I am not sure I am posting in the correct spot- as I am not diagnosed as having celiac. However, I have ulcerative colitis and a whole host of other autoimmune diseases. I have read the book "The Gluten Connection", and have decided to put myself and the rest of the family (dh-35 and suffering from sarcoidosis and ADD, ds- 8 poss. ADHD, and dd 7- she has gastrointestinal difficulties- very irregular) on a gluten free diet.
I am in the middle of a flare-up that is not responding to steroids (I am on 40mg of prednisone a day), and was hospitalized two weeks ago to try to get things under control (to no avail).
I hate to say it, but all of my eggs are in this gluten free basket, and I am very dedicated, as I want it to work so badly!
I have shopped and prepared, and tomorrow is the day we are making the switch that I hope will change our lives for the better.
I would appreciate any words of wisdom from those who have similiar situations, or who could direct me to the correct place to get advice.
Thank you in advance-
Lori

Your attitude is what will take you the farthest!

Pretty much just be patient and be prepared to taste some not so yummy food before finding the really good stuff (as far as substitutes go).

That, and be patient--it could take a few days or weeks of persistence with gluten-free to notice a difference in everyone.

Give yourself a pat on the back for wanting to take good care of your family.

Hi, Lori!

You're in the right place!!!

My first two weeks gluten free were difficult only in that I REALLY wanted a piece of bread. But I got through it with the help of Fritos and Guittard chocolate chips (bought in bulk at Costco ), and once I got throught the first two weeks, it was clear sailing after. And I felt better within 48 hours--MUCH better--and I hadn't even been aware that I hadn't been feeling well!

Please keep us posted--we've all been through it, or are still going through it, and we're rooting for you!

Dear Lori,
We know where you are coming from! Do not worry, we will help you! It is our pleasure. Welcome to the forum! I have a little present for you!

I have a list that should really help. This is overwhelming. I went through this with myself in August of 2006. You spend most of your day cooking and cleaning obsessively. The rest you are on the phone with reps from companies trying to find out what is safe. I decided to save you the trouble!
1. There are a number of things in the regular grocery that are safe. Some things are labeled already. Wal-Mart's Great Value brand has numerous things you can eat.
2. For the love of God use Coupons on items you are allowed to eat. People can get them and print them out online even. Call some of the local stores and ask if they accept online coupons.
3. Check the ads online and in the newspaper. You would be surprised how many people do not do this.
4. Some items like rice flour and rice noodles are safe to buy at the Chinese or oriental market. The merchants are more than happy to help you if you cannot read the label.
Now, here is my list of great things to get you started:
Condiments:
Smart Balance Margarine*
Crisco Shortening
Crisco Oil
Pompeiian Olive Oil
Great Value soy sauce
Heinz Ketchup
Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce (all Lea & Perrins Products are safe)
Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce
Kraft French Fat-Free Salad Dressing
Kraft Thousand Island Fat-Free Salad Dressing
Pace Picante Sauce
Ortega Salsa
All Classico Red and *White sauces
All Jif Peanut Butters including Smooth Sensations
Welch's Grape Jelly
Cool Whip*
Philadelphia Cream Cheese*
Miracle Whip
Daisy Sour Cream (fat-free, low-fat, regular)*
Snack Foods:
Utz Potato Chips (Found at Sam’s Club)
Lay's Stax Potato Chips (Do not get any other kinds, these are the only ones made on dedicated lines)
Act II Microwave Popcorn
3 Musketeers candy bars *
Butterfinger candy bars*
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups*
Meat and Protein :
Eggs
Great Value Frozen Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Extra Lean ground beef
Carl Buddig lunchmeats all are safe
Kraft Cheese Shredded or sliced (Kraft is a great company, they never hide gluten in their labels. If it does not say wheat, barley, oats or rye, then it is not in there!)*
Jell-O Gelatin Cups (Will clearly label gluten if present, due to it being a division of Kraft)
Jell-O Pudding Cups (Will clearly label gluten if present, due to it being a division of Kraft)
Cereals:
Cocoa Pebbles
Fruity Pebbles
Dora The Explorer Cinnamon Stars
Seasonings:
Durkee Cinnamon-ground
Durkee Ginger-ground
Durkee Chili powder
Durkee Vanilla Extract (in fact, all of their liquid flavorings, food colorings, and extracts are g.f.)
Emeril's Essence - Asian, Italian
Ortega Taco Seasoning (In fact, since they are under a very strict labeling policy, all of their products are gluten free at this time)
Miscellaneous:
Ortega Taco Shells
Starkist or Great Value Tuna
Butter Buds
Great Value Soy Milk
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Apples
Pears
Carrots
Great Value Canned Fruits and Vegetables
Del Monte Canned Fruits and Vegetables
Ore Ida Tater Tots
Ore Ida French Fries
Hormel Chili
Hormel Spam
Hormel Turkey Spam (Oven Roasted and Smoked)
Hormel Pepperoni
Dinty Moore Beef Stew
Jimmy Dean Fresh Taste Fast Sausage (links, rolls, and patties)
Plumrose Bacon
PAM Non-Stick Cooking Spray (all except for PAM for baking; it has flour)
Beverages:
Diet Rite
Folgers Coffees (all including Cappuccinos)
Luzianne Tea (We get decaf)
Arizona Teas
Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice
Some Household Items that are safe include:
Cascade Dishwashing Detergent
All Laundry Detergent
Wisk Laundry Detergent
Dawn Dish Soap (all including the Power Disolver)
SoftSoap Hand Soaps
Murphy's Oil Soap
Hygiene, Cosmetics, and Beauty Items:
Dove Soaps, Shampoos, Conditioners, Lotions, and Styling Aids (Will clearly label gluten if present)
Crest Whitening Expressions Toothpastes
Biotene Mouthwash (all)
Suave Soaps, Shampoos, Conditioners, Lotions, and Styling Aids (Will clearly label gluten if present)
Maybelline (Gluten is clearly labeled when present)
CoverGirl (Gluten is clearly labeled when present)
Wet'n Wild (All except for one of the mascaras)
Olay Quench Body Lotion
Crest WhiteStrips
L’Oreal Vive Pro Shampoos and Conditioners (Clearly label gluten if present)

