Celiac Disease/ gluten Intolerance

SRodi811

DD has been sick (extended stomach, lack of energy, not wanting to do anything, went from being a happy baby to very lethargic, bowel issues, etc) for the last month and a half and after numerous tests, a blood screening for celiac disease came back abnormal.  We are going to have an endoscopy done tomorrow to confirm, but I'm looking for some advice, recipes, anything that you may think will help the process to going gluten free much easier.

 

Thanks!

julandjo

The most helpful resource I've found is this message board:  https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/

There is a board on there for parents of Celiac kids too. 

I haven't found a doctor yet who has given me accurate advice, which is scary!  Learn everything you can about cross-contamination, which will be THE biggest issue your daughter will face in a houseful of gluten eaters.  Also, take a deep breath.  In the beginning this is very overwhelming and it'll feel like you'll never adjust... but it's like any other major change in life.  It takes time.  Hugs!

EastCoastBride

Celiac.com was helpful for me too.  Also, if you have an iPhone or iPad, there is a "Is it Gluten Free?" app that lists safe and unsafe ingredients and also products by names that are GF. It's 7.99 I think but worth it. 

Yes, at first it's overwhelming, but trust me - it will get better.  We've been living w/ it for a year.  Our household isn't GF and we take DS out to eat.  It IS manageable once you get a handle on it.

There are so many GF products out there now too.  Giant and Wegmans have GF sections, and Whole Foods has an obvious label on their shelves for their GF products.  The products are expensive, though.  Udi's bread is by far the best we've found for bread. 

And seeing how well DS is doing now compared to a year ago (literally, we got his dianosis the day before Memorial Day weekend and he spent the first weekend in June in the hospital due to malnourishment!!  Two weekends I'll never forget), I feel confident we've been doing well and he's just a great, happy, healthy kid!

DandelionMom

I have some links in my bio. 

2 of my dds have celiac disease (and after the first one was diagnosed I found out I have it too).  At first it seems really overwhelming but it all becomes second nature pretty quickly.  The first shopping trip ended with me in tears.  But it gets easier. 

When we first got the diagnosis, my sister had Living Gluten-free for Dummies and Raising Our Celiac Kids overnighted to me from Amazon.  They were a godsend. 

Good luck.  You're going to be amazed at how fast kids heal from this kind of thing.  DD was like a new child after just a couple of weeks. 

EastCoastBride

DandelionMom:

DD was like a new child after just a couple of weeks. 

We got DS's diagnosis the day before Memorial Day weekend last year.  On our way  home, we stopped at Whole Foods and picked up a bunch of GF things.  By Tuesday, I could already see a difference!  Obviously it took longer (and a hospital stay the following weekend) for DS to really recover, but we absolutely saw a change w/in days. 

CHS2005

EastCoastBride:

Celiac.com was helpful for me too.  Also, if you have an iPhone or iPad, there is a "Is it Gluten Free?" app that lists safe and unsafe ingredients and also products by names that are GF. It's 7.99 I think but worth it. 

wow- thanks for this! I am just lurking but have a DS with a wheat allergy - thanks again! 

Coleslawcat

I have celiac. I was diagnosed December 2009. You will need to clean your kitchen very thouroughly. You will need to replace your baking soda, baking powder, spices, sugar, basically anything you may have double dipped with a measuring utensil that ever went into a flour or gluten product. You should also replace your wooden utensils and cutting boards as well any scratched non-stick cookware/pans you have. You also need to get a new colander specifically for gluten free. The same goes for your toaster. If you plan to have both gluten and gluten free items in your home you will need seperate toasters/colanders. You also need to keep seperate peanut butter, jelly, condiments that may go on regular bread. 

Here are some products you may want to know about.

Trader Joes Brown Rice Pasta: $1.99 a pound, it's the cheapest gluten free pasta you can find. I think it's every bit as good as Tinkyada which is usually the brand recommened by most.

Udi's baked goods: All of their products are good, their bread is the best nationally distributed gluten free bread you can find.

Tom Sawyer flour/Better Batter flour: These work very well. You can sub them 1:1 into your traditional recipes and the results will be good. They are very expensive, but so are most gluten free flours. It is much easier than playing around with lots of flours trying to come up with your own blend. I've had some success with making my own blends, but nothing that compares to how baked goods come out made with these flours.

Betty Crocker: Gluten free yellow cake, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookie, and brownie mixes. They are good.

Cream of Mushroom/Chicken soups: Not sure of your style of cooking, but if you use those they aren't normally gluten free. Just a few weeks ago I discovered a brand that does make gluten free cream of soups. Pacific Natural Foods. They are in little boxes rather than cans and work well.

There are a lot of restaurants that cater to gluten free and more are starting to everyday. Subway is even doing a test run of gluten free bread in the Dallas area. If Subway can get on board any restaurant can!

I hope your child is feeling better soon. I felt a difference very quickly after going gluten free and I didn't even have major obvious symptoms.

g_belle

not celiac- but my son has a wheat allergy- I love the "cooking for Isaah" cookbook.  The author is a chef/staff member at Rachel Ray.  Everything in the book is wheat and dairy free and very family/kid friendly.  My new favorite pancake and bbq sauce recipies are in there.  She has stufff like pizza and chicken fingers too.  Every recipie we've tried has been pretty good. 

westcoaststyle

Wow! Everyone has already givenuiu such great advice! The Celiac.com website is great and so is the Raising Our Celiac Kids book even if it is a bit outdated. The iPhone app is great, too. I just wanted to add that my DS' symptoms sound JUST like your DC's, and literally within a day of being gluten-free, I saw a difference in his personality-- more energy, etc. He also started eating again which is just so much fun to see. It's been almost a year since his diagnosis and he has gained over 12lbs and grown inches! Everyone has already given you such great advice, the only suggestion I might have is that once you thoroughly clean your kitchen, you might want to consider the whole family going gluten-free. You're going to want to have one place where your child can eat without worry of cross-contamination. It's just easier for you, too. Good luck with the endoscopy tomorrow.