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Friends,

Thank you for helping me out with my question.  Phasyme was listed by several people as being GF.  One mentioned gel caps from Gas X,  but not the chewables, and another mentioned the Equate product equivalent for these gel caps.

Several people offered help with the problem of gas in general.  I'm including their responses here.

    He may well be  bloating from dairy. Most celiacs are lactose intolerant and most don't 
know it.  

    DiGel tablets are listed in Clan Thompson as the only simethicone that is GF, 
but I have not been able to find any in months.  I called the manufacturer 3 
times and they keep telling me they are "temporarily out of stock", but it 
will be back on the market "soon".  That has been about 4 months now.  
We are now using a new product by McNeil called GAS-AID.  It appears to be GF 
as far as I can tell.  I called the manufacturer.  I was told they did not 
test for gluten but are pretty sure it is gluten free.  Having no other 
alternative, we are using it and I guess it is ok.  And I have to say that it 
works really well and is very inexpensive, too.
We also use Peppermint Plus (from the health food store, made by Enzymatic 
Therapy or something like that).  It is very pricey, but works well also. 
Dr. Rudert told us that the source of the gas is undigested food that is 
fermenting.  She recommended a probiotic called Trenev Trio.  It is shipped 
on dry ice from California so you are assured that the bacteria are still 
alive and kicking.  Call 1-877-9-TRENEV if you want it.  Tell them you are 
her patient and they give you 10% off your first order (they don't check if 
you really are, so if you don't mind a white lie, go ahead).  But it is about 
150 bucks for 3 months worth, not cheap.  My daughter has to take a lot of 
antibiotics, so Dr. Rudert felt that her normal intestinal flora were out of 
whack and would always be off balance, so we agreed to this extra expense.
That's all I can share with you about "gas".  

    Also it helps more if he'll chew three papaya enzyme pills immediately 
after eating anything he thinks might gas him up. They're good digestive 
aids even you don't get anything bloating. Probably the best trick I've 
learned in 8 years of eating GF. It will also break down gluten protein and 
stop about 90 percent or more of any gluten attack, if  you get right after 
eating. I always chew three anytiime I eat out. -vance

    It would be better to figure out what is causing the bloating! We did lots 
of experimenting -- every so often something sets me off then I don't eat 
that thing any more. But probiotics help A LOT -- if he isn't taking them, 
he should be. Also I started avoiding all grains except masa and rice. 
Grains have stuff in them that is hard to digest, phytates -- you CAN treat 
them to get the phytates out, but it's easier to eat grains that don't have 
them. Masa has been treated with lime and is therefor more digestible. I 
also get bloated from certain milk products (but not all of them).

Also, Pepto Bismol does help for acute cases and AFAIK is gluten free.

I'll put the rest in another e-mail.

Jane

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *