Rashes

Yes, I used the plural form on purpose. I have had multiple rashes since I can remember.

Eczema - I have had eczema since I was a baby. This is a dry, flaky, itchy rash. Luckily, I usually only have a few little spots. I know some people who get huge spots everywhere. Lotion and Hydrocortisone cream will help relieve the itching and dry feeling temporarily. The only thing you can do for it permantly is, find out what the cause of it is, usually some sort of allergin, and stay away from it. Eczema is a known symptom of celiac disease and since I have been gluten free I have noticed that my spots are going away.

Hives - The chronic hives started when I was about 11 years old. The only way I can think to describe hives is itchy welts... everywhere. After going to the doctor and getting extensive allergy testing done they threw their hands up and said they didn't know what was causing it. Over the years I figured out that I got hives when I was exposed to cold or when my hormones fluctuated. After becoming immune to Benedryl the doctors put me on a daily, sometimes twice daily, dose of Claritin to try to keep it under control. Hives are not on the list of known symptoms for celiac disease. However, I have not had hives once since I have been gluten free. Plus I stopped taking Claritin when I started the diet. That means that the hives are gone!!

Dermatitis Herpetiformis - This is by far the worst rash I have ever had. It started around first or second grade. Most people who have it get it on their elbows, knees, and rear end. Over the years I have gotten it everywhere. However, since high school I have mainly gotten it on my face. If you have dermatitis herpetiformis, you have celiac disease... period. For patients with this rash it is usually the only symptom of celiac disease they have. (Not in my case, I guess I'm just lucky) This is an intensely itchy rash that appears as watery blisters. I have been really lucky with this because I usually only get small outbreaks of it and it does clear up for short periods of time. Usually people get large breakouts and it rarely goes away. Since I have been gluten free it has pretty much gone away! Every once in a while I will get one or two spots that clear up very quickly.

I am amazed that cutting out one thing from my diet has cleared up all the rashes I have had since the time I was little. I can take a lot of things but itching all the time was one thing that really got to me. I am so excited that I don't have to spend the rest of my life scratching!

Osteopenia

During the process of diagnosis the Doctors decided to test several of my nutrient levels. My Vitamin D level (among others) came back low. Because of this they decided that I needed to have a Bone Density test. I must admit that I am truly grateful that we have the technology we do because all that was recquired of this test was to lay on a bed and be scanned. I went into this test thinking "No problem, what could go wrong with this?" (I didn't even have to have my mom come with me!!)
So, the day of my appointment came. I happened to be getting the test done in a Breast Health Clinic. That made sense to me; Old ladies need regular mammograms and bone scans, why not have it in the same place. When I walked in I was definitely the youngest person there, by about 40 years. I got some pretty odd looks. After a few minutes I got called back and was given some instructions to prep for my test. It went something like this:

Nurse: "Undress, completely from the waist up and put your clothes on one of the hangers."
Me: (If I needed to undress at all wouldn't I have to completely undress?)
Nurse: "Here is a gown for you. The opening goes in front."
Me: (Why would it really matter? It's not like I'm gonna have to take it off.)
Nurse: "Are you wearing deodorant?"
Me: "Yes." (Why wouldn't I be?)
Nurse: (Giving me a look of 'you should know better') "Well, use one of those wipes there and clean the underarm and breast area completely.
Me: (Getting slightly nervous as my worst fears are realized) "Why do I need to take off my deodorant?"
Nusre: (With exasperation now) "Because it gets all over the machine and messes up the results of the test."
Me: "I just want to make sure we are on the same page. I'm here for a bone scan, not a mammogram."
Nurse: "Oh... well then I guess you can keep your deodorant on then."
Me: (Right, because that is really what I was worried about. Not, the fact that you were about to send me through the squish-o-matic 20 years too early.)

So everything turned out fine and I ended up getting the right test done (although I did have an escape plan ready just in case). The bone density test was the easiest test I have done yet; No poking with cold hands, no needles, and best of all, no squishing!! All you do is lay on a table and this arm-thing passes up and down you (you seriously feel like you are in a computer scanner; makes the same noise too).