* Includes dairy

I would like to tell you that food is not all you need to be concerned about with gluten. You may not improve on the diet if you have cross-contamination from things like toothpaste, your beauty products, shampoo, charcoal for the grill, cosmetics, and even hand soap or lotion. It is also recommended you buy new cookware and utensils. Gluten can hide in scratches. Dish towels are a good source of cc as well. You need to make sure no one uses your dish soap or sponges but you. Designate your own things if others in the house are not gluten-free. I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
NoGluGirl

Thank you so much for your input. What a list! I have to say that I am very confused by the conflicting information that is available. Is there a definitive list put out by an organization that tells things that are 100% sure to be gluten-free? I know lots of places say that you have to call the company yourself to be sure, but its seems like there has got to be an easier way. Every time I turn around I find something else that I need to check, and I sure don't have the time to call every company. Just curious. Again, thank you so much for your advice and suggestions!

The best way to go gluten free at first is to eat whole natually gluten free foods as much as possible. Meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, eggs, rice, beans, etc that are as minimally processed as possible are your best bet. Many of us are very sensitive to crosscontamination from nongluten free items that are processed in the same plants as gluten free stuff. The best way to find out how sensitive you are to it is by starting out a 'pure' as is humanly possible. There are gluten free lists around but they are out of date really the minute they are printed as companies can change formulas. Also many companies put out lists of thier gluten-free items but do not mention the chance of CC. Frito Lay is one of those, many of us have repeated problems with CC from them. The easiest way to find out the gluten statement for a processed food is often to go to a search engine like google or the one here, type in the name of the product and the word gluten. There is a lot of info and support to be found here, welcome and I hope your problems resolve quickly.

