Dare to Start a gluten free diet

I have celiac disease but my doctor told me the "gold standard" for diagnosing a gluten intolerance is how you feel if you go off for a week and then have some gluten. I had one tiny, tiny bite of a granola bar after a week off gluten and my legs starting killing me, stomach pains, nausea, headache so I knew something was up.

I go in Thursday for an endoscopy and colonoscopy so the doctor can look around and biopsy my intestines. Then I get to wait and see if I have Celiac Disease. yay! :(

Agree with terrigi about the "gold standard" testing. Just remember that you can still be Gluten Intolerant, but not have Celiac. That's my case - and it's more common than Celiac. The only difference is that with Celiac, you actually have damaged villi in the intestine and with Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance (NCGI) you don't. But the symptoms can be the same with either. I've been GFCFSF for 6.5 weeks and I'm already noticing a huge difference in my symptoms.

Brandy -

Absolutely! This is me in a nutshell. For the past 10 years I've been having weird health issues, things that women in the late 20s and early 30s dont typically get: knee surgery (i'm not an athelete, and most recently what pushed me over the edge was fluid in one of my lungs that kept returning. And I have all of those other symptoms associated with Celiac. I was eating GF for 2 months straight and it all cleared up. My gastroenterologist said I should start eating gluten again to get accurate results from a blood test and endoscopy. After eating gluten again for 4 days I felt terrible. That was enough for me. Even if the tests came back negative, my body is telling me gluten is bad for my body. So, I have been GF now for more than 5 months. It's not bad at all. I've found alternatives that are really good. Going out to eat can be a challenge, but overall I am eating healthy, and feeling good is so worth it. Hang in there. Talk to your doctor, one that has knowledge about celiac and gluten intolerance. Take care,

Vanessa

Brandy -

Absolutely! This is me in a nutshell. For the past 10 years I've been having weird health issues, things that women in the late 20s and early 30s dont typically get: knee surgery (i'm not an athelete, and most recently what pushed me over the edge was fluid in one of my lungs that kept returning. And I have all of those other symptoms associated with Celiac. I was eating GF for 2 months straight and it all cleared up. My gastroenterologist said I should start eating gluten again to get accurate results from a blood test and endoscopy. After eating gluten again for 4 days I felt terrible. That was enough for me. Even if the tests came back negative, my body is telling me gluten is bad for my body. So, I have been GF now for more than 5 months. It's not bad at all. I've found alternatives that are really good. Going out to eat can be a challenge, but overall I am eating healthy, and feeling good is so worth it. Hang in there. Talk to your doctor, one that has knowledge about celiac and gluten intolerance. Take care,

Vanessa

Brandy -

Absolutely! This is me in a nutshell. For the past 10 years I've been having weird health issues, things that women in the late 20s and early 30s dont typically get: knee surgery (i'm not an athelete, and most recently what pushed me over the edge was fluid in one of my lungs that kept returning. And I have all of those other symptoms associated with Celiac. I was eating GF for 2 months straight and it all cleared up. My gastroenterologist said I should start eating gluten again to get accurate results from a blood test and endoscopy. After eating gluten again for 4 days I felt terrible. That was enough for me. Even if the tests came back negative, my body is telling me gluten is bad for my body. So, I have been GF now for more than 5 months. It's not bad at all. I've found alternatives that are really good. Going out to eat can be a challenge, but overall I am eating healthy, and feeling good is so worth it. Hang in there. Talk to your doctor, one that has knowledge about celiac and gluten intolerance. Take care,

Vanessa

1. I think it should be noted that you don't have to have Celiacs to have a gluten intolerance.

2. I did this last year and I have felt tremendously better since getting rid of most of the gluten in my diet. Although I think my problems stem from wheat rather than gluten as I can eat Rice Crispies (which have malt syrup) w/no adverse reactions (but I can't eat barley - go figure!).

3. I'm going to tell you this now: I was eating wheat/gluten for 25 years and was "okay" but not well. Once you stop eating GF, there is no turning back. The same stuff I used to eat now make me feel like (when, before, I suppose my body was just "used" to it).

