celiac3270

Oh, I forgot to mention that I am ULTRA CRAZY PARNOID.......if anything falls on the counter, no matter how expensive it was, it's contaminated. If I'm scooping ice cream or a parent is scooping for me cause it's hard as a rock, only my fingers can be used to pull it off the spoon. Additionally, I keep my distance from anyone eating a gluten food, and I try to avoid anyone even touching me after they've eaten gluten if they haven't washed their hands (ex. my brother, who often torments me by eating a Ritz cracker and then waving his crumby fingers at me )

Although Splenda is gluten-free, some people here have complained of having symptoms from it; Richard said that everybody (celiacs and non-celiacs) can have reactions from it that seem celiac-like, for example diarrhea....here is this discussion. Oh, by the way, Karen (canadian karen) said that Stevia is gluten-free and she uses it w/o a problem.....I don't know about Yerba Mate, though:

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You'd have to contact the individual manufacturers to determine whether or not foods are produced in facilities with gluten-containing foods or not. Of course, there's risk with most regular foods you eat that there is contamination (for example, FritoLays)....most companies will warn you of contamination, not necessarily because it's likely, but just in case you do get contaminated, they can't be blamed for not warning you. I have whatever rice is there and don't eat frozen veggies.....I'm not much of a vegetable person to begin with. Sorry I can't be of more assistance, but I'm not sure about the details with the rice manufacturing

Karen,

I'm going to try the heating pad for stomach pain........my grandma had one for her back that didn't help her (she has scoliosis and the most severe osteoporosis the doctors have ever seen). Anyway, she has to come into the city for another doctor's appt....trying to find someone who can help her back....and she's bringing the pad since it doesn't help her so I could try it for my next stomach thing.

Gretchen,

I think I might try your suggestion of pepperment next time, as well.

Nukapai,

Good luck with your bloodwork and feel better.....that sounds terrible.

That's terrific! Diagnosing it yourself is a big deal and you should be proud of it! And, it wasn't even a self-diagnosis; you diagnosed it for two other people! I had all the signs of celiac disease for years and I didn't find celiac, my doc. didn't find celiac until sending me to a GI who ran MANY tests......good job!

I'm surprised that they even had a list for Canada.......do they not follow that same labeling procedure there?

Kraft, like Tiffany said, doesn't give out a list, but they don't need to because reading the label can ensure you that the food is safe.....which is exactly what I love about their products. Flavorings, starches, etc. are gluten-free unless otherwise stated by something in parens., for example: natural flavorings (wheat)..........I think it's terrific that they do this; however, if you are still questioning a product and call them up, they'll tell you if a specific products is gluten-free.....cause I asked about Crystal Light before I knew of this policy.

Hi Kim,

Welcome to the board. Here are a few links that might be helpful for starting the gluten-free diet:

Link to celiac.com forbidden ingredients list for gluten-free diet

Additional things to be aware of in maintaining a 100% gluten-free diet

Link to celiac.com site index -- a good place to find info.

I haven't been able to get my AOL working for days so I can't access my favorites and get you links to other helpful sites........I'm using internet explorer to post here, etc.........good luck and if I can get aol working, I'll try to provide a few more helpful things.

Remember that the diet isn't just wheat. It's also rye, barley, malt, and debatably oats. Additionally, these ingredients are hidden by food manufacturers under other names such as dextrin, flavors (natural and artificial), modified food starch, etc. You also need to be careful of contaimination -- making sure your gluten-free food doesn't touch regular food.....you'll need a new toaster for gluten-free bread and it would probably be a good idea to invest in a few staple cooking things: a pot, a pan, a spatula, wooden spoon, etc.........it's just too hard to get some your cooking stuff clean.......be especially careful with teflon; it is VERY difficult to get it completely clean of gluten and you'd be better off not using teflon pots, pans, etc. There is so much that I could go into, but I think you'll get a sense by reading the board. Remember there is a search feature, which can be very helpful to look for information on a particular subject. Welcome and good luck!

-celiac3270

Welcome to the board, Matt! I would think, though, that after three years, one's intestines would be healed regardless of whether they drank this....especially, obviously, with a strictly gluten-free diet. The intestines start to heal within days of going gluten-free..........but just sort of on the surface.....eventually they heal completely, but it shouldn't take more than three years, anyway, I would think.

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Spelt is not good.....one of the bad grains...very similar to wheat, or as one site puts it:

What is Spelt? Spelt (triticum spelta), an ancestor of wheat, is the most ancient and pure form ... Of all grains spelt is best suited for the human digestive system ...

LOL......best suited for digestive system........haha.....anyway, it's no good....there's a list of good and bad ingredients on this site (celiac.com)...go to site index on the toolbar on the left, go to safe and forbidden ingredients list, and you can find it......

