Guinevere

thank you for all of your replies. i saw my general practioner today who said that the gluten-free diet is diagnoses itself. i have so many other health issues that i (after reading abstracts posted here and at the www.brain.hastypastry.net) feel relate to celiac; psoriasis, arthritis, that Dr's want to pump me full of drugs for. i want to see a celiac specialist before i put another pill in my body - its been 27 years of this stuff and i'm 43, my stomach is trashed. want to get my kids diagnosed too so we can avoid finding out the hard way down the road. so will stay the course until i'm "officially" and medically diagnosed for the records.

i seem to have this response to many posts...

it cannot hurt to add probiotics to your diet. they'll help digest your food and heal your gut. i would also pay attention to all the foods you eat, pay attention to what you ate last before an episode, sounds like it could be an allergy. and make sure that you get some sort of fat and or protein when you eat carbs/sugars because the fat/protein will stabilize those blood sugars, so you do not spike your blood sugar levels.

I've been gluten-free for a couple of years, and if anything, my lactose intolerance has gotten worse.

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try taking probiotics and enzymes for a while, (in fact, do not stop taking them - they'll help heal up your gut) then try reintroducing lactose slowly with yogurt.

That was odd. I joined this forum to ask EXACTLY the question that you put out. I'm also celiac, and I'm going to be living in Florence for three months, and wanted to know any info people had. I'm going to be there from late Aug to Early Nov 2006. Weird coincidence. Freaked me out for a sec...and what great answers everyone has. You all have no idea how useful it'll be.

Cheers

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if you guys are there at the same time, you should look each other up - you could dine gluten free together.

just an idea...

i have been gluten free for 3.5 years and lactose free for 2.5 years. i am still unable to simply eat dairy; cheese, milk, cream, etc. i am able to eat it when it is cooked, however, and in small amounts. don't know why, perhaps because the protein molecule has been denatured due the cooking process and is different to digest. i have read into this matter and "they" say that when reintroducing dairy it is best to start with yogurt. makes sense. wish my gut would heal to the point where it could really take in dairy, i miss it terribly.

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. my face and head are covered with the sandpaper-ish stuff. i have been virtually gluten free for the past 3.5 years. yet i still have the darn stuff. i have recently (through much researching, etc.) pondered the idea that candidas comes as a secondary to celiac. (if you really read into it, it would be hard NOT to arrive at that conclusion). at any rate, i have been adding intensive probiotics and candidas killing stuff and i am just starting to see an improvement! i have also increased my b12 and chlorella - which detoxes the blood, etc.

I'm also doing a parasite cleanse (it includes a daily fiber drink) with good results - it seems to be helping everything. not sure why, but even my joints feel better on this stuff.

hope this is info is beneficial for you.

good luck.

I am so glad that I logged on and am reading this. I was diagnosed the day before Thanksgiving, 2005. I was shocked and in disbelief for 3 days. I have been on the gluten free diet since and have gained 12 pounds. (mostly due to snickers and Rebecca's Pecan Shortbread cookies!!) I have never been a fan of vegetables and fruits so I am eating horrible. (mostly I am eating a lot of Puffins!) I too feel no energy and am always tired. I need to snap out of my pity party and start exercising and eating better. It is so hard, I have no symptoms and do not feel any different from before my diagnoses. I am also drinking Diet Cokes by the cases, that can't be good for the stomach either. I am also lactose intolerent and have IBS. I am hoping that something improves soon. I hope that this site will help with some insight.

Thanks

Copper

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you're consuming alot of sugar, try to phase yourself to vegetables. start with your favorite veges and move on to trying different/new ones. your fatigue probably comes from high blood sugar levels, followed by crashing. get off the sugar, because most celiacs have candidas.

DO get yourself on water, more veges, fruit, and be patient. it takes time for your stomach to heal and make sure you get yourself on probiotics.

give yourself some time and do not weigh yourself more than once a week. if you're really pressed to lose weight, try walking 3 times a week for 20 minutes each day. drink water, water, water and eat more fruits and veges - they're naturally high in fiber.

good luck!!

I have tried all kinds. my personal favorite is the whole foods bakery brand - the one with sun dried tomatoes and garlic - the other is just okay. it makes fantastic toast and anything else you want to use it for. they also have pizza crust that is to die for. i use it as a dipping bread for when we have pasta (brown rice pasta in my experience is the best - trader joes has a great one), i must confess, i have never made pizza with it though (lactose intolerant). they also have great cookies - taste exactly like wheat - caution though, you will want to eat them all and they're expensive. they also have pies, cornbread, brownies, and carrot & banana bread. i can't do the sweets right now because of candidas, but they're really, really good.

i hope you have a whole foods around you, it would be worth the drive if you had to go a distance. buy some for the freezer.

!!

You may want to mention a product called Candex to your doctor. It works very well (given time) and can be taken in conjunction with probiotics to "speed things up". We were told about this one from a doctor who worked in nutrition and cancer therapy in China for about 20 years. When we mentioned this supplement to our homeopath, he had never heard of it. He has researched into it more and is now carrying it as a supplement with success.

I believe that it is gluten-free but I will have to double check.

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Have been on the Candex for about 2 weeks. Don't really notice anything yet. thank you for passing it on though.

