kbtoyssni

The amount of fiber sticks out to me, too. If you eat too much, it still makes things stick together, but if there isn't enough other matter then everything turns into, well, the big C. You have to have something softish in there in addition to the fiber.

Oh, and I answered the "if we determine oats are gluten-free how do you want them labeled?" with OTHER: "I will not eat oats even if you do think they're gluten-free."

I know- me too! I know the protein is different but I don't think it's been definitively proven that oats DON'T do damage. Does anyone know otherwise? If oats were not cross-contaminated would they be safe? I woouldn't eat them, but I'm curious.

From what I've read the protien in oats is starting to be different enough from the wheat gluten protien that some celiacs react and some don't (and I mean an actual autoimmune reaction, not just symptoms of glutening because some celiacs are asymptomatic even when damage is being done). I have no idea if I react, but I choose not to eat oats. Not worth it. And I didn't like oatmeal much anyhow so no biggie.

This reminds me of England. Some things are labeled gluten-free but contain wheat starch. I know in those cases wheat starch is tested to be below a certain number of ppm, but if it's got a few ppm and I eat several, that's might put me over the limit. Again, not worth it.

Do you (or someone you know) have celiac or have eating restrictions on food?

Yes, I do (and my mum).

Do you (or they) find it hard to go grocery shopping?

No. Although for my mum it's harder to buy the specialty gluten-free food because the store is far away.

If there was a store that catered to people who had restrictions on what they could eat would you shop there?

Yes. I already shop at the local Fresh and Natural Foods for all my specialty gluten-free foods. But I do most of my food shopping at Cub Foods or SuperTarget because it's most convenient.

Hey artgirl,

How come gluten sticks to non-stick pans? What's up with that? Sounds like a scam doesn't it?

best regards, lm

Non-stick pans have a coating that is very easy to scratch which would allow the gluten to get caught in the scratches. I have some non-stick pans, and I'm amazed at how beat-up they look compared to my regular pans.

About the dishwasher:

I don't think that using a dishwasher is necessary. BUT, people are correct that gluten gets trapped in washcloth/sponges. I will not use the sponge at work - I use my fingers instead. I don't know how clean your roomies are, but when I was in college the kitchen was a mess. Clean was a relative term. I'd be inclined to get some cheap plastic plates just for you. You can usually get these at Target or similar stores for a dollar or two. If you are the only one who uses them and you wash them youself with your own cloth, you should be ok. OR - if you have mismatched plates (as most college houses do!), you could claim a few of them as yours and ask the roomies not to use those ones.

Other intolerances is a tricky one. I know the best thing to do is an elimination diet. That said I hate food journals more than anything so my elimination diet attempts usually don't go so well.

A positive blood test means you have it. And I'm assuming from your reluctance to go back on gluten you've had a positive dietary response, too. You certainly don't need a biopsy to tell you what you already know. By the time a biopsy comes out positive, you've got so much damage to your intestines. I don't know why you'd want to do that to yourself. This doc needs to read some current literature on diagnosing the disease.

Some doctors only see the biopsy as the way to diagnose, but there are many out there who will accept blood tests or dietary response. If you have a doctor who is questioning your celiac, maybe a new doctor is in order. I wouldn't be able to see a doctor that questions me because I know they're going to be doing things by the textbook and be inflexible when it comes to alternate treatments. If there's one thing I've learned from my diagnosis, it's that this disease is anything but textbook!

The questions about oats have me freaked out. I would be really upset if they label oat-containing foods gluten-free.

I agree that the Taco Bell probably has to go. From what I've heard, I wouldn't ever eat anything there.

Other food intolerances are a possiblity. My peanut intolerance feels just like a glutening.

What about possible risks at school? Lunchroom tables are likely to have crumbs all over them. If kids are allowed to eat in the classroom and then touch the class computer, the keyboard could be contaiminated. I read about someone who had to send soap for the entire kindergarten class (I think this was for a soy allergy, wheat in bulk soap is pretty uncommmon). Or if he has a home-ec type class, there may be flour particles from cooking. You might want to meet with his teachers to discuss if it's possible there's something glutening him at school. It might also be good to ask if there is something else going on (bullying, the class is too hard, doesn't like the teacher, etc).

I have trouble with raisins, too. I can't remember what exactly it is, but grapes, pears, etc have something in them that can be hard to digest and raisins are super concentrated grapes. For the most part I stay away from them, but I'm able to tolerate them better now that I'm gluten-free.

It could be that your mum's side has one gene, your dad's side another so you've got two making you more suseptible to developing it. It's also possible that other members of your family have it, but they've got some non-traditional symptoms and don't realize it. Anyone have allergies, reoccuring headaches, joint pain, unexplained sore throats, depression? All these could be celiac-related but often not caught.

