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[relationalista]

For those who are needing (or wanting) to go gluten-free,  check out http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/. It's recipe blog that is 100% gluten-free (recipe index at http://gluten-freerecipes.blogspot.com/) and also has lots of recommendations for gluten-free products and methods. The author is celiac and has written about this extensively, including the duration and severity of her illness until she was diagnosed. And there's nothing at all that's preachy or holier-than-thou in her attitude about food, it's just good stuff.

[groundhog]

For those who are needing (or wanting) to go gluten-free,  check out http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/. It's recipe blog that is 100% gluten-free (recipe index at http://gluten-freerecipes.blogspot.com/) and also has lots of recommendations for gluten-free products and methods. The author is celiac and has written about this extensively, including the duration and severity of her illness until she was diagnosed. And there's nothing at all that's preachy or holier-than-thou in her attitude about food, it's just good stuff.

I've met her twice and she is great. 

[tenured_feminist]

BTW, Passover is a great time to be gluten-free. There's a new mishegas among the ultra-orthodox that using broken up matzos might somehow violate the spirit of the holiday. Therefore, there's a new line of Passover products that are "non-gebrochts" and therefore gluten free. We have filled up our freezer.

I have to say that it's very weird to walk into a section of a store brimming with baked goods that I can eat.

And big chime on glutenfreegirl.

[cyano]

It's possible to be sensitive to gluten while testing negative for Celiac disease. My mother has Celiac disease and  I have two copies of the HLA DQ2 gene. I have a very uncommon type of colitis and when I eat gluten, the colitis flares up. I get the same digestive symptoms as with Celiac disease but I consistently test negative on the blood test for Celiac disease. Interestingly, my inflammation markers for colitis (ESR) increase when I eat gluten, although not eating gluten doesn't remove all the symptoms of colitis.

The easiest thing is to completely cut gluten of your diet for a month and keep a journal of symptoms to see if things improve. As mentioned by other posters, it's best to have the blood test for Celiac disease first. By trial and error, I found that eating gluten = vomiting etc.

[tenured_feminist]

I think there's quite a lot we don't know about celiac and other forms of gluten intolerance. I opted not to go beyond the basic testing because 1) I literally do not have the intestinal fortitude to go back on gluten for long enough to do a good test for the antibodies and 2) if I got a definitive diagnosis of celiac, the outcome would simply be that I do what I am already doing: avoid gluten. So I think Cyano is right on the money even if the tests all come back clean.

(I am still wondering what the hell it was I ate last week that messed me up. I suspect that either the potato chips or the Amy's rice crust pizza had some serious cross contamination.)

[groundhog]

snip...

(I am still wondering what the hell it was I ate last week that messed me up. I suspect that either the potato chips or the Amy's rice crust pizza had some serious cross contamination.)

I hope it wasn't the Amy's pizza or I hope it was an isolated incident, as my son has one for a snack almost everyday and he doesn't usually get symptoms. 

What kind of potato chips?  I love the Kettle brand chips and they're supposed to be GF but I can't eat them.  I think it might be the safflower or sunflower oil, as that messes me up in other items. Perhaps the oil is contaminated in processing and/or prior to that in the growing stage.

[tenured_feminist]

I think it was the chips. No name store brand, if I remember right.

[do_i_dare]

Just to add a thought - a couple of reasons to get the celiac dx, if you can:

-gf food is tax-deductible (for the difference between the price of an ordinary loaf of bread vs the $7 GF bread, for example).
- if you're seeing a new md or hospitalized, they may not believe you or be careful enough with medications if you don't have a 'real' dx. A *lot* of OTC and RX medications have gluten in them. A LOT. It can also affect insurance; with the dx, on my admittedly crappy insurance, I can get a bone density test at 33 no problem. Without it, they wouldn't allow the test.
- also, psychologically, with the dx, it's easier to be the level of strict and not cheat, period. Before my dx, I was eating a restricted diet to try to work on migraines pain, and it was hard to always avoid something if eating would make my life easier (business lunches, etc) or to explain my funky eating habits to colleagues or friends and not have them just think I was ridiculously high-maintenance. Also, I tried going gf as a self-test a few years before dx, and didn't notice an improvement - and I had seriously advanced celiac, it turned out. It took three months to see an improvment on the diet.

But I totally understand not wanting to go back on the wheat. I don't know that I could.

[rainydaysandmondays]

My husband works with a woman who's so sensitive she has to have her own toaster, knife, etc. in the break room. Her special GF bread cannot even come in contact with microscopic amounts of regular breadcrumbs. But then, this woman was nauseous to the point of throwing up EVERY DAY OF HER LIFE until she was finally diagnosed with celiac disease at age 19 or 20. She obviously had it bad.

Just wanted to chime in here to say that every person who is celiac, regardless of sensitivity is supposed to have her own toaster, knife, etc. and must avoid microscopic amounts of breadcrumbs.  It is true that some folks don't have symptoms with tiny amounts of gluten.  But ingesting small amounts of gluten for someone who is celiac causes an immunological reaction regardless that can put the person at risk for developing cancer and/or other immunological diseases.  Or at least this is the standard medical advice at this time (see the NIH website on this topic or the Columbia Center for Celiac Disease Research.) 

[tenured_feminist]

So, recently I went to a conference. And went out drinking with friends. And had way too much to drink. This led to . . . serious indiscretions on my part.

Of course the guacamole at the high-end Mexican restaurant was awesome. And the chips were just perfect, so crunchy and just a little greasy and oh-so-corn flavored.

It took a week to get over the mouth ulcer. Lesson learned.

Though I have to say that Mr. T_F was indecently amused by my idea of what constitutes drink-induced indiscretion at a conference on my part.

Why couldn't I just have had a damn hangover?

[greyeyes]

Hee! I'm amused that having too much to drink led to indiscreet eating!

Probably the chips, I imagine, that got you? I was in Houston for a conference and they did the guac at the table; oh, how I wanted chips. (I have celiac)  I ate it with a spoon, which was delicious, but just not the same ...

Can ask those of you with celiac/wheat intolerance - when you're glutened, about how long does it take to get over it? I've been pretty lucky and haven't had much of a problem (been gf for 2 years) but I just had a bout of two weeks of gi upset and hangover. Is that crazy?

[groundhog]

TF, I too get the mouth ulcers from hell after being glutened. 

Greyeyes,  I hear you about the chip-less guacamole.  I have been known to carry my own safe chips to a restaurant, but that's hard when you're traveling. 

My post-glutening reactions last 2-3 days only, which is bad enough.  But I've heard others say theirs last 2-3 weeks! 

[cyano]

Colitis is different than celiac, but for me it depends on the dose. If I get a high dose (ie a friend forgot that she put barley in the rice), it's usually about 2-3 days before I can keep food down, about 10 days for the lower digestive problems and sometimes 2 or 3 weeks for the mouth ulcers.

[lohai0]

I don't know that I can speak for celiac and diabeties but there is strong indications that hypothryiod is related to wheat allergies/celiac.  I got diagnosed with my wheat allergy because my GP put me on an allergen elimination diet after the thryiod was diagnosed.  The elimination diet was more accurate for me than the other tests.  My celiac test was inconclusive and my skin test was a weak positive, but I had a severe reaction to wheat when I added it back to my diet.