AzizaRivers

I'm not a parent of a celiac, but I experienced this same thing when I was first diagnosed. Your son's gut will take time to heal, and before it is healed, he will still not be absorbing nutrients properly and so may continue to lose weight for a little while. If it still concerns you, definitely talk to the doctor, but within the first stretch of healing time I would not worry too much.

This depends on what you like to eat and what meals you cook the most. To begin, it's best not to go out and spend a lot of money on specialty items, because they are expensive and you might not like them, and because a lot of them seem less than impressive when you've just been eating "the real thing." Here are several ideas! It's better to start with whole foods that are naturally gluten-free and less processed.

-You can't go wrong with rice. Brown rice is healthier than white! I eat a lot of rice.

-If you like to make tacos and burritos, make sure you have some corn tortillas on hand.

-If you like to have pasta, there are rice pastas and corn pastas that make very good substitutes. My personal favorite is Ancient Harvest corn-quinoa blend.

-You can use buckwheat flour (it's a misnomer, there's no wheat and it's gluten-free) to make pancakes and waffles and that works well, and they're yummy.

-Lots of fresh vegetables and fruits.

-Meat if you eat it, dairy and nuts if you can eat them.

-Chex cereals are gluten-free and come in lots of flavors if you're used to cold cereal breakfast.

-It's best not to try oats (gluten-free of course) until after you've been gluten-free for awhile, but Bob's Red Mill makes an excellent hot cereal. For hot cereal, I like to make rice into a creamy hot breakfast with milk and cinnamon and maple syrup. I also like polenta for a hot breakfast.

EDIT: I just reread your post and realized you were looking more for recipe items than meal staples. Sorry! In that case, I recommend you check out www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com. It's the best recipe resource I have. As for flours, she uses (and I like to use) flours like tapioca and sorghum and millet, usually blended together with other flours. Doing something like using rice flour exclusively in a recipe will leave it tasting distinctly "gluten-free," though I do have rice flour on hand and use it often in my blends.

Tamari is also fine. What brand was it?

I'm mostly replying to this to say that I too had a HUGE problem with yeast that instantly disappeared when I cut out gluten. My acne also pretty much went away, though it wasn't too bad before.

Lactose intolerance is very common among celiacs and the gluten intolerant, especially at the time of diagnosis for celiacs because the villi that are destroyed by gluten also produce the enzymes needed to break down lactose.

Other common intolerances, for those that have other sensitivities along with gluten, are corn, soy, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, etc.), sometimes nuts, legumes, yeast, eggs, and fructose. Don't get scared thinking you can't have any of those foods, just be conscious of what you're eating and be aware of your symptoms. Others can offer better advice on identifying potential problem foods.

For now, stick with whole, unprocessed foods as much as you can. Fruits, veggies, rice, meats, and not too crazy on seasonings, especially when you don't know exactly what they are. A body trying to heal and adjust to a new diet shouldn't be challenged with things that are either questionable or already hard to digest.

This summer, my boyfriend and I will be moving in with his family (right now we live on our college campus) and remaining there for the year. We share his family's food but they are tight on money so I habitually replace the foods they buy that I eat a lot of. I also have a cabinet there where I keep my gluten-free stuff.

I have a job so I'm trying to plan out what my budget will look like and how much money I will allow myself per week or month to buy my food. I will buy the occasional gluten-free treat, but besides that I just have a few things I try to have on hand that are not naturally gluten-free. Those would be corn pasta and graham crackers (I like my s'mores...) for the most part (sometimes Van's waffles). I have other staples like natural peanut butter, corn tortillas, cheddar cheese, dry beans, and rice. If I ever have bread or muffins or anything, I usually make them from scratch and freeze them in portion sizes.

Next year I'll be commuting to school so I need to figure out what kind of foods I will be each week, and what kinds of foods are good for providing nutrients and also sometimes being easy to pack so they can be heated up for lunch or dinner when I get to school. I have figured out rice with some cinnamon and maple syrup makes a wonderful hot breakfast cereal, and I also like polenta for breakfast. I need ideas for things I can have in the house and make, and also make to take with me...that are healthful and on the cheaper side. What are your favorites?

