Lots and a New Recipe - Greek Salad!

Greek Salad

Salad Ingredients:

1 bitterfree cucumber,chopped

125 grams fetta (we used sheeps), cubed

10 - 15 tiny roma tomatoes - chopped

1 Spanish Onion, roughly chopped

10 black olives,halved

Mix together in a large bowl.

Dressing Ingredients:

Balsamic Vinegar with Roasted Garlic

Raw garlic

Generous spoon of Basil Pesto

Equal sized spoon of chopped Chives

Mix well then carefully toss through salad.

Obviously this recipe is GF free, Cow product free, extremely easy, quick and worth it in yumminess. The above was served with Woollies brand (NOT Select) steak chips and steak. I emphasize the plain brand as it is oddly the case, the cheaper brands are often gluten-free while the more expensive brand includes wheat based mulitdextrin, excluding it from the GF diet.

Monika is definately still suffering from chronic and sometimes health threatening diahhrea. Keeping the food diary helps - it's shown up a probable Carotine sensitivity - not great - no carrot/pumpkin etc. To keep her borderline we have removed this from our diet - but still she's on gluten. Not until we get a biopsy done - who knows when... and all this time she's losing weight, sick all the time. It is a hair tearing moment.

Raven is still GF and he's changed into a healthy,growing little man. He just holds onto his leavings - but can do them on demand. This is usually us putting up guide posts - he must do chores, do his lessons, go toilet before he can play the game - Little Big Planet. It's working but how long will it be before he's happy to just go without prompting?

Dante's been sick on and off this week. All from party food I'd wager. A particular example that flies to mind is he ordered a milkshake at George's party on Wednesday night, he had diahhrea all day Thursday...

Kai's good. As always.

Labyrinth is emotionally a timebomb, always going off. She's over tired and grumpy, poor concentration, a real problem. So, she is off to have a sleep study in May, same night as Andrew - to test for sleep apnoea for both of them.

As for me, it's up and up! I've been using the Sleep Apnoea machine, sticking to the GF diet (15 months so far!) I've got motivation, energy, less headaches, pain minimum. I do excercise everyday. I think I've isolated another piece of my puzzle - Sjogren's Syndrome. I can't blame my wisdom teeth problems on it though, thats due to a small jaw size. Scary! Proven again by having my jaw measured for the sleep apnoea machine, I needed small. Lots happening - much to be happy for. 15 months ago I just didn't want to go on, and now the hope has grown tangibly. Tough they've put off me seeing a dental surgeon again for another month. ARGH!

So most of my frustration lies on the doorstep of a broken medical system. If we could but be looked after decently Monika wouldn't have to suffer so, and all the waiting for my teeth is an issue too. FIX it up Ruddites. NOW!

That's my small rant over, if you try the salad you will enjoy, Q.

I

The news seems to get better and better.

and worse and worse!

Raven has improved amazingly under the Gluten Free Diet. This of course is NOT enough to prove he has Coeliac's. He has to go and have a biopsy. As an adult I am content, I know what I'm "missing" out on and realise the benefits way outbalance eating something that's making me double over in pain and be unable to make it to the toilet most days (yup that's the reality of the thing). Unfortunately, being a child and later on a rebellious teen, Raven asks me even now "when is my tummy going to stop being gluten free?" Poor little man. So he needs the diagnostic "proof" that it is indeed what it is.
He cetainly doesn't miss out on his share of treats, but he does notice what he's eating is sometimes quite different from the other children.
Hey, I've noticed this since he was a baby, he was in pain while I changed his nappy (the bloated belly) and its re emerged memory is quite strong now he's had to go back into nappies for a short while (his accident's were daily and on furniture at times). But now he seems much better and he's making it every time now. There has been days when his belly is flat (that is amazing considering at times he looks like a pregnant toddler, and never without some form of bloat). He still seems blase about his occasional accidents.

And now for the worst news I've had to contemplate for myself yet. I have wisdom teeth problems. Both bottomies, actually. One's roots is scissoring and one is wrapt around the main nerve of the lower jaw bone. Not only that, if they were to simply cut them free, there would be approximately half a centimetre of jaw bone left in either side. This is a real problem, and I'm forced to see what the Dental Surgeons decide because I'm in the public system. If they class me as priority one I will have emergency status and be dealt with within three weeks, if they don't I'll be priority 2 and may have to wait a year. Headaches, swollen glands, fevers, sore throats (I put them down to my glasses and Coeliac's) is actually my wisdom's pinching my nerve, I have pain every day in my face. Hey, when this gets sorted (and the sleep apnea), may be I'll be almost human! It seems when I'm actually trying my hardest to get well my own body is screwing me up - again. The carefree nature I had as a younger woman/girl is come back to haunt me!

