Michi8

As others have said, he was out of line. To suggest tubal ligation as an option is unprofessional and insulting. Not to mention that tubal ligation is a significant procedure that comes with potentially very serious side effects. This doctor needs to be fired by you, and reprimanded by the powers that be.

Michelle

I have the "View New Posts" link, and it will take me to new posts, however it's now going on 15 pages and growing everyday! As well, the board is showing that I've read messages at first, but then revert to unread regardless of whether there have been new posts or not. Seems there's still some bugs to work out!

Michelle

That is what I was thinking. With the non ana allergies in our household, cooked items do have less of an initial reaction BUT I do believe they still damage the body long term. I think of it this way -- they are more like the sneaky burglar who breaks in when you are sleeping rather than the gun toting bank robber during mid-day. They both steal and do damage but one gets your attention more than the other.

I think it depends on what you are allergic to and how your body responds. To totally eliminate all the foods I'm allergic to, I'd almost be eliminating entire food groups, and the nutrition they provide. I cannnot eat raw tree fruit (have immediate oral reactions, and then GI reaction later), but tolerate them very well when cooked. No GI issues that I have determined. It's when I have gluten, MSG, sulphites or raw fruit that my gut reacts.

Michelle

I have to ask, why is the endoscopy important?

It provides a visual check of how the small intestine looks, and biopsies can be taken to check for villous atrophy. A positive biopsy is considered the "gold standard" for diagnosing celiac disease. However a positive blood test should be enough for diagnosis, as should dietary response.

Michelle

It could mean that you are dealing with an allergy as opposed to celiac or gluten intolerance. Malt could be made with barley, since you are reacting to malt it could mean you are allergic to barley rather than intolerant to gluten. A person can certainly be allergic to wheat as opposed to intolerant to gluten as well. You could do a full elimination diet to narrow down what foods are a problem for you.

Personally, I find, with my allergies, that many offending foods are easily tolerated once cooked. Gluten isn't that way though.

Michelle

I'm surprised she's not suggesting both an colonoscopy and a gastroscopy (endo), because there is value in checking the colon too...especially if she's trying to rule out any other potential health issues related to the GI tract. But to not suggest gastroscopy at all makes no sense!

If you're having good sucess with the diet, then you're right that there is no reason to do either procedure.

Michelle

I agree. She's now on a steriod cream as well as oral steroids which will only last a few more days. I thought about not doing it and getting her tested but that seemed pointless because if I take her off gluten and she gets better than I know what it is. So for now no testing her rash is a little better hopefully with time it the rash will heal and she won't have scarse.

There is a big possibilty that her vaccine was the main trigger. She had just one spot before her shots and after that it began to spread. Wow I never would have thought of that. I hope other mom;s read this and see if there is some way to protect there kids.

A vaccine could be a trigger. However, my daughter has chronic eczema (and OCD) and she's never had a vaccine in her life. I do, however, think that her health issues are diet related, and will be trying an elimination diet, including removing gluten.

If dietary changes help, then you have your answer.

Michelle

From the description of the rash, it does sound like psoriasis. From what I understand, psoriasis is hypothesized to be autoimmune, and can be connected to celiac. Whether they are celiac or not, some sufferers do find that being gluten free helps their rash.

Michelle

We started with avacado, but applesauce, butternut squash, sweet potato are all good first foods and low on the allergy list.

Apples actually are quite high on the allergy list, as are carrots and peas (the allergenicity does change somewhat with cooking...carrots drop in allergenicity dramatically when cooked.) I usually post a link to the Jojena Food Allergy Scale for reference, but it appears the link is not working right now. This is the link, in case it starts working again:

Open Original Shared Link

Michelle

For me, the only folders that are showing up as unread are the hot topics. Everything else has been greyed out, whether I've read them or not.

It is showing up this way in both Safari and Firefox.

Michelle

Yes, I have OAS. It's related to my severe birch pollen allergy, and has gotten worse over the last 10 years. I cannot eat any raw tree fruit (apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, etc) or nuts (almonds & hazelnuts/filberts) but can eat them cooked (cooking changes the protein). I've seen lists of possible cross-reactive foods...apparently wheat can be a problem for birch pollen cross-reaction as well.

It's frustrating to be allergic to such basic foods. When people hear I can't just bite into an apple, they're pretty disbelieving. Sometimes I can't resist having a fresh apple and I pay for it later...first with the mouth and throat reactions, and then later in my gut. At least my peanut allergy became less severe. So now I can eat peanuts without problem...though I seem to still have a reaction depending on how the peanuts are prepared (probably a cooked vs. raw issue with peanuts too.)

