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From:
Alison Warthling Payne <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 14 Apr 1999 20:38:25 -0400
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thanks for all the great advice. I feel I am suffering due to stress and
not getting the proper nourishment, B vitamins or exercise. I also have
to stop eating out so much and start making my food from scratch.  I am
very sensitive to msg, nutra sweet and preservatives.  Here are some
summaries to help other college students in the same situation:

    1..  Ensure is GF, and readily available.  Don't know about the taste!
You can get plain patties at a McDonalds, don't get the sauce, it isn't GF.
(I found out the hard way!)

2..  I realized that I was symptom free on Easter, April 12th of last year.
I began the diet on 5th February 1998.  That was a little over two months.  I
may have been symptom free earlier.  [My symptom was severe and chronic
allergic asthma.]  Fatigue stayed with me until I started taking no Flush
Niacin - 500 mg.  I'm 62 so I ascribed my mental fatigue to age

    3.. Alison - Be sure you are taking adequate B vitamins.  Could help

    4..  Perhaps you should be tested for hypothyroidism which cause the
problems listed above.  Celiac & hypothyroidism are both auto-immune diseases
and many Celiacs (my mother included) was diagnosed with the condition.  They
must have caught the hypothyroidism early because she was only on the
synthyoid for a short time - until her thyroid started producing again ,
generally you're on it the rest of your life.

    5..  You can speed up the healing process by taking L Glutamine & a
complete acidophilus capsule with each meal.  This heals the leaky gut
syndrome which is part and parcel of celiac disease.

    6..  In addition, my my/homeopath told me to take VETRATRUM ALB 30C 2
pills under the tongue as needed which stops celiac symptoms COLD.  You can
find it at health food stores.  I keep it with me at all times.

    7..  If you can tolerate mild, Carnation Instant Breakfasts & Boost
Supplements are both good--especially chilled like a shake.  You can even add
frozen yogurt or fruit to perk them up.  I don't know how long it takes for
memory to come back.  When you're malnourished, it damages brain cells.  Be
patient & stick with the g.f.  diet.  It should come back.  Eat healthy to
also help.  Take a multivitamin(Freeda/Nature Made are g.f.).  Good Luck.
College is tough without any health problems.  GeniSoy supplement bars are
also gluten free & packed with nutrition--especially like the mint/peanut
butter/ & chocolate coated.

    8..  Most people noticed a difference in days (2-14 days).  Many of the
early improvements were a lessening of the internal upheaval.  As time went
by the other symptoms kept improving (skin rashes, pain, energy etc).  Many
people felt they had gotten most of the way back within about 3 months, but I
got a fair number of warnings that the improvements frequently take longer
(up to a year) and not to get discouraged

    9..  From what has been previously reported on the list, I do believe it
can take a while for the body to recover.  I personally have been on a
gluten-free diet for the past 10 years.  It sounds like you may be suffering
from a vitamin deficiency, which typically occurs before going on the diet
--while there is damage being done.  Are you taking any type of
multi-vitamin?  If not, you may want to start with that.  You also may want
to have a blood test done to determine which vitamins and minerals your body
is lacking.  (2 things I did after being diagnosed) I was diagnosed with
celiac disease when I was in my 20's and was on a gluten-free diet while
going to graduate school.  I had similar trouble with memory and
concentration, but I think it was due to the fact that I was not eating
enough good food.  Once I realized that I tried eating at the university
cafeteria and buying easy-to-prepare gluten-free food like tuna fish and
salad items so that I had something nutritious.  I would also go to a steak
house once a week so that I knew I was getting some iron.  I do not know any
of these are options for you.  BTW this is just from my own experience as a
former college student and diagnosed celiac, not medical advice.  I drank a
nutritional supplement daily before I was diagnosed and it helped me gain
weight.  However, unless you are underweight, I would be careful about a
nutritional supplement because after going gluten-free I gained quite a bit
of weight.  This may have been because I had been starved before going
gluten-free and was eating quite a bit more than usual without having a
reaction.

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