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ilookthetype
ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
My name is Elysa. I found out I was gluten intolerant (probably Celiac) over a year ago. I had the classic gastro issue and a lot of neurological issues (brain fog, depression, ADD), and joint pain. Since going GF it's all cleared up.

Since going GF I've also figured out I'm casein/soy intolerant and I can only eat eggs when they're in baked goods.

I swear by Easy Gluten Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone.
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Replies

  • momof8munchkins
    momof8munchkins Posts: 1,167 Member
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    I am a self diagnosed celiac. I went gluten free in January, then a bunch of other food issues began popping up.. I am GF, Soy free, sunflower/safflower free , extremely low grain and dairy free except for raw grassfed cream and butter is the only dairy I can tolorate.
  • mckshowie
    mckshowie Posts: 210 Member
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    'ello, the name's kate.

    i've got a sister who is a diagnosed celiac and after years of migraines and digestive issues and chronic fatigue... head scans, blood tests, and being told i was an all-around hypochondriac... my sister recommended going gluten free. and i haven't looked back since.

    i was on topamax and maxalt for my 3 or 4 migraines a week. i am no longer on either and only get a migraine when i slip up - proof enough for me.

    i love the kitchen and think the best gatherings happen there. i am on a constant mission to make the foods i love healthier and gluten-friendly. my future sister-in-law is also a celiac. so even though my fiance's family thinks im being ridiculous, they have to cook gluten free for her so its a win for me. suckas!

    my fiance grew up on sandwiches, chicken and macaroni and cheese. i am in the process of expanding his horizons one recipe at a time.

    i refuse to believe that cooking gluten free has to be difficult or tedious or ridiculously fancy and outrageous. it is and can be just like cooking any other non-gluten free meal - and it should be that simple. i rarely buy or use the specifically labeled "gluten free" items and just focus on what naturally comes that way.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    I was diagnosed 5 years ago, and decided the doctor was a quack. Then 2 years later for my wedding I did Atkins for 6 weeks, on my honeymoon I ate half a dinner roll and spent hours curled up in a ball and decided the doctor wasn't a quack. Almost 2 years ago I was pregnant and decided that I'd build up my tolerance. When my son was born I EBF'd and he had 5 weeks of bleeding diaper rash, after week 2 I cut out dairy, after week 3 I cut out soy, after week 4 I cut out wheat (but kept eating quaker old fashioned rolled oats). It got mostly better, after week 5 I cut out the oats (which were not certified gf) and it went away entirely. He is compltely gf and I'm mostly gf with a little cheat meal here and there.
    I do a lot of cooking and baking to make sure that he doesn't know the difference. At 2 you can't explain to him why he can't have the cupcake when all the other kids are having one, he just knows he likes a cupcake so we keep emergency stashes of everything in the deep freeze for such an occassion.
  • Drunkadelic
    Drunkadelic Posts: 948 Member
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    Hi I'm Angela

    I'm not terribly gluten intolerant, but after cutting it out I've noticed when I do have anything with gluten (wheat especially) I feel horrible. I also had this small rash on my arm for a year or so and the only thing that has worked at keeping it away is cutting out gluten. And if I do "cheat," the rash comes right back. It's strange...

    I love elanaspantry.com :)
  • samb
    samb Posts: 464 Member
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    Hello! I'm Sam/Samantha from CT. I never understood why I always had "brain fog" among other issues. I thought I had all of these problems - ADD, insomnia, asthma, among many others. I decided to go paleo/primal after being a vegetarian and living on grains for 4 years. I immediately felt insanely energetic, clear headed, etc. I started adding grains slowly back into my diet, not realizing what a gluten intolerance even was at the time. Then I noticed all of the symptoms were coming back. I cut the grains back out and felt wonderful again! I now realize how strongly they affected me! Now when I have gluten, I end up with a crazy hangover feeling the next day and am sick and very crappy feeling the entire next day - I believe the symptoms have worsened since I had cut the grains out for so long. I gain quite a bit of weight instantly from it and feel insanely bloated the day of and the days after. I also notice when I even have a small amount of gluten I will feel the same as if I had a ton of it :/ I do believe the symptoms are worsening too, when I do have it accidentally, as I have it less and less. It kind of sucks having to live gluten free but I am so happy to know that that was the sole issue!! And it is helping me have a muchhh healthier diet, along with my family and friends too. I have now added gluten free products back in, though I usually stick to meat/veggies/fruit/nuts/etc, and I still feel great, so I know for a fact it was the gluten! I am still learning about this so I joined the group to get ideas and learn more about how to live gluten free. It can be tough going out to restaurants, which my friends and family do a lot, so I am trying to learn how to cope with that and find restaurants that cater to gluten free diets. P.S. I say "diet" -- to me this means for life though, not a short phase!! :P
  • Drunkadelic
    Drunkadelic Posts: 948 Member
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    It can be tough going out to restaurants, which my friends and family do a lot, so I am trying to learn how to cope with that and find restaurants that cater to gluten free diets.

