summerteeth

i am absolutely shocked at how many people here have scoliosis. I do know that it is quite common - 1 in 10 women have scoliosis and something like 1 in 25 men - although the vast majority of cases are ten degrees or less. Severe scoliosis is not nearly as common (although I do work with two other women who both have scoliosis in the thirty degree range).

Mexican - easiest of all of these categories. Corn tortillas, no breaded meats, check the refried beans (can't hurt to be too safe, right?), check the salsa, check the chips - although I have never run into a problem with beans, salsa, and chips. Guac I usually feel pretty safe with.

Chinese - One chinese restaurant here will make their food without MSG (which I do not eat - causes migraines). But I don't feel too safe eating their food. Have not had chinese food since DX.

Japanese - avocado roll (ask about the vinegar though)

Thai - Kao man kai (but ask about the stock they are using). Rad na (ask about the soy sauce)

Italian - HA! I wish... One restaurant here makes gluten free mostacolli, but I suspect they aren't too careful.

Pub Food - have never really tried, unless they offer salads. I have ordered a bar burger with no bun and didn't get sick.

UBake - stores in Madison and Janesville. The have pre-made, but frozen gluten free goodies. Their apple pie and pizza crusts are delicious. They also have donut holes, cookie mixes, breads... VERY reasonably priced, too

Basics - in Janesville. I have never been here, but my mom LOVES it. They have quite a large selection of gluten free stuff.

I also second the Gluten Free Trading Co. I get their catalog and it is quite impressive!

My orthopedic surgeon advised me NOT to go to chiropractors - but I did go to physical therapy for six weeks to learn exercises to strengthen my back. Eventually, when I stopped growing, my back no longer bothered me. Unfortunately, I have both a 45 degree thoracic curve and a 47 degree lumbar curve (my spine is shaped like an S). Of all the different things I have done, the back brace was the most helpful, but extremely bulky and embarrassing and restrictive. It did help with the pain, though... oddly enough

Through trial and error, I found that I need 9. If I get less, I am sluggish. Sometimes I need more, though. If I am glutened, it is pretty much guaranteed that I will need an extra two hour nap.

I use Hard Candy tinted moisturizer with no problem (although I have never checked). I know Maybelline Pulse Perfection mascara is gluten-free and I really like that. For eyeshadow, I use Ulta brand or Sally Girl - and I have never had a problem.

I have had severe scoliosis since I was five years old. I wore a back brace for three years and had to endure cortisone shots. I was also told that scoliosis is an idiopathic condition... no one else in my family has it.

My question is: Is there a correlation between scoliosis and celiac? I have been able to connect literally every other health problem I have to celiac. Does anyone else have it? Has any one been told or read that there is a connection?

I started cooking my bacon in the oven not too long ago as I hate standing over the stove. I do the whole package on cookie sheets with a 'cookie' cooling rack. It keeps the bacon out of the fat and no turning.

Ooh, that is a good idea.

Do you own a slow cooker? Those are super easy, you just throw in your ingredients in the morning and by dinner time, you have a meal! Plus, it makes a lot so you have leftovers. My fiance and I saved a TON of money by using a slow cooker. We make a lot of soup - veggie, beef stew, chili -homemade chicken broth, breakfast - you can put gluten-free oats (I can't have these though - I use millet or quinoa) at night, a bit of water, an apple and some cinnamon and by AM, you have a really good hot breakfast. I think you can also make breakfast casseroles in them - shredded potatoes, bacon, a couple eggs, maybe a green pepper and some spinach. There are also quite a few websites for slow cooking on the cheap.

I like Udderly Smooth... it is the only one that has not bothered me. I can't find it in stores around here, but it is very reasonably priced online. Most lotions give me a headache or itchy rash. I have so many barely used lotions/cosmetics/soaps in my bathroom closet because of this - I hope my local women's shelter takes partially used products!

Corn gives me extremely painful bloat and constipation. I will literally look 6 months pregnant and it hurts SO bad.

I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo for about six or seven years with no problem... then about 3 months ago a generic version came out and the pharmacy started giving me that - that gave me acne REALLY bad, but no glutenings (and the pharmacy checked and told me it was gluten-free).

I don't know if Shullsburg cheeses are widely available (made in Shullsburg, WI - can find them literally anywhere in Northern IL). But I contacted the company last week and this was my response:

I emailed:

Are Shullsburg cheeses gluten free? Namely:

Shullsburg block cheeses

Italia string cheese

Shullsburg spreadable cheese

Any information would be helpful.

Thank you

And my response was:

I would stay away from spreadables, string I will check on, and your blocks are fine.

and later:

String is also Gluten free.

I like Herdez a lot but I can't find it everywhere. So sometimes it is Newman's Own.

Thank you - I can read labels for food fairly well, but when it comes to cosmetics and such, it is a foreign language to me!

I emailed the company yesterday, so *hopefully* I get a response.

Does anyone use CO Bigelow Rose Salve? I have the labeling, but am not 100% sure it is gluten-free (cosmetics can be tricky, especially when I cannot pronounce the ingredients, let alone know what they are ).

