Milk Allergy And Celiac Proving To Be Quite Difficult :(

[Jen-1984]

Last year I had a positive Deamidated Gliadin IgG blood test and a positive skin prick test for a milk allergy at the allergist's office. I faithfully cut out gluten and dairy for 6 months, but as time stretched on and we moved and life started getting busier, I began eating gluten and dairy again. I was feeling better. but it literally took months to feel almost normal again. I even began losing weight and had a hard time putting it on after cutting out dairy. However now I am in my same old rut I was exactly a year ago, sick not able to et out of bed, hardly able to concentrate. I know many of you probably wonder why I am doing this to myself, but it has been harder than I thought with family and with kids and with my weak will power I guess to give it all up. Plus now that I have been ingesting it for so long, the symptoms seem worse and I am not seeing the results as quickly. This is a vent post and probably sounds dumb. I am reaching out in some small way to hopefully help myself again.

[bartfull]

Nobdy can make you stop. You know that's what you need to do and until you make the decision there is nothing any of us can say. Eventually you will either decide you are tired of feeling lousy, and you will realize that you need to stay healthy for your kid's sake if not your own, or you will sink further and further into the gluten hell you have found yourself in.

 

Look, a lot of us have kids. A lot of us have weak will power. Every one of us has a story to tell and excuses we could use. Most of us have chosen good health. But I know others who haven't. Somewhere on this forum are at least two threads about friends and relatives who have celiac but continue to eat gluten. It isn't pretty.

 

If I sound harsh, I am sorry. Keep in mind that I smoke cigarettes, even though I KNOW they are harming me. I think it's because the damage the cigs are doing is (at the moment) milder and further off. If I eat gluten, I am sick right away. So I am NOT taking a holier-than-thou stance, even if it sounds like I am. Every one of us has weaknesses, and we are the ONLY ones who can change things.

 

So, I hope you can overcome this and get healthy. There are lots of good things to eat, and if you are feeling better, every aspect of your life will be more enjoyable. But you already know that.

 

So, you have taken the first step, reaching out for help. Go read the Newbie 101 thread again. Then check out all of the great recipes. Then consider getting your kids tested. Celiac does run in families and not all celiacs have recognizable symptoms. Maybe you can take the whole household gluten-free and that would remove the temptation.

 

Good luck and keep your chin up. You CAN get the better of this!

[cyclinglady]

I have been gluten-free for almost a year, but have been cooking gluten-free for my husband for 13 years. It is hard. I hate it. I am sick of cooking three meals per day and feel like a pioneer woman. How I long for simple convenience if eating out! The good news is that I can kiss my husband without the worry getting glutened! Things could be worse.

I am also allergic/intolerant to milk, eggs, garlic and nuts, plus more. I have known about my allergies for decades. I can eat now eat eggs in baked goods and use butter (less casein). So, it is possible to work around your different food issues.

So, you already know the severe consequences of not complying with the gluten-free diet. I wish I had been diagnosed sooner. My blood test was only mildly positive but my biopsy was Marsh Stage 3b (Moderate to severe damage). Probably my vertebrae fracturing spontaneously three months after my diagnosis, was the most devastating of all! The constant fear of another fracture is always hanging over my head and has been life changing since I was a triathlete.

I am a mother of just one, but it is my responsibility to keep heathy for her!

Good luck and welcome! You can do this!

[GFinDC]

Well, you had a good start on gluten-free.  All you had to do was keeping going the way you were.  You aren't as weak willed as you seem to think.  You made it 6 months on the diet.  If you can do 6 months, you can do a year.  And if you can do a year, you can do two.  You just have to decide you are going to do it.  It's not a hard diet to follow once you get used to it.  And eating whole foods is much better for you than eating all kinds of processed crap anyway.

 

Your kids may develop celiac disease at any time, so it would be good if you can show them how to do it.

 

Of course, the idea of cheating on the gluten-free diet has come up a few times before.  Below are a couple threads that might help you think about the issues.  Knowledge is power they say!  But that is only if you use the knowledge to make good decisions.

 

How bad is cheating?
https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/94443-how-bad-is-cheating-on-the-gluten-free-diet-periodically/

 

Falling off the gluten-free wagon  Check out Backtalk's post.

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/67218-falling-off-the-gluten-free-wagon/page-3

[StephanieL]

Maybe start with the gluten free.  If you have never had an issue with dairy in the past, a positive test doesn't mean a lot.  There is a high percentage of false positives with allergy testing. Maybe starting with gluten and seeing if that helps your issues you may find dairy isn't an issue and it may be easier to stick too as well.

