Poppi
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Tough call.
I Iasted 3 weeks before I became too ill to continue ans my doctor told me to stop.
How long have you been told to do? Do you have a blood test and endoscopy scheduled?
My take in the end was to last as long as I could, then get tested immediately.
The positive for me of having tried was that I 100% knew I bad a problem with gluten and needed to be gluten-free for life.
Let us know how you go
Mw
I was told 2-3 servings of gluten for 6 weeks. Blood test doesn't need to be scheduled, I can get a lab requisition from my GP and can get an appt with her with 2 or 3 days notice. As far as I know, endoscopy would only be scheduled if blood work was positive.
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You may be over indulging , I read somewhere in this site, That a slice of bread a day will bring your levels up.
I probably am. I'm just afraid of not having enough. I want to know going in to the testing (if I last that long) that I have definitely done enough to get a positive test if indeed I have Celiac.
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So I've been gluten free for 2 1/2 years. My doctor has been wanting me to do a gluten challenge and I've refused.
However, my middle son was diagnosed with Autism recently and as part of the full physical workup his pediatrician wants him tested for Celiac as well as all the other possible metabolic/genetic issues that can show up in kids with autism. Sounds rational to me and I figured that if I have to feed him gluten for the whole summer it would be almost impossible for me to avoid cross contamination so I might as well do the challenge as well.
Week 1 was fantastic! I ate all the things I have missed. Croissants, good bread, cinnamon buns, homemade goodies, burgers at restaurants.... I have to admit I really, really enjoyed the first several days. However, today is day 12 and the back pain and nausea hit me hard last night. I was up at 5 this morning because my back hurt too much to continue lying down and I'm cranky and nauseous.
I can't decide what to do.
Continue gluten challenge?
Pros: I am enjoying the food, I could proceed with testing, it's easier to do my son's challenge if I am not gluten-free myself, there are still foods on my bucket list I haven't eaten yet
This is my 3rd attempt at a gluten challenge, the other 2 attempts didn't even last a full day, if I bail on this one I will never try again so as far as testing goes, it's now or never.
Cons: I feel really sick and sore and that's not going to go away until I ditch the gluten again.
Mostly I'm just really disappointed. I had hoped when my first week went so well that I had somehow magically healed my gluten issues and I could go back to all the foods I love and miss.
What to do, what to do.
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So a week ago I bought 1000 Gluten Free Recipes by Carole Fenster for my tablet. I was curious and it was an experiment to see if I liked cookbooks on my tablet rather than in paper format.
I discovered that I hate cookbooks as ebooks but this is a great cookbook.
I have made:
Cinnamon Raisin Bread (twice)
Oatmeal Bread
Granola with Dried Fruit
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Cherry Coconut Cookies
Double Chocolate Cookies
Lemon Poppyseed Scones with Lemon Glaze
The Oatmeal Bread collapsed on itself but that was my fault for massively over-rising it, it still tasted good and we ate it all.
Other than that one mistake everything has been wonderful. The Lemon Poppyseed Scones are really great. I made them today and they are almost gone. I will be making another batch this evening to have in the freezer for coffee dates.
I was a bit apprehensive about buying the book since many of the recipes call for Expandex which is a modified tapioca starch that is nearly impossible to get in Canada unless you want to pay a fortune to have it redirected across the border by a 3rd party shipping company. I made the muffins without it and they were great. I have also just subbed xanthan gum in the recipes which call for both xanthan gum and guar gum and haven't noticed any problems.
If you are looking for a cookbook, this one gets a great review from me. (As I sit here munching on my Lemon Scone)
Oh, and a huge bonus for me is that she uses almost no rice flour in the cookbook. Her basic blend is Tapioca, Sorghum and Corn or Potato starch (whichever you prefer) I use Corn starch as it is cheaper. I am thrilled since my niece is allergic to rice and oats and I have an awful time trying to bake for a family gathering. Now I have a whole bunch of great recipes that are gluten/rice/oat free.
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I eat New York Fries all the time at the mall and have never been glutened. Also Booster Juice (just no Boosters, at least one of them has gluten) and Qoola frozen yogurt.
