Gluten free diet/celiac's??

[LAmom]

Anyone on a gluten free diet? What were the symptoms you were having and then decided to go gluten free? Did it help? Does it seem trendy to you? Seems like a lot of people eating gluten free. Why is that?

 

My symptoms are simply a swollen/distended upper abdomen. My doctor is sending me for a blood test to see if it is a possibility. None of the bowel issues, etc.

 

Couldn't one just do a low carb diet vs eating gluten free bread, gluten free brownies, etc?

[ondreeuh]

We are about to do a gluten free trial here. My son has problems with constipation but no allergy symptoms. I just had an allergy panel done on him (Immunocap) for food and environmental allergens and it came back all clear. He also has ADHD and between that and the constipation, I feel that it could potentially be tied to gluten intolerance even though there is no allergy. It's worth it to me to test it out.

 

Since we are about to move, I'm just buying gluten-free stuff for the new house. The options for gluten-free cooking are really quite good. About the only thing that will be a lot different is doing bread - I'll buy mix and bake it at home. It's easy to get GF cereal, buy/make corn tortillas, use brown rice and quinoa for side dishes, etc. Trader Joes and Cost Plus have a good variety of convenience foods like curry sauces and dehydrated soups. I live near the Bob's Red Mill store and am going to stock up there before we move :).

[Cricket]

Yes, it seems trendy but that doesn't mean you aren't having issues with gluten. :001_smile:

 

I've been gluten-free for about 17 years now. I was miserable for about two years in college. I was overweight but suddenly dropped 60 lbs. My body simply wasn't absorbing the nutrients from the food I was eating. My stomach hurt every day and I had diarrhea almost every day. Maybe TMI but I was passing a lot of mucous as well. It was gross! I also had a distended abdomen. I wasn't in good shape. It took about a year or so of being gluten-free before my body finally started to return to normal. The blood test the doctor gave me came back negative (I can't even remember what he was looking for). I had a small bowel biopsy (I'll never do that again!!) and that was negative for celiac. (They didn't bother to tell me that since I had been gluten-free for months that my test results would be negative. :glare: So I went through that for nothing!) All I know is that all my symptoms when away when I stopped eating gluten.

[kokotg]

Yes, it seems trendy but that doesn't mean you aren't having issues with gluten. :001_smile:

 

 

 

 

:iagree: I think it's trendy because we're realizing that a whole lot of people have trouble with gluten. DH just had a celiac panel mostly because of psoriasis. We're waiting on the results, but in the meantime the whole family is doing a 30 day gluten free trial. I thought DH's doctor would scoff when he asked for a test, but he was surprisingly in favor of it; he thought it was definitely worth checking on and even said he sort of hoped it was positive so that DH would have something that might actually help. It certainly doesn't hurt to try it, at any rate.

 

A low carb diet is necessarily going to be LOW gluten, but it probably won't be gluten free unless you deliberately make it gluten-free. If you actually have celiac, low gluten won't cut it.

[LAmom]

I didn't mean trendy in a bad way. Just seems like the new problem everyone is getting diagnosed with. A real problem, ya know. Just wondering what it is in our diets/bodies where we can't handle gluten. Or it has always been a problem and just now there is a diagnosis?

 

The major bowel issue symptoms are what I think of when I hear about Celiacs. I just have a distended stomach, etc. I guess the test won't hurt and then giving it a trial to see how I feel. I don't have psoriasis but I do have major overall itching. :glare:

[VeteranMom]

I had stomach pain, diarrhea, and a terrible craving for anything made of bread. I don't know if I have celiac disease, but I do know I'm allergic to wheat. I decided to eliminate gluten in December and I feel 100% better. I've lost 23 pounds, too. I don't look for products like gluten free bread, pizza crust, or gluten free cake. I've stopped eating those things and really the substitutes don't taste very good (to me) anyway.

[Peela]

Here is an interesting theoretical article about the possible causes of the upsurge in gluten intolerance.

 

There is a difference between the digestive issue of gluten intolerance, and coeliac, by the way. Coeliac is a systemic immune system disorder that also affects the digestive system- where the body develops antibodies to gluten. I am not sure how much crossover there is, but my dh can handle some gluten before reacting with diaorrhea, especially if he stays away from it for a while. I have an auto immune disease so I am staying away from all gluten, which can inflame the auto immune response.

