queenofhearts

It definitely sounds like Celiac is a possibility. Are you anemic? (The bruising would be a tip-off.) I had recurrant diarrhea, anemia, arthritis, & migraines for years but not until I developed liver damage did the docs figure out it was Celiac. All the pieces of the puzzle just fell together... I'll bet the same thing happens with you! Good luck, let us know about your diagnosis!

Leah

Congratulations, Nantzie! It's amazing what can happen once we stop poisoning ourselves!

Leah

You too !! I kid you not, the same thing happened to me a week ago... I just want to scream sometimes. My family knows the deal and they really really are wonderful and supportive. But I think I'm going to snap. How do you handle the cans and the many many can'ts I'm so overwhelmed I'm not sure I can take this sometimes, any suggestions? There is so-oo-oo much to re-learn.... I get to the point some days where I just don't eat. I know thats bad but it seems almost impossible to find time to cook for me never mind find decent recipes. My best friend and older sister made me corn bread recently and I cried. Can you believe it I cried about corn bread. It was like someone had given me gold.

Any ideas you'd be willing to share would be a blessing..

Here's one of my in-the-middle-of-a-deadline emergency quickies: Nuke a potato. Serve with salsa & some grated cheese. Or with cottage cheese & chives. (I grow chives in my garden. They're very easy to grow.) Super-speedy & sorta healthy... better than not eating anyway!

Leah

You do have to be careful with cottage cheese though-- some contain gluten. I like Breakstone, myself.

That's why I worry about corn tortillas from the stores. I"m sure they're made in the same facility that makes the flour tortillas.....right??

Do you make your own? They're so good homemade, but tortillas are one of my grab-it-when-there's-no-time-to-cook staples... now I'm wondering...

Leah

Is the coconut milk soup usually safe? Last time I had thai I went over my requirements with the manager to help me pick my main course (he said the panang curry was fine), but we never discussed the soup. It came with the coconut milk soup and I love it so I ate it, and was sick the next day. I'm wondering which it was - the soup or the curry....

The problem is, recipes vary, ingredients vary, chefs sometimes make changes, so you just have to ask. And even then it's a little risky, which is why I don't eat out all that often!

Leah

p.s. Don't forget to ask about the broth since some contain gluten.

I don't know anything at all about these symptoms, just wanted to say I'm sorry you're going through so much pain, & I hope you find a doctor soon who can really help you.

Leah

Thank you so much for the support. I really can't tell you how much it helps to just have someone understand what I'm going through right now. It just seems that I'm stuck in a catch-22. The more I focus on my health and try to get that in working order, the less I get stressed about that, but then my school falls behind because of it. Then, I get stressed about school, push to clear that up and my health starts falling apart due to the stress of it. The whole thing is just so frusterating.

I'm definately going to pick that book up, though, since I'm a pretty avid reader anyways. Thank you again for the book suggestion and all of the support.

One thing that helps me is to have a glass of water & some healthy finger-food-- fruit, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, that sort of thing-- handy to snack on when I'm working at the computer nonstop. Otherwise I tend to get really hungry without realizing it & then suddenly feel desperate for calories & I eat too much of the wrong stuff. (Not gluten, mind you-- but not healthy either, & anyway my system doesn't react well to lots of food all at once.)

Leah

My doc knows I take otc thyroid and that my thyroid tests normal while taking it, so I've never discussed it with him beyond that.

So is Solaray otc? I didn't realise that.

Leah

I've never seen a fish sauce that contains wheat.

There are DEFINITELY some that do. I shop at Grand Asia Market & about 1/4 to 1/3 of the fish sauces there have wheat. So you really do need to ask. The good thing is that unlike soy, MOST fish sauces are safe.

Leah

Yeah, I've had my wacked-out moments too. One night I made "assemble-your-own" tacos for supper & set out flour shells along with corn. I had about a dozen carefully-prepared fillings in bowls arranged around the table. My husband took his flour tortilla in hand &, ignoring the spoons, proceeded to stick his gluteny fingers into all the bowls. You may have heard my scream across the pond! It traumatized my kids & they're 19!

Leah

My current RRRRRR....

Doc prescribed special iron supplement supposedly more absorbable, insurance won't cover it 'cause it's over the counter, but it costs $55 a bottle! Any advice on that one?

Leah

Yikes! Never thought of this-- the fryer issue is bad enough.

Leah

My three year old got badly glutened from play dough, right after we started the diet, last fall. It was under her fingernails, and she stuck her fingers in her mouth all the time.

Now we use polymer clay. The product we're using is called Sculpey, and it comes in lots of different colors. You can find out more about it at www.sculpey.com and we've actually emailed them. They claim to be made of actual earth clay products. I didn't see any hidden sources of gluten in the ingredients list that they emailed me, and my daughter hasn't had a reaction to Sculpey. If you keep it in a plastic bag, it lasts pretty long, but keep it outdoors... It can stick to floors worse than play dough does.

