice says "The male bull mounts the cow from behind" and all of a sudden its like noone knows where to look .... you just have to get over it.... therapy might help but practice will probably work too. (Its also a lot cheaper)...

If your inhibitions are religion based then books like Nantzie suggests might be the best.... etc.

But at the end of the day.... it basically comes down to you accepting you CAN enjoy sex and there's certainly nothing wrong with a married couple doing it....

I know it sounds easier said than done.... but I honestly think what Carla said is probably just as effective but perhaps you need that little jump start to get you over whatever started this feeling....

if you feel better, you will look better. Go to Victoria's Secret and buy some sexy panties ... be sure hubby knows you have them on and watch the attention he gives you that day! wink.gif Be a tease (but you have to give in that night!!). He will love it. You will love having the attention he gave you when you were dating.

Meanwhile send him off to choose some massage oils and nice bubble bath.... You'll be surprised not only how much effort he'll put into it but that he actually appreciates it AND you will feel like your getting the attention you did when you were dating....

In my experience women feel far sexier when they are being made a fuss of..... BUT guys react badly to making advances and being turned away..... like I said we all play being tough and it doesn't bother us but it really does and that starts off the whole chain of resentment...

The big problem is the longer it goes the worse it gets.... and the harder it is to turn it around....

He will totally avoid making a fuss or giving compliments because experience tells him it will just get knocked back and damage his ego... you feel less and less like sex cos your not getting compliments and being made a fuss of....

So its a viscous circle .... and one way or another your going to have to break it....because its certainly not worth ruining your marriage over.

One thing might work is basically setting aside some time... from your post you have a pretty hectic schedule and being depressed on top.... its hardly surprising you have a few probs.... the pair of you are only human....

Also you need to talk to him and let him know HIS JOB....

and he is very adamant that i don't just give in when he wants it. he wants me to enjoy it as much as he does. but i don't. ever. this is where i'm stumped.

See, that his job..... it takes you longer to get aroused and your depressed to start off with.... the chance of you both being aroused at the same time will get less and less.... while your in the catch-22... So its his job to get you aroused.... and that includes flowers, buying a present, chocolates, making you a romantic dinner ... it doesn't just start when you go to bed....

Without getting explicit... you can guide him to do what pleases you.... but not only that he'll love doing it for you... he just has to get over the idea that its meant to all just magically happen and that your going to be always up and ready without any work... and at the same time like Carla said

Be a tease (but you have to give in that night!!)

If you start feeling icky or terrified about the whole thing then just go for it and work on the next time.... and slowly but surely the pair of you will get better BUT you will probably go through similar patches.. maybe in a year, maybe 10... just be awate its normal and you beat it once and can do again.... just like many others have

They said they'd check out your suggestions, so why not send them?

Once they decide on a place, then call the place and see if they can make arrangements for you. If not, then bring your own food.

I'd cover my bases.....

Got one of these once in my last job .... any dietry needs etc. so sent the organiser everything they needed ... then the actual day before we are leaving me and about 4 others get an email basically saying when you get there its up to you to talk to the catering manager.... not even the name of the manager???

To add insult to injury ..... they then gave away free beer ... BUT only beer.. no option for a soft drink or anything safe....I know two of the others on the list were Muslims and requested something Halal ... and they of course got prawns.... and of course no beer either... and the only other one I knew (we were on the same email) was diabetic and yep.. same thing...

To make matters worse the conference centre/hotel was in the middle of nowhere ... basically just a turn off from a highway.

Couscous is made from wheat.

Cathy

even saying made from is a stretch.... it is wheat....

However back on the original subject I find it makes an excellent subsitute for couscous....

both in cooking hot and salads where you usually use cous-cous...

Funny thing is people either find it bland by itself or horrid..... its one of those weird foods ??

No, really Bev - you are too kind

Kids have driven me mad (more mad than normal anyway ) today with their constant bickering ( thank god they are back to school Mon!!)...I am pre- menstrual ,want to eat cream cakes, kill someone, then smoke myself silly ......but will make do with taking a puzzle book to bed whilst watching 'House'

HARUMPH!!!!

How about taking Grays anatomy and a bottle of vicoden while watching house ????

