update: Long

[Crankin]

Interesting, Knot. I sort of believe what you are saying. My GI issues have always been around, since my early twenties. Before I got the results of the celiac test, I actually went to the health food store and bought some of the products (bread, cereal). Both were gruesome to eat. I have been trying to eat higher protein and have pretty much cut out caffeine, which believe me, was a sacrifice. It seems like I have been actually craving carbs, although I don't eat the bad kind very often and haven't for a long time.
Thanks for the info.

Robyn

[KnottedYet]

Yeah, I tried gluten-free bread about 15 years ago, and it was exactly as you describe: GRUESOME!!!

I've not tried it again since! I do rice cakes or corn tortillas instead of bread, and use some pretty good mixes for pizza crust and biscuits and cookies and such. I might try making a batter-bread one of these days, but I'm still grossed out by the memory of the tapioca and rice breads I tried.

Tic Tacs let me down recently. Darn hidden grain products! Kept getting sick but couldn't figure out why. Maltodextrin in the Tic Tacs seems to be the culprit.

I can give up Tic Tacs, but I could never give up caffiene! You are a stronger woman than I...

[Crankin]

Well, I broke down this afternoon and had a coffee with half real coffee and half decaf. I went to bed late last night and was feeling the 3 o'clock slump, so after we went to the library, stocked up on sand for our driveway, we hit the coffee place in Concord Center. Some things I cannot completely give up!!

[EBD]

I know this is late but I wanted to second the suggestion of a link to gluten in the diet. My cousin has fibro and she has had a lot of success with nutritional changes. She saw a nutritionist in NYC with fibro-specific experience. I don't remember the details but I'm pretty sure she started avoiding gluten and sugar, and increased her intake of "good" fats (nuts, fish etc.). Also she installed a fancy water purifier, but who knows what that really did. She was pretty sick for a while, but rarely even mentions symptoms now. And has done two half-Irons!

Good luck, I really hope that you can find out what it is that's ticking your body off, and get rid of it!

[Crankin]

I am going to TRY to avoid gluten and sugar. Can't say I will be able to do it all; the sugar will be easier though. But I crave whole wheat bread. grains, etc. Give up whole wheat bagels???? This will be hard for me. I already eat the "good fats" and have upped my protein. Can't have my Clif Bar??? No matzah at Passover?

Advice, please....

[Dianyla]

I am going to TRY to avoid gluten and sugar. Can't say I will be able to do it all; the sugar will be easier though. But I crave whole wheat bread. grains, etc. Give up whole wheat bagels???? This will be hard for me. I already eat the "good fats" and have upped my protein. Can't have my Clif Bar??? No matzah at Passover?

Just set a time window for yourself and give it your best shot. I'd suggest at least a month, if not two. You'll either feel so much better that you will find that it's simply not worth eating those things, or it'll have made little difference and then you can return to your previously scheduled eating routine.

Doing a trial really is the best way to know if you have problems. I tested negative for celiac disease, but going off gluten resolved most of my IBS problems anyway. My understanding of this is that the standard blood test (transglutinase antibody) generally only registers a positive result if you have fairly advanced celiac disease. Milder intolerances may not show up in the lab test, but can still wreak quite a bit of havoc with your health.

[Crankin]

I went to the health food store today and bought some more gluten free products. Knott, I found some bread in the frozen food section that isn't too bad. Also some brown rice rice krispie cereal. I bought some gluten free pancake mix, which will probably be horrible, but, I will try. I love corn tortillas, so that's good. I am going to try for a month.

[OakLeaf]

Can't have my Clif Bar???

That depends on your level of sensitivity. Clif Bars are free of wheat, yeast, corn and dairy, and I'm fine with them with my garden-variety food allergies. They are (IIRC) processed on shared equipment and not certified gluten-free, so they're not suitable for a challenge diet or someone with celiac, but you may be able to re-introduce them without symptoms.

[KnottedYet]

The oats in Clif bars are killers. There's enough cross contamination with wheat (and some suspicion of oats themselves anyway) that oats can be real trouble.

If you eliminate the bad 4: wheat, oats, barley, and rye (and all their relatives like spelt, etc.) you might want to switch to Clif Nectar bars for a while just to avoid the possibility.

Brigham and Woman's has one of the best celiac/gluten intolerance research groups out there. Great resource for you to either confirm or rule out gluten sensitivity influencing your symptoms!