A long week…….

It’s been a really long week or two.  I’m finally sleeping a little better.  But all I want to do is sleep.  Period.  I keep hoping that my energy will perk up.  I will say that after 6 weeks completely gluten-free, I have the GI issues down to a few times a week, instead of a half-dozen times a day.  That is a blessing.  I don’t know how much of my sleepiness to attribute to thyroid medication and how much is the gluten.  I’m still clumsy and have trouble with my coordination, balance, and endurance.  I want to feel better so badly that some days I want to cry, and on others I keep going even when my body says stop (and I end up doing really silly stuff like falling, dropping things, having near misses, you know, the stuff that bad dreams are made of).

<>We did try a different sushi restaurant.  We drove across town to the best one in the area, and I spoke to the owner before we ate.  She actually knew what gluten was and had wheat-free tamari available (I had brought my own this time).  She made my food all gf and when we chose a roll that had a soy sauce base inside, she came out to make a recommendation for a different but similar roll.  That meal rocked the house!   If her food didn’t cost an arm and a leg, we’d eat there every week.  My 8 year old actually ate shrimp, bean sprouts, a piece of rainbow roll, and mochi and said it was good.  (Ok actually 3 mochi – but they’re irresistable.  And covered with rice and tapioca!  Red bean and mango are my favorite.)
Thanks to all of my “gluten-free watchdogs”  who are looking out for me.  Your support is getting me from one day to the next.   

Thanks too to my brother and sister in law for planning an Easter dinner that everyone can eat.  Gluten-free (me), nut-free (my youngest).  Everyone eats.  You guys rock.  (And they’re cooking!)

Everyone think good thoughts for me.  I’ve got some professional issues going on right now and I need GOOD THOUGHTS by the bucketful for about the next month (or until this situation works itself out).  BIG stakes.  That’s about all I can say right now.

 

$$$$ What’s a mom to do???

As the primary consumer in our household and the one who has ALWAYS bought all the food (excepting public school lunches and my husband’s lunch trips to the hospital cafeteria), I’m looking for advice/tips/HELP from those who have been GF longer than I.

What do you do to control the food budget?  Trying to buy gf foods that I know I can eat safely is expensive – the packaged stuff.  I wasn’t good with meal planning before this, and now it’s killing our budget.   A lot of my attempts at gf food haven’t been all that stellar, and my husband and older son are picky eaters.  When I make something gf and it’s not great, they end up eating something else.  Then I either eat too much because I feel guilty wasting it all (NOT what I need), or I throw it out because it goes bad (NOT what my food budget needs).  Produce, dairy, and meat are outrageous in the Northeast, as I’m sure it is everywhere.  Tomatoes were $5.99/pound this weekend, and milk was $3.29/0.5 gallon.

My husband would be happy if I took over as Family CFO, but if I can’t get a handle on the food bills and still keep everyone’s palates satisfied, we might end up living out of a shoebox.

How does everyone else do it?  Does anyone have a sample family menu plan that they would be willing to share?  Not just dinners but lunch, etc, and how itt fits together on a budget? Thanks in advance for any advice

Jenn

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Breakfast in Bed

This one’s not about gluten free. The very best things in life don’t have to do with gluten. I got a great reminder this morning. My newly-turned 8 year old tried his hand at cooking this morning and made me Breakfast in Bed! He did it all by himself. Tea. Grapes. Ok ~ bread with cheese. He couldn’t find the gluten free bread. That’s because today was shopping day and there wasn’t any. (I’m fortunate enough to have a store near me that brings in fresh gf bread every Friday and Saturday morning, and you can buy it frozen anytime). My son actually read the labels on all the packages in the bread-basket looking for “gluten-free” and decided to use what he could find. There was butter and crumbs all over the grapes but a little cc there was worth it to eat the grapes with him and see how proud of himself he was.

You should see my microwave!

Forgive my lack of photo cropping. It’s late and the electronics aren’t agreeing with me tonight. If this picture is gargantuan, and someone knows how to crop and control the size of your photo posts, please let me know so I can ask for help!

<>The best stuff in life doesn’t come with an allergen warning!

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“Would you like some cake?”

Five simple words.  Host some parties and it becomes almost robotic.  It’s the polite thing to ask.  Of course I would like some cake.  Or girl scout cookies at the office.  Or a piece of pizza.  Or a slice of ice cream cake.  Except now I know that the answer to that question is “no thank you”.  But sometimes, when I see everybody else enjoying the festivities and food, I just stand there, with my mouth hanging open, silent.  Then when the silence is one millisecond too long, the person who asked the question realizes that they wish they hadn’t asked and this uncomfortable exchange involving my frustration and the other person’s awkward feelings plays out.  I’m still trying to figure out what I can and can’t eat, and reeling from the mistakes I make that leave me feeling sick more often than not.  But so much of celebration and gathering in our culture involves food and communal eating.  When you can’t eat what everyone else does, you’re kind of the loner.

