Gluten-free diet Archives - According to Denise

Next Step

Well I finally had an appointment with the gastro doc to discuss whether or not I have serious issues with gluten or not. I explained that I was on a gluten-free diet for 3.5 months and then when I reintroduced gluten, I pretty much felt like shit every time I ate. I described my symptoms and indicated that I suspect I at least have some sort of intolerance but I want to find out for sure whether I do or do not have Celiac Disease.

He referred to Celiac Disease as “Sprue” which I had never heard before and was not interested in blood tests or anything like that. He said the “gold standard” for testing for Sprue is to do a biopsy of the small intestine. I knew this was the case but actually didn’t expect to jump right into a biopsy. But, I want to know as soon as possible so I signed up for the next available appointment which is Thursday.

He had another phrase that I quite liked. He said that some folks who don’t have Sprue, still benefit from at “gluten deprived” diet. Basically, mostly gluten-free but you do eat gluten containing foods sometimes. That is basically what we have been doing with A and T. We’ve been letting them have gluten on special occasions.

I’m still eating gluten until my biopsy but man it makes be feel awful. If the test does come back negative, I am definitely going for “gluten deprived”.

Celiac disease – sprue – All Information (umm.edu)

Going Gluten Free

15 Aug By Denise

It’s been about two weeks that we’ve been trying to be as gluten-free as possible. T has been completely gluten-free while A has been a little bit harder to transition. She is such a picky eater and isn’t satisfied with many of the substitutions yet. But we like the Namaste pizza crust and De Bole’s elbows. Pamela’s pancake and waffle mix is good too.

We’re concentrating on T, A and myself. I’ve only been completely gluten-free for less than a week. I think we are going to limit milk and switch to soy or something just for extra fun I tell ya, we’ve got it way easier than folks who went gluten-free years ago. There are so many items to choose from now and a substitute for nearly everything you would want. Labeling of gluten-free items and ingredient listings are really good these days. I hear good bread is tough to get so I’m trying to make some in the bread maker. We’ll see how that goes.

I can tell you that the gluten-free brownies we made were really good. I ate many. Luckily not all in one day.

So far, we’ve seen an improvement in mood and behavior with T. He was never in a “bad mood” but he just seems happier. His behavior has been better for the most part. So maybe this gluten-free idea isn’t full of hooey. Except, of course, that A has been worse behaved. That started before the diet change but has not improved yet. Me thinks it may have something to do with starting kindergarten and the underlying fear she has about that. I guess time will tell.

This week will present some challenges since we have birthday parties to attend. We’ve told the kids that we’ll bring food and treats for them to eat. Hopefully that will work. I haven’t quite figured out how to do fast food or restaurants yet. But I’m learning. We’ll stumble along somehow.