Going Gluten Free?

I have been GF for about 1.5 years now, suspected celiac but cannot face going back eating gluten again to get the proper diagnosis. They took me off gluten before my blood work so only tested high. Best choice ever, I can now plan my days like normal people, not around is there a bathroom close by.

I was diagnosed with celiac disease 18 years ago. Been GF for a long time.

chl0edavis0n wrote: »

I have been gluten free for 2 years now and it was a gradual process. I started cutting things out of my diet slowly and replaced them. It's not easy and somtimes I still have cravings but there are many alternatives! I had to swap due to problems with my digestive system and now I feel so much better! Is anyone here gluten free or going gluten free or would like to try going gluten free?

If you cut out gluten and your digestive system has improved, that's a plus!

One lady I met said she is required to eat gluten free due to celiacs but she said she absolutely hates it. Other people are fine with it.

I am gluten free. As well as dairy, soy, and blueberry free. (Blueberries are a strange one, right?) I've known I've had gluten intolerance for a few years but was in denial and ate whatever I wanted while feeling depressed and having an upset tummy the whole time.(I have been told I am a good candidate for having celiac as I have so many other food allergies, but am scared about getting tested for it!) I've been eating strictly gluten free for about 4 months now and feel much better. It's hard at first, but I think how I feel makes up for the 'inconvenience' of it.

My daughter is gluten free. She's two and a half has a speech delay. Before we noticed a delay I knew she had digestive issues (it's hard to NOT notice a digestive issue when you're the one changing that person's diaper lol) and we had gone GF and it helped a lot but I just thought it was a temporary problem after being on antibiotics, so we started eating gluten again after she got better.

About 6 months later, her speech had really not improved at all from the 18 month mark to the 2 year mark, which you should see a pretty significant gain in speech in a child. We had her evaluated and she was diagnosed as having sensory processing disorder and potential hyperactivity, though they won't officially diagnose a child ADHD at 2 and I wasn't pushing for a diagnosis, just suggestions for how we could help her. My mom found an article about how gluten is a big problem for some kids with the issues my daughter has and I was to the point of desperation I'd try anything.

We've been GF for over 2 months now and her improvement is downright astounding. My hyperactive, bouncing off the walls daughter is now reasonably calm for her age. (People always say all 2 year olds are hyperactive and that may be true, but you have no idea what I'm talking about until you've experienced a truly hyperactive 2 year old. Take normal and multiply that by about 50 and you might have an idea.) She can actually sit and look at a book or focus on an activity, which was an impossible thing for her to do before. Her vocabulary has more than DOUBLED. She couldn't even say "eat" before, and she is now saying "I want to eat" and telling us specifically what she wants to eat. She now says all her letters of the alphabet and can count to 12, is singing along with songs, etc. Yesterday, for the first time ever, she told me "I pooped." This is coming from a child who just two months ago had about 15-20 words she said on a regular basis and knew no letters, could count to 3 and didn't sing along at all. It honestly brings me to tears to think about how much progress we have made.

We were just feeding her GF and the rest of us ate normally, until my son had a snack and dropped a piece and she ate it before I could get it away from her. She was back to being hyperactive like before and had horrible stomach pains for 2 days. From what I've read, gluten causes "brain fog" for some people and I think that's what was going on with her.

rabbitjb wrote: »

I've done supporting a gluten free diet for 2 years, which unfortunately did not prove efficacious and was abandoned

I found that a teaspoon of xanthan gum was a saviour in terms of baking cakes and gluten free breads and also that there are too many gluten free brownies in the world

Hah, I only just tried making gluten free brownies. They were devoured at thanksgiving and no one believed that they were made of beans and avocados.

I had to go gluten free 3 years ago when I found out I am allergic to wheat, barley and oat (can't even have gf oat). All 3 of those cause my throat to close, but I do not have celiacs. It was a hard learning curve. I can't even risk cross contamination so I never eat out. It was initially hard, but now it's routine.

I'm gluten free too, although not sure if it's coeliac or just an allergy - I tried to go back on gluten for long enough to be tested but the gut problems were unbearable so I've resigned myself to never finding out. I'm also vegetarian, which is an awkward combination when eating out. Luckily I love Indian food.

I was gluten free dairy free (a little lenient on the dairy free) for a few months. That plus working out a lot shed a lot of weight. I felt so much better too! It's definitely worth a try for those who are interested. Rice bread is a decent replacement.

I have been GF for almost 6 years now. It was not by choice, I was blood tested for Celiac after being in horrific GI pain for a couple weeks, and my Mom had it so it is likely I do. The doctor said that my blood results were off the chart enough to concede I am a Celiac without the biopsy because I actually teared up when he told me I would have to go back on gluten to get it! Even IF I am not a Celiac, it really doesn't matter with the awful reactions I have to it.

Going GF has cured me of migraines completely (debilitating to the point I couldn't get out of bed to throw up), a recurrent facial rash that I had 3 different meds for, acne, persistent back, knee and hip pain, brain fog and vision changes (everything looked dim and dark), my immune system has improved immensely and I am not sick as much, I have no more heartburn or reflux, I have no more of the horrible GI pain (it felt like broken glass was going through there), and I only have IBS symptoms if I eat other things I know I shouldn't (like other grains and beans). I got all excited that Cheerios went GF, and got a box as they used to be a favorite! Well, I learned my lesson when I felt the inflammation start within minutes, and the GI stuff followed. I am not a person that can just substitute and move on, I have become sensitive to most grains and have to use them as a once in a while thing. I have issues off and on with dairy. I eliminate it for a time and then it's OK for a while.

Every GF person is different in what they can handle or not, but I think at least once to do an elimination diet is enlightening. I did a few different ones and it has been different each time. I won't even test gluten as I know from the few times I have gotten small amounts that it remains an issue I need to steer clear of!