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I will join in when people get together at restaurants because the vast majority of my friends and family will double check with me and pick a restaurant I can eat at safely.
Potlucks? Nope. I loathe potlucks. Last one I went to all I had was a cup of tea and a handful of tortilla chips straight from the bag and I somehow still managed to get glutened. Who knows how, there was gluteny food EVERYWHERE and I was helping my kids with their food etc etc. That was 6 months ago and I have opted out of a few potlucks since then.
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I am just shy of 11 months gluten free and one thing I noticed when I went gluten free was that coffee also made me feel awful. I would feel glutened for 2-3 hours complete with brain fog, sour stomach, big D, back ache and headache.
A few months ago I start experimenting a bit because I really, really miss coffee. I found that I could tolerate a decaf a couple times a week and be fine. So when I was out with friends I would occasionally indulge a decaf latte and feel okay. Sometimes I'd get a headache but no big deal.
This past week I have had a terrible head cold. This morning I found myself with a terrible Benadryl hangover and decided to go ahead and grab a cup of coffee. So I busted out the French Press and made a cup of medium strength regular caffienated coffee. It was amazing and I felt fine. I'm on my second cup of the day and I still feel fine. Great in fact! I probably won't sleep tonight as this is my first regular coffee in almost a year but I am enjoying it immensely.
Is this a result of my gut healing? I have noticed my gluten reaction changing as well. I accidentally glutened myself with the chicken feed last month and had horrible D which wasn't a normal symptom for me before. Healing gut = changing reactions?
Anyway, I'm just curious what the experts say.
For what it's worth, I can't ask my doctor about this because she refuses to acknowledge that I might have a gluten problem unless I do a gluten challenge/bloodwork/biopsy.
Edited because caffienated fingers can't spell.
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Or my personal favourite which I have heard from everyone from family members to grocery store cashiers..."Ugh, I would kill myself if I couldn't have pasta/bread/croissants/cake."
Wow. You just said my life is not worth living. Think about that for a second.
Last time I got that comment from a cashier I responded with, "Well, I would kill myself if I had to bag groceries all day." I know that was rude but I couldn't help myself.
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My oldest son does all the chicken feeding but I do the vast majority of the animal care so I touch the birds quite a lot. Plus I scatter straw in their runs and nest boxes and it's msot likely wheat straw. I usually wash all my clothes right away.
IrishHeart - your friend might have a hard time getting different feed for her birds. We feed organic layer pellets and all the chicken feeds we looked at have wheat, barley, rye and/or oats. If you make up your own feed without any gluten grains you might be able to keep them alive but it would wind up being very expensive feed and it would be very difficult to get the protein/fat content just right to have them laying regularly.
The best she can do is get a very large feeder so it doesn't have to be filled often. Wear a mask when she fills it then shower and wash her clothes right after. Letting the chickens free range when possible helps too because they will eat bugs and such and won't need to be fed as often.
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I have always said that the worst part of celiac is not being able to just go out for dinner or enjoy all the dishes at a potluck or be spontaneous about eating out.
I was wrong.
The worst part of celiac is having sudden, painful, explosive diarrhea at someone else's house.
I felt some ominous rumblings in my tummy last night but shrugged it off and went to go knit at a friend's house. Big mistake. The only silver lining is that she suffers from IBS so she understood and gave me some immodium so I could make it back home at least.
I haven't left the house in 2 days until last night. My kitchen is gluten free. The only source of gluten I can think of is the chicken feed. I generally don't touch their food but yesterday I had to pick up a chicken and wash her face because she had some dirt crusted on her comb and I wanted to make sure it wasn't dried blood. Perhaps some dust from their food got on my hands and wasn't washed off well? Who knows.
What is interesting is that my reactions used to be purely inflammatory. My joints and back would flare up and the burning pain would last for days or even weeks but I had almost no digestive reaction. Now I notice that my reactions are almost purely digestive. The crappy part (no pun intended) is that the reaction is sudden and horrible but the good part is that it's over by the next day and I feel better faster than I did before. Is that common?
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A fried egg (laid only minutes earlier by one of our backyard chickens) with cheese, sour cream and salsa on a corn tortilla. Yummy in my tummy.