If anyone has found Sculpey to cause a reaction, please let me know.

Mechelle

I love Sculpey & I use it a lot in my work, but while it should be completely safe in a gluten sense, it still requires caution because the plasticizers in the clay are really not good for you. Something that is not well understood in art supplies-- things can be marked non-toxic (meaning you don't keel over instantly if you taste it) but repeated exposure can still cause harm over time. If I were you I'd make one of the food-safe, gluten-free playdoughs for any child who is young enough to put fingers in mouth. Also please use care when baking Sculpey (if you do) & if you bake it often, cover the baking dish to prevent plasticizers from building up in your oven. Wouldn't want to trade gluten for dioxins!

Leah

There's considerable dispute over this, but the possibility of getting some in the mouth (especially with kids) is so great that you don't want to take the chance, even if it doesn't get through the skin.

My policy is that anything that touches my hands (lotion, sunscreen, &c.) has to be gluten-free, because I sometimes unconsciously touch my lips, & though I do wash my hands carefully before eating I just don't need the worry that anything will slip in as I'm nibbling a cracker or slice of apple....

Leah

I'm under a huge amount of stress right now since school is coming to an end and I have tests, projects, work, etc. This is the time where I need to be healthy the most and I just seem to be getting sick more and more often. Can the amount of stress you're under really make everything worse?

You bet your boots! Stress makes just about anything worse if you ask me.

Try really hard to be kind to your body now. I know it's tough when you're short on time. Drink lots of WATER. Do some gentle yoga if you possibly can. Don't forget your fruits & veg. And breathe!

I live by deadlines, & I have painted on my studio wall: "There is time only to work slowly. There is no time not to love." (Deena Metzger.) When I get really crazy I look at that inscription, take a deep breath, & try to regain perspective.

Leah

I hope you feel better soon, Berneses-- your symptoms sound just miserable. What a lot to deal with all at once!

If your temps are that low, that would definately contribute to your feeling fatigued!!! I take Solaray Thryoid, two capsules per day, and it keeps my temps at 97.6 or higher and I feel much better than when they drop to 97. Mine have never been as low as yours are, but I've seen others whose have been. If your doc's test comes out low, then he might have some stronger stuff to give you than what I use. If you get something over the counter, be sure it actually has thyroid in it. Some just are a thyroid support with no thyroid. Also, do you use iodized salt? If not, you might want to look for another source of iodine (my thyroid capsules have it).

I don't know if this could be what your other symptoms are all about, but as you know, our health is a puzzle, this could at least be one more piece of it for you.

Hope you're feeling better soon!!!

Carla

Wow... that is fascinating. My temps have always been low too, to the point where only when I'm feverish do I get up to "normal"-- & when I tell people that they look at me like I'm nuts. My thyroid has always tested normal but I've thought before there might have been something there... I often have chills no matter the weather (I say I'm the only 50 year old who gets COLD flashes!) & have dry skin, fatigue & some other symptoms...

So my question is, how do you get doctors to consider this possibility? And I wouldn't want to mess around with hormones if that ISN'T what's wrong... so how do you tell?

Leah

I recomment eating a lot of meat, vegetables, and white or brown rice. I find making large amounts of *simple* stir-fry a couple times a week generates enough leftovers for in-between meals. Just in the meats and vegetables category, there is lots of yummy food! Also how about potatoes? I personally adore sweet potatoes/ yams, you can wrap them in a freezer bag and put in the microwave for 12 minutes and it's another easy food. Bananas are another inexpensive tasty food that's great for you. All these foods are great for you to eat anyway, your body will enjoy the nutrients.

I also have yearned for caffeine but the two times I tried it during this saga both caused severe unpleasantness, so I intend to stay off of it until the guts are fully healed (who knows how long that'll be).

Good luck, and let us know how it's going!

I too am a sweet potato junkie, but please don't use plastic in the microwave. It really is bad for you. Johns Hopkins just recently issued a warning about the toxins it releases into your food. I put my sweets in the microwave bare-nekkid on a plate & they cook up just fine! (Be sure to pierce the skin so it won't explode on you though. And turn them over once or twice as they cook.)

Leah

Well, there are a couple of ways of looking at it. If you feel you need a clear diagnosis, you should insist on an enteroscopy with multiple biopsies, & you should keep eating gluten until you have it so that the damage will be clear. But if you just want to feel better & don't particularly have a need to be diagnosed, by all means go gluten-free & if you feel better you will have your answer.