Anyway, that's all for now. At least Raven's getting better! Q,

Home Made Fish Cakes and Updates

Home Made Fish Cakes

Made from mincing (we've got a Kenwood Chef with mincing attachment, also makes sausages, when your GF it makes a difference financially if you do it yourself as much as you are able). So, we minced Cockie Salmon (Australian Salmon), mixed with fluffy mashed potato, crumbed with egg, cumin, salt and pepper and GF rice crumbs/all purpose flour, and deep fried in our new cute little deep fryer. Now alot of people think that deep frying is bad, and it is if you do it all the time - but it actually keeps alot of the fat out shallow frying will let in, so in that sense it's better. What made this meal quite healthy was the huge salad we had with it.

Update: Raven was rejected from the public hospital, so we asked our GP about doing a DNA test on him (and me). Well the results came back... I had one gene that was positive, but Raven had both of the gene markers! (This doesn't actually prove he has CD - it just says he has potential to develop it, but with his symptoms its highly suspicious.) With this in mind, our new GP gave us another referal to the hospital and asked us to take him off gluten and keep a food diary. We've done this religiously all month. There hasn't been a huge improvement so we have gone one step further and have taken him off dairy too. We're trying our best to keep the food as nutricious as possible. During this time we've been keeping a diary on all of the children.

Its become apparent that Monika is suffering diahrea a lot, so we've taken her off dairy only at this stage, but no improvement yet (just over a week). Actually, there has been some improvements with Raven that I should point out: he's ravenous (parden the pun) - which is indicative of CD patients fresh on the gluten free diet; loads more energy, but we're still struggling with bloating and constipation. To help things along a bit more we're including more raw fruit/vegies into his diet. His only source of calcium is Rice Milk/sheeps and goats cheese, so we have to decide if that's OK ie enough and not compacting his constipation issues. We were naughty and didn't have our special juice for about a week, when it was at it's worst. Now we have him on a shot of straight prune juice daily, so we'll see.

As for me? Been more sensitive and got cross contaminated three times in the last fortnight so its been painful and slowed down my really good progress. But before that I had energy! Real energy and motivation. I've also been to see the specialist about my sleep apnea - he says I've got 80% chance of having it and it might just be that last piece of the puzzle that makes me well again. I have to go to the sleep lab on Christmas Eve Eve, mind you... and then I have to wait until the end of January for the results. But there you have it. Q.

The Quest for Dante's Diagnosis....

Is an ongoing saga, as is Ravens.

Our GP hadn't rang about the results of his latest stool sample (if he still carried the intestinal parasites) even today, even though its nearly been 10 days. We even got the pathology bill on Tuesday, but still didn't know. Now my memory is still shocking and I'm coming off anti-depressants cold turkey (headache and nausea city), so these things didn't help. I remembered on the way home today after searching after the question of what to buy Kai for his birthday next week (which still remains a mystery.)

So I rang but of course he couldn't take my call and the admin staff said he'd call when he got a moment. He called back around 7:30 this evening. So the verdict after 10 days? A broken promise. The stool sample came back negative to infestations of aliens in his intestines. The promise was he'd was simply going to refer him directly to the hospital. Now he says to wait and see what happens with Raven on the 16th. Maybe, as Andrew pointed out, there may be some reason for this, if in fact the results on Thursday for Raven say X then it can fast-track a diagnosis for Dante. Where is House when you need him? Either way, we still don't know what's going on and to date its been over 18 months of this pussy footing around. What a hassle if it were life threatening conditions.

As for personally, I haven't gotten any better since going GF. Yes, it was a rather dramatic life changing couple of months, then its no changes. I don't think it is the whole story, I need to be off dairy, but is there more? Is it a true diagnosis since I never had that biopsy? Maybe I should have it, but I know I can't tolerate Gluten, and it does horrible things to me if I as much as smell it...

Oh, it is hopefully going to have some confirmation one way or another come Thursday - we do have the confirmation of a autoimmune disease of some variety, but have you seen how many/how very scary some are? I mean he does have eye symptoms, they are huge and heliosensitive, that might lean him towards something else, but checking over again and knowing my own positive response to a GF diet I am fairly certain it will be Coeliac's Disease.

