Roll Call - December 2006
 

December 2006

Al's computer is buried in snow, so I thought I'd get this thread started. Is it December already?

I don't have much time to write, so I'll write more later. I have started a new treatment with my acupuncturist to try to clear my food allergies. He says it's about 60% effective, so that's good enough for me. He also says that he can usually clear all but one of the allergies when it's successful, and dairy is usually the core allergy. I have a feeling it will be gluten for me since that's the first food I tested sensitive for seven years ago. Had I only known then that it wouldn't be such a big deal to give up gluten compared to giving up corn, dairy, soy, and nuts on top of that!

Claire

Thanks for starting a roll call Claire!

Most of my news this month is about our new puppy, and what a handful he is! But he is really, really cute and I'll have to post some pictures one of these days.

Oh...and I am having some allergy/asthma symptoms with the new dog :(. I keep hoping it will get better rather than worse. I am handling him an awful lot because he is still a puppy, and I am also feeding him food with gluten in it (barley)for now...so maybe that has something to do with it, too. We plan to change that, but he didn't adjust well to our first attempt so had to put him back on the diet he came home on.

Busy, quick month ahead! Happy Holidays to all!

Cara

I'm here, but I admit to posting a question in "the other forum" because there seems to be more traffic there now. :o

Taking the remaining corn (citric acid and xanthan gum) out of ds's diet seemed to be helping, but now I'm wondering if amaranth is causing problems too! And at Thanksgiving I tried teff for the first time. After attempting to grind my own rice using a juicer and a blender and getting crunchy baked goods, I slipped by using ready-made rice flour once over the holiday. I haven't done that in a long time - I'm pretty sure ds is sensitive to any gluten cross-contamination that occurs in the mill. Or maybe it has been the corn .. or amaranth .. or teff? Always trying to unravel the mystery! Now that our company is gone, we will hopefully get back on track and do some good detective work!

I'm here :)

Dd#1 is dairy free and self monitoring (dragging me in to talk to the teacher for food issues that arise...I think thats a good thing...) Just recently she started complaining of reflux again, so we're going over her diet more closely.

Youngest is still struggling from the "It's not yeast" infection that won't end. She's not nearly as bad as when it started, but there's something mysterious going on.

I'm flaring a bit, still. I had the stomach flu about a month ago that caused inflammation, and its still evident :( But I'm also feeling pretty stressed out. At least I'm not craving gluten, or corn, and I'm not bloated...so I don't think its a cross contamination issue. More a question of if I'm developing a new sensitivity (dh says I'm probably allergic to air, now, thats all thats left, LOL) or just having "issues". Sigh. So...its mostly liquid for me until thats solved.
The good news is that I seem to be functioning through pretty well :)

Christmas and Hanukkah are around the corner and I have some goodies I want to try making, if not eating. Oldest misses baking with me (not sure youngest even remembers) so its becoming a high priority. This months goal...to get my courage up to guinea pig coconut oil :P I know that sounds silly...but when food is known to attack for weeks on end anything new is ominous.

Last month was the first month I missed signing in for 2 and a half years! I finished my graduate teaching internship (third teaching area) on Friday and after a full year I am no longer working, taking classes, and running the house and children's schedule all on my own (husband on location working about 8 months a year). If I hadn't cut out gluten and dairy and gotten my health back I never would have gone for the graduate degree. Thanks to all of you for the support.

My health is great. No asthma. It was gluten. No hypoglycemia/early diabetes. It was gluten. No irregular heart beats. Gluten. And no pain in the belly with all that other stuff. Wow. And I tested negative for gluten even with Enterolab. Makes me wonder if everyone is reacting to gluten. My husband hasn't had a thyroid attack now in 2 and a half years but the one time recently that he ate gluten he sure was irritable and restless. Yuck.

My heating pipes froze and we have a wreck of a house right now. At first the insurance company didn't want to pay the 20,000$ and it was nerveracking for awhile. For awhile I didn't even know how we could fix the pipe placement problem. Son's furniture in the dining room and living room. His bed in the basement. Bathroom, bedroom, and hall with holes in walls and ceiling and floor all torn up. I don't even want to think about batting and paint dust... But next week it should start to get 'put back together'. Could be worse. Could be my health!
Merry Christmas season to all of you and sincere wishes for good health,
Leslie

Congratulations Leslieand on finishing your degree. It is so encouraging to hear how good your health is now that you are off the gluten.

What a challenge with the frozen pipes, and dealing with the insurance company. I hope that this is resolved for you soon.

Marilyn

Thanks Claire...too many boards...not enough time! LOL!! It's more like brain freeze than computer bury ;)


http://webpages.charter.net/aklap/Ce.../snowberry.jpg
Only 23 more shopping days left!! If you're like me you'll need every last one of them...uhhhh....usually THE last one. ;) heheheee

November was pretty much a blur with the living room re-do.
http://webpages.charter.net/aklap/li...m%20-%2040.jpg

Now that that's done, I guess it's on to decorating the house for Christmas. That's Peg's department. I did haul the tree up from the basement tho ;) I also had to fix Santa Snoopy's nose too.

That's about it for me.