I don't know if sleep problems occur when coming off of gluten, but there is a sleep section here; it seems that sleep problems exist with celiacs, but I don't know if it's more common in celiacs than non-celiacs. I have heard of people having blistery rashes on their feet....I think there's a thread on this somewhere. Also, although you're feeling better, you should go on gluten for testing purposes....most docs. will say 2-4 months on gluten with 2 meals a day.........so you should get relatively glutened up for the test.

I don't know if sleep problems occur when coming off of gluten, but there is a sleep section here; it seems that sleep problems exist with celiacs, but I don't know if it's more common in celiacs than non-celiacs. I have heard of people having blistery rashes on their feet....I think there's a thread on this somewhere. Also, although you're feeling better, you should go on gluten for testing purposes....most docs. will say 2-4 months on gluten with 2 meals a day.........so you should get relatively glutened up for the test.

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Congratulations, William! It's great that you can now get him on a gluten-free diet.......now, assuming that he has celiac disease, he can start to heal.....

Interesting.........that sort of confused me, too.......that a corn gluten could be gluten-free......I would've immediately thought that it was bad, kind of like one might think that buckwheat or maltodextrin is bad.

Also, if anyone wants information to contact Haagen-Dazs:

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800 767-0120

Yay! I just got something from Haagen-Dazs in the mail! First off, the typical letter (thank you for sharing your "comments", etc.). However, they also enclosed a list of every single flavor they have (ice cream, sorbet, bars, frozen yogurt, etc.). Anyway, most of the flavors are gluten-free.....except for the ones that have the letter G next to them on the list. My scanner isn't working right now, so I can't scan and e-mail to people who want it...yet.....but I'll type out the list below....it was last updated 7-20-2004........so not too long ago. They list things like....whether it comes in cup-size, quart-size, etc.....but I don't think that's impt....so I'll just write gluten next to it if it contains it.....otherwise, it's gluten-free........please excuse any typos as this is typed out by hand and not copied and pasted from a website:

Haagen-Dazs

Ice Cream

Butter Pecan

Cherry Vanilla

Chocolate

Chocolate Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Coffee

Cookie Dough Chip -- CONTAINS GLUTEN!!!!

Cookies and Cream -- CONTAINS GLUTEN!!!!

Dulce De Leche

Macadamia Brittle

Mango

Mint Chip

Mocha Almond Fudge

Peaches and Cream

Peanut Butter Fudge Chunk

Pineapple Cocount

Pistachio

Rocky Road

Rum Raisin

Strawberry

Tres Leches -- CONTAINS GLUTEN!!!!

Vanilla

Vanilla Chocolate Chip

Vanilla Fudge

Vanilla Swiss Almond

White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle

Limited Edition

Baileys

Black Walnut

Vanilla Caramel Brownie -- CONTAINS GLUTEN!!!!

Desserts Extraordinaire

Bananas Foster

Cafe Mocha Frappe

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Raspberry Torte -- CONTAINS GLUTEN!!!!

Creme Brulee

French Vanilla Mousse

Strawberry Cheesecake -- CONTAINS GLUTEN!!!!

Sorbet

Chocolate

Mango

Orange

Orange Peach

Raspberry

Strawberry

Zesty Lemon

Frozen Yogurt

Chocolate Fudge Brownie -- CONTAINS GLUTEN!!!!

Coffee

Dulce De Leche

Strawberry

Strawberry Banana

Vanilla

Vanilla Raspberry Swirl

Ice Cream Bars

Chocolate & Dark Chocolate

Coffee & Almond Crunch

Dulce De Leche

Strawberry Cheesecake -- CONTAINS GLUTEN!!!!

Vanilla & Almonds

Vanilla & Dark Chocolate

Vanilla & Milk Chocolate

Vanilla Caramel and Pecans

Sorbet Bars

Chocolate

Raspberry & Vanilla Yogurt

-celiac3270

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I have a "dealing with other people" vent...this has been bothering me ever since it happened and I guess I just needed to share to get it off my chest once and for all...i love this board!