Wish us luck, will us the best case scenario or pray for us or whatever it is you do if you feel for our cause,
Good Night, Q.

Pizza again... and Raven

Finally happy with pizza! I brought ready made pizza bases from the Gluten Free Shop in Moonah. It was Life Style Bakery: Basil and Garlic. Definately use these from now on! YUMMO! There was two of these size, so not the feed the hordes, but one pizza is definately enough for an adult.
Poor Raven has stopped eating most things, he says he feels sick from eating nearly everything, and going by his bloat and lethargy/paleness I'm not surprised!
He has another appointment to bleed him take more tests before his next appointment at the hospital to see the paed. We're narrowing in but he's suffering for it, sadly, and if he eats the guts out of his sandwhiches and leaves his bread, will this botch his results? We'll see I guess. I feel for the little man, poor guy!

Gluten Free Choc Chip Cookies & update

This is the Gluten Free version of the Choc Chip Cookie recipe on my Quasior's HomeSchool Blog! It ends up being nicer than the gluten version, maybe a bit drier but they still melt in the mouth, or maybe it's just been so long ago I can't remember the difference. Anyway its a step by step recipe:

Gluten Free Choc Chip Cookies

Step 1: Cut up 125 grams of butter (nuttlex or butter substitute should be OK for the dairy intolerant) into squares so they'll melt fast in the microwave. (Easy to double/quadrupile/multiply recipe accordingly). They will probably be done in 30 secs.
Step 2: Add into the melted butter 1/2 cup of soft brown sugar and whisk lots. Then add a whisked up 1 egg into the mixture (should be cool enough by now). When it looks like syrupy caramel like above its good.
Step 2: Into another bowl have 3/4 cup each of Orgran All purpose flour/Self Raising Flour, nicely mixed.
Step 3: Gradually add wet mix to dry until it resembles next photo.

Step 4: Fold into mixture your Gluten Free Choc Chips or choc chip substitutes. It will look like below photo.
Step 5: Gently roll the mix into balls that are then gently pushed onto the tray so they look like these below. (Yes, its a pizza tray... I like it because of the widdle holes the warm air can move up through).
Step 6: Put in a non-fan forced oven at 180 C and bake for 10-12 minutes. This is important. The softer and more melty in your mouth you want is you take it out earlier. For example, these two cookies look the same on the upside. If you want a softer buscuit take out a full 2 minutes earlier.

On the underside of the cookies reveals the difference. The darker golden brown means its crunchier and drier, the lighter colour is still cooked its just softer and more moist. Its personal preference really. I prefer the lighter colour or next to no colour.

Again, if your preferences are like my mothers, then you'll want to leave them in for another 4 or so minutes. They should have a good go at breaking teeth at that stage. Her buscuits are frightfully heavy and dense. Some are the equivilent to small rocks. And she eats them. In saying that, she makes very nice slices, biscotti and truffles, only the biscotti is safe from gluten however.

The update is not so good actually. I've been stunted in my quest to lose weight, and my depression is a problem. I've got sleep issues. I've got joint pain. I've got bloating and pain. Lots of these I can pin on two reasons: Gluten sneaking in and/or an unidentified dietry sensitivity, and my anti-depressant/breastfeeding issues. Oh, that and it's winter. I have bad times during winter = want to stay away from people and stay rugged up and in bed all the time. I must be related to bears. (I know that is double meaning and I mean it)!

In other family concerns: Raven has finally been consulted by the paed at the RHH. He seems to feel he has both constipation and diahrea at the same time. He put him through the tests, stool and blood, and will be looking at possible markers for Coeliac Disease amongst a myriad of other possibilites. He won't find any nasty parasites though, not after being put through the rigours of Flagyl quite recently. He finds it concerning that there are such marked levels of intense growth in short periods and large periods of no or slow growth. We won't find out the results until mid way through July.

Dante still has the big D after the Flagyl incident. Monika has had constant D since the Flagyl too. Kai is silent, and Labyrinth always says she's fine (although her behaviour/attention span needs attention so she's going to a psychiatrist soon... but what if it's a digestive concern only manifesting in behavioural type symptoms?)

I'll update as I need to or add in recipes soon. I've been doing some baking/cooking so I'll at least add recipes.

We've Begun...

