<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Best i can tell, it's not normal but it has happened to others.

W/ regard to the cutting board source of gluten, i received two recommendations
1) use bleach, it kills the AIDS virus, it must get rid of gluten
2) sand it down.
(I"ll probalby do both, i had planed to give it away)

Thrush was suggested, as sudden and severe changes in diet can cause
bacterial imbalance in the gut.  I'll be looking into that.  Will try
cutting out sweets and breads a bit for a while, I was leaning on them
pretty heavily.  will eat youghurt with live cultures for a while also.

It was recommended that i look into the following:

Corn Allergy Casein Intolerance Lactose Intolerance  (Somebody Said LI
can cause symptoms resembling asthma) Dairy Allergy

Other possibilities "YOu could be reacting to toxins in your sheets and
bedding ...in your next wash, throw in one cup of caking soda into wash
water which will dissolve the formaldahyde found in sheets etc. change
your pillows to primaloft or other antiallergic materials. check for
hidden gluten....you may be one of us who react to white vinegar [found
in pickles, salad dressings etc ] and canola oil. " I won't use canola
oil or white vinegars for a while and see if that helps, however i
haven't used pickles, or non GF salad dressings since this all began.
(and i mean STAMPED as gluten free)

One person indicated it HAS been a horrible allergy season in the east
with all the mild air.

I found i could be reacting to foods i'm not allergic too (that thrilled
me, let me tell you)

I was recommended the following books w/r/t clean, allergy free homes
oops, i appear to have lost that email.  If that person would resend
them to the list, i'm sure the list will appreciate it.

And these books w/r/t treating a disease and not a symptom
Digestive Wellness by Elizabeth Lipski
Natural Health, Natural Medicine by Andrew Weil
and Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James and
Phyllis Balch

W/R/T how long, i did get this
My Mayo doctor told me it takes from six months to a year to
start to feel good again! It took me almost a year.

and in a note from vance, i got:

When celiacs first go on a gluten free diet they should also abstain
from ALL dairy until the diet is stabilized and they know what bothers
them and what does not. Once stabilized they can suddenly re-introduce
milk for a day and see what happens.  If they have a strong reaction to
the dairy, they should abstain for a year or more before trying again. .

For all the information you'll ever need on lactose intolerance try Don
Wiss's site: http://www.panix.com/~nomilk/ .


Then there was generic advice "First of all, you need to be evaluated
thoroughly by an allergist. It sounds as though your allergic response
is increasing rather than decreasing and that by eliminating gluten, or
trying to eliminate gluten, you are not able to curtail this systemic
response. Taking large quantities of meds is not a solution, but only a
temporary fix. The best approach, as you probably agree, is to root out
the cause of the problem. There may be another allergen that you are
ingesting which you don't even know about yet.

Secondly, you need to find a way to deal with the stress involved in a
life-changing diagnosis. This may mean cutting out some stressful
stimuli from your life. Research has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt
that allergic/asthmatic responses are highly stress-related; meaning
that you will have worse asthma and allergic reactions if you are
overstressed. My answers to this (which I'm not suggesting will be your
chosen answers) have been to do yoga, pay strict attention to getting
enough sleep, acupuncture, and go to talk therapy to cope with having a
chronic illness and trying to live a normal life.  There have been
modifications to my work schedule, and there have been some losses to my
ability to socialize as often as I'd like. No matter. The important
thing is to get yourself feeling better. When you start to feel better,
the modifications do not seem like sacrifices at all.  Third, somehow
you need to eliminate all or most of your contamination sources.  We all
struggle with this one, and I'm sure that others will give you lots of
ideas on this one.

I really hope that you are able to get some relief from your pain and
discomfort. Please post a summary of replies as I'd love to read what
others have suggested to you. " AND "I have asthma so I know what you
are feeling. Sounds like your asthma is not under control and that can
put you in the hospital, if you survive a severe attack. Your lungs are
so inflammed that you are borderline for an emergency room visit. It
also sounds to me like you don't have the right medications.  You
shouldn't have to use your emergency inhaler very often. I speak from
experience ( 2 hospitalizations that were very serious).

That's when I finally saw a pulmonary specialist.

I don't know if you are seeing a pulmonary physician, but it sounds like you
aren't.

Flovent and serevent prevent asthma attacks from occuring for the most part.
A new combination inhaler called Advair is out on the market, and it is
wonderful. It is just the two medicines combined, and you only have to pay
one co-pay. But if something happens that you get into trouble, that is when
you are supposed to use albuterol.

You need to determine your current lung function now. Do you have one of
those meters that you blow into to determine air flow? A level of 300-400
is a "green zone". 200-300 is the yellow zone, and you should use your
emergency inhaler. Below 200 is the red zone and you should use the inhaler
in 15 minute intervals. If the emergency inhaler isn't working, you need
some prednisone. I have to take 40 milligrams the first day, 30 the second
day and 20 the third day, then I stop. But if the inhaler and the prednisone
don't work within a few hours on the first day, I am supposed to go to the
emergency room.

Since I have followed this asthma management program, I have only had to take
this emergency prednisone approximately 5 times in the last 6 years.
Your immune system causes the asthma as well as the celiac response. Lots of
people have a separate immune system disorder in addition to their celiac
disease.

I hope you get some medications that control your attacks. You might want to
find the time to really get rid of the pet dander and dust that can trigger
your attacks. It really is quite serious. "

NOTE: i have not been diagnosed (yet) with asthma.  Just allergies.
Once i get the place clean, i may hire a weekly maid service, as they
say that helps control dust and dander (weekly cleaning, not maid
services.)

Miki Tracey
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