Celiac Disease

[BTF]

Just wondering...

Do any of you posters suffer from Celiac disease? I was recently nearly killed by it (I didn't know I had it). Until then I had never really heard of it.

Thanks

[John_P_WI]

A member of my family has it. It is a life changing event in which you will need to be cognizant of everything that you eat. You will be amazed at what contains gluten, soy sauce for example.

I guess the good news is that more and more food is now becoming gluten free and restaurants are becoming increasingly aware of the need for gluten free meals.

Best of luck with it.

[NickC]

My father-in-law has it. I have some friends with a son that has it. The topic came up in conversation recently, and someone opined "It's all in their head!" I've heard folks say the same about alergies and other malady's. Celiac Disease is serious (as you know all too well, the hard way), don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[ApexJr.]

I was told I had it when I was a baby and able to eat solid food.
Nothing would stay down,

I had to eat banana's and cottage cheese for all my 3 meals
for 18 months, needless to say I can't stand to eat them now.

I did however grow out of it...

Steve

[billyz]

My Wife has it. We have to be very careful about eating out. They put Gluten in things you would never think of. It very serious and causes all kinds of reactions. The upside is we eat pretty healthy foods around the house, lots of fresh produce and meat is fine. Fortunatelly no allergies to coffee.

[BTF]

Strange you mentioned coffee, billyz. When this started two years ago, I could never drink coffee (solely tea). Then for some reason, I developed an obsessive desire for pretzels and coffee (I had previously hated pretzels as well). Essentially, I was poisoning myself with the pretzels. What the coffee had to do with anything is anyone's guess. After preliminary treatments and going on a Celiac diet, I can again no longer drink coffee or eat pretzels. Go figure...

Regards.

[billyz]

Strange you mentioned coffee, billyz. When this started two years ago, I could never drink coffee (solely tea). Then for some reason, I developed an obsessive desire for pretzels and coffee (I had previously hated pretzels as well). Essentially, I was poisoning myself with the pretzels. What the coffee had to do with anything is anyone's guess. After preliminary treatments and going on a Celiac diet, I can again no longer drink coffee or eat pretzels. Go figure...

Regards.

It is the Pretzels !

[billyz]

My wife just showed me a video about Celiacs and Gluten intolerance. They are are not the same thing, even though they get mixed up all the time. A Gluten allergy can cause all kinds of other allergic reactions. And then there is the Leaky Gut which is a big issue too.

It is very frustrating when the medical profession is not able to accurately diagnose your condition. All I can say is you need to be your own expert. For this the internet can be a valuable resource, but it is loaded with misinformation too.

You need to experiment on yourself and keep records so you know what is causing what to you.

http://www.glutenfreesociety.org/gluten ... e-disease/

http://www.glutenfreesociety.org/gluten ... -gut-week/

[Structo]

About 12 years ago I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.

Basically it's an auto immune disease where the large intestine or colon develops ulcers and tries to destroy itself.

Similar to Crohn's disease which affects mainly the small intestine.

I had bad stomach cramps and eventually started passing blood.
I thought I probably had colon cancer and was somewhat relieved when I found out what it was.

But it's one of those things they don't know much about and what causes.
I keep it under control with medication and haven't really had any bad flare ups.

Strange that an auto immune disease would strike me after living for 42 years.

[dreric]

Strange you mentioned coffee, billyz. When this started two years ago, I could never drink coffee (solely tea). Then for some reason, I developed an obsessive desire for pretzels and coffee (I had previously hated pretzels as well). Essentially, I was poisoning myself with the pretzels. What the coffee had to do with anything is anyone's guess. After preliminary treatments and going on a Celiac diet, I can again no longer drink coffee or eat pretzels. Go figure...

Regards.

This is very common on food allergies and auto immune disorders associated with food. The patient craves the thing that they are allergic or sensitive to. Initially, the reaction to the foods is malaise and lethargy. The coffee comes in as a solution to the former as it's strong (much more than tea) stimulant to the adrenal glands. One slows you down the only picks you up. This response is VERY addictive, ask anyone who's hooked on Cocaine / pot, Meth / alcohol, Vicodin / coffee, classic up / down combos.

Glad you are feeling better. The hardest thing is staying on the diet after you really start to feel better. You may be able to handle sensitive foods in some forms but not others (raw versus cooked etc.). Search the web on food combining and rotational diets and you should be able to find some tips on introducing foods.

Eric

[Colossal]

Strange that an auto immune disease would strike me after living for 42 years.

Tom, this is worrisome because of when it is choosing to manifest...as you say, after 42 years. Could this be environmental or dietary/lifestyle in origin?

[cbass]

Sorry to hear about your condition. I have a boy with food alergies.Has excema real bad.Its hard to get a 12yo to not eat any gluten.

I belive that the explosion of food allergies is due to all the Pesticides,Herbicides and chemical fertilizers.Our bodies are rejecting this crap.

[BTF]

I can understand your dilemma, Structo. My Celiacs came after DECADES of eating bread. I had a friend with UC. He's a Ranger and when it flares it makes it extremely to perform his duties.

That's a great rationale, dreric. Makes very good sense.

As to the little ones, I truly feel for them. Imagine how awkward it is during birthday parties, pizza parties, Girl Scout cookie sales and team eat-outs. No pizza, cookies, cake, buns, sandwich breads, some ice creams - unless they are formulated gluten free. An adult can handle it, but it must seem so unfair to a child.

Regards! Bill.

[boots]

Several of my wife's brothers have Celiac's, a couple of them developed it as young kids, and others in their 40's. They are all fine as long as they stick to "the diet". Also some of their kids developed it - definitely seems to run in the family.

On the up side, there are some pretty decent beers out there that don't have gluten.

[BTF]

I'm scared to guess what gluten-free beer would be made of!

I've now had breads and crackers made from almond powder ( ), various nuts, potato starches, rice, tapioca and corn.

I'm a teetotaler, so I can at least be thankful that I'm not drinking almond powder beer!

Regards! Bill