I've been lurking on the gluten sensitivity forum for several days now. I normally post on myasthenia gravis and autoimmune diseases.
My GP and I have decided I've got gluten sensitivity, and she drew blood to test for celiac. I had decided on my own to try a gluten free diet for a few days, and was amazed at the difference! Where I had had frequent diarrhea, LOTS of gas, stomach cramps, and up to 10 bm's a days, on the few days I was gluten free I was virtually free of all of those symptoms, plus only "went" 2 or 3 times a day! WOW! Then I reintroduced gluten and everything came back with a vengeance. On the strength of that experimentation, she wants me to stay gluten free., to see if I stay symptom free.
So I wanted to introduce myself, since it seems I will be availing myself of some of the recipes. I've already copied some of them, though I've not made any of them yet.
Any advice anyone can give me will be most welcome.
Hugs,

WELCOME LOIS!! I'm so glad you have seen positive results on a gluten free diet!

Claire

The best advice is to just keep reading and never just believe someone when they say something is gluten free. 9 times out of 10, they have no idea what gluten is. Read everything you can about celiacs, your best answers come from those of us who live it too. Welcome.

Hi! Welcome to our little gluten free haven! It will be interesting to see if you test positive, but no matter what, you have already witnessed the results of possibly the best test of all.

I think the best advice when starting out is to keep your diet relatively simple, focusing on whole foods (meats(unless vegetarian), vegetables, fruits, rice, potatoes, nuts. That is not only healthier and will aid in healing your gut, but it will help you to keep your sanity when at the grocery store. Slowly, you can add in processed foods. It is just way too overwhelming to read every label at the grocery store as you shop...when you have no idea of what items are safe and not safe.

I do buy a fair share of processed and specialty foods, but I worked into them. Do use the safe food lists you will find as a starting point, but remember that ingredients change, and lists can be outdated. So, it is important to learn to read labels routinely. Labeling laws have improved a lot, but you still need to be cautious and remember to watch for things like barley and malt.

Up under Useful Sites you will find links to safe food lists, forbidden food lists, etc.

I'm going to start a thread for favorite gf specialty products. The market is booming, and there are much better choices than even five years ago. But, still, some taste like cardboard..so it is nice to know what products people have tried and liked.

Oh, gosh, so much more to say, so just stay active here!

Cara

Thanks, all, for the replies. I cannot believe the difference just a few days can make. I've been gluten free since Tuesday, and today had no tummy cramps, little gas, and only 2, count 'em!, 2 bm's!!!! Mamma mia, so this is what life is! I'd forgot how wonderful it is to be normal. And not to be tied to a toilet!
Since I live in a small town, a lot of specialty ingredients, like the different flours that are permitted, are just not available. Unless some of them can be found at Walmart? But I chanced on some rice cereal for babies at the store, and noticed it is made from rice flour. I bought 2 boxes, figuring that with a blender or my food processor, surely I can make it back into rice flour. I've still got to check Walmart and the larger of our 2 groceries for plain corn meal. The cheap grocery has about 4 different kinds of corn meal mix (I live in the south, after all) but not a one that is free of flour. Of course, since we have a fairly large Hispanic community, masa harina is availble. It's corn flour, and I believe is wheat free. And I bought corn tortillas today, they're gluten free.
Now all I have to do is learn how to bake and make bread without wheat flour.
In your experience, how long will it take to get the results of the Celiac test back? All my doctor could tell me is that it is a rather specialized test, and takes longer.
Once I've been gluten free for while, I'm going to try reintroducing milk into my diet. I had cut it out over a year ago, and gone to soymilk, thinking I was lactose intolerant. I'm wondering now if it was the gluten all along, rather than the lactose. Or could I have both?
I've also got radiation proctitis, damage caused by radiation treatment for cancer, so my gut is not normal by a long stretch.
keep the good advice coming!
Hugs,

Hi Lois,

Welcome!!

You may find you might be able to add some dairy back into your diet after your intestines heal. The tips of the villi produce an enzyme called lactase. Lactase is responsible for breaking down Lastose [the sugar component in dairy]. If indeed your villi are damaged, once they are healed and producing lactase again, you could very well be able to tolerate some dairy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance

Good luck in your GF Journey!!

Hi Lois,

You can order gluten free specialty items off the internet too. For flours, it's really hard to grind them fine enough in a food processor/spice grinder. I like Bob's Red Mill flours because they also test them for gluten. If you get really serious about baking, you can buy your own flour mill, but the good ones cost upwards of $200.

There are other on-line gluten free stores. I can't really recommend one because I can find everything I need where I live. I'm pretty fortunate that way. If you have to be gluten-free, Boulder is one of the best places to do it! Maybe someone else can give some recommendations?

Claire

Welcome!!

I use my coffee grinder to grind up my rice. Its way cheaper than buying a 'grain mill'.

That is great Lois...that you are feeling better.

Welcome here! <claps hands>

It takes a bit of time to find the "tricks" and keep favorites in your
day.

First off, find some Tinkyada pasta in a store near you. I think pasta is
hard to do without.(even tho I don't eat it alot myself). Tinkyada has a lower
glycemic index and helps with blood sugar too. Many non CD's use it just for
that reason! It is most like regular semolina pasta IMO, in mouth feel.

I like Kinnikinic bread (sorry about the spelling)
and also use Whole Foods Prairie and Tomato/basil. (keep in freezer)
But if you are a cooker/chef you can make many things yourself!

This is a wonderful forum and group of people..so welcome here!

I'll have to look into getting a coffee grinder, Kim. Thanks for the suggestion. Mrsd, Tinkyada pasta may be kind of difficult to find around here. We're what you might call "small town". The town where our local Walmart is just got its first traffic light! However, if we go to one of the larger towns, I'll definitely keep an eye open for it.
I'm getting really good at reading lables, y'all! Question- does "malt added", or "malt flavoring" mean barley? And isn't barley a no-no for us? I thought so, so I scrupuously passed up all of the rice cereal that listed malt. I finally found one that was popped brown rice. Showed my daughter and she said "Yuk!" But looks good to me!
Thanks, Claire for the link to Red Mill flours. I may not be able to afford them, but if I get desperate I might splurge!
Hugs,