Discussion Board

I'd first like to tell you a little bit about my history. I found out about McDougall about 5 years ago. I had high cholesterol, weight to lose, and very bad PMS. I went on a vegetarian diet for about 6 months to see if I could lose weight and lower my cholesterol. At this same time, I started using progesterone crème to help with the PMS. After 6 months, PMS was wonderful ( with what I thought that was the progesterone crème ), cholesterol was the same, and no weight was lost. I started eating meat again, and the PMS came back even with my using the crème. Soon after, I realized there would be no more meat for me. I was diagnosed with IBS in 2002. I wasn't a very informed patient at the time. I started taking a green pill every time before I ate. That lasted probably 6 months--Got tired of doing it.

Since I was trying to take care of myself, I decided I needed to quit smoking to help me feel better. I started walking a couple of months before I quit. Each time the girls here at work went on a smoke break, I went on a walking break. It was pretty cool, and I think it helped break the smoking habit. I quit Feb 2002. I was walking 4 1/2 miles a day, but I wasn't losing any weight. I wasn't gaining either, so I was pretty pleased. I started working out in exercise classes here at work to try to help me lose weight--wasn't working. For a period of about 4 months, I was working out at Curves 3 times a week, walking 4 1/2 miles a day, 2 sculpting classes a week, and 2 yoga classes a week. No weight was coming off of me. I actually gained 10 pounds and 10 inches according to Curves. My doctor told me he didn't think my thyroid was the problem and wanted to put me on a weight loss pill. I argued and argued with him about running tests on my body to see what the problem was, and he wouldn't do it. Needless to say, I will not go back to him. When a patient is doing all the things I was doing and not seeing results, something has to be the problem.

I constantly read the McDougall boards the whole time I was going through this, and I bought the books, cookbooks, DVDs. I was so proud other people had such great success, but I was extremely jealous. With what all I had done, I probably gained 25 pounds when I quit smoking. Before I quit smoking, I ate out every night fast food-super size meals. I never cooked. Quit smoking and started cooking my own McDougall meals and gained weight. I just didn't understand. I keep reading hoping someone--anyone--would have the same problem as me. When groundhog(g) first started talking about gluten, I didn't think that was me, because I had eaten wheat, flour always. Then she posted an entry about smoking and gluten and got my little mind started churning. I got books from the library and read and read. I was diagnosed with IBS-something else a person with gluten intolerance might do. I was think gluten intolerance is my problem. When I was eating my best, I had grape nuts and shredded wheat for breakfast every morning. I wondered why my legs and feet were swollen so bad at the end of the day-thought it was my weight. Now I know better.

And like groundhog(g), and really don't care for doctors now. I kept the gluten in my diet and debated on which doctor to go to and see about getting tested. My mother doesn't approve of my not eating meat, and I knew she would flip out if I stopped eating food with gluten in them. I thought that if I had the test results in writing, that she would finally be okay with the way I was eating.

Groundhog(g) posted about Dr. Fine and EnteroLab, and I thought 'Why not??' I got the test results today, and it shows that I do have active dietary gluten sensitivity. I have something in writing for my mother, and I am finally at peace with the way my body has acted over the past couple of years. And it may take months for my body to start acting right, but at least I am going in the right direction.

So groundhog(g), thank you for all you do on these McDougall boards. I may not post that often, but I will forever be reading your posts--the more groundhog(g)s the better!!

Patrice

WOW , Patrice! You seem to have come a long ways figuring out your problems!

It's so hard when our problems aren't "text book" enough for doctors to see or even to seem to work out right for us when we read up on stuff like McDougall and then have no luck when we are supposedly doing everything right, but still having things wrong. (whew...THAT was a long sentence!!! Hope it makes sense ).

Anyway, I'm so glad you were able to put it all together, got some results from Enterolab to guide you, and ready to take that gluten-free plunge! Also, I'm rather humbled that my musings helped you along...glad, very glad I was able to help.

Now for the gluten free life...think of it as your chance to be reborn, in a sense. For me, changes were stepwise: better, then worse, then better, then worse, etc. I finally had to devise myself a symptom chart/visual graph to get a view of the small improvements.

I understand that for some lucky people, getting the gluten out results in quick healthy changes...for me, though, it's been a long ordeal, and now in my 10th month of extremely cautious and careful...even PARANOID gluten free living, I am still seeing changes and improvements, little by little.

Thanks for your comments on all of this too, Carroll...I think for those of us who have discovered that we need to be gluten free to be healthy, this forum right here can give us the mutual assistance and exchange of ideas, recipes, problem-solving, etc., we need to make life go easier.

I hope people do start posting here more...I get bored talkin' to myself a bunch --but I resort to it sometimes, we all know .

I know we can make things easier if we all put our heads together !

...chiming in here a little...