I was diagnosed by biopsy & find it helps in getting my family members fully on board. If you share a home with gluten eaters it takes a lot of cooperation & extra effort on their part to avoid cross-contamination, & sometimes it is hard to get them on board if they think it might just be a whim, hypochondria or whatever. So it depends on how supportive your housemates are. In my case it really helped to have a clear diagnosis.

Of course, you could have the biopsy & have it come back negative. In that case you could still try the diet & you may still derive great benefit from it. So you might say, why bother with all the expense & so on if you are determined to try the diet in any case. It's your call, really.

Welcome to the board, & whatever you decide, you will get lots of helpful information & moral support here.

Leah

Slight complications! My e-mail is doing strange things today. I have sent messages to everyone who pm'd me but many of them are stuck in my outbox for some inexplicable reason. I hope the list will get to you all eventually. Please know that I haven't forgotten you!

Leah

p.s. Chrissy, did you pm me with your e-mail address?

Another "Play-Dough" recipe"-- when my kids were little I used to make this all the time with regular flour, but they're 19 now so haven't made it since I was gluten-free. I'm just guessing on the xanthan gum amount, but you want it nice and springy, so I would start with 1 tsp. & add more next time if you think it would be better.

1 cup gluten-free flour of your choice

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1/4 cup salt

Food coloring as desired

Enough hot water to make a doughy texture-- add a tablespoon at a time & knead it like crazy until it makes a good dough

This keeps for quite a while in a ziploc bag, since the salt preserves the dough. If it dries out slightly you can work in a few more drops of water.

Leah

Have you considered blood sugar issues? Are you getting enough to eat? If you have suddenly cut out starches from your diet, that could wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels, & for me, that's a sure trigger for dizziness.

Leah

I'm really glad so many folks are interested in the flour list! I must not have been clear in my first message, though, because a lot of you are not including your e-mail address in the pm, & I don't know how to attach a Word document to a pm, so--

PLEASE REMEMBER TO INCLUDE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN THE PM.

...Or if somebody knows a spiffy way to attach a Word doc to the pm, that would be handy to know!

Thanks,

Leah

Leah, Your son sounds like all the other Evergreen students. How wonderful that your son has found a niche in photo journalism. Is he still interested in that? My oldest two are teachers and my youngest is working as a child advocate in an agency for abused women and families. Their interests are broad, but they love the outdoors, reading, healing arts. I've found that the pacific northwest awakens something natural in all of us - I love it.

You really had trouble with the fog, Leah. Wow! Chills too? I bet you couldn't believe the difference when the fog lifted. It's hard when we have a bad day and get a glimpse of what we lived with! I don't have migraines, thank goodness. My daughter does and I'm trying to get her to try the gluten-free diet. She has so many symptoms and was finally told she might have chronic fatigue, for a lack of anything else to diagnose her with. It comes and goes. Right now she doesn't have the fatigue or muscle pain, but she lives with sinus problems, headaches and general malaise. Sound familiar?

Funny, I'm trying to get my other son to be tested for Celiac, since he has some suspicious symptoms. He's very resistant. Won't try the diet either. I admit it would be tough for a college student.

James, my Evergreen son, is definitely still hoping to be a photojournalist. And wow, you are exactly right about the influence of the Northwest. J. scarcely ventured into the outside world before going to Evergreen-- his twin brother was & is a lover of nature, but J. was content to stay inside doing amazing things with his computer. It absolutely floored me when his Christmas request was for a pair of hiking boots! He's taken some stunning photos of the Northwestern forests. It's an amazing & very powerful landscape.

Leah

Hello there, (warning - very long post)

I have been teaching fitness for 16 years, and have regular column in the industry magazine here in Canada, as well as being a master instructor and certifier for the national association. I teach daily, I teach a morning class, a mid-day class and an evening class, on top of taking martial arts on my own time. I teach about 400 students per week, am a workshop presenter, had a daily tv show on our sports channel here, and cousel professional athletes on nutrition.

I say all this just so that you know that I am a reliable source of information.

First thing, if your energy is low, you have to start at the matabolic level:

How is your hormonal balance? (especially for women, given our hormonal fluctuations and terrible fad diet habits, many women have chronically low growth and sex hormone levels). You may not know your hormonal profile, but here are a few ways to ensure your hormonal levels are adequate to maintain your basal metabolic rate high enough:

1. Avoid soy (the phyto-estrogens in soy wildly interfere with growth hormones, which in turn inhibits us from recuperating adequately from physical stressors like exercise or resistance training)

2. Ensure you are getting magnesium

3. Ensure that you are getting omega-3s (hate to say it, but cod-liver oil is the best)

4. Ensure you're hemaglobin profile is balanced (check your B-serums, and Iron)

5. Ensure you are well hydrated (about 2 litres per day, plus 1 litre for every hour of strenuous exercise - the first sign of dehydration is exhaustion, not thirst)

6. Ensure you are getting enough calories, here is how to calculate:

Basic caloric needs (depends on your gender, weight, height and muscle mass)

Add the calories for exercise expenditure (this will vary per training day)

Here is how I calculate mine:

basic calories: 2,500 (based on my stats)

Cardio: 800 calories

Resistance training: 450

Total calories needed per day: 3,750

Sounds like a lot? If I eat less than this I lose muscle mass and experience tremendous fatigue and interestingly, put on fat (crashes my basal metabolism).