Trust me, being on the other side of the problem I can tell you that what we have NOW is MUCH better than what we had when we started out. Don't start over, it'll be the same next time around but you might not be able to say he's your best friend and was there for you when you needed him.

Yep she's spot on.....

The ONLY difference it can make (as someone who is divorced) is you can learn what went wrong and apply it to the new guy...

However I can support what Carla is saying.... because basically if I had accepted what I now accept in my marriage then I'd probably be in Carla's position right now.... As it happens I'm very happy with my girlfriend BUT only because I'm not repeating the same mistakes as I did in my marriage.... with hindsight had I known then what I do now.... had my wife taken Carla's advice or gone to therapy BEFORE the divorce.... etc. etc.

Divorce is a horrid business..... EVERYONE looses except the lawyers.... (not dumping on our resident lawyers here)

But its basically impossible to do nicely.... I'm now talking with my ex again.... I don't regret because its pointless.. but I do think if you can work things out your a lot better off and if you don't and learn nothing chance is your going to repeat the same things and then when you finally DO learn them.... you'll look back and thing... what the heck...

I stopped drinking Red Bull as soon as I suspected it was causing problems... Right now I'm just playing scientist by trying to notice patterns. I've had cramps, D, and many other symptoms for years, so in my mind, that was "the norm". Gfp, thanks for the comments, it helps putting things into perspective... I think my problem is unintentional CC, as I live in a household that consumes gluten (plus my dad owns a bakery and a small store, and when he comes home from work, he always has wheat flour on his clothes - how ironic that his son has celiac disease!) Celiacs can tolerate up to 20 ppm, so eating a crumb of wheat bread could cause the symptoms. CC and airborne wheat/gluten shouldn't be a problem once I get my own place in less than a month. My entire kitchen will be gluten-free!!!

My gastroenterologist was not very helpful, and I have an appointment with another one in May. I will make sure I discuss casein and other potenial allergies/intolerances...

For someone that's been gluten-free for a long, how long does it take for symtoms of glutening to show up??? The same day?

Again, thanks everyone for sharing their experiences/knowledge.

Actually there is no proof they can..... or at least the proof they can is about the same as the proof that smoking cigarettes doesn't cause cancer....

The 20ppm figure was one that was agreed on by the food industry... basically because its cheap to screen food at that level..

The industry then paid for tests specifically looking to prove this....

Of the ones I have seen they are basically just wrong.... can't find it right now but I'll try and explain...

For example if you assume that the normal incidence of celiac disease in the population at large is 1:5000 (which the study I read did) then you can assume a control group of 100 people or 500 don't need testing because statisically they are unlikely to be celiacs....

If however you take the figure of 1:1333 which is pretty universally accepted then the chance is there will be several in the control group....

Hence obviously the control group isn't a real control group and the vast differences they might find become marginalised and easier to blame on statistical error....

Equally if they don't like the answers...they just don't publish the test....

On the other hand there is a lot of good scientific evidence saying any amount of gluten can cause damage.... and indeed because of the nature of the disease this fits.... its not the actual gluten that harms you.... its actually your own bodies antibodies that do the damage.... so you only need enough gluten to actually start the process of making the antibodies... and your antibodies do the rest....

CC and airborne wheat/gluten shouldn't be a problem once I get my own place in less than a month. My entire kitchen will be gluten-free!!!

Hey, this sounds neat.... I honeslty think your going to have to grin and bear it (or the D equivalent) until then....

Its so close ... and cleaning out the family kitchen is going to take most of that time.... specially if dad is unintentionally bringing the stuff home...

Doing all the stuff we usually recommend like ditching toasters and the like isn't productive when your moving out real soon and if your going to have a 100% gluten-free kitchen then you can make a clean start and never let the stuff in there

Wow.....

I'm certainly no subsitute for the real thing but I can at least give some feedback....

Lets leave the marriage out of it for now....

ok, so i feel really lost right now. i don't know what i'm doing w/ my life, where i'm going, where i WANT to be going. i feel as though my life has just been a waste the last couple of years. i'm not happy w/ myself, or my marriage. i haven't really gone anywhere careerwise. i've quit 2 jobs, and i'm a 3rd year freshman in college. i have been holding onto my full time job for 3 months now, but it's so exhausting and i hate my manager. don't really know why i'm doing it, other than it's just another motion i go through.

