My Mom

[mamaleigh]

If I have already posted before, I apologize. I've been looking for answers at different sites, and sometimes I forget which ones I have been to. We are thinking that my mom may have celiac disease, or be gluten intolerent. Every time she eats bread or a lot of others things, she gets sick. Since she has been trying to be careful about what has gluten in it, her episodes have been less. But she is getting very depressed, and upset because she says she is hungry all the time, and can't eat anything. She is getting tired of eating yogurt, gluten-free pudding, etc. We have found very few things she can eat.

 

What do some of you experience when having a gluten or celiac attack? My mom said a couple of days ago, she ate a cheeseburger from McDonalds, she knows she wasn't supposed to, but she was craving it, and did it anyway. Last night she ate some rice from one of those packages, like Lipton rice and sauce. Well last night, she got very bloated, and her body was hurting all over. Her back, neck, shoulders, legs, everything. She was lying in bed an moaning it was so bad. She took Mylanta, and laid with a heating pad on her back, but it was all night long. She is better this morning, but still has a little back pain. Does this sound like a gluten attack? Would it have been the cheeseburger from a couple of days ago, or the rice from last night? Does eating one thing like that really do that much? How long after eating something do you typically get an attack? She is worried that something else bad might be wrong with her, because she asked me, do people experience body pain all over from gluten?

 

A couple of months ago, she was also experiencing heart palpitations, and having panic attacks when the bloating and stomach pain attacked her. She stayed in the hospital for one night, and later had tests done on her heart. Everything was clear, but they did put her on blood thinners and medications for palpitations, and she also takes xanax for when she has a panic attack. So that part has gotten better. But she says last night was the worst "gluten attack" (if that is what it is) she has ever had.

 

I just want to be able to help her all I can. It is hard trying to find her things to eat, we are on a budget, and we aren't gourmet cooks, so can't handle difficult recipes. I'd like to find quick things she can eat. I have searched for hours before, and only found a handful of items to put on a list of things she might like.

 

Also, has anyone heard of Glutenease? I thought maybe I could get her some, just in case she accidentally eats something with gluten sometimes.

 

The body pain is a big deal for her, because she already has degenerative spine disease, and ostearthritis, so she is already in some pain to begin with at all times. It is very upsetting to see her in so much pain when she has these attacks, because it is excrutiating for her.

 

So just wondering what some of you experience with an attack? My mother by the way is 71 years old, has always had what she thought was IBS, but over the last year or so, it has been a lot worse.

 

Thanks

[w8in4dave]

Seems everyone has different symptoms when glutened. Maby she should be tested. If she is Celiac she cannot just eat a burger because she is craving it. It will send her over the edge. It is not good at all. She should clear her cupboards from all the glutenized stuff and fill them with Gluten free stuff, if she is having a problem. I really think she should be tested if she want to be serious. If she is not Dx'd then she won't take it serious. And for that matter if it isn't Celiac she may have some other problem. What does her Dr. Say? She has to be eating Gluten to be tested , and if she is positive she has to be serious about Going Gluten free. You do not have to be a Chef to cook Gluten free. Fresh meat and veggies , potato or rice fruit... It is the pre packaged stuff that is bad, and burgers from Mc Donald's is bad no matter what. If you want to help her she has to help herself also. I don't know how much you have read about Glutenease but I just read this :GlutenEase is not formulated to prevent celiac symptoms. 

So she will still get symptoms .... 

I know it is hard the older you get to change your diet. But if these foods are causing her so much pain she really should be tested. If she is not going to be tested then she has to get a lil more serious about what she eats. 

[bartfull]

Plain whole foods are gluten-free. Meat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies and fruit. Think about it - most meals we eat consist of those things. The only difference is we don't have bread on the side. Rice is gluten-free too. Most ice creams are gluten-free if you want something for dessert. Ruffles Potato chips are gluten-free if you want a snack. Planter's nuts are gluten-free.

 

She MAY also have a problem with dairy. A lot of us do at first. After a few months most of us are able to add it back. If that is the case, Earth Balance margerine is safe, and there are ice creams made with coconut milk available at your health food store.

 

There are some pretty decent gluten-free breads out there now. Against the Grain makes great baguettes. Udi's multi-grain bread tastes like french bread. Canyon Bakehouse 7-grain has all those little nutty bits like grocery store multi-grains do. If she MUST have bread, those are all good choices. Yes, they are expensive, but maybe that will inspire her to go easy on them. They don't have any nutrition to speak of - just empty calories, but sometimes it's nice to have a sandwich.

 

Betty Crocker makes a gluten-free cakemix. And there are loads of recipes for flourless chocolate cake, flourless peanut butter cookies, and other things you can make using gluten-free flours. The flourless is less expensive though and they use ingredients you already have in your cupboard.

 

You should read the Newbie 101 thread here. It'll teach you a lot about celiac and going gluten-free.

 

By the way, giant kudos to you for wanting to help your Mom. Welcome to the board.

[1desperateladysaved]

If I have already posted before, I apologize. I've been looking for answers at different sites, and sometimes I forget which ones I have been to. We are thinking that my mom may have celiac disease, or be gluten intolerent. Every time she eats bread or a lot of others things, she gets sick. Since she has been trying to be careful about what has gluten in it, her episodes have been less. But she is getting very depressed, and upset because she says she is hungry all the time, and can't eat anything. She is getting tired of eating yogurt, gluten-free pudding, etc. We have found very few things she can eat.

