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ringwoodgal

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  1. Celiac diagnosis is really very complicated and has many facets to it. I personally would not continue eating gluten while waiting for an endoscopy/biopsy. An endoscopy is an invasive procedure. There is also debate whether an endoscopy can be considered the gold standard anymore. There are other criteria that if met, means likely celiac disease. See here for more on that: http://www.gastro.org/news_items/a-biopsy-should-not-be-required-to-make-the-diagnosis Further, gluten is not the only protein that can cause villous atrophy; casein can as well, so identifying villous atrophy via biopsy is only one piece of the puzzle. I’m not sure if a gastroenterologist can differentiate villous atrophy caused by gluten vs casein. Genetic testing is worthwhile to pursue before undergoing an endoscopy because one is very unlikely to have celiac disease if neither gene is identified. The test is available through Quest Diagnostics and Labcorp. If your husband and you are both heterozygous carriers, it is still possible to have a child with no celiac gene, and that child probably shouldn’t undergo an endoscopy. For that reason, I would not put a child through an endoscopy unless the genetic test was done first. Being heterozygous or even homozygous doesn’t necessarily mean one has or will get celiac disease, but if the genetics are there, even with negative antibody tests, trying a gluten free diet can still surprisingly alleviate random symptoms for which a cause hasn’t been identified. Testing for one set of antibodies does not close the door on other issues that could be exacerbated by gluten or caused by different antibodies. The DQ8 gene for celiac disease is the same for some other autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes. There are even some celiac symptoms that resemble multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis for example. Eliminating gluten has been found to be helpful for many autoimmune diseases. I only bring that up because I think there are a lot of gray areas with autoimmunity. What’s so bad about trying a gluten elimination diet after getting a genetic test first? You save medical expenses, you eliminate the risk of an invasive test and the anesthesia, you may feel better. If you don’t feel better, it could be that a) gluten isn’t the problem or b) casein and soy should also be eliminated due to molecular mimicry. Yes, you shouldn’t get antibody tests or an endoscopy if you haven’t been eating gluten, but it’s not like you can’t resume eating gluten and eventually go for the antibody tests and endoscopy in the future. Getting an endoscopy to “prove†that one has celiac disease seems like it may be generally recommended because eating a gluten free diet is just so darn hard, expensive, time consuming, and life altering. But a lot of people make the decision to try the diet without the official diagnosis and would never go back to eating gluten. After all, let’s say the biopsy is positive for celiac...the only treatment is a GF diet, which is not a pharmaceutical. Relatively, it’s a benign treatment. I know people might disagree with me, but I’d rather try something benign than undergo an endoscopy. Plus if it does turn out to be celiac disease, you’d be that much closer to feeling better as opposed to waiting for results. It’s really not so off-the-wall to do a diet change without a diagnosis. People who follow a paleo diet or who try Whole 30 are essentially doing this. I wonder how many people have figured out that gluten doesn’t work for them after trying a paleo diet. In the end, when they decided to stick to the diet indefinitely, did it matter to them that it wasn’t an official diagnosis?
  2. Have you looked into phosphatidylcholine oil?
  3. Have you seen an endocrinologist? There are metabolic bone disorders that cause high calcium and osteopenia/osteoporosis, even if you are just a carrier for the disorder. Since your bone density is low, maybe your body is not using calcium properly, in which case, supplementing with other minerals and/or vitamin D might be contraindicated. You could ask for a 24hr urine collection to see if you also have calciuria. Other tests to look at would be phosphate and alkaline phosphatase (fasting).
  4. It sounds like you have a "gum boil" which is a fistula formed on the gum above a tooth that has a periapical abscess. I think the treatment for that is a root canal.
  5. A couple of posters here referenced a virus or viral meningitis. The vaccine is only for certain strains of the bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis.
