kbtoyssni

Your neighbor is right - you definitely have it. About the lactose intolerance: you may have a temporary intolerance to lactose while your body is healing. Lactose is digested by the tips of your villi so if they're worn away you'll have trouble digesting it.

Congrats on finally getting a diagnosis! I was also thrilled to get a diagnosis.

I define "getting sick" as a reoccurance of all my old symptoms when I accidently ingest gluten.

I'd guess that you may have gotten some gluten somewhere. When I'd been gluten-free for only a month I was still making tons of mistakes. Your body is probably still healing, too, so even if you didn't ingest any gluten it may be acting up.

I don't think I'd assume that he'd be intolerant to peanuts just because he has trouble with peas. It's definitely a possibility that he'll have peanut issues, but not a given. Does he have trouble with other beans?

I have a peanut intolerance, but don't react to any other bean or pea.

Do I need new silverware?

Nope, you can just wash the stuff you have!

If people could just post their shopping lists, I would be eternally grateful! I do know the brands depend on what my local stores carry.. but any kind of help is great. I'm looking for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks!

Some "safe" brands:

-Heinz ketchup

-Kraft will label if it contains gluten so I always buy Kraft brand when I can (NOTE: when they say vinegar is it distilled unless otherwise specified).

-Vlasic pickles/pepperchinos are ok. (Milwaukee brand pickles are also ok - they're owned by Vlasic)

-Eggs, rice, quinoa, milk, cheese, meats (but make sure chicken/turkey don't contain broth), fruits and veggies are fine.

-Corn tortillas - all Mission brand are ok

-Dove chocolate!

-Tostitos corn chips and salsa (Most tostitos brand stuff is ok). Pace brand salsa is fine, too.

-Lays Stax (NOTE: Pringles are NOT gluten-free)

-Zatarain's brand Rice mixes

-Skippy PB (and I think most PBs are ok)

-Smuckers jam (although I think most jams are ok, too)

-Grey Poupon, French's yellow mustard

-OreIda plain french fries (not the seasoned ones) and tater tots.

I know there are many other safe brands of the foods I've listed, but these are ones that I know are safe off the top of my head. I also tried to pick brands that are common across the United States so it doesn't matter where you live.

And would you all recommened me buying a bread machine?

-I don't have a bread machine. I don't bake a lot of bread, but when I do, I just use the oven.

Oh (last one I promise) are deli-meats ok?

-I know Oscar Meyer products are ok (unless the label says it has gluten, OM is owned by Kraft. Some of their meats have caramel color, but it doesn't have gluten). I buy lunch meat that they slice for you in a natural-food store that carries only gluten-free meats. Then I don't have to worry about contamination on the slicer.

I was misdagnosed with fibromyalgia. I now think fibromyalgia is a fine diagnosis if it's used as a starting point to figure out what's really wrong and causing all fatigue and pain. But my doctor treated it as an end diagnosis and didn't do further investigation. I was the one who kept investigating.

I also was diagnosed with depression which was correct but also had a root cause of celiac.

It looks like you haven't been gluten-free for that long, so give it time. It takes a while to learn what's safe and what's not. When I first went gluten-free, I didn't eat well at all. Seriously, I think I had corn chips and cheese for two meals a day just because I knew it was safe. And for a few weeks, I figured that was better than accidently eating gluten. A month or two of not-so-great nutrition isn't going to kill you.

Since it takes so much effort to figure out what brands are gluten-free, maybe you could pick one food a day and call the company to ask if it's gluten-free. Or maybe you could post some of the common foods you eat and let us tell you the safe brands. I remember the overwhelming feeling of trying to shop the first few months. You'd read the label, not be sure and decide to just go home. I just got a cell phone so now if I'm not sure I call the company right from the store.

I'd suggest planning what you want to eat for the next few days before you go to the store, write down all the ingredients and figure out what brands are ok before you go. Then when you get to the store you might not be so overwhelmed by having to read labels.

Things will get easier eventually. And you will probably accidently gluten yourself a number of times before you have the diet completely figured out. So don't get too upset that you're struggling to get this right. We've all been through it, and everyone is here to support you through the learning process 100%.

