Michi8
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You're only at the 3 months mark at this point. Regardless of celiac, your body will want extra calories for producing milk, and will demand more as your baby grows bigger. As others have said, this is not the time to be worrying about weight loss.
Remember that it took 9 months to put weight on, and it will probably take that long, if not longer, to lose it all. Of course, each body is different -- some, like myself, lose weight while breastfeeding (and then start putting it on again after weaning!
) And others hang on to some weight while breastfeeding, and have it melt away after weaning. Be gentle on yourself, eat high quality foods, and enjoy breastfeeding...it happens for such a short time. Michelle
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I don't know if they are more sensitive there, or if it could be a reaction with the chemicals in the diapers and the chemicals in that particular child's urine. To me it doesn't really matter, if they have a bad reaction to a particular diaper I am going to avoid it. But it did get me thinking about it when Ursula mentioned the bleach issue. I wondered if maybe it was the bleach, except I did try my own cloth diapers and the same reaction, but again, I used bleach.
Just an FYI for those who are considering using cloth diapers... It is best not to use bleach on diapers, because of the issue of skin sensitivity, and because it weakens the cloth and shortens the life of the diapers. You can simply put diapers in a dry pail (you can get a waterproof fabric liner for the pail) and wash frequently (ever other day) with borax, detergent and vinegar rinse. Hanging them in the sun periodically to dry helps to naturally bleach them, but I found it unnecessary since washing adequately removed stains.
Michelle
My son's rash on his bottom area has been completely gone for a couple days now (and he doesn't start up zyrtec again until tonight, so I know it's not because of that.) We tried a couple different brands of diapers, but I could not find chlorine free ones...where do I get these and are they clearly labeled as such...is there a specific brand/type that I should be looking for?As mentioned earlier in the thread, Tushies is one brand of chlorine free, gel free diapers. Their website is here: Open Original Shared Link. Ecobaby diapers are here: Open Original Shared Link. You can try Googling for other brands. Otherwise, there may be shopping info on the websites I listed, and you can probably buy directly from them too.
Michelle
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I cover my baking sheets with foil. Easy cleanup, too.
Foil can be good for some things. I wouldn't bake cookies on it though...it has a tendency to rip if you use a spatula on it.
Michelle
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Would love to get some feedback on this thought : I eat popcorn etc when watching tv. My family could eat anything from chips to a sandwich while watching tv. We all use the remote to change the channels and do not wash our hands at that time. Do you think this could be a factor in cc? Ditto for the computer keyboard....I don't eat the computer but my daughter does......
I was also wondering if that bottled antiseptic hand cleaner ( not sure what they are called) would work to get rid of gluten - it could be left on the coffee table.
It could be a factor in cc. However, I doubt that hand cleaner would do the job...it kills germs, but doesn't actually wash anything off your hands.
Michelle
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A cookie sheet that has been previously (and is still actively) used with gluten products but has been washed and is not being used at this time for gluten stuff. I guess I'm trying to figure out if parchment paper is porous.
What about using a silicone sheet (like a Open Original Shared Link) instead? As long as it's only used for gluten-free cooking, it would make a good barrier on top of a cookie sheet, plus cookies won't stick to it.
Michelle
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Welcome, Curious121!
It certainly wouldn't hurt to get tested...definitely worth ruling everything out, right?
In terms of lactose intolerance there are different levels of lactose in different dairy products. Yogurt and hard cheese have very low to no lactose. I believe butter is pretty low too. Some people with lactose intolerance can tolerate small amounts of milk, like in cereal. For me, ice cream or anything made with cream or milk is hard to digest. You could test this out by trying lactaid pills with dairy (like a bowl of ice cream) to see if it helps you.
Michelle
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I'm afraid my list would just be too long! My favourite naturally gluten free meals are:
anything with any kind of potatoes
shepherd's pie
beef stew
chili (on rice)
indian curry dishes w/papadums
sauteed cauliflower, onions and carrots
buckwheat with onion and bacon
cabbage rolls
chicken & corn hash (served w/poached eggs)
homemade chicken soup w/rice
turkey w/cranberry relish and mashed potatoes
BBQ pork tenderloin w/skewered veggies (zucchini, peppers and onions)
Chicken souvlaki over rice w/roasted potatoes & lemon
fresh salmon w/rice, spaghetti squash and zucchini
Okay, this list could get too long too.