Yep life can suck....

Like someone once told me (even though I'm not religious at all it makes for a funny line)

How do you make God laugh?

Tell him your plans for your life.....

Life really is so random.... who you meet, where you meet them... some descision about going to college A vs College B sets off a whole chain reaction... you'd never have met XX if you hadn't taken that job... and that wouldn't have led to something else.

Instead of worrying about that because there's basically nothing you can do to predict it.. look at all the potential you have ahead of you... sure you have potential to make bad descisions BUT you also have potential to make good ones and potential to correct bad descisions....

I'm sure you already realise this ... but your depressed.... of course no big surprise... except what you gotta realise is its not your fault...

the only time i ever feel any desire is when i am asleep, i have a lot of really sexual dreams. what does that mean do you think? it's always with someone unattainable, like a celebrity or one of my married friend's husbands. i guess i'm just confused. what do i do, where do i go from here? how do i make things right? am i at the end of the road? am i too selfish, to immature, or just too lazy?

Well I'm not surprised.... and I think your answering your own questions.... so your smarter and more in control of this than you think.

Depression and loss of sexual desire are both the same thing.... indeed its probably more normal than abnormal with depression...

What do the dreams mean.... I'm sure Freud would find some deeper meaning... but I'll take the obvious over his rantings anytime...

The obvious is (IMHO) that when your not worrying and uptight and getting some well deserved rest from worry in your sleep your just perfectly normal. At some level you feel safe with the unnatainable... because its unattainable...

If you dreamed about your hubby then that wouldn't be unattainable and it would be threatening... especially considering he's lying right next to you.... so your defense mechanism provides you an escape mechanism for your sexual frustration without impinging on that "dangerous reality"....

how the hell do you make yourself fall back in love w/ someone? i want to, i really do. i just don't know how to go about doing it. i do care about him, a lot. he's my best friend, and he saved me when i was at rock bottom in my life. but i am not attracted to him, nor do i desire him.

Whoah.... hold on.. it sounds to me like you do love him... you just don't desire him sexually....

There are lots of way's of expressing love.... I love my mom and dad .... I care deeply about them and they care deeply about me...

When it boils down ... that is what love is.....

and then there's the issues i have w/ my family and my husband's family. that's a whole other topic, filled with frustration and resentment.

Hey.... they are not the ones being married..... same goes for the nay-sayers when you did get married...

I hope tarnalberry will post her intepretation here as well.... its always good to have a guy's view as well but she has posted some really good stuff on this sort of thing in the past....

IMHO firstly you have depression..... as a symptom of that you lack sexual desire but your dreams seem to indicate its more a concious block than a deep rooted physical problem although that doesn't mean your doctor can't give you something to help....

I would say you have developed a fear of the actual act.... and so you only think about it when its impossible...

So within this context I'd say its completely possible to love your husband but be actually afriad of thinking about sex because its available... hence your dreams of the unattainable....

Additionally it seems common knowledge that womens desrire tends to increase past 18 while mens decreases.

What I can tell you as a guy is that your lack of desire is extremely frustrating for him unless he happens to have a lack of desire as well. If he's not snapping and you have settled into being "room mates who just share a bed" then again I'd say its not surprising.... he probably has to deal with the issues this brings up for him as well....

Most importantly: Having been in this situation .... what I can say as a guy is we are extremely fragile... especially over getting "turned down".... when this was happening to me.... I went out of my way to be unromantic in many ways because I felt like anything I did do was just going to be knocked back at me... and us guys have very fragile ego's over this... (trust me we laugh it off and stuff but it makes us very insecure deep down inside)

What I'd ask you to do is imagine in 60 yrs time ... your walking down a beach together.... holding hands and just enjoying the moment.... imagine you have ahd a full and satisfying life together.... would you like your husband to be this guy?

Hey welcome

I honestly don't think cutting down will help at all. If she has celiac disease she has celiac disease... and unless you are gluten-free your body still produces antibodies... at 6 she's a bit marginal for the tests to be accurate... and also it depends which blood tests etc.

The only advantage I can see to starting to restrict her diet without going all the way is if she does test positive later its going to be a lot easier than changing her routine when she's 8-9 ....

Of course we know so little about celiac disease that I could be completely wrong its just what we do know says its all or nothing but that doesn't mean they won't discover different things later...