  6. So, I was thinking about how many households resemble a college dorm in that families spend a lot of time together closely, share food, drinks, chapstick, and towels, toothbrushes are in the same glass, and they kiss each other. What is a family's risk of catching the bacteria that causes meningitis from each other if they don't practice these behaviors with people outside the family? I also wondered about asymptomatic carrier status, and did a quick search. I found this paper, Neisseria meningitidis: an overview of the carriage state Siamak P. Yazdankhah and Dominique A. Caugant http://www.microbiologyresearch.org/docserver/fulltext/jmm/53/9/JMM5309.821.pdf?expires=1502229708&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=E21B4EC7939FD5C3CED363085F2C6354 The authors say that about 10% of the population are asymptomatic carriers of the bacteria that causes meningitis, and maybe up to 45% if tonsil immunohistochemistry is used instead of nasal swabs. The percentage is about 24-37% in the age group 15-24 years (nasal swabs). Interestingly, the authors say that being a carrier helps resistance to meningitis because one's body makes antibodies. Those who are not carriers are more at risk. People who get the vaccination have antibody stimulation for 6-12 months. If I read it correctly, it also says that asymptomatic carriers who get the vaccine lose carrier status, although that could be lost naturally if not exposed to carriers. People who live in dorms seem to vaccinate each other, as the carrier status increases upon residence in dorms. So I am assuming that meningitis occurs when a non carrier is under stress and is simultaneously exposed to the bacteria by an asymptomatic carrier. This paper is old (2004) and I didn't read the citations or follow up, but it shows there's more to it.
  7. This makes sense as long as sharing a room didn't contribute to getting meningitis in the first place.
  8. Here is an article from today about meningitis in dorms: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117295&page=1 I'm interested in what you all think about risk to freshman as opposed to older dorm students. Also, freshmen in private rooms in suite style dorms- less concern? Since there are strains not covered in the vaccine, in addition to vaccinating, do you speak to your children about risky behaviors that lead to contracting meningitis, such as sharing drinks, food, cigarettes, and kissing? Would any of you ever consider having your children live off campus because of that risk of getting meningitis from the strains that are not protected by the vaccine? For those of you who have non-dorm-residing relatives who have gotten meningitis, do you consider anyone to be at risk in general, and if so, do you get vaccinated?
  9. Integrative therapeutics brand makes a digestive enzyme called Lipase specifically for fat digestion.
  10. There's an animal rescue called Cat Depot that allows visitors to drop in to pet their cats so they have human contact. When we visited Sarasota last year, my kids enjoyed doing that for a little while after a day at the beach. My kids also insisted on visiting Snooty, the oldest Manatee in captivity, two times during our trip. He's at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton. They also enjoyed Mote Marine Laboratory, especially for the sea turtles. I remember entry was pretty expensive though. The Ringling Museum of Art is not to be missed, but I'm not sure your little ones will appreciate it yet. At Ringling there is a large circus exhibit and also a model train exhibit that we loved, and those are kid friendly.
  11. I got my 8 y.o. a Time Timer about a year and a half ago because she has difficulty understanding how long twenty minutes is, for example. It is still in working condition even though it's fallen off the table a few times. I'm very glad I spent the money on it because it has reduced anxiety when getting ready to leave the house on schedule. We also use it so she knows how long to read her book or how long to do chores, etc. She sets it herself which enhances her sense of independence. It's really improved compliance and has removed a lot of stress.
  12. When my daughter changes the strings on her classical guitar, she needs to retune every five minutes for a few days. It takes about a week before the intervals between tunings get back to normal.
  13. If he had memory and processing deficiencies, wouldn't you notice it in other subject areas as well? Maybe he is a visual-spatial learner. If so, his computational skills may never be adequate, but he could be brilliant conceptually. If you let him use a calculator, you may be surprised at how far he progresses in math. I've read that some visual-spatial learners are really held back by the expectation to know math facts quickly, which affects their attitude towards math and and prevents them from pursuing math-related careers.
  14. Well, Amira, you're right it does snow in Boise! I guess I'm delusional. It does snow a lot less than in the northeast, though, doesn't it? And the average low temperatures for the winter months are higher in Boise. Lewiston seems like a nice place to live especially because it's closer Moscow, which is where I'd really like to live except for the snow. I'm not sure about the paper mill odors in Lewiston however.
  15. I always liked Grimaldi's brick oven pizza (under the Brooklyn Bridge).
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