It's the horrible anti-biotic week - we are all taking Flagyl because Dante had Entomeba Protozoan in his stool sample. The doctor will still screen for Coeliac's Disease though.

I've not been very well over the last few days. Just a flu and a bit of depression. Other than that I've been OK. Bit of Reflux which I thought was history so maybe a tiny bit of gluten snuck into the diet somewhere but didn't have me in fits of pain. Who knows? It's hard to tell at times.

I've certainly had energy today, putting in a garden bed. It was hot work but it certainly was achievable, and instead of being stuffed for the rest of the day I've been quite busy, not fatigued at all. I can feel it in my muscles which is a good thing! I have bursitus in my left shoulder so it copped it a bit. I'm still doing physio to get it back to some semblance of normalcy.

I'm not sure what I weigh at the moment either. I weighed the children the other day though, and Dante is still on the thinner side, but Raven seems to have put some weight on (or the incredibly bloating his tummy had - it was tight and painful for him. - Honestly it is so normal for him to be feeling that way that he doesn't seem to know much different. Poor bugger. He's got that appointment at the paeds coming up early June. It couldn't come fast enough for me.

Some good things though... I've been trying out different recipes for pancakes as I'm concerned about the cost of cereals (particularly when we got GF as a family). So I've tried the pre mixed versions of Organ and Freedom Foods. Andrew didn't like Orgran (Apple and Cinnamon mix, which I quite liked) and I didn't like Freedom Foods so I decided to check it out online. Well, some fantastic guy says he has a whole lot of pancake mix made up of a brand I don't much go on but I like the idea of it being made up and ready to go so it is just a matter of measuring X amount out and mixing in the wet ingredients. So, Andrew agreed and so now I am trying out different recipes.

Todays:
1/2 Cup Buckwheat
!/2 Cup All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (mostly maize)
1 tb GF Baking powder
1 egg
1/2 Cup Rice Milk
2 tb olive oil
ended up adding in another 1/2 Cup Buckwheat

blended it up and cooked on a medium heat. Incredibly light and fluffy and tasty, or so I thought. The children also loved it. Unfortunately Andrew decided he didn't so I'm going to give a different recipe a go. (I hope its just not his over refined personal tastes getting in the way, as I and my subjecting the children to various GF foods have developed ours.) I'm going a recipe including Quinoa flour next time. Yummy Quinoa... It's the main ingredient to my favourite breads. They stay fresh for up to 3 weeks, and don't have some of the problems that are inherent in many GF breads.
I'm also looking at baking breakfast cakes and rice or quinoa porridge too. I'm still considering alternative options to the sugar covered gluten containing ones.

Yeah, I'm guilty of being unable to eat in my allotted 100 Miles, Quinoa only grows in the Andes, and without rice where would my diet be??? I guess I'm doing the right thing and growing as much as I possible can though (or am attempting to).

Good with the not so good

So far it's been a huge benefit going Gluten Free. There are few problems associated with it, namely keeping regular (for heaven's sake though that's a huge change not having the big D for over a decade is an achievement). So, I've adopted rice bran into my diet. This has been a great help and although not perfect I feel that it is better than the alternatives.
I'm on anti-depressants that make me tired. I find it hard to struggle out of bed before 11 am in the mornings, NOT good when you consider my 5 children... and the B vitamins I have which is bringing my energy levels to near normal (if I remember them) is not nearly enough to combat a medication based issue. On top of this I don't sleep well, If I'm going to sleep like a log Monika will want to feed on and off all night. So, naturally this is a concern (and quite possibly not attributable to my CD condition/after affects.

The weather has been a deterrent to getting out of the house and going walking. (Slackness I know - but in the past if I got saturated I'd end up sick for a week). On the upside of this though, I no longer feel the cold like I used to. Putting this into perspective... during several months leading to and from winter I would be bone cold no matter what I wore, how many blankets were on or what heating was on. This was even the case during pregnancy where I would be so cold I would cuddle up to Andrew in the night and he'd tell me I'd woken him up because I felt like a block of ice. Here we are in the beginning of winter I am typing at my computer with a summer dress and feeling quite normal.

I'm reminded about how cold I probably would be because poor Dante suffers the cold like I used to before going GF. He's opposite in weight to me - underweight, but he's got the stomach pains and the big D constantly. I feel for him and we are all keen to get him diagnosed as quickly as possible, but things like finances and certain things are getting in the way... next week!

