Talk to me about Celiac/Gluten Intolerance

[miss_thenorth]

For us, I am pretty certain there are food issues, gluten is not the only suspect here. That is why I am considering the diet....I just don't know what I would feed everyone!
They are bagel, sour dough english muffin, cream cheese, peanut butter freaks who don't like veggies.

YOu know, I wonder.... ds and I love our carbs, and we are the ones with issues, which I believe are wheat related We would be the ones who would have a difficult time with it.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

So I called my doc. DH doesn't have a regular one, of course
They don't do allergy tests at all.
No GI dr within 2 hour drive that is answering the phone. None of the local allergy clinics do testing. We'd have to drive 1.5 hours each way for a 5 minute test.
Guess what, he's going on a elimiation diet if it kills me!

Thanks for all the info, I'll be back asking more questions.

 

[Dace]

Well I guess that solves the dilemma huh?

Now the big question.....when to start? I have been pondering this. If I jump in now we can be done by Christmas.....or we could wait till after the holidays. Pros and cons each way. Might be easier when the kids are out of school but then again, who is really going to pass up holiday treats?

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Gee... He does love his dressing & rolls this time of the year. Let's not talk about the sweets, huh?
DS attends school, DD is at home with dad, so she's be included if we did it now.
I hate to say it, but after the holidays might be better. Start the new year off with a bang, eh?

I like that link, Dace. Some great looking recipes. You know, I love amaranth, and I've always wanted to try quinoa.
I'll just tell him that it's like the switch from processed to real foods. You'll get used to it!

 

[sufficientforme]

There are some great grain alternatives for pasta, you just have to try them all and see what your family likes. Several of the highly rated ones on the internet did not do well in our taste tests at all We like the brown rice spaghetti noodles from Trader Joe's that cost .99 but did not like the super expensive Tinkyada brand everyone else seems to love
We have been on this adventure for about 6 months and it was a battle at first and my kids were good veggie eaters already I cannot imagine if they were not.

 

[buckeye lady]

DH's primary care physician can do a "celiac panel" it consists of
blood tests for
tTG-IgA or tissue transglutaminase-IgA
AGA-IgG or Antigliadin IgG
AGA-IgA or Antigliadin IGA
Total IGA
These are antibodies produced in response to gluten in a person with Celiac.
DH should follow his normal diet until these are done. If you go on a gluten free or low gluten diet the antibodies may not be present and the test can be a false negative.
A gluten free diet is a drastic lifestyle change for most of us.
The symptoms you describe fit many diseases/disorders. DH needs to get a Primary Physicain and have a thorough History and Physical. These symptoms also fit heart disease and diabetes.

 

[me&thegals]

MTN--I often read that we are allergic to what we are most attracted to. I would be SO unsurprised if my absolute bread hound of a son were intolerant of gluten...

As far as testing, last I heard the blood test was okay but not great. I thought the only definitive test was a biopsy during colonoscopy...

As for elimination diets, definitely do NOT eliminate before testing. And noobie, if you don't know whether to test or eliminate, I guess you may need to decide how much you trust the tests, whether insurance covers them, whether you will test EVERYbody in the family and if "target symptoms" are obvious enough that an elimination diet would yield obvious results if the family is gluten intolerant.

As for all your husband's faves, there are substitutes, including pasta. They're good enough to get him through 2 weeks of elimination diet, anyway Plus, you can buzz on over to the GF recipe thread and get some good ones. I think I need to add some that my mom sent me, too!

 

[Farmfresh]

I would get the blood draw FIRST.

I did an elimination diet first. I only eliminated gluten. I already knew my D2 was Celiac (and severely so) so I quit gluten for two weeks ... that was 2 years ago in February. After going two weeks gluten free I tried to eat some bread ONE TIME and that was the last. I was so sick it was horrible! Like your WORST food poisoning.

I just posted in another thread all of the health damage Celiac has caused me over the years. http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=723&p=39

It is NOT worth it to eat the gluten.

Plus they have some WONDERFUL brown rice pastas that even my non-gluten free hubby actually PREFERS to standard pasta!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

My regular doctor does not do the screening. We do not have medical insurance on ourselves, only the kids, so we pay for everything out of pocket, although we do have long term & short term disability.

I check our blood sugar on a semi-regular basis, he's never been higher than 110, never lower than 90 or so. Even fasting or a large meal. Mom has been diabetic for 55 years, so I'm well versed in diabetes and I doubt that is his issue.

He has agreed to at least try the elimination diet, and as I'm unable to get a GI dr on the phone, I will have to assume that it is celiac. I will definately get him to my regular doctor, who can do more thorough testing for diabetes & check for heart disease.

We do like brown rice, and he was happy to learn that he could still eat some grains. Apparently the last time I said that, he had already stopped listening :/
I went through the diet with him, listing the avoidance foods & the acceptable ones. After a tiny bit of grumbling, I hit him with what Free said.

FF, that is exactly why I want to go ahead and get this figured out. The medical options are somewhat closed to me at the moment, and I don't want him doing any more damage to his body.

 

[freemotion]

You can have some intolerance of seeds, including wheat, without having celiacs. If this is the case, you can add grains back into your diet by preparing them traditionally with soaks and fermentation.

Even some people with celiacs can eat grains that are fermented for TWO weeks, not the 12 hour minimum to neutralize phytates.