ShayFL

Good point. Our dog food is gluten-free and so are their treats. We already went there even before I went gluten-free. Had a dog that was sensitive to it. She had neuro symptoms (siezures and strange twitching). Went away when we switched to lamb/rice based food. It should have been a clue for me as well........

Is your bread maker gluten free? Never used for other bread. I just thought of this when I read the thread.

I have nothing to offer. I have just given up bread. I dont miss it. I love all of the other grains and I bake other stuff. I cant have yeast, so what is the point........

Shay, I'm confused about your post? If your results were positive, they wouldn't be within the normal range, right?

I'm glad your having positive results with the diet.

For instance my tTG IgA was a "1" but the "normal" range is 0-3

My Antigliadin Abs IgA was "1" but the "normal" range is 0-4

I also showed antibodies for IgG too.

So what I am saying is that if I am on the low end for IgA, then I wouldnt have as many antibodies to show up, so that is why I am at only "1". If I had more IgA, then I would expect those results to be higher. Hope this makes sense.

My Fecal IgA was almost non-existent.

My IgA is not "deficient" but it is at the very low end. And I came back positive for antibodies on everything in the celiac panel. But all within the "normal" range. I suspect that if I had more IgA, I would have more antibodies as well.

Im gluten free anyway. Ive got 2 genes and in my mind positive blood work. Endoscopy was out for me. I have a zillion adhesions around my intestines and I am ubber high risk for perforation. No thanks!! I'll do the diet.

And already some positive results.

This could be REALLY important for someone who has a celiac baby/toddler and a dog. Think about it. Kids put everything in their mouths!!

I wish I had something to offer other than....Im sorry you arent well. I hope it passes soon.

It's flavored...."Clean paste"...I have some Crest, but I didnt like it cuz it is like plastic. I will pick up some Tom's of Maine tomorrow. Just another thing.

I so wish I had known when I was their age. What a life I might have had.......

They are adults and they have to make the decision for themselves because it is a lifelong commitment. And does not make life easy socially as well. But if they can see the "bigger" picture, they will know it is worth it to start now.

If there is a local health food store close by, she might be able to get some easy and healthy gluten-free meals there. I would really push for her to get to use that refridgerator. And there are a lot of foods that do not need to be kept cold she can keep on hand. She can also look around for restaurants that might have a gluten-free menu where she can do take out sometimes. And it is more expensive to live this way, so hopefully you can help her out with this. I'd go into debt if I had to if I knew I could keep my daughter from suffering the way I have for so many years.

Im gonna post here too cuz it might help others:

Im the wrong one to ask about "saving money" cuz my entire income goes to food/supplements.....and Hubby's goes to everything else. I am blessed that I only need to make enough to cover food for everyone and my supplements. I work for myself, so if I need more expensive food/supplements, I just work harder/more to make more $$$. So I can buy whatever I want or need without worry.

I mean I will notice if something is outrageously priced and I wont buy it. And I will compare prices for similar items and buy cheaper. But this is just common sense stuff.

What I can help with is the "boredom".

First I bought some gluten-free cookbooks. The ones with simple recipes that have 10 ingredients or less. I do not want complicated.

Then I decided to try some new meats, or eat some meats we dont usually eat. Like ostrich for example. Last night I made homemade turkey sausage from one of my recipe books and then made Italian Wedding Soup with it.....so amazingly yummy!! Everyone loved it and we had leftovers for lunch! On top of a variety of meats I am trying some interesting marinades.

I made a pot roast, but I marinated it overnight and then slow cooked it at 275 for 6 hours....OMG!!! Delicious.

Experimenting with grains: Quinoa, Buckwheat and gourmet rices I made Quinoa Taboule that was great! And for buckwheat we all love it cooked with chicken broth and then seasoned with salt and a nice amount of black pepper.

And baking!! Dont forget baking!! Ive made cookies and cakes and banana bread gluten-free

So far I have not had to throw anything out. A few recipes were not super good, but edible. So we ate them and then I mark an "x" over them in the recipe book with pencil. OR if I can, I tweak it to make it better the next time and I scribble in the alterations to make it yummy.

If you hate to cook, none of this will help you. If this is the case, I would look at making interesting salads, where all you have to do is chop and measure stuff. I would get into "roasting" as it is easy to do.

And soups!! Easy. I buy frozen veggies. gluten-free MSGfree chicken broth. Add meat and spices, olive oil. And just let it simmer or put in crock pot in the morning.

Ive been gluten-free for 2 months and have seen some improvements. I have replaced all of my toiletries with gluten-free. Confirmed my "natural" toothpaste was gluten free. Soap, etc., etc. But I forget to check my dental floss. I use "Reach" by Johnson & Johnson.

