Diagnosed with celiac (can't eat wheat)

[LBTC]

Hi, Lynne!

I'm sorry for your diagnosis and severity, but glad that things are beginning to normalize for you. I do understand, having been diagnosed with Crohn's and still in the stage of trying to find drugs and food that work best for me. At this point I'm trying no grain other than rice, no pork, very limited sugar, no dairy (not even yogurt or cheese!), no yeast, very little alcohol, no tomatoes, onions, avocadoes, coconut or peanuts and trying to cook all vegetables. No question about it: this is *hard*, but I have discovered some great recipes that don't hurt, as I'm sure you have.

So here's my question: can you eat potatoes? dairy? My all time favourite energy and recovery food is a baked potato with some protein (used to do chopped ham & grated cheese) and some veggies. If I were to try this on the bike, I'd probably stick to baked or boiled chunks of potato. I've seen them pass these out at races, so I know it's not unheard of. You would, of course, have to enjoy potatoes and be able to eat them without aggravating your condition.

Cliffshots are made with brown rice syrup, and my favourite flavour, especially for the quick energy, is sonic strawberry (extra caffeine), and they have other flavours - you don't have to stick to orange flavour!

Have you tried electrolyte drops in your favourite drink? I found those helped a lot when we were snowshoeing this winter.

Have you considered that perhaps your body needs to heal more before you start riding longer? Right now, even though riding seems to hurt less than walking, I've barely been on my bike at all, only at slow speeds and for very short times (40 minutes). I'm convinced that if I truly get myself to heal and be healthier inside, that I'll regain the fitness and endurance I used to have. I sure hope so!

Good luck trying things!

Hugs & butterflies,
~T~

[KnottedYet]

We need to form a Celiac race team... There are enough of us on TE we could probably do it!

Lynne - I've found Clif Bloks, Clif Electrolyte, bananas, and Lara Bars to be my friends both on rides and races. (I eat only the Clif stuff during races, banana and bars are too much trouble then.) Even on days when my celiac is really grumpy, I can tolerate Bloks and Electrolyte. (sometimes that's what I'll eat for a meal if I'm feeling awful)

This is a long thread, with lots of good links. Feel free to PM me if you want!

[rocknrollgirl]

Hi Guys,
I am in the first few days of a one month trial wheat free. I am working with a nutritionist on this. My stomach is a mess, I have been scoped up and down, they did not find "anything" so they said IBS and sent me on my way. So 6 months later I am still a mess.

She took me off dairy first, they did not make such a difference, but 4 days of no wheat and I have not had a single pain. The real test will be in school this week.

I am having some energy issues. I have to replace my carbs, but I am working on it. My grocery store has lots of stuff.

[LBTC]

RnR girl, sorry to hear about your tummy troubles! Hopefully you can remove wheat from your diet and be good!! I'm just discovering some really wonderful choices - found english muffins made with rice flour - we're going to have burgers tonight so I can try these!

You'll find your solutions, and hopefully soon! PM me if you want to chat more. You might know that I'm still working out what I can and can't eat and what I should and shouldn't do.

Hugs and calm healing butterflies,
~T~

[eclectic]

Hi Guys,
I am in the first few days of a one month trial wheat free. I am working with a nutritionist on this. My stomach is a mess, I have been scoped up and down, they did not find "anything" so they said IBS and sent me on my way. So 6 months later I am still a mess.

She took me off dairy first, they did not make such a difference, but 4 days of no wheat and I have not had a single pain. The real test will be in school this week.

I am having some energy issues. I have to replace my carbs, but I am working on it. My grocery store has lots of stuff.

I bought a book on living with celiac disease and wheat allergies.
It was stated that in America Celiac is way under diagnosed and people are often sent home with the IBS diagnosis.
be sure to have them test you for celiac.
BTW read back on this post there are some great inexpensive ideas for carb replacement. It really isn't that hard.