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Donuts
... donuts
Arabic sweets like Baklawa, Zeinab's Fingers, Knafe
Nutella
ravioli
Anything made with puff-pastry
I can make a pretty decent crusty pizza and amazing fried chicken or fish so those I don't miss!
I'm gonna cry lol :-)
Nutella is most definitely gluten free! And there are many donut recipes out there.
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Your own gluten free home is definitely the easiest!
I am lucky because we have 2 kitchens. So the upstairs kitchen (My kitchen) is 100% gluten free. The downstairs kitchen is gluten central. Other than making a PBJ for the kids once in a while I don't cook anything down there and I definitely don't eat anything that came from down there. It's almost like a kosher house, we don't share pots, plates, cutlery or anything else between kitchens. This way not everyone has to be gluten-free with me.
As far as the pots? If you have stainless steel pots you are okay. I would give them an extra wash before you use them to be safe. Only use metal cutlery and spoons and such and if possible keep a safe sponge set aside for you to give everything a quick wash before you use it. Shared sponges can harbour all kinds of crumbs and such.
It's unlikely that kissing the boyfriend's cheek would make you sick to be honest - unless of course he is putting wheat germ oil on his face or using aveeno lotion. If you are that sensitive then you would need to be extraordinarily careful about everything else too. Possibly there was some other CC earlier in the day or maybe you just felt sick for a different reason. It's so easy for us to blame every single symptom on gluten. Everyone gets sick now and then from 1000 different sources, even us.
He does need to be aware of washing his face, brushing his teeth and washing his hands before you are intimate in any way. This should quickly just become second nature for both of you.
For lotion, my husband and I use Lubriderm and Vaseline Intensive Care lotions and Burt's Bees lip balm and that seems to be just fine.
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May I ask when your vacation is?
The only reason I ask is because if the vacation was next week or something I might just consider doing the best you can and then going 100% gluten-free when you get back.
Barring that I would call the resort and ask to talk to a chef or kitchen manager about any accomodations that can be made for food allergies/intolerances.
Is it possible to upgrade to a room with a kitchenette? Are there any markets nearby?
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A lot of what has been said on this thread is echoing what I have been feeling lately too.
I am at 10 months gluten free now and just last week I had a light bulb moment. The reality is, I am going to get glutened. It might happen when I am out for a romantic dinner with my husband, it might happen on vacation, it might happen because I didn't wash my hands well enough after packing a gluteny lunch for one of my kiddos... but I am not going to stop doing any of those things out of fear.
I also am slowly becoming okay with not always being able to participate in social events that are completely food based such as cookie swaps, potlucks, dinners at certain restaurants. It's okay, I don't have to do everthing and eat everything that my friends do to be happy. I can actually sit at a table with someone who is eating a croissant and drinking a coffee (my 2 favourite things that I can no longer tolerate) and be okay. I can also take an awesome gluten-free meal with me and enjoy it while I visit.
DH and I have had to let go of our dream of travelling throughout Asia for now unless we wind up being able to do it on a cruise where I can get safe food. The type of travelling we wanted to do in Asia just won't be safe for me. But that's okay, we've decided to travel in Europe instead and have recently started learning Italian.
Life is amazing and not living in fear makes it even better.
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I just checked on the site and they don't ship the pie crusts because they are unbaked and therefore too perishable for shipping.
While I was there I ordered $100 worth of stuff. Kids will be exited to see the Graham Crackers and I'll hide the donuts in the back of the freezer.
I really like their pizza crusts and I am ridiculously excited that they have THIN CRUST now!
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The stores here in my area have been out of the pie crusts for quite some time. The Nutritionists in these stores are telling me they are ordering them, but they have been on back order for some time, something about a "manufacturing issue."
Geez, they should have anticipated the overwhelming response to their pie crusts! I have one left in my freezer and I'm holding onto it!
Frozen pie crusts? I haven't seen those. I have noticed Kinnikinnick being a bit hit and miss with their distribution. Have you tried ordering online from their website? I like to put a big order in with them every few months and it arrives at the door still frozen.