I just wanted to poke my nose in and say I've been reading a lot of your posts, groundhogg, and like Carroll I think I'll be doing a gluten-free trial for awhile, beginning in January. It's also going to be a really serious time to avoid eating garbage... I know it's an unproductive thing to do but life has been a whirlwind in both predictable and unpredictable ways.

In the meantime I am traveling and visiting family, but only family I am very close to -- they know I am vegan and welcome my help and suggestions cooking, even though no one else in my extended family is vegan (my husband is, too -- but he lives off of salt, caffeine, and chile -- and I can only handle chile in small amounts, let alone the first two!)

I don't really have the money for the EnteroLabs test but am considering it. Things have gotten very bad for me, health-wise -- I am 26 but faced with needing to take medical leave from school/work since everything has spiraled out of control (no one really knows what's happening, but it's symptoms of fibromyalgia, GI problems, fatigue, dizziness, RA symptoms, etc -- nothing comes back nice and clean from a lab, but it's obvious to my doctors that I'm at least clinically presenting with symptoms even if they can't find laboratory correlates).

Anyway...this seems like one way to try to begin to sift through the mess of my lacking health...and it's going to be good for me, because the only time I really err -- I mean, do something I *know* is bad for me at the time -- is when my inevitable sweet tooth kicks in and I eat purchased baked goods. Of course, maybe having a yeast infection that won't go away for months on end [:shock: ](and years of problems) should be enough!

Hopefully around the time I get around to doing all of this, I'll have more time and I plan on keeping a careful diary of what works and doesn't. And hopefully this also means that I can share recipes!

At any rate, thanks for all your posts, links, suggestions, etc. I have been reading them quietly for some time now.

Hey Colleen, and anybody else thinking they might be having a gluten problem...one thing about testing I've read...NONE of them are entirely accurate...I think the poop test from Enterolab might be more accurate than the genetic test, etc., but still not absolutely 100%. The most definitive "test" is really a person's response to a gluten free diet.

The frustrating part about it, though, is that being 100% gluten free, or as close as possible (cross-contamination with flour dust or crumbs happens if you EVER eat out or live among gluten eaters), is not easy...(although I am happy to report that with time it does get easiER) and it could take several months to really see results.

Some people seem to be pretty lucky, though, from what I've read, especially if they are under 30 years old...seems they usually respond more quickly to a gluten free diet (although I've read stories on message boards where sometimes even small children can take a while...but usually the younger, the quicker)--to make things even more difficult, if you're anything like me...my response to the diet was so back and forth...better one day (or even PART of a day), then suddenly worse again...back and forth and very, very gradual...and in ways at times I felt better from the old usual complaints, but at the same time NEW, weird different things would happen...I mean...I KNEW change was happening...but it was slow, confusing, etc.

So...I'm just saying...diet is the best test, but it does take time, effort, patience (except if you're lucky and start to feel better within the first month!!!)--I didn't feel I had the money for testing such as Enterolab, and didn't go to any doctors (would be cheap for me cuz of insurance) because I just have never had the experience of doctors listening to me or being very good at diagnostics, and have even found them to be overly aggressive in treating WRONG diganoses and getting people into messes from all of that...so...I just opted for the long ordeal of testing my gluten suspcicions through diet alone.

As you may know...I've said it before...I did try back in 2001, and did things all wrong and thought I should feel better quicker...really screwed it all up and came out thinking gluten was not the problem. I had 5 more years to "educate" myself (and see my health go down hill!!!!) before getting it together and having success gluten free.

So...there's my thoughts on all of it fer ya -- If you try gluten free...be very diligent, even paranoid about ANY source, or possible source (when in doubt, do without!--your new motto) of gluten contamination.

Be patient and allow at least 6 months to go by before you decide if you are getting better (unless you're lucky and it goes quickly!)--by the time I'd competed a paranoid 6 months of as close to 100% gluten free as I could possibly manage...I was just BETTER...not really WELL. At 7 months, I saw improvemnet happening more rapidly...during the 8th month or early into the 9th month...I had an embarrassing situation in which I felt almost forced, to avoid rudeness, to eat vegan soup at someone's house...for 3 1/2 weeks I was kicked in the butt with surprisingly bad symptoms...so much so that I was starting to wonder again if gluten was even my problem in the first place...I just had to wait it out, reasoning with myself and reminding myself that I WAS BETTER before I'd eaten that doggone %$## soup...anyway, after 3 1/2 weeks went by...that gets me to my current 10th month gluten free (outside of that stupid accident--I guess that's what it was)--now I am REALLY feeling very, very GOOD! So that's how it seems it can go...but I hope for you it goes quicker and better!

Here's a link to the ingredients lists I use--I carry the list when I shop, and then I re-read my labels as I'm putting the foods away...and then I re-read the labels again before I open the foods to use them in recipes.

Link to allowed and forbidden ingredients lists:

http://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_ca ... 6381587.28

Let me know how it all goes!