It was just three weeks after I had found out myself and my two children are gluten intolerant - an overwhelming time for me, as most here can relate. My world was spinning around me trying to get organized. My husband and I were at his cousin's wedding (big Italian wedding) and as I kept declining the multiple pasta dishes being passed around the table, the man to the right of me (a friend of my husband's family) says, "What, you don't eat pasta? Well, that's going to cause problems in your marriage. You're married to an Italian." Then 10 seconds later my Mother in law, who unfortunately is not a nice person whatsoever, yells across the round table of 10, "Is this genetic?" I nodded yes. "Oh that's just great!" she responded while rolling her eyes. Then after everyone else had recieved their entree (a breaded cordon blue) and the waiter was trying to understand that I had requested a plain chicken breast and vegetables my brother-in-law says, "Oh there goes Kim again, being difficult." That was all I could take. I slowly got up and went to the bathroom. I stood in the stall and started sobbing. Then to top it off I had eaten something from the appetizer table (not something I would attempt now that I'm more educated) that was contaminated and starting having profuse diarrhea. I was crying and sitting on the comode in my nice evening gown. I laugh about it now. But it just hurts thinking about how inconsiderate my husband's family is. His family says that "I'm too sensitive." My father in law had colon cancer, can you imagine if I had said after his surgery in a room full of people, "Is that genetic" which of course it is, "Oh that's just great." I would be called the witch of the universe. I've been blown away by the reactions of certain people - like I'm on the South Beach Diet or something and it's a choice. Sigh. Thanks for the vent - I needed it

Wow........that's one of the most cruel gluten stories I've heard......that is absolutely.........intolerable.......I seriously think I would've completely blown up if someone made such comments to me (genetic, Kim being difficult, etc.)......I don't really have words to describe how.......mad that gets me.......and I'm not even the one who had this done to them. People thinking you're just on a diet might be annoying cause they don't take this as seriously as they should, but that's just a matter of ignorance.........being so flat out rude is absolutely ridiculous. I feel really sorry for you having to deal with this. And then that waiter incident........that was an unnecessary comment, cause even if you were only on a diet, that could've been done inconspicuously instead of saying "you must be DYING to have this"......all I can do is extent my sympathy...........I'm sorry you've been the brunt of this; you obviously don't deserve that.

I often wondered why her? Her complaints and hurts are similar to those I see on this board and I feel for you, deeply.

There are some people in this world that do not realize the emotional depth that you do. They dont understand the pain of not being able to eat and celebrate life as they do and then there are just plain jerks who needed their butts kicked as children. Try very hard to realize that people like that, if they cannot be taught, have no place in your life. You are special and do not deserve pain because of this!!

Very well put.........nobody seems to get it--I don't think any non-celiacs...get it.......and I'm not even talking about the diet; just the fact that I'm getting sick every 2-5 days.........vomiting, cramping.......nobody I know deals with that. The only person that sort of gets it despite not having it is my mom.......cause she sees that I'm constantly in pain......although even she can't understand the physical and mental strain it puts you under after awhile.

Has any celiac gotten this one yet? This is a non-celiac speaking: "I know someone who has celiac and they....." Almost as if it's a contest.

Yes, they happen to know someone who has celiac , who doesn't have any other food sensitivities, and has no other restrictions and has no symptoms of it.

Oh yeah.......seems like a lot of people know a celiac.......that sounds very familiar...........for example, my computer teacher at school (programming) said that his wife's brother and mother both have celiac disease.......but then when I was eating a gluten-free cookie (Pamela's chocolate something) he asked if it was an Oreo...........so he doesn't get it at all........you're also correct that the celiacs are often ones with no symptoms, no additional restrictions.......the lucky celiacs in a way.....

However you dont need a garden. I would not suggest you use grocery store produce, its been treated with waxes etc to extend shelf life. But there are many towns and cities with farmers markets.

Is this wax okay for celiacs? It's not a matter of canning, here, but just for........regular eating? I would think so cause nobody ever said that you need to be careful of it, but I just want to be sure...........

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I think it might have been the tomato sauce, Mariann..........although I still have symptoms, eliminating the tomato sauce has helped make the digestion process easier on my body. I'm not sure if the cheese caused a reaction......I guess that might've happened, too (intestines couldn't handle the dairy, acid, AND gluten at the same time).

Technically, you do not need to use gluten-free lotions, shampoos, etc. However, many like to have a gluten-free shampoo in the event that it gets in their eyes or mouth, a gluten-free lotion since they might touch something after putting on the lotion, etc........so technically you don't need it, although for contamination purposes it can't hurt.

I'd say that's good enough.........pizza was the one gluten thing that ALWAYS caused a reaction....I didn't get one after my morning bagel or anything, but pizza always triggered it.......must be loaded. Additionally, ask him if he wants anything special that has gluten--a candy, cookie dough ice cream, etc.........make it his last gluten feast, I guess. Good luck with the biopsy tomorrow. I'm getting my second biopsy on the 13th to make sure the diet is working for me.....let us know how it goes.

-celiac3270

I completely agree.....it used to KILL me to see bagels or pizza...........now they actually make me feel sick just looking at them........very unpleasant......I think that's cause I now know what they've done to me.