It's probably not from touching the cookies themselves. It's just way too easy to accidently ingest some or get it around the kitchen and touch it later... It's also possible that you're just sick today, and it has nothing to do with gluten.

Hilarious! Thank you! Housemates should also periodically speak in foreign languages to simulate brain fog. Contestants must then read technical journal papers in a subject they have never studied and take a test on it.

Congrats! When I hit my one-year I invited all my friends over for a taco dinner. My one-year felt like a second birthday to me I was so excited!

That is a horrible situation. I agree that moving out is probably the only thing that will keep you safe. Having your husband eat with you is an excellent idea. The two of you need to put up a united front. If your husband is willing, it would be great if he treated gluten the same way as you - as poison. So he doesn't eat it at home either and is just as diligent as you about CC and mentioning that the rest of the family can't use oat soap, etc. Maybe the two of you could do a separate meal time. There's nothing that says you have to eat with the rest of the family so you could scrub the kitchen after everyone else eats and then make your food together. I'm assuming you have your own room - you could put a mini-fridge in it so you can keep your leftovers in there to eliminate CC (with a giant lock on it!). You could even keep your own set of pans in your room if you are concerned about CC there, too. Good luck.

Not sure what you can do about the teeth grinding, but I think you need to work on being diligent with the diet. Being sick will only add to your stress. The teeth grinding may go away if you are more strictly gluten-free.

There's a lot of personal responsibility associated with this disease. Some people accept that easily and others don't.

I agree. It seems like most people have to be very sick before they seek answers. If you just feel a little tired or get a bit of a stomach ache every now and then, it's not worth giving up all that yummy food. Now if you were throwing up after every meal and were too exhausted to get out of bed, you might reconsider how badly you want that food.

Hard decision. You could always try a few doctors that are covered by your insurance and see how you like them. I try to pick ones that are younger. They tend to be more open to new ideas. I quiz my doctors a lot and am always asking them to do different tests and the younger ones are very receptive to my ideas. I figure that if I don't like what my doctor says, I don't have to listen to them. I can change at any point, so if I had a doc who insisted on antibiotics that I didn't want, I'd say no.

You could also ask the holistic doctor if he will lower his rates for you since insurance doesn't cover it.

My celiac was triggered by the flu at age 23.

I had a friend mention it a few years pre-diagnosis so I knew what it was, but that's it. I'm lucky she mentioned it, though. I diagnosed myself through an elimination diet and probably would have thought I only had a wheat problem if she hadn't. I'm pretty sure I didn't even know what tortillas were made of. So when my server says "we have wheat tortillas and regular tortillas" I cut them a little slack.

Welcome! Disodium is fine (it's just a form of salt). Calcium disodium is fine, too (that's a combo of calcium and salt if I remember my high school chemistry correctly!)

I forgot to mention that we have separate colanders, except for two of the new silicone ones that we share. I'm unsure about whether the silicone ones are safe to use for both of us... but I know that silicone doesn't "hold" gluten, and we wash them very well even before putting them in the dishwasher.

I think the issue with the colanders is that it's very hard to get every little bit of pasta out of those tiny holes, not that the material is "absorbing" gluten. I would still be leary of sharing even if you do wash them extremely well.

Sometimes people at work have meetings in the cafeteria. Which I am starting to hate because the tables are always covered in crumbs. I always wipe the table off before putting anything on it. It's so hard to keep yourself safe in places like that.

Pinned means that a moderator has read your original post and "approved" the content and forum it was posted in. It's mostly a way for the moderators to communicate to each other that someone has looked at each new topic.

I'm surprised the groundhog didn't freeze coming out of his hole. It was -5 plus wind when I left for work this morning, and it's getting colder!

I live just north of St Paul.

Fish?? Gosh, that's a new one! My dermatologist's nurse also gave me the "well, it only matters if you ingest it" to which I replied "well, if I get it on my hands and then touch something in my kitchen..." She told me that I should be washing my hands after applying... Which is good advice, but we'd just discussed how I touch my face way too much and I need to stop that so obviously it can still get on my hands after washing them.

I wish I knew exactly how they were going to attack so I could be ready with a response. I'm ready with responses for most comments, but if they rephrase the comment a bit, I get all flustered and confused trying to reply again.

Apri is gluten-free, and yes, it's possible that you're absorbing more of the meds so getting more of the side-effects. It's certainly worth trying a different brand. And now that you mention it, I've been getting odd headaches behind my eyes ever since I started taking Apri again...