Michelle

thanks for that... i'll check. although those links are not for my province but it might give me some ideas.

yes, it can be frustrating as my child is not disabled or anything, but needs the kind of care that i think only a parent one on one can provide... and he struggles each day to gain an ounce so even an occasional exposure to gluten could be disastrous.

now if only you could have the enterolab done here in canada.

AFAIK, you can use Enterolab for testing. I believe there are a few Canadian members who have used them.

Michelle

The timing of introducing foods is up to you. Waiting until 6 months is the current guideline, especially for breastfed babies, but there is nothing wrong with waiting until later either. You may want to choose fruit or veggies for first foods, as grains are very hard on the digestive system...with a risk of celiac I'd be especially mindful, and hold off on all grains until later on. Foods at this age are really for introduction and exploration...breastmilk should still be a primary source of nutrition for the full first year.

Michelle

I should add...I had chiropractic adjustments throughout my third pregnancy, which helped a lot with the pain. If you go that route, find a chiropractor who is trained to work with pregnant patients. There are special techniques that help with alignment of the pelvis and encourages the baby to settle in a good position. There is also the Webster Technique which is very good for helping turn a breech baby...it's very gentle, and is not risky like an external version is.

Michelle

i am 25 weeks pregnant. my hips have really been bothering me. i brought this up with my dr last time nd he said it is a normal pregnancy issue. i know it is but my hip really hurts! it hurts on the left sid and in the front pelivc side. it is to the point where i cant roll in bed, i have to sit straight up then slowy move my body into another postition. i have two children already and had minor pregnancy complaints with them. my dr said it gets worse with every baby. i asked if it could be my celiac, but he doesnt think that a food allergy can cause joint problems. my hands have also been cramping up, and my fingers have to be rubbed out just to work again. im getting worried that there is some vitamin im lacking or something. im really strick with my gluten-free diet, so is it possible that im still lacking something or that my body is not working right?

It really could be any number of things, but pregnancy is likely contributing to it. I had horrible hip, pelvic and back pain during my third pregnancy. I have since found out that I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which has a huge impact on all the tissues of the body, especially joints. It was likely EDS that was the issue, and pregnancy hormones and the baby's position made it worse.

Michelle

Thanks everyone! I didn't want to buy a whole bag of flax when I only needed about 1/4 cup. I've never used it before, and didn't want the rest of it to go to waste. Although, maybe it's time for some experimenting.

When you use flax seed meal in a recipe, you need to adjust the amount of oil/butter that is used. It can also be used for egg replacement. This is the info I found on it:

Substitutions in Recipes

For Fat

mullberrymom,

If your daughter is still having trouble following the diet, and sneaking foods may be negatively impacting her bowel and psychological health, then perhaps you need to remove the gluten items from your home rather than just keeping them locked up.

Michelle

Sorry about that, just learning. Our daughter has celiac and sounds very similar. When she was younger until age three she had "chronic diahrea" then when we were toilet training she changed to constipation type symptoms. Finally in 1st grade after we had tried many things and been on laxatives for 2 years we took her to Mayo Clinic and she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. (She is adopted and has many other special needs as well.) Since then she has been on and off Miralax (mostly on). She is now 13 years old and still struggles with soiling and figuring out how her body works when she needs to have a BM. She is fianlly doing better as she is taking miralax, dulcalax and stool softners. She is also finally really following her diet. She has ADHD and is Bipolar and would sneak food. We have all gluten products locked up in a special cabinet and even in our frig. Her ADHD is finally now under control also. But back to the orginal thing about Miralax it has been a good thing for our daughter. We have been a long road with her not being able to "get to the toilet" and knowing when she had to go. Let me know if you have more questions about anything. The miralax she takes is because she has celiac and hasn't followed her diet very well, even if she had I think she would still have needed it over these past years.

My 9 year old son is on Miralax because of chronic constipation. He has tested negative for celiac at this point. He has always had very infrequent, large bowel movements, even when he was breastfeeding. When he was older and toilet trained, he struggled with bowel movements and would scream in pain. His stool was always very large (more than adult-sized at 5 years old!) and very solid (and very hard to flush.) It was when this constipation lead to stool and bladder incontinence that we finally got the help he needed. Turns out that his bowel was extremely distended with stool, and his body had a hard time passing it. He has now been on Miralax for over a year to give his bowel the chance to return to normal size.

Since then, I've been diagosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) which is likely responsible for my health issues, including constipation (though never as serious as my son has experienced.) Since this is a genetic disorder, I suspect that it may be the cause of my son's constipation as well. Those with EDS often have diagnoses of IBS, Chronic Fatigue, Arthritis, etc. Some have some relief with a gluten free diet (as I have as well.)

