celiac3270

If it's from Kraft, then it's company policy to list gluten on the label. Modified food starch doesn't mean that it's wheat flour, and I find that it often is not. If it's Kraft, then the gluten must be labelled and therefore, if you don't see "wheat" or "rye" or "barley" or "malt", etc. on the label, it's fine. Of course, you can contact the company about contamination, cause that would be the only reason I can think of for you to react to it.

Stress can cause a reaction with celiac -- I was told that getting stressed is really bad in terms of symptoms. Therefore, I was told to try to stay calm and not get stressed in order to eliminate symptoms faster.

Additionally, stress often triggers celiac in the first place. If you have the gene and have tremendous stress, it's likely to flare up into full-blown celiac.

When we say gluten here, we are always referring to gluten in wheat, rye, barley, etc. However, gluten actually encompasses the proteins in many more ingredients, such as corn. Simply, Deb is right: corn gluten is safe.

Yea....that was my concern.........it isn't, I guess

he withered away to just skin and bones and had muscle wasting and never gained a pound over 40 pounds (he is 8 years old and weighs only 40 pounds but is average height),

That sounds so familiar. My brother, who is now nine (ten in January) is about 55 pounds.....almost 10 and 55 lbs....he might've weighed about the same when he was 6-8. Anyway, he, too, has no other symptoms of celiac, but has the gene....

For coping with stress, I just keep reminding myself that this diet is what I have to live with for the rest of my life in order to stop damaging my body.

I try not to let gluten foods bother me by replacing them with good gluten free foods. I am always trying new recipes to make the gluten-free diet interesting. When I cook gluten free most people don't even notice the difference between my gluten-free food and gluten food 

Avoiding restaranunts as much as possible and eating before I go out works for me. And when I wish I could be eating pizza/pasta/hamburgers/cake with everyone else, I just remind myself that if I eat those foods then I will be super sick for days. It's just not worth it.

I concur with just about everything you just said . For me, though, the stress isn't really over the diet, but over the symptoms. The diet isn't stressful for me cause it's just what I have to do and if I follow this diet and don't have symptoms, I know that I can live a healthy, relatively normal life. Celiac, unlike other conditions such as diabetes, will NOT eventually take your life or affect things such as your vision, hearing, taste, etc. in the long term, provided that you catch it early enough and treat it accordingly. Therefore, the stress for me is just in getting sick. You're right though: acceptance is important.

Once again, I agree with your next statement. I find that many gluten-free products are just as good or better than the regular stuff. My main issue with the diet, though, is that it does come so monotonous. I feel like I'm eating the same thing every day. I always have potatoes, a meat, and a vegetable, it seems. Potatoes, steak, carrots.....potatoes, chicken, broccoli...........it gets REALLY boring. Since I can't have tomato sauce yet, I've had to cut out foods like lasagna, spaghetti, and gluten-free pizzas. I, too, am trying to find new gluten-free alternatives and lately I've had a little more luck.

That's a really good idea: to eat before you go out. It's not always an option, but if you can, I guess, you wouldn't be hungry so you wouldn't even care as much about the pizza or whatever.....I should try that next time.

That's about it......i'm just feeling talkative.

Definitely....I also got this list from Jessica's support group and it has been really helpful! I didn't realize we had so many options....thanks for posting here, too.

Sure .......I just went back to read your post again and I realized that I hadn't really noticed the first time what you said about cleaning out the system.....that's the same sort of impression I get about my system 8 1/2 months into the diet. I still get sick and, as a matter of fact, I'm sick right now. I went into school to take a test (I'm out often enough to begin with, so I try to tough it out when I can) and I came home around 1:00. Fortunately, the cramping isn't as debilitating as it used to be, so I can at least lie here with my knees to my chest and type