I'm also wishing I could be pregnant. My periods are back to what they should be but I'm not falling pregnant. Probably shouldn't even consider it but I love filling up my life with little uns. But maybe I am infertile permantly now, after all the months of nastiness. Not to mention Andrew has had half the snip. That's right- he had the snip but it was only half sucessful. All in all we used to be so fertile I'd look at him and fall pregnant... now we can't. I am certainly happy with my five prodigies, but can't help underneath to wish for more.

I guess here would be a good time to go another subject. We've been getting better and better with understanding how different flours work and how to mix it so it works. I've been cooking muffins and where I didn't like fruit mixed in before (prefering fresh or bottled) I don't mind it anymore. I still can't go dried fruits though, it just tastes/texture is so wrong to me. So that is a bit of an achievement. Andrew cooked me pancakes for my birthday brekkie yesterday, that was really yummy, light and fluffy - just perfect, even with the apple and cinnamon. I've also been experimenting with main meals. I do a satay sauce from scratch. Next time I make it I'll put the recipe/pic up. I make pizza/bread from scratch sometimes. I just love Quinoa bread that I buy pre-made and doesn't go stale any where near as quickly as most GF breads, actually, it rivals normal bread. I can't stand the taste or texture of cow's milk anymore. I'm a rice milk girl now (can't tolerate soy). I can have cheese/yogurt/chocolate in moderation, but really, I love goat and sheep cheeses and yogurts just as much. My palate has most definately changed and I think become enhanced due to my new diet. I'm happy. I'm also keen to learn new ways of doing things in the cooking/eating... it's far cheaper than buying it pre-done!

YAY for me. I now weigh 113 kg even with the lovely treats like birthday cake and extravagent brekkies for mother's day etc!

Winter approaches and appetites increase

But life goes on! I'm still having energy, braving the cold to go on bushwalks. We went for a 6 km walk last Thursday. The children are having energy issues, particularly Dante, who is looking somewhat emancipated according to my mother. Hey, he is looking thinner, he's lost his six pack and his butt is flatter and his hips, what hips? So that is a real worry!

I'm feeling really, really positive. I've been cooking and learning about new ways with food. Going out is frustrating for poor Andrew. Yesterday we went to Praties and realised that nothing on their menu is really OK. So I went next door to Chish and Fips and had a grilled blue grenadier and salad and some of Monika's chips. It was OK but a bit dried out because I had to get them to grill it on top of foil as they cook gluten containing products on the actual grill and at risk of cross-contamination. All was well with the staff, they still made their money even though they didn't need to do much differently.

My mother also told me that she can tell I've lost even more weight. This makes me feel good but I need to not so. In some ways I should love me for me, not my size. But feeling healthy and energetic makes me feel a lot better in myself and sure losing weight and feeling better is a great thing all around. But I do still struggle with societies imposing attitudes to the Fat Chick!

Last week I made some lovely new things. I made a chicken Lasagne, my own bread and some chocolate muffins and blueberry muffins. They all ended up being really yummy. Andrew made polenta mash and GF sausages with veges. It was OK with the sausage but it was quite bland. I'll experiment with that.

Brought some Quinoa to use in place of rice/potato in a dish sometime soon. Also finally got to Ziggy's Small Goods and was awfully impressed by their selection of GF foods, and brought Chorizo's for pizza and other yummy sausage for a casserole. Will definately be going back there.

Best news is in the last week and a half I've lost another 4.5 kg, without really trying.

Current Weight is: 118.5 kg.

Getting better everyday...

