BRUMI1968

Hey guys. I'm 37 and I have a bloated tummy too...and have been gluten-free for about two months; wheat free for about two years.

The first thing I would try is:

1. quit dairy, soy, and corn. These are the high allergen foods. With them out of the system, see if it's better. Then add one back a time until the bloat comes back. This way you can find if there is another bloat food.

Okay, I don't have a 2. Garlic really made me bloaty back in the day - still does if I eat it, which I don't. Charcoal pills might help, but they are not for long-term use, and I'm not sure about using them with kids. The tend to absorb the gas.

I really hope you guys find out some answers - then I hope you post them, since I'm still having bloat at my age.

Bully4You

I didn't feel better until I cleared out all packaged, processed foods (even the gluten-free stuff) and just ate as whole a diet as possible, foods in their natural state, good quality meats, fats and oils, vegetables and fruits, steamed brown rice, etc.

I agree. I have been home-making my trail mix - so I just shut out the walnuts for a while. If you've never had it (and are a millionaire) walnut butter is AMAZING!

I went gluten-free and some of my symptoms went away instantly (canker sores and itching), others lingered (bloating and constipation). I did some reading and decided to quit all grains. Since doing that 8 days ago, my gums have entirely stopped bleeding, my fingernails have become stronger again, everything looks sharper. My bloating didn't get better, though. Finally, I figured out that i was eating enough walnuts every day in my trail mix to feed a small nation. I've quit that and I think that I might be getting to some balance here. I do think my intestines are inflamed, probably from gluten but possibly from some other food intolerance. I'm having a food panel done this week.

I eat: veggies raw and cooked; fruit dried and fresh (but am trying to avoid those high in insoluable fiber like apples, blueberries, and pears); salmon and other COLD WATER fish; eggs; nuts and seeds. It has not been easy to find foods. For breakfast I usually have either sauteed kale or chard with poached eggs, or an omlet with veggies and eggs. Oh yeah, I don't eat dairy either, or legumes.

I guess it's the paleolithic diet, for the most part. I'm giving it a try.

I think we are our own best doctors, and there is nothing unnatural about experimenting with our diets. I think things to keep in mind are - don't become rigid or obsessed with food; don't look at food as the enemy; give each thing enough time unless it's totally obvious that it's not working.

Good luck.

p.s. oh yeah, I was vegetarian for 15 years - except that I added salmon about 10 years ago out of frustration eating in restaurants. I'm considering adding chicken/turkey/buffalo, that kind of thing, but ONLY from a farm in my area that I can go check out to be ethical in their treatment of the animals (that's my bit, obviously, and doesn't need to be yours). I enjoyed being veggie and it worked well for me. My husband, on the other hand, was a miserable vegetarian. He did it for a few weeks and I put him back on meat he looked and felt so awful.

I read it. It was certainly helpful.

Just to repeat - gluten or no, many of those meds cause insomnia.

I recall that sugar-eaters had more bites...but there was something else too......

I'm O+ too, but so's my husband, who doesn't get bitten much at all.

My hubby is O and he NEVER gets bit. I'm A+ and I would always get bit (until last year!)

I have had the same experience, though from quitting wheat two years ago. I still get bit now and again, but for the most part, no. It used to be I got bit ALL THE TIME, and my husband never did. It's tough to get him t shut screen doors.

but anyway, if you're dreaming, I'm having the same dream.

Nancy-

Interesting stuff. I notice my mom (also celiac) has a terrible time eating. No desire for real foods, I have to really pester her to get some of the junk out. Your description really puts that into perspective for me.

A few ideas come to mind:

1-acupuncture/chinese herbs- sounds crazy but after my diagnosis this really helped to get my digestion fired up again. The herbal concoction I had to drink was pretty awful but it helped.

2-Americanos. A coffee drink that is espresso and hot water. They are quite bitter but with a bit of a chocolate under taste. Don't add sweetener! Bitter flavors really stimulate the vagus nerve and that can fire up the appetite.

3-Soups. I know the whole chewing/mouth feel thing can be overwhelming, particularly with protein sources. Perhaps a chicken/veggie soup that is pureed (sp?)? You could even serve this cold since it is hot weather. Garnish with avocados or olive oil to puff up the caloric content.

The only other thing I can think of is to start bumping up your activity level. That can also help normalize appetite.

Let me know if any of this helps and don't hesitate to ask further questions.

black pepper also stimulates appetite.

Ah, globalization. Why the caramel coloring anyway? That goes against all things tequila, as far as I can tell.

Wheat, corn, dairy, and soy are the big allergens, and for good reason. It's now believed that their structure (protein surrounded by a carb coating) mimicks antibodies (also proteins with a carb-like coating), sending the immune system into a flurry of confusion. These four substances are high allergens in dogs and people - and most dogs don't have Celiac (except for Irish Setters, genetically speaking).

I have given up all of these, and have seen my weight stabilize. I was not overweight, but I dropped about ten pounds with quitting wheat/dairy, and have never gained it back. I quit soy about six months ago after reading some pretty nasty stuff about it, though on this board there is quite a debate about it now and again. And I quit corn when I went grain free about a week ago, though I didn't eat much of it. I quit grain after reading an interesting article at: doctorj.com that someone had posted. Also, I'm having a food panel run; it cost about $200, but I figure once I know what I'm dealing with, I can make a concerted effort to build a diet of my own and then stick with it.

Good luck to you!

I don't drink...but you keep saying European rules for caramel coloring...shouldn't tequila come from Mexico?

My vanilla actually says GLUTEN FREE on it. I got it at the healthfood store. If you like, I can go dig up the brand.

I definitely saw a decrease in anxiety attacks after going wheat free (hadn't yet been dx'd celiac). I'm not sure I noticed right away...but one day I thought, wow, I haven't had an anxiety attack in six months.

It was a dramatic change.

I went vegetarian (except fish) about 15 years ago. Bacon was the hardest thing to give up, though I didn't eat it often. There is just nothing like it.

Today I made my husband some bacon for brekkers and it didn't smell good to me at all. Well, cooking it smelled fantastic - but if I put my nose right up to it - YUCK!

Today I had apple/almond butter - but I'm waiting for eggs to arrive with my friend so I can have a sauteed veggie omlet. I think the insoluable fiber of the apples might be getting to me. I'm having a wee bit of D with cramps, which isn't my usual thing. I'm used to having C with cramps. The D cramps are different - so much more urgent feeling - like woah, I'm going to turn into a knot and die right now. Well, not quite that bad, I guess, but much more immediate.

I'm wondering if this is a side-effect of going off grains entirely...and that my system will adjust. I'm not going to freak out yet - I'm going to give this zero grains and beans thing at least a month. Heck, I'm used to having pooping problems, so I should be able to hold out.

I'm off to sautee my veggies and wait impatiently for my eggs.

She just did a blood test.

Nicole

It's my understanding, and i could be wrong, that you'd have to test your hair to get an accurate reading for mercury, since the metal molecules can stick to the inside of cells and not show up in urine or blood.

I'm not trying to be a pest - I just wondered if you'd gotten your hair tested. Greenpeace is running a mercury testing program whee for $25, you can get a kit to send in some hair and they'll send your results.

I realized this a.m. that since quitting grains/beans, I have not woken up with a stomach ache (which I did every day for many years).

My only problem is that when I'm having a BM, I feel AWFUL. I feel like I'm seized by a horrible cold clammy cramp that is practically tying me in knots. The stuff itself is fine - easily expelld, not too scary. The minute all the business gets done, I feel great again. Weird.

RE talking to your stomach -- my therapist has long wanted me to do "guided imagry" work. This would be where I would go inside myself and see what was there or what/who wanted to talk. We talked about finding out why my stomach is so tender all the time. (My therapist has celiac, by the way). I've always been afraid to do it, like something terribly embarassing or vulnerable will come out. Of course it will ... and therapy is an appropriate place for that to happen.

On a different note but along the same lines, I once had some Hellerwork done. It is deep tissue massage that is very organized..they do one thing first, then another. Anyway, it was my second visit and it was time to do the ribcage area. the woman started to do her thing and I started sobbing uncontrollably. She just stood there and told me that was fine, but of course I let me socialized side stop the crying early. I think this whole thing was: I have things to say that I'm afraid to say. I don't want to say anything that might make someone else uncomfortable or inconvenienced. I have a hard time saying what I need - and stating your needs is part of self protection. My ribs were tight from holding in my anger, fear, frustration, sadness, etc. It's something I'm working on.

I'm sure glad you posted this...I'm going to consider the guided imagry...and I'm also going to start meditating on my digestive system - asking it what's up and telling it that all is going to be alright.

All ths talk of slimy lunch meat - maybe I'll stay a land-animal vegetarian!

What the heck is an epi pen? Still...funny.

