Wheat/gluten-free test questions

[Piper2]

I still really want to know if Kevin is sensitve to gluten, but it's hard enough doing Feingold with DH fussing about it -- whenever I suggest trying gluten-free, he freaks. :rolleyes So I'm thinking about doing a test next month when DH is away on a business trip, but I'm wondering if 5 days is enough for it to even be worth it. Would it?

And because it would only be for a short time and I'm not sure if I can handle totally gluten-free, I was considering just going wheat-free for that week (we've gone dairy-free before without any change that we could detect). If Kevin is sensitive to gluten, but we only eliminate wheat for a few days, is there a chance that doing that would show enough of a result to indicate that we should maybe go further with it?

[Radosny Matka]

I did gluten free for a short time. It really isn't that hard. There are gluten-free versions of just about everything out there - from flour, frozen foods, breads, cereal, pasta... Not sure if you have a good Natural co-op or natural section of a grocery store around you. :hug It's not as hard or bad as it seems. If *I* can do it (the carb queen), anyone can.

[Piper2]

Well, since I'm only going to be doing it for a few days, I don't want to go get a whole lot of gluten-free things (DH already complains about the cost of the "special" foods we have to buy for Feingold). I just started thinking about this today, but I figured I can get a loaf of rice bread (the grocery store down the road sells one variety of one brand), some gluten-free cereal (like Puffins) or gluten-free waffles, plain meats and veggies, rice, and some gluten-free cookies (or make my own peanut butter cookies -- although I'd have to make a new batch every day! :yum). So I guess I would be going mostly generally gluten-free.

I know I'm dreaming -- I've been told it takes at least a month before gluten gets out of your system, but I've also heard stories of almost instantaneous changes, especially in autistic kids when gluten was removed -- but it would just be wonderful if DH came home to a different kid, and that way we'd know, KWIM?

[findingjoy]

It wouldn't hurt to try! I say go for it. It's true it can take awhile to get the offending substance completely out of your body, but you might also see some improvement in 3-4 days. You could try it for those five days and then just see if you can make it longer. Try to go heavy on the inexpensive gluten-free foods like rice and rice cakes and just a few gluten-free treats to help ease the transition. You can try a nut butter and jelly on a rice cake as a treat. I know it's not easy, but you're a wonderful mommy to try to figure out your ds's sensitivities. Hope it goes well!

[cobluegirl]

pm Crystal and ask her....they are Gf she might have an idea.

[Piper2]

Well, I've bugged poor Crystal about this more times than I can count, and the main reason I didn't ask her directly this time is because I figured she had enough going on without going :banghead about my not going through with going gf yet again. ;) Also I just wanted to hear some other opinions and experiences with it, since I pretty much know her story. :)

[ArmsOfLove]

Here's the thing . . . wheat free isn't going to make any difference if he needs to be gluten free. And you *might* see some results in a week, but you might not :shrug

[Piper2]

I knew you'd say that, and I agree. :) Actually, when I looked back at what I'm planning on feeding him that week, it all looks gluten-free rather than just wheat-free (that might actually be easier to find anyway because gf is probably more prominently listed on the front of the packages).

But do you think that short of a trial period would be worth the trouble, if that's the best I can manage right now?

[ArmsOfLove]

Well, I knew by the end of the first week (actually by the middle) that we were definately on the right track. I'd go for it--and then take it one day at a time after that :)

[Irene]

I found too that going gluten free was just as "easy" as going wheat free. If I was gong to find subs, then I just found anything that said gf and not just wf. ya know?

with us, we saw a difference in a few days. not sure how many, it wasnt as quick as dairy, but it was within the week I know. you are already off preservatives and whatnot, which some have gluten in them too, so you wont really have that to worry about. I think if you started the morning dh left by the time he got back he would see a difference, if it was affecting him.

My dh complains all the time about the expense too, but theres no way he would go back to the crazies ;)

[inesperada]

I understand. When we first started gf with ds, it was supposed to be for just a couple weeks, so I didn't want to invest in a lot of gf foods, either. I have talked to a few people with Celiac disease (diagnosed as adult) that have all told me that they could tell the difference in one week, and they can tell within four hours if they accidentally ingest gluten. My gut says that you would know by the end of the five days whether it was the right track or not, and would have something to tell your dh. Besides, it's a lot easier than it seems and I don't think it would be as strange of a diet as he thinks it would. :)

[Miss Priss]

I found it's way less expensive if you don't try to sub stuff, ie..Instead of sandwiches, have roll ups (roll up the cheese and GF lunch meat together).