I now know I can switch to Tom's of Main or Crest as they state all of their products are gluten free.

But I hope "Reach" doesnt have it.

Anyone?

Which site do you prefer Liz? I can then answer you on only one......LOL

B Vitamins help a lot.

Ive also trusted and been burned by doctors I thought were on my side.

I will never forget looking into my gynocologist of 8 years eyes when he said I could be dead in 6 months from some pre-cancerous cells on my cervix. I could see in his eyes he was lying. He was pushing surgery so hard and trying to scare me. Very invasive and reproductive disfiguring surgery. When I told him I wanted a "second opinion" he threw my chart on the floor and walked out. I got dressed and left and have not seen him in 7 years!!!!

I thought about it later and remembered while I was waiting in the waiting room, one of the office staff asking his wife (office manager) how they were enjoying the new boat. I couldnt help but feel that somehow my unnecessary surgery was going to help finance their lifestyle. It really made me angry.

And I didnt need any surgery at all. My cervix healed just fine with nutritional supplements and visualization therapy. I get PAPs 2 times a year and for the past 6 1 /2 they have been clean. After I did some research, I discovered that the cells I had go away on their own 50% of the time without ANY treatment at all. Bastard! He failed to give me this information. And when I asked him if I could try a natural approach for a few months, that is when he said I could die.

Yeah I have issues with doctors. Yeah I do.

Vicki.....get yourself tested! It might save you having to get your little girl biopsied (not fun and very scary for her). If you come back positive, then you can rest assured that her positive bloodwork (and it is positive) indicates a NEED for the gluten-free diet. Plus it will be A LOT easier if you just have a 100% gluten-free household. It makes life sooooo much easier. And if you and your daughter are both Celiac, I believe your husband would agree to this (unless he is not a very compassionate person).

He should be tested too. But it can be hard to get men to go to the doctor.

Dont give up on finding a good Doctor. I did, but it took me 12 years.!! 12 years of suffering. Yes, many of us have had similar experiences with Doctors.

I had really bad vertigo (and still have it mildly). So at one time I went to a World renouned ENT here in Tampa. You could read about him in the paper all of the time and all of the wonderful things he is doing for children, etc. He is supposedly the best there is here. So I made an appointment (paying out of pocket because my insurance wouldnt cover him). I had a crap load of tests done and then a consultation with him.

When came in the room, he immidately asked me about why I was "self pay". And did I know how much everything would cost and could I afford it....blah blah blah. THAT was his focus!!! He asked me one question, "Did you enjoy the ferris wheel rides and such at the fair when you were a child?" and I said "No." He then told me that my problems were all psychological and that I was wasting his time when I should be at a psychiatrist. It is the ONLY time I have left a doctor's office with uncontrollable sobbing.

I later asked for a copy of my results from the testing, which showed that I had some problems in my balance system. I then went to a different ENT that said YES, I had issues with my fluid in my ears and my nerves. And he at least prescribed a type of physical therapy to help me cope (which helped me A LOT).

So I wrote a letter to the World Renouned guy and told him my second opinion doctor had real compassion, interpreted my results correctly and was treating me successfully. I really told him about himself and told him that I was in fact the one who had wasted time and that if he had any shred of decency he would refund my money do to is malpractice. He did.

Ok....my vent here.

Just wanted you to know that a. YOU ARE NOT ALONE and b. THERE ARE GOOD DOCTORS OUT THERE.

Having neurological issues, I can say that "itching" can have to do with nerves. If they are stimulated by something such as water pressure or heat, all sorts of strange reactions can occur. I get the itching. If I turn on the electric blanket in the winter I itch like mad. I dont take baths in as long as I can remember. I know I dont like the shower "hot". Tepid even in winter and this keeps the itching down a lot.

I have always regarded any level of the antibodies as indicative of at least an intolerance, if not Celiac. It doesn't make sense to me that the immune system would be reacting at all otherwise. If antibodies to every natural food substance can be identified, then that's a different story, but until then I see no reason to think the antibody levels must reach any particular point. A reaction is a reaction, no matter how small.

To put it another way, it would be like saying you could turn down a volume control until the level got below a certain point, and then say "there's no sound at all". It's either there, or it's not. If it can be measured, then it's there.

Recently, I heard a news story about how astronomers pointed a telescope at what they thought was empty space, because nobody ever saw anything there. However, since the telescope was highly sensitive, it eventually collected enough light to prove that the area of space is actually chock full of galaxies. So the better our method of detection, the more we are able to discover.

I am thinking this is true. I showed antibodies for ALL of my tests: EMA Iga - tTg - AGA both IgA and IgG ALL showed antibodies, but were "within range". Enterolab showed 2 gluten intolerance genes. DQ1 and DQ3.

The diet is proving to help me. Not cured. I have neuro symptoms which I understand can take time. But I am no longer bloated, pooping all day, running to the bathroom barely making it and migrainous.

I dot need an official Dx. I know a duck when I see one.

At first I worried about my family too. But it has actually turned out to be a really great thing for us!! Ive heard things like:

After eating some teff/almond butter cookies "Mom these are so good. I hope you are always gluten free."

And:

"Mom, I know why most kids dont like vegetables. They just never had vegetables cooked by you."

I have just gotten more and more creative. I have always loved to coke and bake some, but this is getting me more into it.

I found that Bob's free recipes are a great place to go:

Open Original Shared Link

I highly recommend the teff/peanut butter cookies (I use almond butter). Quick and easy and everyone here loves them.

I currently have a 100% gluten free home. I got a brand new kitchen 3 weeks into gluten-free. So my kitchen has never seen ANY gluten. It was completely gutted and remodeled including the appliances. I am so lucky with this.

But the way we have dealt with gluten for my daughter and Hubby is this. We put a microwave, the old toaster and the old refridgerater in the garage. There is a table out there too and they can open the garage and sit outside to eat their gluteny foods in chairs we have out there. My daughter only does this a few times a week.

The rest of the time she eats gluten-free. I have purchased gluten-free waffles for her, gluten-free oatmeal, gluten-free cookies, ice cream, chocolate. So she gets her treats. She could care less about breads, pasta, etc. She will eat the gluten-free pasta, rice, quinoa, buckwheat, etc.

When I cook my grains, I use gluten-free MSG free chicken broth. It makes them yummy everytime.

I made a 6 hour low heat pot roast a week ago and we were fighting over it.

There is so much more to life than gluten. You can make delicious foods your family will love.

We are here for you.

I can i.d. with some of what you are saying. I was always chubby through HS and into my mid 20's. Lots of friends (who were also chubby). Then after I had my daughter and lost a ton of weight (little did I know I was hyperthyroid at the time), friends started dropping. I never regained the weight and find now that all my friends are thin like me. It s so weird. Heavier women arent interested in me at all. I can feel it in social settings. It is an icy air for no reason. Jealousy. I dunno. I never cared about how my friends looked. I even rooted for the underdogs in school. Picking to have not only popular friends, but also getting to know kids on the fringe. Everyone had value. We are generally warped as a society. But it is what we have, so I work within the confines.

And I didnt even think of the "intentional glutening" coming from love. Or her wanting to prove to herself that you are perfectly healthy. That makes some sense.

That's crap....her slipping the gluten in your food. It would be like me thinking my Mom's thyroid problems were all in her head and replacing some of her meds with sugar pills. Id be pissed too.

I went through this. Just look at my signature. But I am getting used to it and it has become easier. Add that I just did the Lame Advertisement and I cannot eat Strawberries, Broccoli, Pears, Pine Nuts or Cucumbers for at least 3 - 6 months.

But our world is abundant and there are lots of food choices. I find that I can always eat. And I eat quite well.

In fact, I am going in to make homemade turkey sausage tonight. I bought a new gluten-free recipe book mostly for the baking, but saw this sausage recipe. And since a lot of sausage contains nightshades or corn derivatives. I am happy now to make my own. I can also keep the fat content down and just enjoy the yummy spices.

Welcome!

Here is a great site that can help you a lot. You will want to stick with lower glycemic foods. Eat mostly from the left column. Chana Dal isnt listed, but it an excellent gluten-free food for diabetics.

Open Original Shared Link

Omitting any that are (wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats) of course.

What were your symptoms before going gluten-free? Neurological?

Basic advice is to drink LOTS of water. I mean 8 - 10 glasses a day to "flush" the toxins out. Gluten/Gliadin are toxins to Celiacs. I find that Magnesium can help relax the muscles and ease the pain. I also use ice packs. And B2 200 mg a day has helped me too. But I never had one last more than 2 days.

I am taking Solgar's Gentle Iron. It did help get my levels up from 11 to 22 after a few months of taking only 2 pills a day (50 mg iron). But I stopped taking them. I am now taking them again because my last lab said Ferritin 19....so it dropped. This time I am going to shoot for 100 - 150 mg a day and retest in 2 months. Some people take 180 a day with no problems.

It does not constipate me or irritate my stomach.

Take with vitamin C for better absorption.