Some little known facts about coffee....

The cheapest coffee has far more caffine in it because it uses robusta beans which naturally have more caffine....

So the first move is go for something 100% arabica.

Second.. the more water you run through coffee the more caffine gets taken out... so even though you'd think that filter coffee would be better than a real strong expresso its actually not....

Honestly I know that one take a bit of believing....

If you take a ristretto its half the water of a expresso and 1/5th of a "long" type coffee ....

Personally i like a good ristretto but if you prefer something "longer" then start with a ristretto and then add water instead of pushing more water through the beans... which at this point is mainly just leaching out more caffine and hardly any flavor...

The worst coffee is greek/turkish or I guess what you americans might call cowboy coffee where you leave the grounds to steep i the water thus leaching out the max amount of caffine...

If you google there are quite a few analyses of different coffee's ... I seem to remember the McDo's was the highest in caffine ...

Anyway....its a different way to look at it I suppose.... its just one of those things that is at first counter intuitive.

if she was diagnosed a long time ago and hasn't stayed up with the new info that is being discovered about celiac, she may not know that a "little bit of cheating" really is not ok. there have been people on this board that have had their doctor tell them a little cheating was ok. she also may have been a little embarrassed about the whole thing because she only just met you.

it may possibly be that she will feel a sence of relief to know that you are so willing to accept her condition and that you are so willing to help her to keep herself "safe". we all like to know that someone cares about us.

Yep this is really true...

The friends sister I talked about was diagnosed as a child and back then celiac disease was considered a "childhood illness" ....

ppatin:

Your really a great person... and I completely understand why you'd find it hard to say something.... seriously I have old friends who still think I can sip a beer... its one of the weirdest things about the disease... Ive got friends who really care for me but just can't get over the celiac disease thing... and then other friends who I don't know so long who are like you...

I ALWAYS bruised easily before I went gluten-free. I think it's better now, I can't remember having an "mystery" bruises in a long while.

Also I used to do martial arts and was constantly covered with nasty, hideous bruises from just our regular lessons. I wonder if it'd be better now?

Sorry for hijacking (in a way) but can anyone explain why I never did bruise?

I know it seems weird but I don't know if its related to people who bruised easily and now I'm more normal or just me being weird...

Back when I was training full time I'd be doing the same class as everyone else and everyone else would be covered in bruises .. its like I'd fracture my shins at least one a week ... I just never bruised??? (and you hardly need an XRAY when you can actually jiggle the bone around) My body is a mess of little chips of bone .. some of which reattached and some of which are just floating about?

Yes. Cast iron should be avoided. See, you're getting the hang of it.

Nancy

LOL...

Actually I think if they were a celiacs pans its possible to clean them ... basically using a drill and emery paper and actually taking off the layer then use oven cleaner in the oven and repeat and then re-annealing the pan with oil like you do when they are new....

However... overall... if your cooking for someone who thinks its OK to have a sip of beer and cheats on a regular basis then all your efforts are a bit pointless.... at the same time its wonderful you are taking the time....

I had a similar situation in a way.... I have a friend who's sister "used to be" celiac. I did try and explain there is no such thing as "used to be" ... you either are or you are not and absense of symptoms doesn't mean its not hurting you.

However some people will not want to believe this... or not care...

Its really hard... ?? Its like having a friend who is obese... in some ways if they come for dinner I would feel I don't want to actively contribute to killing them... or having a friend who's sick and can't leave the house asking you to collect some cigarettes?

Momma Goose already said this in a down to earth fashion... a sip of beer or a crumb will start the process just as much as a whole pizza...

The problem is the process it starts is a long process.... that takes weeks to run the cycle so if your friend is eating a small amount of gluten on even a weekly basis its probably no better for her than not bothing with the diet at all.

One of my life rules as it were is I don't do something for someone they wouldn't do for themselves... at least not on a regular basis. My mind is fuzzy so I'm rambling sorry... what I'm trying to say is your friend really needs to accept she can't cheat... and in a way you going to all the effort is in some ways contributing to her idea its OK...

If we are going to discuss legalisation/criminalisation then surely we'd be better discussing that incredibly wide spread and socially acceptable drug called gluten....

oops cross posted with mtndog