I keep my meals down, but then again, I usually did that in the past. It's just, every few days I'd get severe cramping and vomiting. I had constant bloating and a lot of gas. I was really thin (5' and 70 pounds; when I got sick I would lose 2-5 pounds and then eventually climb back up to seventy and repeat the process) and my mom said she used to cry when she thought about how thin I looked when I came out of the shower or changed my clothes or something. She kept saying that she felt like she was poisoning me or something, which she, essentially and inadvertently was . Anyway, I have had some improvements with the diet -- the bloating comes only when I'm sick, the gas is also when I'm sick but not usually, and I used to get occasional diarrhea which is now completely gone! The cramping isn't quite as bad, but still not something that you can just function normally with, and I don't vomit as much when I get sick. I'm now about 5'2 and 86 pounds, a new record for me ....2 inches and 16-20 pounds in eight months . I feel like I know a lot about celiac and the diet by now, and if I could just shake the still persistent cramping/vomiting, I'd be fine....I still have quite a ways to go, though. What was my point again? Oh, yeah, I kept my meals down always, but I'd just puke every few days....now I puke every 1-3 weeks. Though I don't vomit as much anymore, a lot comes up really forcefully -- it actually hurts in my chest with the force of the vomit and a LOT comes up, but it's not projectile or anything.......sorry to ramble on about my story, I'm just bored and with not much else to do but read and I got off on a bit of a tangent. To simplify the whole thing, I'm still having this "cleaning out" thing with my system, too.....I just hope that you don't need to deal with it for 8+ months. Although I might add, it seems like forever to get better for the first 1-4 months and after that you just sort of accept it, pathetic as it is, and wait it out without counting the # of days gluten-free and asking why you're not better.

I eat something, and then my system "cleans out." I am very swollen & not losing weight... I just can't keep anything in! Will this end after a while? Will my system get cleaned out and stop? Any help would be appreciated ~ I am tired of spending so much time in the bathroom!!!

I'm the only celiac in my family and I'm the only one who eats consistently gluten-free. My mom will sometimes have a homemade gluten-free chocolate chip cookie, or something, but doesn't eat completely gluten-free. My brother eats whatever he wants, as does my father. So, I'm the only one who eats gluten-free, though my mother is going to try going gluten-free for a month or two since, despite negative tests, we all think she has celiac (a lot of bloating and cramping...the bloating is REALLY bad and the cramping isn't too bad).

I think it is actually scientifically impossible to remove all gluten....It is similar to diet or fat free foods, there is a certain amount and if a food contains less then that it is able to be labeled diet or fat free....I suppose the same would have to be true with the future gluten free labeling....I'm just happy with the passing of the bill little steps!!

Though it is debatable as to whether or not 0 ppm is practical, I don't think anyone can argue that it is "scientifically impossible to remove all the gluten." That would be saying, for example, that if I eat a banana, I am guaranteed to ingest gluten.

Additionally, whether it is practical to make a 100% gluten-free food or not, it is practical for companies to warn consumers that their so-called "gluten-free" products are made in a factory that makes gluten products. Companies such as FritoLays warn their consumers, so there's no reason why the makers of special gluten-free foods should be contaminating celiacs without even warning against contamination....i'm starting to ramble......

It's definitely more bearable when you have something good of your own......the problem is that I usually don't...........I remember my first few gluten-free lunches at school. At this point, my mom and I hadn't talked to the cook about what i can and can't eat, so for the first few days, I just ate a gluten-free meal replacement bar and one of those snack-sized chip bags. It was annoying to answer all the questions about it and then upsetting when everyone was eating pizza, pasta, hotdogs, etc. at lunch and then for dessert brownies, puddings, cookies, cakes, etc. When you have the stuff with you it's easier to deal with, but when it's all at home or, at the start, you don't have anything even near comparable, it's (depending on the person) annoying, angering, sad, or depressing.

Although it's probably difficult for a celiac to understand when you're in constant pain from the symptoms, my mom has said the same thing to me before. Besides, if I hadn't been getting sick, I never would've brought anything up with my doctor, who wouldn't have sent me to a GI and I wouldn't have been diagnosed in the first place. I might have found out when I was a twenty-five year old with osteoporosis......

Perhaps....I tried to look up some information on it, but their nutritional info. only gives ingredients, not any measures they take to avoid contamination. Their allergen info. only refers to peanuts........if you want to call them, though, here is the contact information (no e-mail):

Open Original Shared Link

Anyway, I remember before going gluten-free, when I would eat Pizza Hut or Dominos. I felt totally DRUNK. At least I think that's what I felt.....hard to say since I've never been drunk. I wonder if they use a high gluten flour to make it more elastic and, well.....like Pizza Hut crust.

I had an Amy's pizza yesterday. I appreciate their efforts, but it's just not the same. And I am in mourning......... 

Hang in there. We're all pizza deprived. But at least we feel better because of it!!!!!

I used to notice that when I ate a BIG NYC bagel every morning I'd be fine, but when I'd eat pizza, I'd get really sick a few hours later. They must do something to it, cause that always triggered STRONG reactions in me.