Michelle

One other thing that can help hair growth although it seems odd is good circulation. The medication I was on made me lose hair because it affected my circulation which was one of the side effects, but it took some researching to figure out that poor circulation can actually cause hair loss.

That's interesting to hear. I wonder if that is what is at issue for me, and whether it is related to EDS. I have some issue with circulation (cold extremities, feel cold all the time, sometimes feel dizzy or like I'm going to faint.)

Michelle

Liz, I've been losing hair (equally all over my head) for a couple of years now. Because I have a very thick head of hair, it isn't noticable yet...and thus doctors haven't taken it as seriously as I'd like.

All my tests have come back "normal" too, so the best the dermatologist could do for me was to tell me it's "normal hair loss" and give me Rogaine. I have yet to use it though...I don't need one more chemical to put on my skin, as I'm sensitive to way too much stuff anyway.

Michelle

Just to clarify: I'm not "ignoring" the cut off date. I'm considering asking the school (whose cut off is actually earlier than our state's guideline, note not a mandate) for their opinion on this issue. Nor am I talking about pushing a child into something she's not ready for.

I know you didn't direct your response only to me, but just wanted to clarify the reason I asked about the cut off date. Because my province has such a late cut off, it makes the decision about starting school a bit more difficult for a lot of parents. March is obviously a much later cut off than September or December, and to be 20 days past a March cut off means the child woudn't be turning 5 until 7 months into the school year! It makes a huge difference in the maturity and capability of students. One girl in my eldest son's K class was 5 days past the cut off...she didn't make it through the first month of school before being pulled out. A lot of parents are unhappy about the cut off date, and would love to see it changed to September or December.

Michelle

Just one more thought...

Do remember that the most important part of school is that your daughter is learning well. The diet is also important, but I don't think it's essential to have the girls together just because of the diet. You'd advocate strongly for her regardless of who is in her class, and the school will have to support you in that. So, your girls are in different grades, but both will eventually be in the same school, so that school will have to still accomodate both girls.

Our school now has 5 children with (known) celiac, and they have had as good support as any of the food allergic kids (of which there are many!) None of these kids are in the same classes either.

Michelle

I'm considering asking the school to start my daughter in kindergarten a year early so that she'll be in the same year as another little girl who has celiac. I would love her to not be the only kid who has to have special treats. Plus it seems like it would be a lot easier to get the classroom to be gluten-free if there were two gluten-free kids.

My daughter is tall for her age (my older child is as tall as kids that are 3 years older than her), she is bright, and her birthday is only 20 days after the school's cut off. I'm trying to decide if this is just silly or if it is a good thing to look into.

What do you think?

It depends on when the cut off is. Our cut off date is March 1st, so kids can still very much be 4 when they start kindergarten. I find it's way too early. I started my boys a year later (Jan & Feb birthdays) and don't regret the decision at all, they are exceptional students. Quite frankly, I've heard of no one who was unhappy with waiting a year, but have heard of a few who wished they'd waited.

I've got friends who have chosen to wait a year with kids who have November birthdays too...they based it on their child's readiness and maturity. Another friend had her daughter (another November birthday) repeat kindergarten as she just wasn't ready to make the leap to grade 1.

If you choose to put your daughter in early, do watch carefully how she does. Be ready and willing to change the decision if it isn't working out as well as you'd hoped...don't push her into doing anything she's not ready for.

Michelle

Love the new avatar, Angie...your girls are adorable!

Are you drinking milk at all? If so, that may be playing a role in tummy upset too. I found elminating milk as well as gassy foods from my diet helped a bit. As well, I would drink fennel seed tea. Fennel is known for helping with tummy upset (it's typically one of the ingredients in gripe water), and will be present in breastmilk to help baby. I used to steep it with cammomile and keep a container of it cold in the fridge. I would drink this "iced tea" in place of water.

Michelle

I've been using Mylicon drops, but its not really giving her any relief. I had brocolli 3 days ago. I thought that's what started this whole thing, but I didn't think things stayed in breast milk for that long. I'm hoping today is a better day for her because she's had a really rough past two days. At least she's sleeping well though.

Bacon is an independently owned restaurant that offers a lot of gluten free food.

Swiss Chalet is good. They have a pamphlet that outlines safe choices. Their roasted chicken and sauce is safe.

OPM has a gluten free menu and is very good. It's in South Edmonton Common.

You can also ask for gluten free choices at any Montana's.

Michelle