update: Long

[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.

[Triskeliongirl]

If you find that gluten/whole grains exacerbates your symptoms, but it is too hard to give up FOREVER, why not apply the principles of Flexible Dieting (for example in the book Flexible Dieting by Lyle MacDonald). The idea is that what is most important is what you do 80 or 90% of the time vs 100%. Many dieters forbid certain foods, and then when they eat them, feel everything is blown and go off their diets completely. However, flexible dieters recognize that while their body many run best on certain foods, a LITTLE bit of the bad ones won't hurt them. So, someone trying to lose weight may slip and eat a cookie. They have one of two choices. They can say, well, its just one cookie and then get back on track. If they do that, it is just one cookie, a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of their weight loss effort, and move one. Or, they can say, well, I broke my diet so I guess I should eat the entire box. Then its no longer one cookie, and then they have done themselves a lot of damage. So, maybe you could not ban the bagels you love, but restrict them to one serving a week, something you can look forward to and not feel deprived. It will also help you see if you really are sensitive, kind of like an elimination diet with challenge. If even one a week makes you feel really bad, maybe you'll choose not to, but then you'll know there is a good reason to give them up.

[Crankin]

I totally agree with you. That is how I lost 25 pounds, about 30 years ago and I've never gained it back. I guess I will have to subscribe to this theory, since we went into Boston this afternoon and I had a beer...
I am going to see yet another rheumatologist, who is part of a women's health group, associated with Brigham and Woman's. At least it's not all the way in the city, but in the suburb I grew up in. She also has experience with sports medicine, so she will understand my lifestyle. I am totally fed up with my pcp. She didn't even read the report from the neurologist I saw in Boston. Thankfully, I relayed the info. to my rheumo. in Concord and we have implemented his plan (I started a 10 mg. dose of Elavil, an older anti depressant that has been used to generally calm the nervous system down in this small dose. As he said, my nervous system is going haywire). I think the acupuncture is helping the anxiety part, because I've been able to wean down the anti-anxiety meds and feel pretty good. However, I am having other weird symptoms and I'm not getting any answers, so as long as I have the time, I am going to go on a bit more.
Thanks again, everyone.

[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!