Sweetfudge

3/4 times when I ate potatoes (sneaking my husband's fries, mashed potatoes, etc) I reacted. So I determined that I am potato intolerant. I did a test to be sure I was, by not eating any potatoes for a couple of weeks, then eating some very simple, bland foods (rice, bananas, gluten-free bread, etc) for a couple days to calm my system down. Then I threw some potatoes into the mix. I just used plain, skinned, boiled potatoes, mashed up, and definitely reacted to them!

It sucks to give them up, and while this is not really a "substitute" for potatoes, I have discovered that I really enjoy sweet potatoes. They don't taste much like regular ol' spuds, but they're a good sub in some dishes.

I think I might have a lectin intolerance...looking into that next.

I think for most of us, we've had to do the detective work on our own. Doctors just want to diagnose what they recognize, and if it's too hard to figure out, they pin a label on it that makes no sense. My philosophy is to listen to your body, it knows what it can and can't handle better than any doctor.

I've given up on starbucks...always have some sort of reaction when I go there

While in CA last month I was glutened so badly at a restaurant in a fancy hotel that I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital. I asked the front dest if they had any benadryl and they practically threw it at me (perhaps trying to prevent a lawsuit). I usually keep a couple of 25 mg benadryls in my purse at all time. When I get glutened I take them and drink a 20 ounce coke. I have found that for ME, the benadryl, along with a chewable pepto if I have one, helps settle my stomach. And I get really lightheaded and have passed out before from the drastic drop in blood sugar and loss of fluids from major diarrhea, so drinking the coke gives me a boost until I can get home and rest. It is not a cure, but it works for me. My thought process is that benadryl works as an antihistamine. While Celiac Disease is not an "allergy", there is still a sestemic response, much like an allergy. Diphendydramine has been shown to relieve migranes, settle stomaches, reduce swelling, reduce redness, and stop many other allergy symptoms. I believe this is why it helps when I am glutened too.

i work for a TMJ specialist, and he recommends to any patient suffering from food allergies to take benadryl because we do have a lot of histamine in us when we have an allergic reaction. i have yet to go out and get some, but would like to see how it helps next time i get glutened.