Michelle
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When this whole kerfuffle came about months ago, it was researched and confirmed that Canada's fries are totally different from the U.S. fries and Canada's fries were okay.
Karen
Thanks, Karen! That's good to know.
Michelle
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irregardless of gluten, mcD's every day, or any other fast food every day, is not something anyone who really thinks about and cares about their health would eat.
go rent supersize me
-rg
I wasn't asking about eating it everyday. I was enquiring about whether anyone knows if McDs Canadian fries are gluten free or not. It can be an okay treat once in a while. Thanks anyway.
Michelle
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I completely agree with this. McDonald's French Fries were one of the few "normal" kid foods that my daughter liked that made her feel less excluded when she and her cousins went to McD's with Nana and Papa... now they go to Chik Fil A instead... It's not health food, it's junk food, and it shouldn't be part of a healthy diet, but it's a junk food treat that kids and grownups like... we don't always eat what's good for us. That being said, McD's lied to us and told us that they were gluten-free. And now they've been caught. Do I agree with the families suing them because of this? No, I'm not a lawsuit happy kind of person. I also agree that suits like this set our cause back in more ways then it helps.
It appears that the ingredients in the McDs french fries differs in Canada from the US. Do the Canadian members here know if there is an issue with wheat in McDs fries in Canada?
McDs Canada french fry ingredients:
FRENCH FRIES: Potatoes, a blend of partially hydrogenated fat and oil (beef fat and cottonseed oil), may contain dextrose and sodium acid pyrophosphate and cooked in an A/V shortening (beef fat and cottonseed oil, monoglyceride citrate, propyl gallate, propylene glycol).
McDs US french fry ingredients:
French Fries:
Potatoes, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, natural flavor (beef, wheat and dairy sources), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (to preserve natural color). Cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (may contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated corn oil and/or partially hydrogenated canola oil and/or cottonseed oil and/or sunflower oil and/or corn oil). Contains derivatives of wheat and dairy.
Michelle
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The syrup has cane, corn, artificial flavors, and glycerin (which could be numberous things)
This is what Pfizer says about their syrup...lots of artifcial stuff and questionable ingredients (just as with many medicinal products):
ZYRTEC syrup is a colorless to slightly yellow syrup containing cetirizine hydrochloride at a
concentration of 1 mg/mL (5 mg/5 mL) for oral administration. The pH is between 4 and 5. The
inactive ingredients of the syrup are: banana flavor; glacial acetic acid; glycerin; grape flavor;
methylparaben; propylene glycol; propylparaben; sodium acetate; sugar syrup; and water.
In Canada, Reactine is the equivalent. Pfizer says this about Reactine syrup:
Ingredients
Medicinal Ingredient: Cetirizine Hydrochloride 5 mg/5 mL.
Non-medicinal Ingredients (alphabetically): Acetic acid, artificial banana and grape flavours, glycerin, parabens, propylene glycol, sodium acetate, sucrose, water.
Michelle
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If he is allergic to milk, zyrtec will bother him because it has lactose from cows milk in it. Lactose might just be the sugar, but it still contains cow's milk proteins. There is no way to seperate the allergic proteins from the different parts of milk, like lactose. They use it to make it less water soluable. Most tablet type medications contain lactose. I try to take gel tabs whenever I can.
Just to clarify: Zyrtec tablets do have lactose, but the children's syrup does not.
Michelle
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The funny thing is that I don't think either of them have celiac. Our baby (well he's 2, now), is what brought us to this site as he's suspected of celiac and/or eosinophilic esophagitis. Our 10 year old tested negative for celiac, although I still suspect this as a possibility. I know it's possible, but I'd be very surprised if our daughter had it. If we find out for sure the baby has it, we will have our daughter tested also. We are retesting our son via blood here shortly, so I'm avoiding gluten-free stuff until then for him. So far, blood has shown me and our oldest son to be negative and the baby's had elevated IgG, but the others were normal. Biopsies for both celiac and EE are end of November for the baby. I thought I heard that the Epstein-Barr Virus stays in your system forever once you have it, but that usually your symptoms go away after anywhere from a few weeks to a couple years. I also heard that a large percentage of people get it (I want to say it was 85% or so....really high anyways), but that many people never even knew they had it. I wonder why some people get affected really bad and others have no idea they had it. Anyways thanks for your post.