Leslie, you're giving me deja vu. Only, we had a washer overflow, and we're in a one-story house (cement slab), and the insurance is covering most of it (we upgraded the flooring). But, the holes in the wall (actually, they just cut away the lower 18 inches), bedrooms, bathrooms, hallway, furniture everywhere....:eek: Anyway, We're home!!!!! After a month in a hotel due to that Great Washer Flood, we are back in our house. We ended up putting in wood flooring, so we'll be moving out in the middle of the month so they can finish sanding and sealing the floor. Right now, we're sleeping with just the top mattress on the floor and living out of suitcases. Kind of like camping inside your house. This way, we don't have to pack up all the furniture again when we move out. Anyway, it's good to be back home (I was starting to call the hotel an apartment). And, I LOVE my new floors!

Tom had his triennial review Thursday. Overall it went pretty well. While I would like to think he's doing better than he is, I didn't have quite the sucker-punch of depression that I usually get after this type of thing. I'm actually feeling quite hopeful for his future... details here (http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/...ad.php?t=5485), if you're interested.

We received Tom's IgG allergy results this month. (Actually, I didn't post on GS/CD. It's here, if you're interested: http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/...ead.php?t=4357) He's allergic to just about all the usual allergens (dairy, gluten, peanuts, peas, tomatoes, soy, melons, nuts, coconut, eggs, rice). I've managed to get him off of all of those except the nuts. He's been eating LaraBars for snacks and I haven't been able to come up with another snack. I really need to get on the ball with that one.

We had a really nice Thanksgiving. We went to visit a friend and she cooked a GFDFeverything else free meal for us... except for the apple pie. We had leftover birthday cupcakes for dessert. It was all really good. I made a straight cornmeal cornbread and then used that cornbread for the stuffing. Anyway, I was quite pleased with our meal, in spite of our long list of "can't eats."

I am still hanging around. Not posting much here, but I am still reading and want to stay in touch with you. I post mainly on BT.

All is going well for me. No snow here but it is cold for AR. Christmas will be quiet. I will be working that week. DH will be visiting his son. My kids are not visiting. Maybe I can figure out how to get invited to a GF home for Christmas dinner :)

I am enjoying my break from running Gluten Free in Central Arkansas - no meeting or newsletter in Dec. But I really need to get busy and get ready for next year. Have people to contact, letters to write and brochures to print.
Anne

Jamie, this caught my eye. At the International Celiac Symposium it was mentioned that is was not unusual for people with CD not to tolerate some the the alternative grains. I think amaranth and teff were specifically mentioned. One doctor said they have found a protein in corn that is similar to a protein in wheat but she would not say any more than that at this time. On Delphi there was a poll that asked about sensitivity to corn. Out of 82 responses, 23% said they were sensitive.
Anne

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

I am headed to Michigan this week, leaving Wednesday after work. Can't wait to see my kids and grandkids. I am hoping the snow will give me a break and stay away until after I get back home. I drove through terrible snow in New Jersey last year at this time.

Oh my goodness! Thank you, Anne! Would it be correct to assume that quinoa falls into that category too? And did they mention millet? If so, it looks like its down to rice and buckwheat for us ... unless that changes too! :eek: :p

Hi all,

It's been an incredibly busy and draining fall for me. My gout is *still* not all the way gone, though it's nearly there.

We just bought a new car yesterday--a lovely bright red Toyota Prius (it's a hybrid). We're enjoying that. It's to replace our 15 year old Mazda 323 which is really past the point at which we want to keep sinking money into it. It's kind of hard to swallow a car payment again--haven't had one for almost 4.5 years, but it's nice to have a new car and I've been wanting a Prius since they came out.

Rachel

Hi Rach,

Sure...you sent your gout over to me!! My left heel hurts like a SOB ;) I not sure if it's gout or not. But, I'm glad you're almost over yours.

:D

Enjoy the new car. That's gotta help on the gas bills!

This doctor was not saying that all people have a problem with other grains - just some. I don't remember if millet was mentioned. Don't panic. The corn protein thing was what surprised me. I am still eating corn.
Anne

I'm still here. No new news at all this month.

Al, your new living room looks fabulous! I wish my house looked that good -- all of the rooms here are usually decorated with strewn toys.

-Valerie

for Jamie
 

I'm not sure about categories, but I can't tolerate quinoa. When I first started to cut out gluten, I started eating a lot of quinoa. I loved it, but it did not love me. The stuff now runs right through me. Millet is usually pretty safe as well as rice. Buckwheat is not in the same family as most of the other grains, interestingly enough. It is related to spinach and beets.

Claire

Heheheee Thanks Val!

Ours is usually strewn with my socks, shoes, etc. :eek: I just happen to take the picture at the right time :D

I am here. I am being very good avoiding gluten despite craving hamburgers (with buns and all the trimmings). The girls don't seem to be getting gluten anywhere and yesterday their appetites went through the roof. They each had three helpings of everythign at supper then this morning they each ate two helpings of breakfast.

I keep gaining weight which is discouraging. I am 20 lbs above where I would like to be (10 lbs more than where I was 3 months ago.) As my energy is increasing, I am hoping to get back to exercising. I am tired of taking pills. But, since I feel better than I did a month or two ago, I am sticking with all these vitamins. Maybe by Xmas I will feel even better.

I am having dental issues and have seen detists more in the last month than in the previous 5 years. I am working on those. Man, dentists are expensive.