Valerie - I'm so sorry to hear about your loss (((hugs))).

Al - Sorry to hear about your PN. Yeah, dairy is hard to give up. At least I can have ghee and some of the fake cheeses with casein. Hardly a replacement for the real stuff, but when you're desparate, it works.

Grace - Way to stay positive! You've made a lot of progress. Hopefully your current healing crisis will be short.

Kim - I'm glad to hear that your son is doing better!

I feel like I'm just starting to get my energy back. Perhaps the giving up of soy, nuts, and seeds made a difference in my digestion, but it took about 6-8 weeks. I rarely have diarrhea now, but things still aren't perfect. I think I sometimes get a reaction to my probiotic, or maybe it's just that the probiotics are killing off other critters I have.

I have also gained my weight back. I liked looking like an anorexic model, but I had no energy and didn't feel all that great. Isn't that twisted? Anyways, I'm still working on the root of the multiple food intolerances. Hopefully, I'll have more to report next month. I'm amazed at how many of us have multiple food sensitivities. Is it all from the gluten damage, or something else?

Claire

OK - I laughed my head off at your anorexic model comment. I was an anorexic model for several years. Looked great in a bathing suit but couldn't carry on a conversation...haha...I am past that now.

Grace

I'm glad to hear that worked out for you. I rather enjoy it.

Lisa: Glad to see you here too!

Claire: Thanks for the thoughts.

In case it's useful, here's what we've been doing for Halloween:

The kids aren't allowed to eat anything until it's been brought home and checked by an adult. We look up each candy on the Internet and check to see if it's listed as free of all the various things each kid is allergic to. Then we have safe candy on hand for swapping. So, for each candy that gets taken away, there's a replacement available.

I had a really had time last year *finding* safe candy. I ended up buying a bag of EnjoyLife chocolate chips and a plastic candy mold. I melted the chocolate chips in the microwave (nuke until just barely melted, then stir like crazy), then poured the melted chocoalte into the candy mold. I wrapped each piece in aluminum foil (note: don't use scissors to cut aluminum foil; it ruins the scissors), stuck on a sticker, and voila, we had cute homemade safe candies for my kiddos.

For treats to give out to other kids, usually I order a zillion glow bracelets on eBay. That way food allergies aren't a problem, and I don't need to feel guilty about giving sugar to little kids. Usually everybody is thrilled to have a glow bracelet. Last year instead we went to the Friends of the Library booksale and got a pile of books for 25 cents each and gave those out. Kids' reactions varied from, "Ohhh... books!" to "Um, do you have any candy instead?" (we did). (When I was a kid, I'd have prefered books to candy. My partner would have prefered candy to books. So we had both available, so kids of all sorts would find something they liked.)

Anyway, I don't know if anything there is useful, but that's what worked for my family last year.

-Valerie
mom, for Halloween this year, to Mr. Superdude and a large pumpkin

Hi there -- found you all!

Super idea on the glow bracelets, can you link to your supplier, I think I might do that this year.

Those are awesome ideas for Halloween.

We do a Halloween Hunt, instead of going t or t'ing. My kids actually didn't like t or t'ing, even before we were gf.

It's just like easter except the 'bunny' doesn't hid the stuff... Mom does.

I just look on eBay for a seller with at least 99% positive feedback and a relatively good price compared to other sellers.

In 2003, when Halloween was on a Friday and so I expected a lot of trick or treaters, I bought this from eBay seller kiddykoo:

100 8" NEON GLOW STICKS HALLOWEEN TREATS! $12.00
70 8" 4-COLOR SWIRLY GLOWSTICKS-NEW-DUTCH! $10.00
which, with shipping, came to $30 for 170 glow bracelets.

In 2004, when Halloween was on a Sunday evening and so I expected fewer trick or treaters, I bought 100 glow bracelets for $13, including shipping, from seller glowgranny. Note that you need to watch shipping costs on glow bracelets. This was priced as 1 cent for the bracelets and $12.99 for the shipping.

My four year old says that we should do glow bracelets again this year. I'd prefer to give out books from the library's booksale, but our local booksale had a big scandal recently and had to shut their doors, and I'm not sure they'll be open again in time for buying books for Halloween.

Ok, that's probably way too much information!

-Valerie

Oh, speaking of roll call... yesterday we got back genetic test results that showed what went wrong with the baby. She had something called "22q11.2 deletion" -- a chromosome copying error that is almost as common as down syndrome. I'm feeling relieved, because I'd been worried that I'd caused the baby's problems with celiac-related nutritional problems, but if it's a genetic copying error, then it's not my fault.

If you're bored or curious, here's more info:
http://www.22q.org/whatis1.html

-Valerie

Hi Everyone,

Long time no see. It's great to see BrainTalk up and running again. It's such an important resource.

I hope you all are doing well. I am off to a holistic veterinary meeting in Louisville this weekend to learn all that I can about the homeopathic treatment of cancer. That is my next step, turning my veterinary clinic into a cancer treatment center. I got all fired up when when I read my own paper on the The Cure for Cancer. (http://dogtorj.tripod.com/id48.html).

Yesterday it was epilepsy. Tomorrow it is cancer. Halleluiah!

Blessings upon you all!
John

Hi Everyone! I'm so glad the post is back. You never realize how much you depend on something until it is gone.

Valeria- I am really sorry to hear about your loss.

Al- You keep taking care of Peg. I wish my husband would do that for me.

We work different shifts and I get home from work about an hour before he has to leave. But I still seem to manage to come home and make his coffee and supper before he leaves. I keep threatening him that I'm going to get him up at 6 in the morning to help me get ready for work. But since that's about the time he's hitting the bed I don't think he would be much good.

I have finally been diagnosed with sleep apnea. My doctor for celiac kept telling me there was nothing wrong with me when I was complaining that I was tired all the time. I finally went for a sleep study and I stop breathing about 117 times an hour. I sleep with a cpap machine now and I feel better during the day and can come home from work alot of work done in the evening. It's wonderful. I haven't felt this good in a long time.