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You absolutely need to stand up for yourself and bring food.
My husband is 100% on board. He has gone gluten free with me unless he is out with friends and then he comes home and washes his hands and face and brushes his teeth before he'll even come and give me a hug and a kiss. That kind of support is invaluable and you deserve to have it from your husband.
I pack food unless I am positive there will be something safe for me and even then I usually have a backup plan.
We are going to a wedding in a few weeks. There is no way for the caterers to accomodate me and it's out in the boonies. My kids are both in the wedding party so we can't jsut show up for the ceremony then bail. I will be taking a cooler with sushi/sashimi, sunomono, a thermos of green tea and a nice gluten free dessert. I even pack my own proper plate, cutlery and mug in there. Just because I can't eat the same food as everyone else does not mean I am going to eat a PBJ out of a baggie and a Lara bar while everyone else eats a delicious meal. I deserve a nice meal too and I think enough of myself to make sure I get it.
People look at me funny and the braver people will actually ask. I just tell them I have celiac and the food they are eating will make me very sick so I brought my own. I have never, ever had anyone complain or tell me off.
You go ahead and take food and make sure it's good food. You deserve to eat at least as well as everyone else!
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STOP! You don't have to toss your pizza stone. Mine has baked literally hundreds of loaves of gluten bread and I was so sad to think of tossing it.
I ran it through 2 full self clean cycles (letting it cool and brushing off the accumulated ash in between) and it came out pristine! I use it all the time for gluten-free stuff now and I haven't had a problem.
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Hooray! I'm getting close to a year gluten free and while I still have my moments of self-pity I am also coping really well.
We are planning a trip to Vegas and Phoenix this summer (Vegas for fun, Phoenix for business) and I'm not panicking. Last year when I went to San Diego for business I was freaking out ahead of time, mapping out all the possible places to eat and really worrying about food. Now I will do a little recon a week or so before we leave and pack some snacks but I've learned that life doesn't have to just be about the food.
I haven't had a major glutening since early October and I think that helps a lot. I feel clear, in control, focused and healthy. And that feels amazing.
PS. If you want to start baking again my recommendation would be to pick up a well-reviewed AP gluten-free Flour blend and start with some simple cookie and muffin recipes that you already love. My favourite is Namaste Perfect Flour Blend. It makes great muffins, quick breads and cookies. And their Spice Cake mix is to die for if you follow the directions on the back to make it into gingerbread cake.
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I like the Kinnikinnick crusts too. In fact I had one for lunch yesterday. Mmmmmmm, pizza.
I get a box of 4 for $8 while the Udi's ones are $8 for 2. So I haven't tried the Udi's.
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When I don't have time to mix up my own flour blend I reach for the emergency bag of Namaste Perfect Flour Blend I have in the cupboard. I don't react to oats so I can't promise anything but there are no oats in the ingredients and as far as I can tell none of the Namaste products contain oats.
If you're buying Namaste Flour, grab a bag of the Namaste Spice Cake mix and then follow the directions for the gingerbread cake. It's amazing.
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It's hard to look back at all the years we didn't get to live to our full potentials.
I was always nauseous, never played sports (didn't have the energy), had a hard time concentrating in school, suffered from osteoarthritis and chronic back pain from my early teens, didn't finish my degree because I just couldn't focus even though I knew I was smart enough, suffered from infertility and repeated miscarriages ....
But. Given the choice between laugh and cry, I always choose to laugh. My life is amazing NOW and that's what matters. I still live with a level of pain that would likely send the average person to the ER but it's better than it has been since I was 9.
Yes, I wish I had been diagnosed as a child but right now I am 35, happy, healthy and looking forward to the next 60+ years I have left to me.
Think It's Time To Abandon The Gluten Challenge
in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
Posted
Update:
I had 2 days where I felt awful and then I woke up Sunday morning feeling more or less okay. My back is a bit tight and I've had moments of stomach upset but all in all, totally manageable with some Tylenol. I popped some Immodium in my purse this morning before heading off to my son's IEP meeting but my stomach settled quickly and I didn't need it.
So I am going to continue and see how this all plays out.