When I go home this weekend (where my quinoa is) I'm going to make myself a bowl of it after rinsing and see if that changes anything. It's not the peanuts, almonds or pepitas as I have all of those regularly without problems. I highly doubt the fructose in the honey or maple syrup because I have both of those all the time and I eat a lot of fruit otherwise. So if it was something in my granola, I feel like it had to be the quinoa.

I also recently found out that a few of the things I have been eating in my college's dining hall are NOT gluten-free as I thought they were, so when I quit those I might start having better luck figuring anything else out.

I have it, the family I babysit for gave it to me as a Christmas gift a few weeks after I was diagnosed. I haven't made anything from it as I prefer to make things from total scratch (cheaper, and often better!) but some of them look so good...and I did receive a few boxed mixes for my birthday that I haven't used yet...

To begin...yes, false positives are possible. But please do not hold onto that too tightly. It sounds like it's highly likely that you will need a gluten-free diet. Especially since your symptoms DO sound like typical celiac disease. It would really be that strange for the rest of your blood results to be normal if they caught your celiac before it managed to do that much damage (and really, if you do not follow the diet you need, you could do yourself a LOT of damage).

I know it's hard when you have just been diagnosed, but I promise you, as will everyone else, that it does get easier. You will find some substitutes for things you love (they do exist and some are better than you imagine) and you will learn to appreciate even more the things that you can eat.

Even if what you have is not celiac disease and is a case of gluten sensitivity, you will still need to go on a gluten-free diet.

Wait, have you actually been diagnosed with lupus? Or are you just suspecting it in light of your symptoms? If you haven't actually been diagnosed to have it, you need to go to your doctor ASAP and talk about it. I understand your ANA is a little higher than the normal range. Lupus isn't something to play around with so if it turns out that's what it is, you want to start treatment right away. I'm sure you understand that people with one autoimmune disease (like celiac) are more prone to develop others as well. Go get serious with your doctor--if you're really concerned about lupus, don't leave without a referral for more testing or another doctor.

While you're at it, mention the other conditions you think you have symptoms for.

I had totally forgotten about my planned and failed blood allergy test that I tried to have shortly after I was diagnosed, at the recommendation of my GI. I scheduled the appointment, drove there, waited for 2 hours after my scheduled time, asked when I would be seen and was told there were 4 patients still ahead of me. I had to get to class so I left without rescheduling. Maybe I should try again, this time with the other allergist.

That's a possibility. I'd only had it once before (cooked that time, but not rinsed) and I didn't really care for it, so I only had a bite and a half--probably about the same amount as I got with the granola. I don't remember how it made me feel but that was around the beginning of gluten-free for me so I was a mix of good and bad on any given day.

Could'a been the quinoa.

I know there are always similar threads to this, but I can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for. If anyone wants to link to other useful threads, that would help, too.

I was only sick (or, at least, I only had major symptoms) for 3-6 months before I was diagnosed in November. I tested bloods negative while sick, biopsy inconclusive after gluten-free for 6 weeks. I got better very quickly, and a few slip-ups since then have helped me become more aware of when I might have been glutened. I've also become more sensitive. I thought gluten was my only problem (since I had minimal damage and not very much time comparatively between showing symptoms and beginning to heal), aside from the fact that the food in my college's dining hall is not very good or healthy and gives me limited choices, and frequently causes mild upsets with my digestive system. Now I'm starting to wonder if that's really all it is.

This morning I started off with a breakfast of homemade gluten-free bread with coconut oil (eaten both a thousand times before, no problems there). Shortly thereafter I made myself some homemade granola:

raw almonds

pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)

peanuts

pecans

raw quinoa (I read that it's good in granola)

raw honey

maple syrup

cinnamon

It was delicious and I ate a handful that filled me up. Within 30 minutes I was feeling a little sick...just that heavy-stomach sort of sick feeling. That was around 10am, and its after 6 now and I haven't eaten anything else for a lack of appetite. I can smell dinner cooking and it's just making me feel nauseous even though it's my favorite. There's absolutely no chance I had any gluten.