A lot of people carry Epstein Barr virus and never develop mono at all. According to the CDC, up to 95% of US adults between 35 and 40 have been infected.
Michelle
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Ursula,
And I thought it was bad having 1 child being allergic. I couldn't imagine having different kids allergic to different diapers....what a pain! But then again, they're all allergic to or don't like different foods, and I'm kinda getting used to that.
Thanks everyone! Any recommendations of a kind that might be safer or better than Huggies? I don't think I'll try Pampers after what's been said on here. He'll be back on zyrtec by Tuesday. If he's not having a reaction while on zyrtec, is it ok to keep him with what we've been using? I can't express enought how much I DREAD cloth diapers and would do almost anything to avoid this route.
It's a shame you dread cloth...there are lots of brands that work very well. The Mother-ease Open Original Shared Link ones are very absorbent (terry cloth is the best!) and don't leak, and the waterproof covers work very well. They also keep the skin much cooler than disposables. If you're wary about cleaning soiled diapers, you can use a disposable liner inside the diapers that you can just flush away. There is also the option of a diaper service where they do all the washing for you.
Tushies Open Original Shared Link is one choice of disposable diaper that might work well for you. There are other brands out there too...just do a Google search for organic disposable diapers.
Michelle
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Check out Canada's Best Slow Cooker Recipes by Donna-Marie Pye. The recipe on the cover, Zesty Orange Beef Stew, is excellent. I used potato flour instead of wheat flour when browning the meat and it turned out perfect. Lots of recipes without flour, or easy enough to substitute for ones with.
Michelle
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Yes, he could be allergic to diapers. My eldest child wore cloth diapers (mother-ease terry cloth, one-size) and did really well with them. When ever he worn disposables (any brand), he'd get a horrible rash. Pampers were the worst for us...even I would get sick from the perfume!
You can get cotton disposable diapers that may be better for him...they're more expensive, but may be worth not having a rash. They also don't have the same fluid absorbing gel in them (this can be a big source of irritation and allergy.)
If you choose to do cloth, wash carefully and rinse thoroughly to eliminate any potential problems from detergent. I would do a soak with borax, wash with detergent, and do a double rinse with vinegar added to remove detergent residue and eliminate odours. I actually really enjoyed cloth diapering with my son...enjoyed it less by the time I had three kids.
Michelle
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Recovery time really depends on how severe the mono symptoms are, and how old you are when you have it. It went through our school last spring, and the really young kids who got it exhibited no more than cold symptoms. My 8 year old caught it and ended up with severe tonsilitis (had to go to emergency for treatment, because of worry about obstructed airway) and a swollen spleen. He never did experience exhaustion though. It took a couple of months for his spleen to return to normal. He's not experiencing any obvious symptoms now, except he is continuing with his constipation issues and is about as lethargic and moody as he was pre-mono. Those health issues aren't normal of course, but they don't seem to have been made worse since having mono.
Michelle
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My son also has horrible constipation and was recently put on Miralax twice a day. He used to poop every 4-5 days and then have enormous, extremely painful ones, and several in a row. He's now pooping about every other day on average, and even went every single day for 3 days in a row. It's nice that he's going, but it's huge volumes of very soft, (but not liquid), poop.
It's funny how you can look at a leaky, overflowing diaper that requires a half of package of wipes and be so happy about it.
Is this normal though for being on Miralax? He's only been on it about a week and a half or so. Does it take a while for his body to adjust? (He's been constipated for 18 months straight, with one 3 week bout of diahrrea in the middle of it.) Will he ever have "normal" BM's while on Miralax? Everything so far has been very, very soft and looks almost like sand texture mixed in it (if that makes sense). The dr. said she wants him going every day. It is nice to see him not crying and straining every time he goes, though.