 

What do some of you experience when having a gluten or celiac attack? My mom said a couple of days ago, she ate a cheeseburger from McDonalds, she knows she wasn't supposed to, but she was craving it, and did it anyway. Last night she ate some rice from one of those packages, like Lipton rice and sauce. Well last night, she got very bloated, and her body was hurting all over. Her back, neck, shoulders, legs, everything. She was lying in bed an moaning it was so bad. She took Mylanta, and laid with a heating pad on her back, but it was all night long. She is better this morning, but still has a little back pain. Does this sound like a gluten attack? Would it have been the cheeseburger from a couple of days ago, or the rice from last night? Does eating one thing like that really do that much? How long after eating something do you typically get an attack? She is worried that something else bad might be wrong with her, because she asked me, do people experience body pain all over from gluten?

 

A couple of months ago, she was also experiencing heart palpitations, and having panic attacks when the bloating and stomach pain attacked her. She stayed in the hospital for one night, and later had tests done on her heart. Everything was clear, but they did put her on blood thinners and medications for palpitations, and she also takes xanax for when she has a panic attack. So that part has gotten better. But she says last night was the worst "gluten attack" (if that is what it is) she has ever had.

 

I just want to be able to help her all I can. It is hard trying to find her things to eat, we are on a budget, and we aren't gourmet cooks, so can't handle difficult recipes. I'd like to find quick things she can eat. I have searched for hours before, and only found a handful of items to put on a list of things she might like.

 

Also, has anyone heard of Glutenease? I thought maybe I could get her some, just in case she accidentally eats something with gluten sometimes.

 

The body pain is a big deal for her, because she already has degenerative spine disease, and ostearthritis, so she is already in some pain to begin with at all times. It is very upsetting to see her in so much pain when she has these attacks, because it is excrutiating for her.

 

So just wondering what some of you experience with an attack? My mother by the way is 71 years old, has always had what she thought was IBS, but over the last year or so, it has been a lot worse.

 

Thanks

Sorry, you and your mother are going through this.  I would like to say that one needs to read the entire label on a package.  I mean that the sauce of the Lipton rice for example, might have had gluten.  I tried to look it up on line and could not find the ingredients.  I suggest you read a thread Irishheart wrote and hope someone will provide it below. 

 

If one has celiac or gluten intolerance they can get really sick from eating even small amounts of gluten.  It sounds like your mother might be reacting to gluten.  The symptoms warrant finding out what is going on.

[IrishHeart]

First of all, your Mom needs to be tested for celiac disease.

If the tests are negative, she can still go gluten free.

The symptoms you are describing sound like gluten intolerance of some degree.

 

Secondly, you do not have to spend a lot of money to go G F.

There are many meal suggestions that do not require extra planning, ingredients or spending that much extra $$. 

Tons of free suggestions on the internet. Many G F cooks share their recipes with us. .

 

And, the thread Diana is talking about is found here:

 

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

 

This is all very do-able, but first, have her tested so the doctor can determine her follow -up care.

 

Best wishes to you and your Mom.

[Lock]

The hunger and cravings might be carb cravings. First, I agree with the others, she should be tested for Celiac as soon as possible.

 

For hunger, good fats are the answer, along with deleting sugar and carbs.

 

When I was on a carb roller coaster, and I switched off the carbs, at first, I was not able to get a lot of healthy foods, but over time I learned to find sources. But at first, here is what I did. Within 2 days I had a complete turnaround. For me this was like an emergency treatment and it worked.

 

FIRST AID FOR CARB VICIOUS CYCLE

 

1. Eat no sugar, no juice, no fruit except berries. No honey, no maple syrup.

2. No grains at all, no potatoes, no starchy vegetables.

3. No milk because even whole milk has too many carbs

4. No vegetable shortening, or regular vegetable oils, no mayonnaise made with soybean oil

5. No bread, no pastry of any kind, no cookies, cake, etc.

 

Eat small meals over the day of these sorts of things:

 

Full fat cream cheese

Olives

Canned sardines

Canned salmon

small servings of NOT LEAN beef, chicken or pork, the fattier the better

Organ meats (beef liver, liverwurst, chicken heart - chicken giblets minced fine and briefly sauteed in butter with salt and pepper)

Butter (no margarines or butter substitute products)

Heavy cream (no half and half)

Eggs

Dark greens like spinach or mixed baby greens with cold pressed olive oil and vinegar only (no bottled dressing)

Avocado

Raw nuts (not roasted in oiils)

Bacon

Hamburger with no bun, no condiments (ketchup has sugar)

Fish oils, like bottled cod liver oil

maybe some fibrous vegetables, in small amounts but for me my stomach would not tolerate much fiber

 

Ideally, all the animal meats should be grass fed, wild, caught, organic.

 

The cream and the cheese ideally should be goat and the eggs should be duck, quail, anything but chicken, and free range, etc.

 

But for now if you can't get grass fed and strange eggs, go with the usual for the short term to break the carb addiction cycle.

 

This should be a short time only diet. The meats if standard feedlot meats will be unhealthy, and she may have sensitivities to cow's milk and chicken egg, however, this program for a few days will break the carb craving cycle and give her some motivation and energy to work on solving these problems.

 

If she has had her gallbladder out she should take bile salts (Ox Bile is a good brand).

 

The issue at her age is that she (if gluten sensitive) is suffering the end result of many years of nutrient deficiencies. Has brain fog and physical pain and can't find her way out of it.

 

Do some research in these areas on your own and get her in with the doctor for celiac testing, thyroid too. Blood sugar, very important. Could be many things going on. Don't expect the doctor to be thrilled with my suggested diet, but research it for yourself and your mom, it is her choice of course, but from personal experience, this is a very fast way out of carb Hell.

 

It would be a good idea to buy blood sugar test kits even if she is not diabetic, she could be headed that way, and you can check her blood sugar without waiting to get in to the doctor.