Forgot to mention - The Gluten Free Gourmet is an excellent cookbook, especially if you want to make bread, pizza crust or cakes

Brain fog - wow. For me that was almost the hardest symptom to deal with. I'm an engineer so I need to be able to think. And all of a sudden I couldn't understand anything. I'd see words on the page and not be able to figure out how they fit together to make a sentence. I'd balance my checkbook and the next day I'd realize I added the numbers all wrong, like I'd start adding the ones column to the hundreds. People would talk to me and I'd stare blankly because I couldn't focus on what they were saying.

I did get dizzy, too. I had pretty bad vertigo.

If I were you, I'd go gluten-free and see if you feel better. If so, you've got your answer. (But note that if you do go gluten-free you won't be able to have traditional celiac testing later on unless you start eating gluten. Your body won't be producing antibodies or have intestinal damage unless you're eating gluten.) And celiac can show up at any age. I was diagnosed at 23, but I think I'd had it since I was 16ish.

I don't see any reason why you'd need an endoscopy (unless, like jayhawkmom mentioned, you suspect something in addition to celiac). The current diagnosis you have means you need to be gluten-free whether you have celiac sprue or not.

I don't have much to add, but yes, things will get better. And you will be well again. It's hard not knowing how long it will take. Patience is hard to have when you're sick. For me, was gradually getting better, but one day I woke up and knew I wasn't sick anymore. Hang in there, and the day you're not sick anymore either will come.

I've been gluten-free for 13 months. My health now is better than it has been in years. I haven't had any trouble avoiding gluten. I do have several things going for me: I live alone so no cross-contamination issues to worry about, I have amazingly supportive family and friends (even have a few friends who I will let cook for me unsupervised!), and I have always had a very positive attitude about my diagnosis. I know I owe my life to getting diagnosed which makes staying gluten-free really easy.

When I get glutened now, my symptoms are much less than when I first went gluten-free. I might have a week or two of feeling not-quite-right, but it's not usually enough to get in the way of my daily activities. I think I might be in minority on this, though.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I just moved here and was so nervous that I'd get someone who would pull a "well, you don't have an official diagnosis so let's put you back on gluten so we can test for sure". I mentioned celiac and that I suspect some other intolerances, and she started talking about how she's diagnosed several people. She did ask if I'd been tested but completely agreed that my dietary response was enough to "diagnose" myself. She's apparently been to several talks about the non-GI symptoms of celiac and tests every women she sees with infertility for celiac. I was floored. I never expected someone who actually knew what they were talking about.

If anyone lives in the Minneapolis/St Paul area and wants the name of my doc, let me know!

I've read that some people make their significant other use mouthwash before kissing. I have no idea myself since I haven't done much kissing since going gluten-free

I assume I'd get symptoms from one crumb of gluten (not about to do a self-test to find out, though!) I have gotten glutened at restaurants when I KNOW that the ingredients themselves were gluten-free, so there had to be some cross-contamination. After carefully instructing the waitstaff, I can only assume that the glutening came from a very small amount of gluten.

Thank you all so much...I had to take a day from work today, as I have contaminated myself in some way. Reading about cutting boards, toasters, wooden spoons, and cast iron pans - well- I have used all of these in the past day or two. Good grief, it's all a bit overwhelming at first, isn't it?!?

I spent a few hours on the forum today reading. I am so grateful for such a large community of folks who 'get it.' I am going to a yearly event with dinner tomorrow and have already planned the dinner that I will have to take.

Did any of you ever get to the point where you had too much input? I would like to stop time for a day or two to process.

If there weren't this forum, this would be so incredibly difficult.

Thank you again.

Julie M

Yes, it is extremely overwhelming at first. And you can't take a break to let some of the information "digest" (pun intended You can't just not eat for a few days while you think about things. At first I found it helpful to have several "safe" foods - rice, apple sauce, tortilla chips. It wasn't the healthiest, but it gave me time to research other foods and slowly introduce them once I was convinced they were ok for me to eat.

You may want to reconsider whether or not you want to get a biopsy done to test for celiac. If you already know you're gluten intolerant, you need to be on a gluten-free diet. Whether or not you have celiac is not going to change that.

Right now you may need vitamin supplements because your intestines are unable to fully digest your food, but you can probably get cheaper ones at the local drug store. After a few months of being gluten-free, your body should start absorbing more food, and you may be able to discontinue some of the supplements.