 

I know someone who had severe wheat intolerance. He discovered that if he made his own bread and left it to rise for 6-12 hours- as it was always traditionally done before the last 50 years when mass production of bread meant production methods that shortened rising time- the gluten was broken down sufficiently and most wheat intolerant people can handle it. He could eat bread again.

 

The symptoms I was having were aching joints and hashimotos disease which is an autoimmune response where the body attacks the thyroid gland. My doctor suggested going gluten free as it is a common trigger for hashis, and other auto immune diseases, and all my joint aches have gone. I didn't have any digestive symptoms at all but it was obviously causing an inflammatory response in my system. The hashis is as yet still there though.

 

My dh went gluten free due to ongoing bowel/digestive issues. He can eat a little now and then but not much before the symptoms return.

 

I do eat gluten free bread because I like my morning eggs on toast (but i haven't found one I love yet)- and we now eat rice pasta.

[Pamela H in Texas]

My daughter went gluten free due to joint issues. It's been over a year and she's doing BEAUTIFULLY. I wish I had known when she was a toddler and saved us years of pain and tears! She rarely eats GF foods, but instead eats real foods that happen to be GF (fruits, veggies, etc).

 

Actually, the reason she went GF was because GF was suggested for me due to autoimmune issues. I tried briefly but whined the whole time. She was determined to give it a good try if it would give her relief. Once she had the relief, she wasn't willing to go back.

 

FWIW, a lot of people gain weight when going GF. There was an article in the paper about it when Chelsea Clinton got married (with a GF wedding cake). So many GF specific foods are higher in fat that people who think they'll drop the weight like crazy have an issue with gaining. So that may be something to consider with food choices.

Edited July 14, 2011 by 2J5M9K

[Jyniffrec]

 

I know someone who had severe wheat intolerance. He discovered that if he made his own bread and left it to rise for 6-12 hours- as it was always traditionally done before the last 50 years when mass production of bread meant production methods that shortened rising time- the gluten was broken down sufficiently and most wheat intolerant people can handle it. He could eat bread again.

 

 

 

I was going to mention this as well. Traditionally prepared wheat does not affect the human body the way the modern way of preparing it does. But we love our yeast rolls and soft breads. :D Traditional bread is sourdough (the gluten is eaten up by the live part). I don't know if it works for celiac folks but I think it would work for the general population who struggle with gluten. the recipes I have use rye. I believe that is the most digestible one.

 

We are currently going gluten free in our home. We have set backs but are doing better than I expected. This change was made for our ds10 but I think it is helping me as well.

[Soror]

I think the big issue with the GF foods is the high starch content, to get a gf food to taste somewhat normal it has some sort of straight starch in it ie tapioca or potato usually. I eat high fat myself, purposely. I am gf here, I had enormous bloating- ie looking pregnant when eat gluten foods(normally my stomach is flat). I also would be depressed. After spending an entire summer in the pit of despair on the couch I decided I had to try it, have been ever since, which I think is 3 yrs now.

 

My son stopped growing, uncontrollable diarrhea, extreme behavior- he could not control himself, and had some depressive behaviors(even at 4). We made other changes at the same time but as of now are only 100% gf- although still light on the milk and artificials.

[Mama Geek]

Husband has the major cramps and bowl issues. Before we figured out it was gluten he was to the point of being miserable anytime he ate raw veggies, spices, and several other things. His body just couldn't digest it because it was so messed up. He determined in high school that beer made him sick as a dog. So he has had the problems with gluten for more than 1/2 of his life for sure even though we only figured it out about 5 years ago. He can tolerate a small amount of cross contamination, but when it happens he doesn't feel as good as normal.

 

About 4 years ago after completely being off of it for good while we were eating out and the waitress said they could pan fry fish in cornmeal. Well it must have had a lot of wheat mixed in with it. He spent 10 days not able to keep any food down and was only able to drink about 1/2 cup of water a day. He refused to go to the hospital, but it has been the one time that I was really scared I might loose him.