Welcome to the club! I have been gluten free for just over two weeks. I also recently read "The Gluten Connection". Over the last 9 months I have been dealing with Sjogren's Syndrome (an autoimmune disorder), plus I have ostepenia. My main symptoms were extreme fatigue, joint pain and stiffness, muscle pain and aches and some other random things. Within 3 days of going gluten-free, I felt like a new person. I was officially dx'd via Enterolab and my cousin has Celiac. The key is to do this 100%, especially since you are basically trying to self diagnose via the elimination diet. You must be sure everything you eat is gluten free (when in doubt, don't) and be sure to avoid cross contamination (CC). You can read several past posts about CC on this forum. Also, many lotions, soaps, etc have gluten. Check that. It's very overwhelming to get started, but you do have to check stuff before you eat it so you can make sure your experiment is error free! One thing that really encouraged me my first week was to have a great gluten free meal at Outback (yes, they have a great gluten-free menu) and I also made rice krispy treats with Cocoa Pebbles. Cocoa Pebbles are gluten-free, as are Kraft marshmellows and whatever gluten free butter (Land O Lakes) or margarine you wanna use. They are better than the ones made with real rice krispies (not gluten-free, by the way) in the opinion of my husband and I. If you think of any specific questions, let us know. We'll try to help. As someone else said, Great value Brand at Wal-mart clearly labels their gluten free items. My local grocery store, Kroger, posts their Kroger brand gluten free list on their website. Whole Foods does this too. Get ready to research a lot online and via the phone to manufacturers. OH, and one last thing...sorry. Another great "normal" gluten-free meal is tacos. Old El Paso brand of taco shells and their beans as well as McCormick taco seasoing are all gluten-free. Obviously, the fresh lettuce and tomatoe are. Get some gluten-free cheese are you have a great meal. We live in Texas so we love to have a weekly taco night. So glad to have something familiar!

Best of luck to your family!

The first six months were really, really, really hard for me. (And sometimes it still is!)

My best advice is to make sure to always take food with you, especially in the beginning. Friends and family may not understand gluten, and you don't want to be at someone's house, realize you can't eat dinner and then have *nothing* else available to eat. That's when you'll say, "Oh, just this once," and then you feel bad for a few days or more.

Also, if you don't start feeling better in 2-3 weeks, you may also have some additional intolerances. Some are lactose intolerant, but I am casein intolerant. (Casein is a protein in milk; lactose is an enzyme.)

Dear tennyson,
You are so welcome! I know what you mean about conflicting information! It is everywhere. One site that stays pretty current is Gluten-Free in SD. I usually Google products with "Is it gluten-free?" Much of the time, this forum will pop up where it has been discussed.

The reason I made that list was so people would not have to spend half of their day on the phone with manufacturers and the other half maniacally cleaning and cooking. That was how my first couple of months were on the diet. Still, I felt a lot better within three days. Unfortunately, I caught a virus. I recovered from it, but then did a course of antibiotics that upset my system severely and now I feel like I am back to square one. I may have Lyme, and know for sure that I have an overgrowth of yeast.

I agree with Ravenwoodglass, that the first couple of months should be pure foods. Your system is sensitive. Healing takes time. Preservatives and such can irritate the situation further. Processed foods are really a last resort for me, because the more I eat, the worse I usually feel. Treating yourself occasionally is alright, but in the beginning, you really should limit these foods. I primarily ate fresh fruit, Great Value canned fruits, Great Value canned veggies, Birdeye Steamfresh Veggies, and meats. The only processed items I allowed myself were Heinz Ketchup, Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue, Kraft Salad Dressings, Butterfinger Candy Bars, and 3 Musketeers Candy Bars.

Dairy can be a problem for Celiacs. Lactose is a major problem for me, but casein can be worse. If you have a lactose issue, cheese will not irritate your system, but other forms of milk like pudding or yogurt will. Casein is in all forms of dairy, where lactose is not present in high levels with some products. This is judgment call you make. Trust your feelings!

CC is a huge problem for me. I have a violent reaction, so I avoid companies who have had reports of it. Quaker, Amy's,
and Lay's all have had reports on here. Lay's Stax are made on dedicated lines, but I can honestly tell you that Tostitos made me ill a couple of times. Foods made in facilities with wheat are smart to avoid. All it takes is a microscopic amount to damage your intestines.

Sincerely,
NoGluGirl