Miralax (polyethylene glycol) simply helps to pull water into the bowel, so it shouldn't affect the stool (colour or texture) other than to soften it. You can adjust the dosage if the stool is too soft or not soft enough...something you'd want to talk to the doctor about first though. We're finding that, for my son, lowering the dosage makes him go from extremely soft (sometimes runny) stools back to extreme constipation. I think we have a long way to go until we see "normal"...and I think we'll need to eliminate some food (possibly gluten) for him to really be "normal."
Michelle
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What a horrible way to be treated! That dr obviously has no bedside manner.
Unfortunately, it's way too common for some specialists to be like that (I'm betting my GI will be like that, just based on her curt manner during my initial appointment.) I've found anesthetists to be especially bad/cocky. And you wouldn't believe some of the chatting and comments surgeons make during procedures.
The worst can be during a cesarean section when the mother is awake and aware the whole time, and the surgeon & staff are chatting about all sorts of irrelevant stuff and completely ignoring the mother who is going through what is supposed to be the most amazing moment of her life: having a baby.
Michelle
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I buy a fresh grade A turkey. Have had great results with cooking a fresh, rather than frozen, bird.
Favourite sides:
cabbage rolls
make ahead mashed potato casserole (potatoes mashed with sour cream, cream cheese, parsley, marjoram, salt, pepper, and green onion)
cranberry relish (fresh cranberries, onions, horseradish, sugar and sour cream) check out this recipe: Open Original Shared Link I like having the turkey with this relish better than with gravy...plus it makes a great sandwich spread for turkey or roast beef. YUM!
string beans (blanched then sauteed in butter w/thyme and lemon)
creamed carrots
Michelle
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The best turkeys are fresh. I order from the meat counter at Safeway, and pick it up the day before or morning of. If you do the quick cook method (high heat for about 2 hours) it makes an incredibly juicy bird that is browned all over. Stuffing is made separately.
Check out this link about Safeway's 2 hour turkey recipe: Open Original Shared Link
I can't find the recipe online, but you can pick it up at the store. We tried it for our Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago and it was fabulous! Just make sure your oven is cleaned before cooking.
Michelle
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I'm sorry your going through this tough spot, Marlene.
What do you do for work? Is there something you could do from home? Maybe we can help come up with creative ideas to help you out!
Michelle
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Yep, I have lots of vertical ridges on my fingernails...with some of the white "clouds". They are brittle and chip and flake very easy. I can only see the moons on my thumbs and the pointer (index??) finder of my left hand.
My toenails have both vertical and horizontal ridges.
I've never had moons on any of my nails, and they chip and flake easily too. Interesting to read that lack of moons can indicate hyperthyroidism...not surprising given the thyroid problems in my family...but my tests are still coming back normal. I'd better keep eye on that!
I've never had a doctor look at my nail condition though...you'd think that it would be something they would definitely check when investigating health issues!
Michelle
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Thanks for the link, Michelle. I've always been into health and fitness ... it's sad what this disease being undiagnosed can do to us ... this is what my nail problem is "Vertical ridges on nails-may indicate poor general health, poor nutrient absorption, and the ridges may also indicate a kidney disorder."
That's me too. I've had verticle ridges forever, and have always had very soft nails.
Michelle
) And others hang on to some weight while breastfeeding, and have it melt away after weaning. Be gentle on yourself, eat high quality foods, and enjoy breastfeeding...it happens for such a short time. 
Always Hungry !
in Coping with Celiac Disease
Posted
I know it's frustrating to get to that plateau. With each pregnancy I gained more weight...it seemed my body just wanted to get to a specific (high!) weight during pregnancy.
I lost all my baby weight plus extra weight with my first by about 4 months. With my second it took a bit longer, but I was down to my lowest weight since high school. With my daughter, I never did get completely back down to that lower weight, and now have been gaining ever since she weaned at two. Right now, I'm blaming it on probable thyroid issues...of course, it can't have anything to do with the chocolate I eat too often. LOL!
Michelle