Yes, you should get your own toaster. You'll also want to make sure you're not sharing wooden spoons/cutting boards, scratched pans, or sponges for washing dishes. If you spend enough time reading threads here, you'll probably learn everything you need to know.

I get the same reaction. It feels like my throat gets tight and I have difficulty breathing. Is that called an anaphalactic reaction? Also do you ever feel like it hurts to talk or that talking makes you tired?

I believe this is an anaphalactic reaction. I don't know much about this, but my reaction is very mild. Not sure if there's such a thing as a mild anaphalatic reaction or if it will worsen in time. I'll have to ask my doctor about this when I go on Thursday (oh, boy, she's going to love me, I have a huge list of questions!) I don't have trouble talking, just a tightness in the throat.

...you take a list of safe drinks to the bar with you. And actually consult it before you order a drink. (In my defense, I was pretty new to celiac at the time).

Oh, yeah, I forgot all about the heartburn. And it just occured to me - celiac is a digestive disorder, why the heck would your doctor think you can't have stomach pain??? Hello, the stomach is part of that digestive system, and when you're eating stuff it can't deal with, it's no wonder people are in pain.

Just read that people who are sensitive to sulfites lack the enzyme needed to break it down. The body natually produces some sulfites, but I guess adding more through food is too much for the body to handle. Is it possible to do a blood test for the sulfite-breaking-down enzyme? If not, is there another way to test for sulfite sensitivity?

I get stomach pain, too. Stomach pain is more like a constant ache. I also get intestinal pain which is more of a sharp, stabbing pain. Both make me want to curl up in a ball and moan. Staying curled up is the only thing that lessens the pain.

I saw a brief mention of celiac in Self a few months back, too. It was a small paragraph in a "Top 10 Misdiagnoses" article.

My guess is sulfites. Red wine is loaded with sulfites and can cause the symptoms you described. If you ever eat dried fruit (esp. dried apricot) and feel similar symptoms its definately the sulfites.

I never realized that dried fruit is high in sulfities. I've been feeling kindof yucky after eating craisins recently, but different symptoms than glutening. This is more of a tightening/sore throat. And raisins often give me problems, too. Haven't noticed any problems with wine, though. Is red wine high in sulfities because it's essentially concentrated grapes? This could also be why I feel better when I eat meat versus eating a lot of veggies. //off to do some sulfite research

From wikipedia: "Some people are allergic to sulfites, and may have difficulty breathing within minutes of eating a food containing sulfites." Hmmmm.. may explain the tightening of the throat.

Does white wine contain sulfites? And is there a good explaination for why craisins would make me feel this way but not red wine?

Maybe next time you can have some gluten-free brownies ready to go! And enlist your husband's help. No bringing home gluten treats at any time of the month!

Okay, here's the rundown: I haven't eaten out in 1.5 years and cook all my stuff, so there's nothing there. I make my boyfriend brush his teeth before kissing, and I never kiss him on the cheek or anything because of his toiletries.

It sounds like his toiletries may contain gluten. Would he be willing to use gluten-free brands? I can only imagine - he puts gluten lotion on his face, it gets on his hands, he touches something in the kitchen... It's just too risky.

Do you share condiments? If the open mustard goes into his gluten area of the kitchen it might get airborne crumbs in it or he may touch the jar with his gluten hands...

Do you mean colostrum? It's been a while since I researched it, but from what I remember mammals produce something that's very concentrated in their milk right after giving birth. I think it's supposed to help the immune system of the newborn. Most of the stuff on the market is from cows. From what I've read, it seems like it can be miracle cure for a wide range of problems.

I did try it and didn't notice much improvement. I took the pill form. This was before I went gluten-free and was very sick - fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, depression, stomach pain, vertigo, etc. Looking back, I'm not sure if anything would have helped me other than a diagnosis of celiac.

I don't remember reading anything about cleaning out the colon, but it's possible it does that, too.

I should try some of that peabutter. I did find sunflower seed butter at my local Cub Foods and that's pretty good. It's got the same consistency as PB, just has a slightly more sunflower seedy taste. Which you barely notice if you're putting it in a sandwich.

Carla - do you have any more information on the mold-free PB? Is there any way to tell if someone is allergic/intolerant to the mold in peanuts rather than the peanuts themselves? What kind of mold is it in peanuts? I'm asking mainly because I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday, and I was going to ask for some food allergy testing.