Nothing looks suspicious here, but I would rather be safe then sorry when it comes to lip balm.

Ingredients: Petrolatum, Lanolin oil, Squalane, Flavor (aroma), Octyldodecanol, Goossypium Herbaceum (cotton) seed oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Bisabolol, Jojoba esters, Red 30 lake.

I suspect I have already had swine flu. I was sick for about a week and a half, but did not go to the doctor because when I called her office, she said do not come in unless you are so sick you cannot keep food down - and in that case, go to the ER (and she is well aware of my DX). I was laid up in bed for about three days. I was pretty sick, but it was not earth shattering by any means. My fiance and his brother also had the same flu. Fiance was only sick for about a day and a half, while his brother (who is only 18 and has severe asthma) was extremely sick for about two weeks and had to go to the ER. So, based off of the three of us and our varying general health, I would say don't freak out, but be well aware of the symptoms. And for me, I took off work right when I started feeling ill because I do not want to be responsible in case it affects other people differently then it did me.

But that is just my 2 cents.

Like many of the above responses, I try to eat things that are naturally gluten free - in season fruits and veggies, plain meats, rice, dry beans... but sometimes you just want a cookie. Or a cracker. Finding cheaper gluten free flours is relatively easy - I have found 3lb bags of rice flour at the "international" grocery store in my area and have made banana bread and red velvet cake with it on the cheap. La Tortilla Factory teff wraps aren't too pricey here and I can only eat half of one if I stuff it full of veggies - plus they freeze well so when I have a bit of extra money in my grocery budget I stock up. They also make an excellent pizza crust- they made probably the best bbq chicken pizza I have ever made. Michael Seasons cheese puffs are about the same price as cheetos. Finding gluten free ice cream is pretty easy, too. I try to stay away from the frozen gluten free items because, in my experience, they are WAY expensive and usually don't taste too good to me (plus they are not so good nutritionally). But if you like Amy's products, you can email them and they will send you a HUGE booklet of coupons. Seriously, I think they sent me $15 worth of them and I stocked up on the frozen meals for when I just want something easy.

How many years have you been trying to live a gluten-free life?

How often or many times do you think you've been hit with wheat?

Anyone been diagnosed with cancer, kidney or liver problems?

Have you ever said "what the hell" and just ate something you aren't supposed to?

What is your age?

-It will be one year tomorrow (!!!!!)

-In the beginning, it seemed like it was every couple of weeks. I have gotten better at reading labels and being more forward when eating food I have not prepared. I have probably been glutened six to eight times in the last year.

-diabetes on both sides, intestinal/colon/skin cancer on both sides

-NEVER. Being glutened is the absolute pits for me, so I wouldn't intentionally do that to myself.

-I am 22.

I believe Reeses PB cups are gluten free, but there are a couple that have special shapes (like the small holiday bell shapes) that have gluten in them. Did you eat a 'normal' Reeses cup??

...which for some reason is so odd to me. I just make sure to only purchase the "non-holiday-ized" ones (and I haven't had a problem since).

Mine (regular ol' Target) doesn't have anything but gluten-free Chex... but I was at a SuperTarget in Nashville a few months ago and it was AMAZING. They had a lot of gluten-free goodies.

Woodchuck is really good - especially the one with the orange label (I think the one with the green label is just a touch too sweet). And there is a bar near me that has it on draft! It is definitely worth checking out.

Ugh... two years ago, before I was diagnosed, I just blew up to look about 8 mos pregnant (I'm not very big to begin with). Customers at work (and colleagues, even) asked me about every five minutes when the baby was due. It was VERY upsetting to me because I felt like crap, then I LOOKED liked I gained 25 lbs.

I have been gluten free for *almost* a year (!!!! so excited) and it has gone down considerably, but it still rears its ugly head every now and then (but not nearly as bad as it was).

I know that the Meijer store in McHenry, IL is doing it, but I am not sure about the others.

I used to have way thick, way curly hair. Then, all of a sudden just before I graduated high school, my hair was falling out. It wasn't in clumps, it was just like how a pet sheds... a couple hairs in my hairbrush, a couple more hairs down the drain. And it just increased until it was noticeable that I had thinning hair. So I cut it really short (before dx). Now that I have been diagnosed for almost a yeard, I am noticing that my hair is getting curly again AND it is growing WAY faster. It is so weird thinking back to all of the little things that weren't quite "normal" and possibly connecting them with celiac.

Any men have this?

I read all this and it sounds good, but I am gluten-free(1 month) and DF(1 week) my belly is out of control. I have lost 10lbs and still have beer belly type of belly! I see almost 99% of posts here are women, not that it should matter, but are men experiencing this at all either. Does Magnesium really help? Any other suggestions, sugar and carbs are not my issue, I do not eat enough, all rice cables, eggs, water, multivitamins atc.

Magnesium REALLY helped me. More than probiotics, actually. It took about two weeks for the magnesium to kick in, but once it did, there was marked difference in the size of my belly AND in my BMs (I have chronic constipation). I think it is worth a shot, but that is just my 2 cents