I need to learn how to answer the cake question and stay part of the party.  I could say I’m on a diet.  And nobody would believe me.  I could say I just ate, until I have to spend more than 2 hours in one place (thus refuting the “I’m on a diet” explanation).  I think I might have to go web surfing when I have time and see what other people have had to say about this one.

For anyone who wonders, I really don’t care if you eat the cake in front of me.  I don’t  even care if you ask me if I want some.  I just want to be a part of the party.

 

Studies on Celiac and Thyroid Issues

I’m doing a lot of internet searching for research to validate my decision to take medication (in liew of pursuing more radical treatment) for my thyroid.  I found this article, citing a research study from  the medical journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences (February 2000;45:403-406) in which “the researchers found that the various antibodies that indicate celiac disease – organ-specific autoantibodies (i.e., thyroid antibodies) — will disappear after 3 to 6 months of a gluten-free diet.”

A second study published in Digestion (2001;64:61-5) looked at patients with autoimmune thyroid disorders and found a higher incidence of celiac disease in that group.  I found this one a second time on a different website.

A third article suggests that celiac is related to a number of other autoimmune-type disorders, including

• Dermatitis herpetiformis.
• Thyroid disease.
• Systemic lupus erythematosus.
• Type 1 diabetes.
• Liver disease.
• Collagen vascular disease.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Sjogren’s syndrome.

They suggest that the connection between celiac and these diseases may be genetic.

 

A question for anyone out there who’s gf???

My question is….

How can you identify if a meal has gluten in it, if you recently got “glutenized” by another food item.  Example:  I got the xxx’s from the sushi on Friday night.  Saturday we went out for a meal.  I think it was ok, but I can’t really tell if the symptoms are just a carryover or if the meal was problematic.

It seems to me a painstaking process to wait for all the symptoms to go away to be able to test another food/situation….but that’s what I had to do in the beginning.

I suppose I just need someone else to tell me that yes, this is pretty much how it works.

 

Medical ID Bracelet

I mentioned to my sister-in-law about trying to get people to take me seriously and honor my need/attempt to stay gluten free.  She suggested getting a medical id bracelet.  Well.  I looked on the web thinking, “I really don’t want to wear a granny bracelet” (quite honestly, I don’t want to have to explain to every patient and family I see, but on the other hand, it would stop them from offering me cookies after the first time).

Lauren’s Hope Website has some really sharp medical id bracelets.  I really like the “Butterfly Kisses”, and really really like “Fairy Dust”.  Gotta save a few pennies, but I just might get a bracelet.  There are kinds for everyone.  I’ll post if I try one.

 

Firehouse Restaurant

We don’t get to eat out often.  Twice in a week is a record in quite a while.  Tonight was MUCH better.  The FireHouse Restaurant in Harrisburg PA was very accommodating.  I called in advance (ok 4 times) but was unable to talk to anyone because they are so busy.  But when I got there, I told the hostess who alerted my server.  She helped me with the menu.

When the food came to the table, I thought…uh oh….it was pan seared tuna and rice, but the vegetables looked like they were drenched in soy sauce.

I asked the server if I could have a new plate with the steamed vegetables one of our dinner mates had.   It took a while, and I was really hungry and started chewing on the gf bread I brought from home just in case.   When she came back,  it was a totally new plate, without the rice.  She said that she called and asked her husband who was Thai and a chef (but not working in the restaurant that evening), and he told her to give me a new plate, have them cook me new fish, and not serve the rice because he knew that their particular rice blend had gluten in the seasoning!  They re-served me a whole new dinner!

I still feel kind of off from yesterday’s sushi mess, and I’m hoping that more of my experiences are like this one today.

 

Celiac and Hashimoto’s

I did just a bit of research today and was really surprised to find information linking autoimmune thyroid disorders and celiac. When I think about it, it does make sense, because they are both inflammatory processes. Check out this article which talks about a connection between celiac disease and hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Another article even made the inference that eating a gf diet can help with thyroid medication metabolism, or reduce the need for medication. There was much more and I barely scratched the surface.

I did do a bit of emailing with family members, one with known celiac. It helped a little bit to hear that my struggles are not unique.

Let’s see how I did. I hope my links work!

 

Celiac, Autoimmune Disorders, and Thyroid Problems

Well, today I went to the doctor and thanks to a very intuitive medical student’s research, and multiple trips to the lab and imaging clinics, was handed a stack of papers to explain Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.  It’s an autoimmune disorder where your thyroid (ultimately) ends up hypoactive, and you take thyroid replacement medication.  Mine’s in the transient (meaning a month or a year?) hypERactive phase, which explains the remainder of the unpleasant and nerve-jarring symptoms I’ve had over the past few years.  From what little I could find this evening, Hashimoto’s is in the same class of autoimmune disorders as celiac.  So how much will it calm down as I continue to go gf?  I have to wait and see.  In the meantime, the wonder of pharmaceuticals has a short-term answer to assist with managing the symptoms.  I just have to stay on top of my symptoms, know when to call the doctor, and adjust the medicine as necessary.

While I’m not happy at all with even the potential of taking medication forever,  I am very glad to know that there is a reason why I’ve felt so lousy and that there is something I can do about it.