tommchale
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About Me
After an 18 month adventure through the catacombs of the medical system, I was formally diagnosed with Celiac Disease. The bright side of that journey is that I know 3,712 nasty and horrible conditions that I do NOT have. This was about six years ago.
I learned the hard way that learning to live with Celiac is a never ending process - it took my wife and I about two years to learn what eating Gluten Free really meant. No, it's not about quitting bread and pasta. It's more like learning to evaluate every single thing that comes into contact with any other thing in the known universe that you may ultimately come in contact with. That includes really odd things like shampoo and lipstick (my wife's, not mine.)
Rejoice! Life is not over! Living Gluten Free is not all that bad once you get used to it. There are even a few benefits. For example, I find that I can eat more sweets (read: Hershey bars) without gaining weight, and you always have a convenient excuse not to feel obliged to eat Aunt Griselda's cooking.
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ARCHIVED Medrol / Methylprednisolone By Caldista Is Gluten Free
tommchale posted a topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
As we all well know by now, drug manufacturers are notoriously bad about labeling their products... Anyway, I was prescribed Medrol today which was filled in generic form called Methylprednisolone manufactured by Cadista Pharmaceuticals. The patient prescribing information shows two types of unidentified starch as inactive ingredients: pregelatinized starch... -
ARCHIVED Is gluten-free Rice Chex Actually gluten-free?
tommchale replied to jasonD2's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
This absolutely boils down to personal risk tolerance. After getting a massive glutening first time I ate the new Rice Chex, I wrote General Mills and inquired about their use of shared facility and equipment use. Sure enough, all Chex are made on the same equipment and "cleaning procedures" are applied to protect against cross contamination. Interestingly... -
ARCHIVED Lotions, Shampoos, Pet Food, Etc...
tommchale replied to Jennifer2's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
It depends on your personal sensitivity to gluten. Lot's of people don't have issues with things like shampoos and soaps. I do as a result of trace amounts of gluten in stuff like that. In my view, you are much safer removing the possibility altogether as its pretty easy to find gluten free shampoos and soaps. Thanks, Tom -
ARCHIVED Help! On The Diet For 18 Days And Still So Fatigued
tommchale replied to JillianLindsay's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
Keep the faith! Healing can be a long process. Progress can be steady, but slow as most people don't experiece dramatic changes in just a couple of weeks. Avoiding all the "hidden" glutens is key also. Also, make sure your doctor knows you have been gluten free for a few weeks prior to being tested. Absence of gluten before the tests can lead to false... -
ARCHIVED gluten-free Toothpaste
tommchale replied to tbruno153's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
I have had a lot of trouble over the years from cross contamination - including toothpaste. Some celiac's are more sensitive to micro-doses than others and I have also found a "build up" type effect where very small exposure levels over a period of days or so gets me very sick. Call me crazy, but it seems to be the case. Personally I don't touch anything... -
ARCHIVED I Think I May Have Celiac, Anyone?
tommchale replied to stevie22's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
While usually showing symptoms in childhood, its not unusual to have an uptick in symptom severity later in life. I only started to get really sick when I was about 40. Docs think it was triggered by a serious viral infection I had. They think I had low grade symptoms all my life and my illness kicked Celiac into high gear. Defintely get tested but don... -
ARCHIVED Gluten Free Beer
tommchale replied to judi g's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
Just a heads up to those who are ultra gluten sensitive. I emailed New Grist and told them that they use the same equipment as regular beer and have cross contamination issues :-) I know this because I get sick every time I drink it! Sure enough, they confessed and gave a detailed response about their cleaning procedures and testing. Sounds great on paper... -
ARCHIVED Tequila
tommchale replied to Felidae's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
There is a lot of question about Cuervo Gold, so I finally got around to checking out their website. Here is the info and URL as of 4/19/2008: Q: Which Jose Cuervo products are gluten-free? A: All Jose Cuervo tequilas, Authentic Cuervo Margaritas, Margarita Minis, and Golden Margaritas are gluten-free. Open Original Shared Link Thanks, Tom -
ARCHIVED Senseo Coffee Pods
tommchale replied to sam's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
They can't seem to answer that question with any certainty. However, I have a number of tea bag brands that are waffle pressed and it's very easy to spot. The senseo pods have a smooth, waxy finish around the seam. Something has been heated to make the seal. Paper on paper heating does not seem logical to me. It looks very much like a cotton shirt that... -
ARCHIVED Senseo Coffee Pods
tommchale replied to sam's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
Hi Sam - I have been researching this as well with Sarah Lee (company that actually makes Senseo brand pods) and they have verified that their pod filter material is in fact gluten free. However, they seem to be pretty much stumped as far as the adhesive goes. This is not scientific, but I have reason to think the Senseo may be making me sick. As you... -
"i Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
tommchale replied to steve-o's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
Thanks all, now that I think back, the soy theory is consistent with some other episodes I have had, I will have to experiment with that. Thank you VERY much for the ideas! -
"i Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
tommchale replied to steve-o's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
The interesting this is I have no problem with dairy at all, so the Gluten thing is really suspicious to me with ICBINB. There are way to many companies out there that claim gluten free but give no thought to cross contamination. I buy very little packaged dry food anymore as I have run across too many examples of products that have a big "Gluten Free"... -
"i Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
tommchale replied to steve-o's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
Hi Richard - I think you may be on to something. I have been sick all weekend and the only difference I am coming up with is a switch to ICBINB because I ran out of real butter, which I normally use. I am a very experienced gluten free dieter, it took me something like 18 months to figure out most of the details, but even now I am still finding exceptions...