I went gluten free 3.5 years ago. since then i have gained 20 pounds. i was my high school weight for 20 years, and i thought i was just eating well and excercising. little did i know that i was incredibly malnourished and in fact though 20 lbs heavier still am. it takes a long time for the gut to heal, and the longer you've been sick, the longer it will take. i am also a vegetarian, and it is not something that keeps me thinner, just healthier. btw - do you think animals are fed grains and that those grains are in their flesh? just a thought - perhaps gluten is passed on through animal flesh to people who eat it.

If i were in your situation i think i'd go easy on the excercise, muscles burn much more calories than any other tissue in the body. perhaps focus on bulking up through extra calories through protein/fat/carbs.

lastly, are you up on your enzymes and probiotics? they'll help you absorb what you're eating.

good luck.

I'm reading this thread and have a question. A few have mentioned taking ThreeLac to treat the Candidia Yeast. ThreeLac has Brewer's Yeast in it. That is not a Gluten Free ingredient. How is it being used by Celiacs for treatment if it has a Gluten Bearing ingredient in it? Makes no sense to me. Thanks!

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okay i'm a little embarassed to even say this but, i did not know brewers yeast had gluten. i know it is a type of fungus, but did NOT know it contained gluten. do you know where i can further information reflecting the brewer's yeast/gluten connection?

how do you find out if you have candida? can anyone tell me briefly what the symptoms are? thanks!

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go to www.healthtruth.reachlocal.net, click on the candidas button, look around until you find the candidas survey. it is extensive and pretty thorough.

You cannot test positive unless you are consuming gluten. The tests look for antibodies - reactions to gluten. If there is no gluten entering your system, there is no reaction. If there is no reaction to see, nothing will appear on the test. You must be consuming gluten (for adults) at a rate of the equivalent of three slices of bread a day for three months for a reasonable chance at accurate results off of blood tests.

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thank you for the response. do you mind if i ask how you came by your information? there is no way that i can consume gluten, even once, to test for antibodies as it makes me miserably sick for about a week! not sure how i can legitimize this. will see dr nxt week.

Yes, psoriasis is linked to celiac disease and may be improved by a gluten-free diet.

This is a good site for info:

Open Original Shared Link

Best wishes,

Matilda

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thank you for this incredibly valuble information. I will be forwarding it to many others and will print for my own Dr's files!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

my father does have psoriasis and has not been tested for celiac or gluten intolerance. he tried giving up gluten for a couple of months, but could not keep it up. he is chronically constipated and is hooked on coffee. wish i could have shared something more helpful.

my grandparents also had psoriasis, as does 3 of my siblings, one of which also is celiac.

I have terrible tendon problems. In shoulder, elbows, wrists and ankles. I believe it is due to malnutrition. I have been taking free form amino acids so that my digestive system does not have to break down protein to rebuild - it gets it in a "ready to go" form. I have also heard that it is important to take a balanced form of minerals as an adjunct to amino acids - to help in the healing process. I tend to take this stuff on and off. I believe it cannot hurt in the face of malnutrition.

Hi there. I am so glad someone is dicussing this. I know I have candida ( I have so many symptoms, and have done the questionarre and home test. Read about the self test for candida on the web. I am currently about to start taking Threelac for candida and also just started liquid oxygen to help alkalize my PH. With threelac you don't have to be on the strict diet, but should limit carbs and avoid sugar. It has had amazing success. I will keep people updated if I see progress. The gluten free diet helped for a while, but I am backsliding and I believe it is the candida. I would recommend doing lots of reading about all the disorders associated with candida. It is common in celiacs. Also candida can cause food intolerances. So I wonder for those who are intolerant but do not have celiac if the candida could have caused it. Let me know what you think.

Thank you for your response. I would like to correspond with you personally about the ThreeLac as I have recently come off of it. Would you let me know how I can do that?

I have been gluten free for 3 years and lactose free for 2. I have had psoriasis for 25 years (since I was 15) and psoriatic arthritis for 24). I have not seen any improvement in my skin yet. However, I have recently made a post regarding the connection of celiac, psoriais, etc. with candidas. There's alot of talk about them being connected. My question is, which comes first?

I've been doing alot of online researching. According to the more alternative sources, Celiac can be related to candidas, leaky gut, and IBS. WOW, where does one begin.

In addition to celiac and lactose intolerance, I have psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis. According to the information I find on these above mentioned diseases, they're all connected through candidas (and parasites according to some websites). Does anyone out there display symptoms of candidas in addition to celiac?

I have been on probiotics and enzymes for some time now and have recently added a parasite cleanse. Minor changes so far with regard to improved digestion, energy and clearer thinking. (Personally, I feel that my digestion is so poor that I don't digest ANYTHING well unless I am taking enzymes and probiotics on a regular basis).

Does anyone out there have any experience with any of this?

I became gradually lactose intolerant even after giving up gluten. My symptoms were similar in some ways, gas, diahrrea, bloating, etc. But were not as intense as gluten (similar to a Mac Truck). At present (2 years later) I can consume very small quantities of dairy (very small, like 1 t.).

Two years ago, I was tested through endoscopic and blood work for celiac disease. At the time of testing I had been gluten free for a year. Both the endoscopic and blood work came out negative. However, I have very strong reactions to gluten. In fact, it is my third day in a row of intense headaches, stomach ache, nauseau, brain fog and fatigue after accidental consumption of product that contained soy sauce. After my endoscopic procedure my Dr. said I had dysbiosis and that I should simply take probiotics (which I do take). WOW! If only my body agreed with what the tests and the Dr. said. I'm confused, is it common to test negative when symptoms are so positive?