7. Ensure you are getting the proper nutrients, and in a steady supply:

I recommend my athletes (if you train every day, I consider you an athlete) eat 6 to 8 small meals per day

We calculate their protein requirements in grams per meal (every meal is protein and fat based)

Carbs come from vegetables and fruits to avoid energy burn-out on processed starches and sugars

Not enough fatty protein in your diet will inhibit the production of growth hormones (again a key metabolic process for athletes) fatty protein: seeds, nuts (sunflower, pumpkin, almonds, hemp, flax are ok), salmon, beef, tuna, raw oysters are ideal. Eat organic if possible, and as raw as possible. Organic eggs are one of natures most perfect sources of protein - eat the whole egg and if possible poached with a runny yellow (avoid frying, avoid fully cooking the middle.).

8. Energy zappers to avoid:

Artificial sugars and sweeteners (they interfere with your endocrinology)

Processed and refined sugars and starches (they cause massive insulin deregulation)

Energy drinks of all kinds (if you must, one or two organic coffees per day - avoid anything that glows in the dark, ir bright orange, green or purple. LOL! Sorry gatorade, we know you are sugar water, and red bull is downright dangerous for your health).

Energy bars, protein shakes...I know this is controversial, but have a handfull of seeds, nuts and dried fruits instead. Just try to read one of the labels on those things - they are basically an amalgamation of 40 to 60 chemical products. Again, chemicals have all sorts of effects on your hormone levels. My rule of thumb is if you don't know what it is, can't pronounce it, don't eat it. Unless you are a professional bodybuilder getting ready for a competition, avoid crap like this. They take controlled risks by injecting and ingesting stimulants and additives in order to have artificially developed bodies.

Avoid packaged foods. The longer the shelf life of a food, the less it will be nutritious.

9. Sleep.

Most people are sleep deprived, and athletes need even more sleep than the average person as this is when their body repairs itself and when (ta-da) growth hormones, cortisol, is released. Not enough sleep, not enough growth hormones: your body will make you tired in order to encourage the rest it needs to produce it.

10. Still tired? Revise your work-out plan. It might be poorly constructed.

Cardio - ok to do every day as long as you are not working out to the point of muscle exhaustion.

Resistance training, ensure that you give every muscle group trained (even abdominals, its a myth that you can do those every day) a 24 hour rest.

Stretching - flexibility exercices should only be performed on resistance trained muscles on their rest day. Light stretching is ok on day of - but not deep stretches which deepen the micro tears.

Something like Yoga, Pilates can be done daily, as long as you do not experience muscle exhaustion. If you do, your muscle group requires rest. (really depends on how these are performed).

11. If you are female - it is absolutely normal to feel extreme fatigue the day of your ovulation, and the days preceeding your period - why? Higher estrogen and progesterone, lower testosterone. If you listen to your body, it will tell you to work just as hard on those days, but that your point of fatigue will come earlier and require lower weight resistance on those days. Its important to respect your body when it tells you to back off - or your metabolism will force you to take a break by conserving energy and slowing down.

Ok! I think this is my longest post EVER! Sorry - hope you stuck with my this far.

Usually I charge $150 an hour for this - but what the hay! I know how many of us fight for energy, having pernicious anemia and gluten intolerance means that I fight for energy every waking moment. The above list allows me to access and optimize that energy by revving my engine (metabolism).

Taking energy bars is like treating the symptom instead of the disfunction - and the energy bar craze is my personal pet peeve. They are bad for you and in the long run, screw up your system.

Be well - namaste.

Wow, what a fantastic gift of information! Thank you so much-- I learned a lot!

Leah

Leah, I sort of think that it may be okay to bake with a dusk mask. Mind you, I have no idea how small the particles will be that are in the air, and if a dusk mask would keep them out. What has me concerned is, that fine particles will stay in the air for up to 24 hours. I wouldn't want to wear a dusk mask for that long, would you? Because it would either be that, or leaving right after baking and staying overnight somewhere else (even though that seems like a good idea, too )

Really, I prefer not to have anybody use normal flour in this house, because it's otherwise just another source of cc (and heaven knows I get enough of that around here, with nobody caring, lets not add another thing).

Oh, that's true about the lingering haze. I'm lucky that I'm the baker in the family; they gladly eat my gluten-free things & I don't have to worry about the air pollution!

Leah