[Juliebove]

Either get it all out of the house or...  Get yourself a little fridge and dedicate a cabinet or at least some sort of shelving unit for you.  Put your food in it.  Label it with your name.  Tell yourself that the other food doesn't belong to you and to eat it would be akin to stealing.  I had to do this with my daughter's food mainly because she was too young to fully be able to read a label and because my husband and parents could not understand what she could and could not eat.  Gluten isn't my issue.  But dairy and a lot of other things are.  I don't like to feel sick so...  Eating that stuff wouldn't ever be an option for me.  But if there is something in the house that wouldn't make me sick and yet I know I shouldn't eat it for other reasons, I just tell myself that it's not mine.

 

Also keep in mind...  If you are cooking and preparing food for your family but using things with gluten and dairy, then you may well be sickening yourself there.

 

When my daughter was first diagnosed, I tried to get everything out of the house that she could no longer have.  And that would have worked for the two of us.  I was willing to eat her diet, perhaps only eating her offending foods at a restaurant or while I was out somewhere and she was not with me.  I felt guilty eating them in front of her. 

 

But husband didn't like this.  He wanted his milk and cheese and bread and other things.  Which is why she got her own little fridge and some shelves for her special foods.  Her issues were many more besides dairy and gluten though.

 

My mom is like you and I had a friend who was like you.  It got and still gets very annoying to watch someone eat that which they know will make them sick and perhaps even come up with excuses why they ate it.  Then have to listen to them complain about how sick they got.  People will only put up with that for so long.  And then they'll be greatly annoyed.

 

Try making only meals that you can eat.  If the others want other stuff, either have an older chid or your husband prepare them or buy them already made.  This is what I did for my husband with things like pizza and sandwiches. 

 

I didn't find it at all hard in the beginning except for limited restaurant choices.  I just loved feeling sooo much better in soooo many ways that I made sure not to eat what I shouldn't.

[MissHaberdasher]

It is so, so, hard to give it up at first. Especially if you are the only one in your entire family/group of friends that has to adjust to this. It's okay, we have ALL had our weak moments, especially in the beginning. I can tell I've been exposed to gluten because I suddenly crave it, and I'm filled with a drive to obtain a Big Mac or some other poison. I also dream of eating the gluteny/cheesy things, and I usually get sick in those dreams and wake up after my dream self collapsed to the floor in a puddle of tears or "passed out" in a gluteny coma. 

 

Don't be too hard on yourself for giving in. I'm both gluten and dairy free. When/if I get those cravings, I just remember what it does to me and will take out my craving for "poison" by buying something more friendly, like gluten/dairy free candy, or gluten/dairy free ice cream (So Delicious brand makes an INCREDIBLE coconut milk ice cream with gluten free cookie dough! SOOOOOO GOOOOD). 

 

Another thing that helps me when I'm struggling with the diet, and am tempted to just throw it all to the wind, is that I tell myself "I feel better than I did yesterday". Or if you don't feel better than yesterday, say "I feel so much better than I felt last week and I will continue to feel better as I move forward". 

 

Eventually, the risk just doesn't become worth it. Yes, that 5-10 minutes you spend tasting gluteny food may seem to feel good to your taste buds, but spending weeks in misery and pain just isn't worth the punishment.

 

Again, we allllll have our weak moments. Just do what you can each day to improve your diet. We all make mistakes too, and again, especially in the beginning. It's a learn as you go process.

 

If you ever want to know about some good replacements for dairy, feel free to PM me  

[somanyquestions]

JyotsnaIndu,

I have trouble with dairy and have been using almond milk for cereal and coffee and it's not very good in coffee LOL, so I bought So unsweetened coconut milk today, and I think I'm having a reaction to it. I'm just itching. No bloating or anything else so far but took a benadryl. I have noticed itching in my lower legs for the past few nights in a row too. (Before the switch to coconut milk). Anyone have this???

[cyclinglady]

JyotsnaIndu,

I have trouble with dairy and have been using almond milk for cereal and coffee and it's not very good in coffee LOL, so I bought So unsweetened coconut milk today, and I think I'm having a reaction to it. I'm just itching. No bloating or anything else so far but took a benadryl. I have noticed itching in my lower legs for the past few nights in a row too. (Before the switch to coconut milk). Anyone have this???

I have a tree nut allergy and I react to coconut. I have to use soy milk and I sure hope never to react to that!

[w8in4dave]

I have never had a problem going gluten-free at 1st, then with the corn intolerance I do find it hard. But I would never do that to myself! Not on purpose anyway! I think Bartful hit the nail on the head. You need a good stern talking to. Maby thats why you posted this? You want a good stern talking to? Great link GFinDC