Alright, getting to the whole point of this post... The results came back and I have Osteopenia. The medical definition for Osteopenia is a bone density that is 1.0 to 2.5 standard deviations below the norm. Osteoporosis is anything below 2.5 standard deviations. The norm is the average bone density for a 30 year old woman. The reason the norm is set at 30 years old is because up until 30 you increase your bone density. After 30 you start to lose bone density. So what is the big deal with Osteopenia? Well, nothing really. If you are over 30 and you have Osteopenia your risk for later Osteoporosis is VERY high. In this case doctors may start you on some treatment or just wait and see if Osteoporosis set in. Luckily for someone like me, who has several years before I hit 30, it's not a big deal at all. I have plenty of time to build back bone density once I start absorbing nutrients again.

Here are some things that help increase bone density: Calcium supplements Vitamin D supplements Daily exposure to the sun, unprotected (15 minutes in unprotected sun exposure will give you 1,000 IU of Vitamin D) Weight bearing exercise (This could be something as simple as walking) So right now I will be taking a lot of sunny walks! What could be better than that? :)

An interesting side note... For anyone who has malabsorption problems DO NOT take any Osteoporosis medications like Boniva or Fosamax! When your body can't absorb the calcium it needs from what you intake, it turns and takes it from your bones instead. The way Osteoporosis medications work is it seals off your bones so that your body can't take the calcium from them. If you can't get the calcium from what you intake or from your bones this leads to a serious depletion of calcium which could cause things like strokes. No good!

Eating Out

"Hey guys let's all go to Olive Garden!" Can I just say that I love Olive Garden, and yet it is probably the scariest place on earth I could go right now. Between the pasta and the dairy, you might as well just give me a death sentence; or at least I'll wish I was dead. But seriously, eating out is not something that I am doing right now.

There are a few restaurants (not Oilive Garden) that offer gluten-free menus but then there is still the issue of cross-contamination in preparation. Several of the books I have read have said that it's not a big deal; all you have to do is go into the restaurant and explain the situation to the server and they will be happy to accommodate you. One book even suggested that you print out a card that explains your 'special' needs. These authors also suggested that you might need to check labels of some of the restaurant's ingredients. One person even said that she has had her server bring her a two gallon bucket of dressing to the table so she could read the ingredients. Plus the fact that after all that there is still a chance that your food will be contaminated.

I'm sorry but I am not about to do any of that. Plus I've worked in the food industry before, I know what goes on behind the scenes. Here's how it usually goes down...
Server: "No problem ma'am. We'll do our best."
In the kitchen... Server: "This crazy lady at table 42 has some 'special' instructions for the cooks. You need to..."
Cooks: "Awww.. come on... you've got to be kidding me! If she has so many issues why doesn't she just stay home and cook for herself!! What do we look like personal chefs!?! We don't have time to worry about all this; we've got other orders to fill!"
(This is when they decide to either spit in your food or ignore the 'special' instructions. Either way, I don't want to eat the food.)

There would also be a lot of colorful language which I left out; but they are right. In my opinion restaurants are there to serve what they offer, which is on the menu. They are not there to serve our every need and desire. If you want all your needs satisfied get your own chef, cook for yourself, or bring your own food when you go to restaurants. I have brought my own food to restaurants and haven't gotten kicked out yet, but usually I just cook for myself; although, I think my mom could qualify as a personal chef. :) The nutritionist I went to gave me a good tip for eating out. She said, "Stick with the extremes of restaurants. Go to either the really cheap ones like Taco Bell and Wendy's or the really expensive ones. The cheap ones really don't have a way to cross-contaminate your food because of the assembly line process they have going on. The expensive ones cater to more individual needs. The middle ground, like Chili's, Outback, and Macaroni Grill is where you can get into the most trouble. They have a strict menu and don't tend to cater to specific individual needs."

 Like I said before, I personally don't think that eating out is a good idea unless the restaurant has separate cooking areas for gluten and gluten-free items, and has practices against cross-contamination. There are a few restaurants where I live that have good practices that I might try once I feel better. You can easily do Google searches for your area to find if there is anything near you.

It's not the same...