I'm not sure what to think? With this incident I'm wondering if all the digestive problems I have when I'm at school are actually related to the food itself rather than the way it's prepared. It would be hard for me to do an elimination diet because I'm only home on weekends, and during the week I'm at the mercy of the dining hall. They rarely even serve rice that isn't glutenously-seasoned, let alone simple foods.

Advice?

My best friend was the reason I started thinking about celiac in the first place. She was diagnosed about 4 years ago, and my symptoms started to develop about a year after we met. Since they so closely matched what she told me were her issues, I decided to check it out.

And post-gluten-free for me...my mom decided to take my dog off gluten to see if it would resolve his problem with hot spots (itchy spots on the skin that he licks and bites until it turns red and raw and all the hair falls out) and low and behold...it did the trick. Now he stays on the special food and shares my gluten-free pretzels as his treats, haha.

Also, please do keep in mind that Crohn's is a very versatile disease in that it affects different people differently, and everyone's body requires a slightly different regimen to keep it under control. Unfortunately, many people either do not work hard enough at finding the best way to control it, or they do not know any better, or they do try and just can't seem to get it under control. For some people with Crohn's, a gluten-free diet is very helpful...so it's possible that he really does have Crohn's but it could still help to cut out gluten. You could mention this to his parents, just the fact that different special diets sometimes help.

First, let me tell you that it DOES get easier. Right now it seems confusing and crazy what you can and can't eat, but it's not that bad. You get used to it. I too am a vegetarian (in a house of meat eaters) and I find plenty to eat. I'll eat whatever is being made for dinner, minus the meat. I'm sure since you were already a vegetarian, you're used to adapting that way. Now you just have to work on the gluten!

I will also say that you need to remember that no matter how hard it is, you can NOT ever eat gluten. Not for one meal because that's what's being served, not a little because you miss it...you can't have it. I'm sure you know that, especially since you started out thinking you had a wheat allergy.

You do need to tell your mother, and make sure she understands how important it is that you don't have gluten. You also need to be careful of cross-contamination. I won't give that spiel here, there are other posts that cover it fully.

You will find that whole, unprocessed foods and those that naturally don't contain any gluten are healthier, cheaper, and overall less disappointing than substitutes, at least until you have become used to not having the "real thing." Here are a few ideas that I use. Some are naturally gluten-free (just reminders of the best things that you can still eat!) and some are my own substitutes.

-Fresh fruits

-Fresh vegetables, great in stir-fry, steamed, however!

-Brown rice (healthier than white)

-Yogurt if you can do dairy

-At my house we like to make different types of quesadillas, burritos, etc. and I have my own stash of corn tortillas so I can have mine, too

-Sometimes I use the corn tortillas as a pizza crust, add the sauce and cheese and put it in the oven

-Many cereals are still okay, like Kix (check the ingredients) and Chex (they say it on the box now); Chex comes in a lot of flavors

-If you like hot cereal, you can try Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal; it's too expensive for me so I make rice into hot cereal (google a recipe) and I boil cornmeal to make polenta, and you can flavor that any way you want, and it's VERY cheap

-If you like baking, you can grab a few specialty flours and bake your own breads, muffins, etc. and put them in the freezer to be thawed when you want them. www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com has the BEST recipes I have ever found.

-Ice cream, again if you can do dairy, is a naturally gluten-free treat as long as it's not cookie dough or anything obvious like that

-Salads are of course still okay, provided that you have no croutons and you check the dressing

-These brownies are so good I just have to share the recipe. I use almond meal in place of the flour and coconut oil in place of the butter. Open Original Shared Link BETTER than gluten brownies

-Keep in mind that certain ethnic foods are less likely to contain gluten...for example, I make regular trips to the local Indian grocery; you still have to check, but far fewer things actually have gluten

-I used to love cheddar cheese and crackers as a snack, now I use corn chips for that and I'm used to it

-my favorite gluten-free pasta is Ancient Harvest corn-quinoa blend, it tastes like regular pasta to me

-Here are staples that are always in my cabinets and freezer: corn tortillas, Chex cereal, cornmeal, homemade cinnamon muffins in the freezer, brownies, Van's gluten-free frozen waffles, Schar's crackers, corn chips, cheese, fruits, vegetables

Again, really, you figure things out. Celiac is not the be-all end-all of good food, it's just a new challenge. Think of it just as a new adventure. I know it sucks at first, but you do get used it and you realize how many things you really can eat. Keep using this board as a resource and inspiration.