    It's really hard. You have to learn how to be one of those "annoying" customers who asks a lot of questions and makes substitutions. It gets easier the more you do it (but I still hate it because I feel like I'm being a pain). I end up just ordering meat with extra veggies.
  • 16mixingbowls
    16mixingbowls Posts: 205 Member
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    Hi!!

    I'm Piper and I have been gluten free for 5 years. I spent my early 20s asleep due to anemia. This went on for 6 years; I had all sorts of tests run, from leukemia to enlarged heart, internal bleeding to sickle-cell anemia. I took 6 iron pills a day and got my blood tested every month. Nothing ever raised my blood levels. My ferritin level was a 3 on a normal range of 10-12. My doctor said that if I was in a car accident I'd bleed to death before an emergency team showed up. Then, a hematologist prescribed iron infusions. I had 3 six hour infusions of iron and my red blood count/ferritin levels FINALLY went up. This doctor recommended I get this infusion every year, and when I chose to get pregnant.

    Oh, and I was on Depo-Provera to prevent blood loss. For 8 years.

    I thought this was the end of my story: mystery iron deficiency. I ate REALLY well, lots of lean meat, dark leafies, etc etc. No reason to be so deficient. I also had bad migraines. My theory for a few years was that I had a huge tumor/magnet in my brain that was sucking the iron out of my blood and storing it in my brain.

    Fast forward two years to me getting ready to go on a college study abroad program. I needed a basic health waiver signed by a medical professional. So I took the form into the health clinic at Portland State University ( I was a student there.) The nurse, who I'd NEVER EVER MET BEFORE saw my intake form where I'd listed "anemia" on my ailments. She suggested the antibody test for Celiac. Totally positive. Celiac diagnosis.

    I went on my study abroad, Semester at Sea (100 days on a cruise ship, stopping at 12 ports, eating everything I saw!!) and from my first bite back on American soil, I've been gluten free.

    I slip up every once in a while. Eat contaminated food or take a bite of something I THINK is GF only to read isn't. It took me till last year to discover my shampoo/lotions/products are gluten-full. Every day I learn something new.

    I get a rash on my scalp when I eat gluten that I think is DH. Now I'm dairy free to avoid iodine, which keeps the DH from healing. I also avoid other high-iodine foods (egg yolks, carrageenan, asparagus, fish, iodized salt.)

    Because of my own limitations, I kinda eat "paleo" except I do have brown rice often. Occasionally I make GF baked goods but I over indulge and eat the whole batch, so that's not a frequent thing. I used to be a HUGE baker, and always wanted to open my own bakery, so maybe one day I'll do a GF one:)

    I'm glad to have this new group where we can support one another, and share discoveries of GF products, as well as struggles and successes. I always wonder if my celiac effects my weight loss. I don't think my body processes nutrients the same way as other people.
  • 16mixingbowls
    16mixingbowls Posts: 205 Member
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    Hi I'm Angela

    I'm not terribly gluten intolerant, but after cutting it out I've noticed when I do have anything with gluten (wheat especially) I feel horrible. I also had this small rash on my arm for a year or so and the only thing that has worked at keeping it away is cutting out gluten. And if I do "cheat," the rash comes right back. It's strange...

    I love elanaspantry.com :)

    Hi Angela,
    Look into DH. It's a rash that celiacs get when they eat gluten. Iodine keeps it 'flared up.' There is a lot of info on the celiac dot com website about it. I've self-diagnosed myself with it.

    P.S. DH stands for dermatitis herpetiformis.I know, it sounds like herpes but it's NOT! That word means something like 'looks like herpes.'
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
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    It can be tough going out to restaurants, which my friends and family do a lot, so I am trying to learn how to cope with that and find restaurants that cater to gluten free diets.

    It's really hard. You have to learn how to be one of those "annoying" customers who asks a lot of questions and makes substitutions. It gets easier the more you do it (but I still hate it because I feel like I'm being a pain). I end up just ordering meat with extra veggies.

    More and more restaurants are creating gluten free options, always ask for a gluten free/allergen menu, I've worked in all kinds of restaurants all over and they MUST have an allergen menu.

    I always tell my server it's an allergy, they tend to understand that better than "gluten intolerant"

    My standard if I'm not sure is unseasoned steak and steamed veggies.
  • mynameiscarrie
    mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
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    I'll preface this by saying I am not gluten free...however my little sister has Celiacs (really bad...like minute cross contamination sets it off) so I joined to get recipe ideas so I can still cook for the family (especially for the Holidays). I've been looking for some GF recipes myself so I'll be more than willing to share those as well! I won't be of much help as far as advice goes because I don't have a gluten intolerance, but I'm willing to do some research if there's questions!

    But I'm Carrie. I'm 21. And I run a lot. That's basically it!
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
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    I'm glad to have this new group where we can support one another, and share discoveries of GF products, as well as struggles and successes. I always wonder if my celiac effects my weight loss. I don't think my body processes nutrients the same way as other people.

    I can't imagine our bodies do, what with the damage done to our GI.