I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. As far as I know they are not gluten-free. This past weekend I wanted a sweet treat. Well, we had Hershey's chocolate bars and peanut butter in the house. I thought maybe if I put the two together it would be like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup! Nope. It's not the same. Bummer.

Gluten Free Review

This is going to be a long post. I have tried many 'gluten-free' products and have yet to post about them, so here we go...

Van's Blueberry Waffles- These were not delicious. They crumbled, had a rough texture, and no flavor. Seriously, nothing. Every once in a while I thought I tasted a hint of blueberry, but that was it. It was not worth the raw mouth you get from eating them. However, if you just need a base for some syrup or something these might be good for you.

                                                                                            

 French Meadow Bakery Brownies - You can buy these in the frozen section of Whole Foods. I enjoyed them. However, you have to eat them while the are still a bit chilled. If you let them come completley to room temperature that are kind of gritty. While I did enjoy them I do not think they are worth the price. They are about $7.00 a box and you get 9 small brownies. I can make my own that taste just as good or better for much less.

A Taste of Thai Garlic Basil Coconut Rice First - Let me say that I love rice mixes. Before I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease Rice A Roni and such was my favorite stuff. Now, that said, this rice mix was not my favorite. I love Thai food but something just seemed a bit off with the flavors. Also, I made it per the directions, and it was all cooked, but it just seemed dry. I don't know if it was just the kind of rice they used, I have never had Jasmine rice before, but it wasn't my favorite. And again, it was a bit expensive for what I got out of it. I'm sure that I could come up with something that I like better on my own.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Brownie Mix -

Your first reaction when you see these brownies is going to be, "Is that chocolate or poop?" If I hadn't been the one to make these I would have said poop. These were not good, at all. They were gritty and had a nasty after-taste. I can and have made homemade gluten-free brownies that taste much better than these. I love Bob's Red Mill but this is not their best product.

Funny story though... I took these brownies to a party so that there would be something that I could eat. Unfortunately I couldn't get to some people to tell them to watch out because they were 'special' brownies. It was really funny to watch their faces across the room as they stuck the whole thing in their mouths. Towards the end one of my friends came into the room and said, "Pumba, I'm sorry I thought you left and I threw out your brownies." The guy sitting next to me turned and said with a tone of relief, "Oh, you brought those brownies? That makes sense now... there was no real flour in them." Needless to say they were not the hit of the party.

Boomi Bars

I didn't take a picture of these, sorry. I tried three different kinds. Macadamia Paradise was delicious but very sweet. I loved the mix of flavors between the pineapple and the macadamia nuts. Perfect Pumpkin --- (something, I can't remember what, sorry) was good too. It had a fruit and nut bar taste to it, which I love. Walnut Date was good too. It was more plain than the other two, but still good. While these are good I probably wouldn't buy them on a regular basis, but if they were around I would eat them. I could probably make my own fruit and nut bars that taste just a good. That's going to be one of my next experiments.

Larabar - I went to a Celiac support group meeting recently and they had these to try. I am so glad I did not pay money for these. I tried two kinds, Apple Pie and Pecan Pie. I tried the Apple Pie one first. It was gross. Seriously, it was dry and had this really funny tang. Seeing as these bars are mostly nuts and dates I thought that the plainer Pecan Pie one would taste better. However, it tasted exactly the same as the Apple Pie one. If I had been blind-folded I wouldn't have been able to tell them apart. I have recently been experimenting with nuts and dates and my wacky experiments have turned out way better than either of these bars.

Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal - I actually liked this. It's really plain but you can do so much with it. I really liked it with honey and cinnamon in it. I have also tried it with blueberries. I also think it would be really good with baked apples, bacon and cheese (if I could eat cheese), and so many other things!! It's kind of like grits but chewier. It also has a more neutral flavor than grits, much more versatile. I would definitely recommend this.

So, the trend throughout this post, except for the Hot Cereal, is that most things that are made to be gluten free and not very good. I have found that it is better to experiment with homemade things and things that are naturally gluten free. This just further supports my idea of eating a mostly whole foods diet. But I will probably try more 'gluten free' things hoping to find something that is good. I'll keep you posted.