 

He can eat the gluten free breeds and stuff without a problem. I bake a lot of stuff for him. He can still eat potatoes and rice so it isn't a carb issue. When you have to make this change for life are you really ready to say I will never eat another piece of cake, chocolate, chip cookie, piece of pie, etc.? So like I said, yes we use GF alternatives.

 

Good luck and if gluten is your problem, it is a medically easy solution, just don't eat any.

[craftyerin]

I have a 4 year old son who is GF for gut and behavior issues. He never had a normal looking poo in his life until we changed his diet, and he is much less hyper and struggles less with impulse control when he is off of gluten (and casein).

 

My mom is gluten free because of auto-immune diseases (hasimoto's thyroiditis and meniere's disease). She has seen tremendous improvement in her symptoms.

 

And yes, I think it's trendy. I'm sure there are some people eating gluten free that don't need to be. But it has really helped those two people in my life!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I'm also gluten free. I kept coming across info linking Hashimoto's and gluten, so I cut it. I lost about 5lbs just cutting gluten, and was able to get out of bed in the morning. I've tested gluten twice and the GI results were not pretty!

 

I love all the awareness because more stores are carrying GF products. I usually just avoid things normally containing gluten, but it's nice to have a treat.

[Ellie]

Yes, doing low carb would solve major glutens, but there are still hidden ones in foods like vinegar (and things made with vinegar, such as ketchup or mayo), some seasonings (if they contain "modified food starch"), shredded cheese (it's tossed with...oh, doggonit...something with gluten, to keep it from caking...not enough tea this morning :tongue_smilie:), and others.

 

And you'd have to be careful of cross contamination; for example, Mr. Ellie can have pizza, and I scrape off and eat the yummy stuff--the cheese and toppings--but if I had celiac, I probably couldn't do that because there might be some of the crust left in the cheese, KWIM? My bff, who is a worst-case-scenario celiac, had a salad at Olive Garden; she had specifically said that her salad needed to be made in a separate bowl that hadn't been used before, because the crumbs from the croutons would make her sick. The waiter said he would but then didn't, and sure enough, my bff was sick right there at the table. She thought they were going to have to call 911; the waiter was fired.

 

So yes, you could easily avoid having to buy gluten-free breads, but you'd still have to watch out for gluten.

[hsmamainva]

My youngest has been gluten-free since she was a year old. Her main symptom was also a distended abdomen. She had skinny arms, skinny legs, and a swollen belly. She looked as if she were a famine victim. :(

 

She also had a rash which we took to be excema (sp?) but it was actually something called DH (dermatitis herpetiformis) which is only seen in celiac patients. Because of this, we didn't feel the need to have the intestinal biopsy done (not to mention that we weren't going to do that on a baby!).

 

Over the years, we've seen more and more gluten-free options available and can now find gluten-free foods at Wal-Mart! (We used to have to drive over an hour to a Whole Foods in order to find items for her to eat).

 

My daughter eats lots of fruits, vegetables, potatoes, and meat. She's not a big cookie or cake eater, even of the gluten-free variety. For snacks, she prefers fruit, popcorn, and ice cream.

 

Eating out has proven to be the biggest challenge and we usually pack a lunchbox, even if we're just going out to run errands, so that she can always have something available to munch on.

[Impish]

My mom has Celiacs. I've been having severe issues with gluten lately, so I'm going gf. I was told years ago that I likely had IBS, which I know Celiac's can be misdiagnosed as.

 

Personally, I loathe it. The substitutes have the delightful consistency of drywall. I was recently given a cook book, and now need to go get the ingredients that aren't available at my local grocery store, and see what's yummy in this book vs what's on the store shelves.

[cuckoomamma]

Our girls and I are all gf, among many other things. The difference is amazing. My youngest has never been able to have it. She would cry and cry as an infant when I would eat wheat (I was nursing). My older was able to eat it for a few years. When she stopped nursing she began having terrible temper tantrums. It took us quite a few months before we realized it was an allergy. We think that the breastmilk was coating her system and once it was gone, she just couldn't handle the wheat anymore.

 

FWIW, I think there are some great substitutes out there. We can't eat them because they use corn or sorghum. We buy rice pasta through amazon's subscribe and save program along with rice cereal and rice crackers.