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Hello;

I am a newly diagnosed celiac sufferer.  I was diagnosed as having
Idiopathic Anaphylaxis (hives and shock symptoms for years) I have bad
and chronic asthma problems, allergies, and feel about 80 yrs old.
Doctors had no idea what to do for me, so I have been on prednisone and
a million other drugs forever.  It has made me bloated and I have the
confusion and irritability and sleeplessness from it and I still have
the hives, but the shock has been kept under control at least.

I have not gone gluten free as of yet.  I am doing a tour of my favorite
restaurants, with all of my favorite foods, as kind of a send off before
I even start to think about doing this.  I am really nervous about it
for some reason.  This has been really hard for me.  My aunt has a
really bad case and we are sure my grandmother has had it for years.
Since the diagnosis is so new, this is going to be oh-so-hard for me to
do. I was wondering if there are any support groups in downtown Chicago?
 This city revolves around food and beer and I have no idea where to
start or how to shop etc... Any advice or names of people that can help
me start out would be of much help.  Thank you in advance!

Jennifer in Chicago