    I need to spend some time looking on celiac.com and other places to confirm this though.
  • Becky1971
    Becky1971 Posts: 979 Member
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    I'm Becky, and have been trying to be GF all this year after getting very sick over the holidays last year. I struggled with accepting it, till a couple months or so. Now I get anxiety at the thought of accidentally having it. I also have found that sugar is not good for me, so have to try and stay away from that, so working on learning about baking gf and sugar free, wanting to use other natural sweeteners. I also think I have some sensitivity to milk, I do fine with cheese and things like that, but straight milk or ice cream seems to be a bit of a problem.
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,887 Member
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    My name is Cory and I just went gluten free a few weeks ago.

    The doctor said I exhibited all of the signs/symptoms of a gluten intolerance but, because I don't have insurance, they didn't run tests at this point and just advised me to go gluten free. So far, it has helped a little with my tummy issues (I have a pathological gastric hypersecretory condition, so my tummy always seems to cause me problems of some kind) and I am hoping that it will improve my other symptoms over time.

    Because I'm allergic to milk and am used to scouring the labels and making a lot of foods from scratch to avoid getting sick, it hasn't been all that hard to adjust to going gluten free. I think it will be hardest for my family to adjust, since I am the cook in the family and the way they eat will have to change along with me.
  • Cheryl_Catrair
    Cheryl_Catrair Posts: 61 Member
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    Hi all! I am so excited to have a Gluten Free group here. My name is Cheryl and I was diagnosed in August 2010 with Celiac and have been gluten free ever since. I found out quite by accident after having an endoscopy done (because of a stomach bacteria I contracted) and they found substantial damage to the villi. Then a blood test was done which confirmed what my doctor suspected. I've never had major symptoms but no doubt I would have somewhere down the line. Like many others, I spent a few days in shock and grieving over the loss of food but at the end of the day I feel very lucky to have found out when I did. I've made mistakes since going gluten free (thinking something was gluten free then finding out it wasn't) and I'm sure at some point I've had cross contamination but I've never intentionally consumed gluten since my diagnosis. I'm looking forward to meeting new friends and getting new ideas for gluten free meals.
  • Cheryl_Catrair
    Cheryl_Catrair Posts: 61 Member
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    I'll preface this by saying I am not gluten free...however my little sister has Celiacs (really bad...like minute cross contamination sets it off) so I joined to get recipe ideas so I can still cook for the family (especially for the Holidays). I've been looking for some GF recipes myself so I'll be more than willing to share those as well! I won't be of much help as far as advice goes because I don't have a gluten intolerance, but I'm willing to do some research if there's questions!

    But I'm Carrie. I'm 21. And I run a lot. That's basically it!

    Wow... your sister is one lucky girl to have someone as supportive as you! You go girl!!!
  • Drunkadelic
    Drunkadelic Posts: 948 Member
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    Hi Angela,
    Look into DH. It's a rash that celiacs get when they eat gluten. Iodine keeps it 'flared up.' There is a lot of info on the celiac dot com website about it. I've self-diagnosed myself with it.

    P.S. DH stands for dermatitis herpetiformis.I know, it sounds like herpes but it's NOT! That word means something like 'looks like herpes.'

    I can't believe I didn't think to google it once I figured out how to get it to go away. doh. Thank you!
  • jennifero469
    jennifero469 Posts: 67 Member
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    My name is Jennifer. My family, with the exception of my dh and oldest son, are all gluten, casein & soy free. I found that all of my kids, including my teenager who is sure he knows best, react in varying ways. Once eliminating problem foods from our diets, we have no more problems with eczema, potty training, digestive issues, etc. Behavioral problems have also been greatly reduced. Trying to find recipes that everyone will eat that don't take forever to cook is my biggest challenge. Homeschooling, taking care of my parents and just life seem to take a lot of my time. Anything that appeals to adults, very picky grandparents, and children ages 17, 8, 6, 5, 3 and 11 months would be awesome.
  • questionablemethods
    questionablemethods Posts: 2,174 Member
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    Hi everyone. I honestly don't know if I have gluten intolerance but I do know this:

    1) Eliminating grains, legumes, and dairy seems to calm down my skin issues (acne rosacea, I think)
    2) My cycles aren't normal and my doctor suggested going gluten free for a while

    So, hello!
  • sunshinesonata
    sunshinesonata Posts: 241 Member
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    My name is Kellie-Anne, and I'm a self-diagnosed Celiac. I've been living GF for about 3 months now. Not very long, but I've noticed that all of my issues that I was having (brain fog, restlessness, extreme stomach discomfort) all went away after I cut out Gluten.


    Hello!
  • WifeNMama
    WifeNMama Posts: 2,876 Member
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    Hi there, my real name is Margie. I don't have Celiacs or allergies, but I have a few friends who do, so I thought this would be a great place to find recipes that I can make for when they come over. If I'm making GF food, I'm always a little paranoid that I'm going to somehow poison them through cross contamination. For example, my flour bin and sugar bin are beside each other, so if I'm making a dessert, should I be concerned that a bit of the flour might have gotten into the sugar? I have limited space but I'm trying to keep a GF cupboard organized.
    How comfortable are you with eating what someone else prepared for you?