My general opinion is that while they "know" the symptoms, they learned their lists of symptoms and conditions in medical school and sometimes, they get confused when they hear of a symptom that they didn't learn was common. Vomiting was my primary symptom and it caused all the subsequent problems. My GI also said it wasn't a common symptom (he said most celiacs don't vomit but they'll have bloating and D among other things) but he acknowledged that yes, vomiting is a symptom for some celiacs.

That's interesting, because I've read that introducing certain foods to babies earlier actually increased their risks of developing intolerances and allergies.

Not trying to discount the above information as it was very interesting, particularly the part about peanut allergies being low where peanuts are a common weaning food. But a few weeks ago I read a few articles with opposite information. Just goes to show maybe we don't know as much about this as we think we do.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I too have used Suave when I didn't feel like shelling out for the good stuff, but I have a HUGE issue with paying money for ingredients I can't pronounce or don't know the sources of. I'm not washing my hair with something that contains the same chemicals as furniture stripper. So when I can, I get Shikai shampoo and conditioner. I get my soaps from a little Mennonite herbalist near me who hand-makes them.

As a college student with a very small budget for food, I'm with you on that one. I don't knock those who do replace all their gluten foods with the alternatives, but I feel much better about the way I spend my money if I limit that. I do buy the occasional box of special pasta but mostly I just go for rice or something instead. I'm not shelling out $7 for a small box of gluten-free crackers, so I've gotten used to having cheese and crackers snacks with corn tortilla chips instead! And I'll put tomato sauce on rice. Things like that are starting to feel normal to me since I'm getting so used to them. I do have a stash of special flours for when I'm really craving a treat or a slice of bread, but I don't use them very often and even so, baking my own is much cheaper than buying Udi's.

There are a few things to think about when considering the importance of a formal diagnosis.

Is it important to you, as you said, to have a formal diagnosis so you will not question your diet?

Do you need a diagnosis to gain the support of family members?

Are you going to try to obtain some kind of compensation (food stamps, etc.) for special food? Some countries or states do this.

There are several reasons people try to get an official diagnosis. Some people pursue it for those reasons, and some people are content just going gluten-free and moving on. The latter is very common, as for some, diagnosis is not cut and dry and much is still not understood about celiac.

I don't know about your general coffee reactions, BUT...I've heard of many celiacs, especially on here, reacting to Dunkin Donuts coffee. Not sure why, I don't drink coffee myself, but perhaps they have widespread contamination or they contain some unsafe ingredient. So you might just need to find a particular source for your coffee that does not give you problems.

I take Jarro-Dophilus Allergen-Free. On the website it lists that it's free of almost everything you said except they don't mention corn, so you might need to call the company to check on the corn.

Open Original Shared Link

My reactions now do vary a little. I think for me, it depends on the amount I'm getting. With CC that is small enough I can't identify how it happened, it'll be one or two shots of D in a few hours, plus strong but dull gallbladder pain at the same time. Something bigger (say, a sneak of a fingerfull of cookie dough that I will NEVER do again) will result in half a day of can't-leave-the-house D. And a massive mistake, deliberately eating a helping of something I can't have, would result in full-blown D and vomiting for two days.

Okay, so pretty much whatever the reason for my reaction, I need to switch products anyway to make it go away.

I'm starting to wonder if it's not acne but if it is, in fact, DH. If not, I guess I just for some reason am sensitive to this product. Picked up some new shampoo today!

Thanks, everyone.

Everyone has offered good advice. The only thing I don't think had been mentioned (though I only skimmed the thread) is that if you want to bake your own things from scratch, which is the cheapest way to have them, you can often get flours from international groceries MUCH cheaper than in a health food store. For example, I get my rice flour from an Chinese grocery and my chickpea flour from an Indian grocery. I'm sure there are more examples, too. Large quantities for small prices.

How about if we, as a government, stop subsidizing wheat and corn, so that everyone pays the same for a loaf of bread whether it's made of rice, or tapioca, or wheat.

That would be an answer I like.