<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
My story is very similar to Debbie McCollister's. I was diagnosed
celiac as a kid. According to my parents I couldn't have any wheat
until the age of 4. (THEY felt bad because they couldn't give me the
same pretzel as the other-kids were having.) Apparently back in those
days (early sixties) they thought they people outgrew the disease.
I can recall making conscience decisions as a teenager to "not eat
breakfast/lunch so that I won't feel bad." However, I never
pinpointed the problem. Since that time I suspected and tried to
eliminate MSG from my diet. This helped a lot but not enough.
I had heard from various sources that MSG can "hide" in such
ingredients as: Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Natural Flavorings,
Yeast Extract, etc. Sound Familiar???? Although I continued to eat
and drink things that had Natural Flavorings as long as they were in
the sweet family. (e.g., beverages, ice cream, etc...). While in
college I consumed mostly food-service food -- lots of starches,
breads, gravies and sauces. These left me non-functional even though
I didn't really experience the gastric distress often complained of.
Following each meal I "beached" on my dormroom floor for several
hours - unable to summon the strength to much else. Even when I did
have the strength I was unable to concentrate and certainly couldn't
study.
Recently after the conference in Baltimore this past July the
Baltimore Sun did a piece on celiac. The discussions in the article
about the aliases for gluten such as Natural Flavorings tied in with
my experiences with my perceived aversion to MSG. I knew that a
breakfast of pancakes would leave me feeling sullen, bloated, and
fuzzy-headed whereas eggs didn't. Well...all of a sudden the pieces
started to fit together.
Most recently I had what I feel certain is a case of DH on my legs
following a vacation during which I eat more than usual amounts of
grains. My General Practitioner simply gave me a steriod cream and
told me to go on my way. (I knew nothing of DH at the
time...otherwise I would have demanded a biopsy.)
In any case, I put myself on a strict GF diet. (Given my perceived MSG
problems I had been carefully reading labels for years so that part
wasn't so hard for me.) Within 2 days I was feeling MUCH better with
seemingly boundless energy. I have been on that GF diet since that
time 8 weeks ago.
A few weeks ago went to see my gastroenterologist. Who, after hearing
my symptoms suggested that I wasn't celiac but would do a blood test.
The only test given was the gliaden anti-body test which came back
negetive. (I'd been GF for 5 weeks at that point.) Thus her
conclusion that I wasn't CS - end-of-story from her part.
Bottom Line....I am now on a self-prescribed lifelong GF diet. While
there are many food items I would love to be able to eat, I have
gladly given them up for having my life back. It is a hardship, but
much less of one then being depressed, moody, fuzzy, bloated, etc...
I personally don't need a Drs stamp of approval to validate what I
know in my heart to be true - I may not have sprue but I certainly can
not tolerate the grains contra-indicated for sprue patients.
BTW, going back to the MSG sensitivity I noted earlier, I have been
using soy-only soysauces which do contain natural amounts of MSG
without incident....
David Schwartz
[log in to unmask]
|