1. I think it should be noted that you don't have to have Celiacs to have a gluten intolerance.

2. I did this last year and I have felt tremendously better since getting rid of most of the gluten in my diet. Although I think my problems stem from wheat rather than gluten as I can eat Rice Crispies (which have malt syrup) w/no adverse reactions (but I can't eat barley - go figure!).

3. I'm going to tell you this now: I was eating wheat/gluten for 25 years and was "okay" but not well. Once you stop eating GF, there is no turning back. The same stuff I used to eat now make me feel like (when, before, I suppose my body was just "used" to it).

I started a gluten free diet after I went on a bread eating binge for a week and just felt worse and worse and worse and I couldn't stop eating! I have a friend who has celiacs and I stayed with her the week after and so many things got better! My concentration level, my energy level, my appetite returned to normal, I wasn't chugging water like I lived in Arizona, I lost my desire to drink soda and wanted iced tea or water instead of my cravings for soda. I have not been diagnosed with anything, but just after that one week I realized that if I cut out the gluten my body works better. My sleeping pattern returned to normal. 3 months of being gluten free I decided to see if it was really all in my head and had toast with my eggs at breakfast, sandwich with bread at lunch, and by dinner I knew it wasn't in my head. A week later I was still feeling the effects. Ever since then, any time I stop my gluten free diet - I gain weight, can't seem to eat enough, can't seem to drink enough water, sleep too much or too little, nerve issues in my shoulder go nuts, sinus issues, complexion looks horrible.... eating out can be a challenge but I am lucky enoughto have a wonderfully supportive family who has seen the difference between gluten and no gluten (even though some of them doubted in the begining, they believe now). So try it out, have some in a few weeks and see what it does. If your body wants to be gluten free, it'll tell you. And your body knows what's best for you.

1 word: Udi's. There bagels alone make me feel like I'm not "missing out". Now it's just a matter of me getting of the "injustice" of GF things being 2-3x higher in price than average things.

Aside from this, keep in mind that your BF may be having adverse reactions to your sneaking when you kiss him, when you have trace amounts on your clothes, and any residue on your hands. W/o knowing it, you could be making him sick. This isn't meant to make you feel bad, on the contrary. It's just the reality of it.

My stepson is GF/CF and he likes a prepared pizza crust made by "Dad's" which we usually find at glutenfreemall.com. Normally, anything by Gillians is fantastic, but their frozen pizza crust is very sticky and hard to work with. If you take the Dad's crust and crisp it up in the oven before you add toppings, it's pretty tasty. I haven't found a pizza crust yet that made me forget it was GF while I was eating it.

Our favorite GF pasta is the brown rice pasta made by Tinkyada (and we're partial to the spirals just cuz). Corn flour pasta has a texture that doesn't really do it for me, but I think the pastas made from quinoa are good enough that I'd just as soon have that as semolina.

Sounds great.. Hoop... I'll have to try that quinoa pasta. I loved pasta so any good substitutes are welcomed.

Udi's makes a wonderful gf pizza crust, as does whole foods. My whole family, even the gluten eaters, like them.

I have heard that Pamelas Pancake and Baking Mix, as well as the Pamelas Bread mix is the best. You can make chewy or crispy crust pizza. I love Pamelas Pancake and Baking mix, but have not tried the bread mix yet. I also hear that Bob's Red Mill makes a good pizza mix too.

Best we have found is Schar .... we have been gluten free for 3-4 years

Best we have found is Schar .... we have been gluten free for 3-4 years

Best we have found is Schar .... we have been gluten free for 3-4 years

We like the Schar crusts

We like the Schar crusts

We like the Schar crusts

Hello,
I am traveling for work and want to start the challenge tomorrow morning. Any good tips for foods to eat while traveling? I don't even know how to begin.
Thanks

"Gluten-free and Fabulous" Cheese Pizza is AWESOME!!