[camperjen]

You didn't say (I didn't catch?) how long you have been gluten free, but it can take a couple of months to truly get it all out of your system. With my dairy-allergic/sensitive boy (now 9yo), he was dx at 5.5yo and we started eliminating slowly. First cheese sticks, yogurt and regular milk and then other stuff and eventually (maybe even a year or more) all the "natural flavors" foods as well. The point, though, is that the first couple of months when he first went off it and should have felt better, his body did a "dairy dump" and he was sick MORE often (one of his symptoms was vomiting every 4-8 weeks since he was under a year) rather than less. In fact, it took over a year before his system truly started to show signs of being stronger, and now that it's been 4 years, it was only the past year or two that he gets sick *only as often* as his non-allergic little brother. That means three years until his body was in full-strength mode.

It might take longer than you think for the tonsils and swelling to go down. And it may get worse before it gets better.

---------- Post added at 01:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:21 PM ----------

OH, and about eating out. Yeah. My mom still doesn't really get it (it's been four years). We're coming up on holidays and they make me nervous every time. Two years ago my mom tried to tell me that her olive oil butter didn't have dairy in it but I knew from the brand name that it did. She finally had my sis get the packaging out of the garbage to prove it. Then at the meal she gave me trouble over telling my son that he couldn't have sweet potatoes (he hates them and had tried them only two months earlier and said yuck) because they were also packaged and most likely made with dairy. Sure enough, middle of the meal, my sister is again instructed to go to the garage and dig out the garbage package to prove it. She's forever suggesting italian restaurants (cheese, cheese and more cheese!) and stuff like that. As was suggested before, since my son is older, I ask him if we can go to ____ restaurant and I can buy him a subway sandwich on the way. He'll then eat the sandwich (on a plate) as his main dish and we will purchase drinks and sides (fruit, fries, whatever) from the restaurant. Sometimes he says no, he'd rather not do that - and we respect it every time. I don't think he knows the disputes between Mom and me about it, and frankly it's not his business. He would think it's his fault for having the allergy. It's my job to make it seem as every-day as possible and deal with it.