I've found the best pizza "replacement" to be Chebe....you take the breadmix, make it into a crust, cook it a bit, then take it out and add gluten-free tomato sauce, and Kraft cheeses (parmesean and mozzarella), and then finish cooking. No homemade or store bought pizza can match up to the real thing, but this is the best non-pizzeria pizza I've had.

Completely normal.......you can go months or even a year without getting better and without making any mistakes and even that can be normal. A month surely isn't enough time for your body to heal. My dr. compared it to a train or some moving vehicle. Think of a car or train going at top speed -- that's like the celiac tearing up your body at topspeed. When you start the diet, you slam on the brakes, but it still takes awhile for the train to come to a complete stop. I've been 8 months and I'm not better. Endos have shown that I'm not injesting accidental gluten, no problem with any other organs, no other allergies.....it takes time....and one month, in most people, is not nearly enough.

I doubt that the professor was intentionally torturing you; just trying to be nice, as you said, but I know what you mean. The gluten-free diet isn't such a big deal if you're just eating a normal meal at home, provided you have found decent gluten-free foods. It is really frustrating and upsetting though, even for me having been doing this for close to a year, when everyone is eating pizza or something else that I really missed. I'm in eighth grade and lunch at school everyday is horrible. Everyone else is eating pizza or pasta or whatever while I have fish EVERY day of the school year . It's good to vent, though, and it's good to have people who understand and can relate to this, though.

I think most of us get jealous . I'm in eighth grade now, but last year, at the end of 7th grade we had a class party type thing...we went bowling, but the food there was amazing. Pizza after pizza, fries, nuggets, chocolate chip cookies, marshmallows and hot chocolate sauce to dip them in, etc. I was only four months on the diet at the time and I felt really bad that I could only drink the cola......and eat a small bag of fritos and a genisoy bar. I find that generally the gluten-free diet is an inconvenience, but it's really frustrating and upsetting when you're around people who are eating gluten and who have never had to deal with any health issues and the sickness.

Coca-Cola is gluten-free and if you e-mail them, they'll send you a list of many of their gluten-free products by e-mail.

ALL products by Pepsi are gluten-free......this includes their orange drinks or pepsi blue or whatever they make besides cola

I also use Oretga. I don't remember which one, but they have a gluten-free taco sauce, as well.

I haven't had issues with Mi-Del, either.....and I've had the arrowroot, ginger snap, choc. chip, and oreo-like cookies..........so a great variety and no contamination problems here.

You can't delete a duplicate post on your own, but usually a moderator will see if the same thing is posted twice, will make a post that this topic will soon be deleted and nobody else should post there, and then will ask Scott (admin) to delete it.

You're not supposed to post the same thing over and over because that's just spamming the boards or trying to attract more attention to your post. Of course, if you click the add reply button and it doesn't seem to go, you might click the add reply button again and then realize that you added the same info. to the board twice. If that happens, you don't need to worry about it cause it is obvious that it was accidental.

If you want to change something in your post, there is an edit button above any posts that you make. If you click it, it will take you back to the add reply mode, but it will have your writing in it. Then you can change what you're going to say...

• Rice Cakes (with whatever topping)
  
• Toasted gluten-free bread w/ jelly, butter, or whatever else you'd put on it
  
• Foods By George English Muffins (what i eat every morning -- w/ cream cheese, they're kinda like a really light bagel)
  
• Fruit (fresh or canned)
  
• gluten-free Bagels -- there are some
  
• Foods By George Crumb Cake (a sweet breakfast)
  
• Eggs
  

Phewf....... thank you. I thought that they were, but I got scared when I read that since I had never called the company. I knew about Milky Ways and the dark chocolate. Thank you

I should mention, if someone knows, please send a PM or e-mail, as well.......I'm just going crazy to think that I might've screwed it up after 8 months of toiling to feel better -- I just can't be set back by an accident! Thanks......I've sent out e-mails to all the companies, already

3 Musketeers aren't gluten-free? Can somebody please tell me if that is correct or not? I'm starting to panic!!!!!!!!!!

I think everything's been answered except for your question about maltodextrin. In the United States, maltodextrin almost never contains gluten. It is usually made from corn in US products, though it is sometimes made with gluten-containing ingredients in other countries. You do need to be wary of maltodextrin in prescriptions, though, even in the US