BlessedMommy

Well, I just checked nuts.com and they are pretty dirt cheap there, as well as being certified G.F.! As low as $2.09 per pound, if you buy a 14 lb bag! 

I love banana chips but am having a hard time finding any that aren't processed on shared equipment. Same with trail mix. Are there any local grocery store like options, or do I need to order from nuts.com?

If it were me, I would bring over my own food--kept warm in a thermos. Or I would put food in Pyrex portables and reheat in the microwave. Bento boxes are also great and can be filled with all kinds of goodies. 

Congratulations! How exciting!

Imagine the public outcry if this was an article making fun of a diabetic diet.

And there's LOTS of people who follow a low sugar diet who aren't diabetic....so maybe they're all following a fad diet? 

If he has a DX, then you can get a 504 plan.

Oh wow, I must've missed something, did your son end up getting DX'ed with celiac?

Take a deep breath!

Don't be embarrassed about it--mistakes happen to almost everybody! So many products contain gluten that the learning curve is very steep.

I was taking a supplement awhile back and somehow missed that it contained oat fiber.

It will be okay, you'll get this.

That is nuts, though, that a salsa contained wheat flour!

I think that your instinct to want follow up blood tests is correct. You really don't know how careful her other caregivers were being.

Yes, I agree with making the house gluten free.

I'm the only gluten free eater at home and people here eat mostly gluten free for my sake. If they eat the occasional gluten meal (like pizza brought in from somewhere for example), I pretty much have to put them in baths and clean up the area myself afterward. When my kids were gluten challenging, I got hit with gluten pretty bad. There were just too many crumbs around and too many little gluteny hands.

Gluten is basically a convenience food. My kids eat VERY healthy, so I don't think that mostly skipping the gluten at home has hurt them any.

My husband takes leftovers to work, instead of sandwiches. I cook my kids entree style meals at home instead of making them sandwiches. They are homeschooled, so I don't have school lunches to pack, but when I pack snacks to take to homeschool co-op, it's usually stuff like fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs, string cheese, veggies, etc.

I do cooked breakfasts like homemade gluten free waffles, gluten-free oatmeal, eggs, roasted potatoes, etc. and skip the breakfast cereal most of the time. The only breakfast cereal we really use very much is Udi's granola and even then, I only purchase 3 bags a month of that.

I totally understand where you're at! I never actually even got the bloodwork--as I ended up in the ER in the process of challenging. Being that it was only 10 days on the challenge before I had that severe reaction and that I couldn't go see the celiac doctor for weeks, I simply gave up on testing and went gluten free for life. I figured that even if I tested negative, I wouldn't dare touch the stuff again. 

You know your body better than anybody else. If something makes you sick, don't eat it. You don't have to have a doctor's note to do what's best for your health. 

I just ordered some avocado oil online to try out. What are your favorite ways to use it?

This is a new granola produced by the same company that makes Larabars. It is grain free (so good for the Paleo people) and very tasty.

That sounds like it has potential for food borne illness! I'm glad that you reported them.

Usually wheat is in shampoo in the form of wheat protein or wheat germ oil. Generally gluten containing ingredients should be pretty straightforward. Most lotions are gluten free, but read the labels and watch out. Any Aveeno products with oats would be out.

A number of personal care products are labelled gluten free these days. 

I don't think that hand sanitizer has any gluten, but it doesn't hurt to check.

With a child with celiac, it would be best to buy gluten free/grain free food for the pets, if you have any. Cats groom themselves with their tongues and then kids pet the cats. Also, kids handle the pet food and sometimes even eat it. 

Congratulations on finally getting your diagnosis! Awesome job persevering and dealing with gluten challenging and multiple biopsies!

What level of Marsh damage did they find?

If you had a positive ttG test, then you most likely are celiac. NCGI does not produce antibodies.

Has the doctor referred you out for an endoscopy yet?

Yikes, that is really over the top!!

The employees would be at higher risk of CC'ing packaging by bringing sandwiches in their lunches and then touching packaging afterward. I doubt that the store would make all employees eat gluten free for lunch.

I figure that the 20 PPM designation for gluten free is there to cover the stuff that is completely out of my control. I'm not going to go through life making myself sick over remote scenarios of cross contamination. I suppose that we could avoid the grocery store 100% because someone may have spilled flour on the conveyer belt or may have touched it with CC'ed hands. 

The chicken from a chicken soup will be contaminated by the noodles.  The same principle applies to a burger removed from a bun, or croutons picked off a salad.

Have you considered testing for celiac, if you suspect that gluten is an issue for you?

Welcome to the board! I'm sorry that you're not feeling well.

Some questions:

1)When you went gluten free, did you clean out your kitchen entirely, replacing old wooden spoons, scratched up pots, colanders, cutting boards, reseasoning cast iron pans, etc?

2) Are you careful to buy products that are not likely to be contaminated with gluten?

3) If you have a spouse or a significant other who eats gluten, do they take the necessary precautions not to contaminate you with their food?

4) What about pets? If you have cats or dogs, do they eat gluten free? If they eat gluten food, do you wash your hands after handling their food or petting them? 

5) When you go to restaurants, do you stick only with restaurants that can serve celiacs safely? Do you ever eat at potlucks or buffets? 

6) Do you eat food prepared by others?

It could be that you have an additional issue besides the gluten, but it's best to examine first and see if any gluten is sneaking in your diet. The first four years of being gluten free, I did not understand everything about avoiding cross contamination and made a number of mistakes. After fully cleaning gluten out of my diet, I feel so much better. 

Yep, I would definitely stick to keeping the home gluten free, for the sake of the kids. 

What you could do is serve lots of naturally gluten free items. Lots of "normal" foods are gluten free. There are also some really good substitute foods. If you made lasagna with rice noodles, I doubt if they could even tell the difference.

I really don't understand why people think that it's such a big deal to go gluten free for a week. 90% of non-processed foods are gluten free. It's not like anyone requires gluten to live.

Perfectly said Gemini! I think that the whole thing makes about as much sense as telling a pre-diabetic that they need to keep eating sugar, because if they don't, the doctor won't be able to diagnose them with diabetes. Because after all, eating a low sugar diet is so extreme that you need a diagnosis in order to do it. LOL!

Especially in children--why take the risk of poor health, stunted growth, and additional AI diseases?

You're so right, Gemini!

I've been gluten free for over 5 years without a definitive diagnosis. The only thing that really matters to me is being a productive functioning member of society! LOL!

It's important to do the testing first, but after all testing is complete, you can always try the diet strictly. It's perfectly okay to refuse all forms of gluten with no doctor's note. Lots of us do it!

The recipe totally doesn't look like it should work, but it does! The batter is so thin. I had to resist the temptation to thicken the batter. LOL!

My kiddos devoured them really quickly. They taste very good and do not have a beany flavor. I often make whole grain waffles with gluten-free oats, but it's nice to have a recipe that doesn't rely on oats. 

I agree with Kareng. There's lots of people who have celiac who have mild symptoms or even no symptoms. Symptoms alone can't tell you what you have. The best bet is to reintroduce gluten for 8-12 weeks and get a full celiac blood panel from your doctor.