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Marge,

I am sorry to hear you are not feeling well.  These things will happen from
time to time.  I found read your letter very interesting.  It gave me some
insight into both the disease and the raionalizations many of us make to
sometimes deny what would be obvious to a disinterested third party.

> I was also convinced, however, that I obviously didn't have such a "serious
>case" as many others since I had no reactions to dairy, felt great, and
>wouldn't know a gluten attack if one occurred.  I therefore decided to be as
>"good" as I could be, but didn't see the point of chasing every little
>"natural flavoring," getting my own cutting board, etc.


I sincerely hope you have changed your mind about this.  It is quite
possible that your sensitivity has increased now that you have been
*relatively* free of gluten for the past few months.

>     Now--after almost 5 months of being GF (at least I thought so), I am
>beginning to get attacks that feel like I've been poisoned, gurgly gut,
>diarrhea, chills, headache, and incredible fatigue.

These symptoms could also be the flue.  Don't discount that.  If most of
these  don't go away after a week of a very strict GF diet, you may have
another problem.

> The last time
>I accidently had some non-dairy coffee creamer after church whose ingredients
>I didn't check and attributed the attack to that.

I am afraid many of us will never by ever to get back to diary (except
lactose reduced). Every couple of months I  give it a shot and get sick.


>garlic cream cheese which I dipped my rice crackers into along with guests'
>wheat crackers.


This is a real no no! Never eat out of a dip or anything else that someone
else has touched.  You could have had a reaction not only to the cheese but
the particles of the other guests' wheat crackers that were left in the
cheese after they dipped.


>Could I possibly have become this sensitive in this short
>time?

Yep.

>  My Gastro said that it's possible
>that I might become more sensitive to gluten, but I guess I didn't expect 1-2
>sick days per week here all of a sudden.  Should I just become ever more
>fastidious (and "abnormal") about my food, or is something else going on
>here?


You don't have to be sick if you follow the GF diet.  From your letter it is
apparent that you have cheated a weee bit.  If you want to be healthy, you
will have to learn that you can never do that.

What this means unfortunately is that whenever you are invited somewhere,
you will have to bring your own food.  This is socially difficult some times
but quite necessary.  Even when people try to accommodate you, they will
make mistakes because there are just too many things to watch. Knowing that,
I have always felt that it wasn't fair of me to make them  responsible for
my health.

Some people are offended by this attitude, Marge, and I have lost many
friends who think that it would be OK to cheat just a little (aw c'mon, ya
mean you can't have even ONE beer).  They felt I was being a fanatic. My
wife comes from a big Italian family. While she is extremely supportive and
protects me like a mother hen, her family just doesn't understand.  Like
most big Italian families they live for food and wine.  It is the center of
their lives.  They think that I'm goofey.  Last time I visited, and was
worked over for not eating their food,  I pulled out a can of Drano from
under my mother-in-law's sink.  The converstaion went like this:

Me : "Mom, would you eat any of this?"

Her: "Of course not, it's poison."

Me : "Well, all that wonderful food on your table is poison to me."

Her: After giving me a dirty look she said, "I'm not suggesting that you
     eat it all the time, but once in a while, it won't hurt you. Just
     have a little"

Me : (I then put one tiny crystal of Drano in a glass of water)
     "Mom, would you drink that.  It only has a little bit of poison in it?"

Her: "Of course not.  It is still poison.  I'm not crazy."

Me : "I can't eat any of that food for the same reason.  For me it's
     still bad"

Her: "But that's different.  That's food not poison.  A little won't hurt you."


I rested my case. My arguements fell on deaf ears.

Marge, at times you will be forced  to make  difficult social choices.  If
you choose friends and popularity over health, you will become seriously
ill. On the other hand, who needs friends  who would rather see you sick
than healthy? In any case I have found that there are plenty of good people
who could care less what I eat and when, and aren't the least bit offended
if I bring a can of tuna and a baked potatoe along for my own simple dinner.
Never feel funny about standing your ground.

>I really need some words of wisdom and comfort.


The only advice I can give is to read, read, read.  The more you know the
easier it gets.

Also, don't feel sorry for yourself.  You are still breathing.  Within one
month of my CD diagnosis, my best friend (we're like brothers really) was
diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.  He was an airline pilot (He  was
about to make captian on a DC-10), has a lovely wife and a  four year old
son who is as cute as can be.  My friend is never going to see his son go to
school, or be able to teach him to throw a ball, or fly a plane.  He is
going to be dead in two years.
--

Cliff Kotchka
Riverside, Illinois

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