I have a friend from Iraq who is a doctor here in the states. She hates it when I come over because in Arab culture, it is absolutely unacceptable not to have food out for your guests. Every time I visit (we're working on a project, so it's plenty), she runs through everything she has in her pantry. No I say. No I say. And she's a doctor. Finally she gets mad and swears she's going to study it (she's in genetic medicine) and find the genes and come up with gene therapy. All of that so that she can give me something to eat when I visit.

I've been doing the paleo diet for about a week now. It's tough, in that we're used to having things to absorb sauces and the like (rice, bread, potato, pasta, etc.) and now I have none of that.

But, an early report would be: I feel better. I'll update in a month or so (if I'm able to stay happy on nuts/berries/salmon - which I probably will be able to) to say how it's going.

The whole stuff on the lectins and the glutamate/aspartate was really interesting, especially the implications of the blood/brain barrier stuff - the MS and the autism and the parkinsons and the like. I have an MS friend who I'm going to ask to read this article.

Anyway, thanks!

p.s. I already had my dog on grain free - I never thought to try it myself.

This is not an answer to your question...but...when I was pregnant several years ago, the hair on the back of my head became way more curly. It still is, even though I neither had the baby (miscarriage) nor am pregnant. I also can no longer eat right before car trips, or be hungry on car trips (a bit of a trap, there) or I'll get nasueus, which I never did before.

Pregnancy is nuts! HOpefully, though, someone else will be able to actually answer your question. Good luck!

I've been thinking about this "self-protection" and what that really means if you are a Celiac and from the very beginning you are being poisoned, from the very beginning your sense of self protection is compromised. And though I wonder how will I ever develop a true sense of self-protection, of health and well-being without that reference point I get the sense from Dr. Yan that it is not the reference point that is important it is the decision to, moment by moment, commit to loving the body. He says that often, "we must love the body, we must understand the body".

This intrigues me. Self-protection would be something that evolves. First, we let our parents care for us; then we slowly take the lead, testing out the waters, then finally being our own self protectors. I've clearly had digestive problems since I was a very young child - probably Celiac from that ae (I know I have it now). When we're children, we cannot make decisions like what to eat - we cannot respond to our bodies as we might naturally because our parents control what goes on the dinner table. What sense of self protection we have is often, especially in a family like mine where children were heard and not seen and most importantly didn't cause any inconvenience, quashed.

And how much is self protection a part of the overall development of the self? If we can't trust ourselves to protect ourselves, what else about our 'selves' can we not trust? And by not trusting it, not investing in it, do we lose it? How else do we not protect ourselves (jobs we hate, relationships we know are not nurturing, etc.)

I think philosphy is invaluable in the healing process, and I'm glad you've found someone to give you some ideas to chew over (pun intended). Take care and good luck. I'm going to think about this one some more.

The red dots are really quite tiny, and are called petichiai. They are tiny blood dots under the skin, because the blood is too thin to stay put. You would get these dots wherever pressure was applied - the tops of the feet from shoes, where your seatbelt hits you, where your pants are tight, where your bra band is tight (if you are lucky enough to need a bra), etc. There would be LOTS of them - so it is not like those little red spots I keep getting more of as I get older.

Your platelets should be at least 150,000. If you can access your blood work on l ine (my mom can, which I think is super cool), then you could check.

Other symptoms are: heavier than usual periods, extra periods, bleeding gums that won't stop...anything involving thin blood.

It is not common - so it is not likely that's what you're looking at. I just wanted to mention it since I went through an autoimmune disease with low platelet count - and it can be quite serioius. I ended up calling the hospital because my gums literally would not stop bleeding, and I mean really really bleeding. SHe told me to go see my PCP the next day which I did, and my platelets were at 12,000 or something. I ended up on prednisone which fixed the problem, but has itself a whole set of drama. I then went off that, but then got the low platelets again, which determined my problem was chronic instead of acute. I was put back on. Then eventually I went off and was fine, until I got another illness that really put my immune system into high gear. That time I ended up with 4,000 platelets and was put in the hospital to get IV's of immunoglobulin. Fun. I did get back off prednisone with the help of a naturopathic doc and seem to be perfectly fine now. Anyway, with low enough plaetelets, you can bleed into your spine or brain and die. Few people die this way, however...most figure out what's going on.

Take care. Hope I didn't scare you. As long as CBC's have been drawn on you, it's probably not this thing (called Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura, by the way), though it can be an acute response to viral illness as well.

I have an English dog (a staffy bull) and we both welcome you to the board. Can you tell me, how much in pounds is a "stone". Also, do you ever hear the phrase "bully for you" over there? I know it's a British saying, just don't know how common it is these days. Thanks.