But the road is definately one of trial and error. Somethings seem so difficult, other things are really really good and worth all the fuss.
For instance, last fortnight's shop I brought myself some 'treats' like chick pea bites and rice and corn chicken flavoured cakes. These ended up containing gluten (stupid me for not checking, hey they sounded fine). Alas, not the case. The kids ate up the rice and corn cakes but haven't touched the chick pea bites as yet. I thought to myself that it doesn't matter anyways, I've enjoyed munching on sunflower seeds and nuts.
According to the BetaLife program, that's exactly the kind of thing I should be eating to liven up my metabolism. It certainly has changed my energy levels (topping out for late nights but still tired and unable to wake in the morning.) Hey I even got out into the garden for the first time in 4 months to do the weeding yesterday! I think it's not so much my diet that is the issue with my over tiredness but my anti-depressants. Yeah, I know they are suppose to be lifting my mood and giving me energy. They may be lifting my mood (or it may be my health improving expotentially), but they are most probably responsible for my slow morning starts. I was unable to wake until nearly lunch time today. Poor kids!
It may be my anemia, too. It is a real problem for those who have CD and still eat gluten! But I've been really good and avoiding it like it's poison (which in fact it is to me - it causes malnurishment and no end of health issues.) I can't believe all the wonderful changes in my body and my mind since ridding myself of it. So, ultimately instead of eating fish so often I'll be looking at upping my reds next week.
Another side to my situation is I am being inspired to create new dishes, and looking at other Gluten Free blogs for inspiration. I'm going to give making a fish potato bake a go, and a garlic chicken polenta dish a whirl. They seem like they should go rather nicely together. I also probably should buy a GF cook book but I need to buy some boots so I can do gardening/fishing. I also want to get hiking boots. I guess I'll be using the wonderful expertise on the web for some time.
What a wonderful, masterful and expensive machine the Kenwood Chef is. I've already got the mincer attachment, I'm looking at getting a liquidiser/icecream maker/food processer/grain mill in the next few months. They'll end up costing MORE than the machine. Oh, but the culinary places I can go! The money I'll be able to save to be able to grind my own grains, make my own so many things, like icecream.
Andrew (partner) has agreed that he'd like to move bush with me. You know what that will mean? A sheep or two and some goats. I'll make my own fetta/cheese/icecream and milk! I'll put in a food forest and grow my own vegies. I'll have laying chickens. I just have to save some money and get some bank to agree to a loan. He wants to build a subterranian house, kind of inspired by the hobbit holes in LOTR. Its a wonderful dream and we should be able to save around $5000 by christmas without hurting too much. I'll be honing my gardening skills with a green house and raised garden bed and raspberry canes in the next few months that may save us some dosh. Oh, and fishing always helps on the meat quotient. (Even though I be needing a bit more of the reds of late).
My depression is lifting and my head is full of dreams. I just have to get me a writing so I can make maybe a bit more money and get our dream a bit sooner than later...
And on a good note, I've been losing a bit more of the heavy stuff. YA!!!
I'll be brave and post a pic soon so there will be a before shot up... and showing my progress and helping me to keep it up!

Current Weight: 123.4 kg

So, whose to blame?

Just joking!
On the serious side, lets look at genetics.
My mother has diabetes, IBS and a multitude of other symptoms such a mind fog/fatigue/the weight game. Both her parents suffered from diabetes. Her mother was massively obsese and had an insatiable appetite (even though she was constantly on the go). Her dad, bone thin and rarely ate. How likely is it two coeliac sufferers hook up? Mum's sisters both have diabetes. One now, after decades of the D is finally diagnosed about 3 years ago with Chrons Disease and had a total colosoctemy and will now enjoy using a colostomy bag for the rest of her days.

My dad doesn't suffer the classical symptoms but suffers chronic depression, nasty joint pains and osteoarthritis. His sisters suffer from Thyroid disease (let's be fair, maybe it is the lack of IODINE in the soil here in Southern Tasmania). One was the kind of obese you cringe for when seeing them struggling to move their bulks across the room. It wasn't until 6 years before she died she was diagnosed for Thyroid disease and poof! Weight gone in 6 months. My father's mother, is a nasty little story. She had a Goiter the size of a golf ball in her throat when she was 28 induced from a Thyroid disease. A miscalculation of general anesthetic caused her to wake up early, while they were still stiching her throat back together. She screamed, split open her stitches and bled to death on the table.

Both sides bring medical conditions to the table which can coincide with a coeliac condition. My misdiagnosis is not uncommon, as I'm pretty certain it's happned on at least one side of my family already.

At least my mother is now going GF, I hope she can save herself the problems that her sister has. I really hope she can stick to it because she certainly doesn't keep to her diabetes diet. I asked her yesterday what is she going to do now? Will she substitute or buy things pre done?
She told me she's too old and can't be bothered with all that learning and cooking, so now she will just eat even less. I really hope she gets some energy and inspiration back! I can certainly give her some GF meals, but hopefully she'll be more motivated when she feels better (if she has CD - which is pretty certain.) My sister whom I said was pretty positive CD will be moving with her family thier soon, so when she goes GF that will certainly help mum.

Positive Updates:
My energy levels are definately on the improve. I was running around and walking and still felt good at the end of the day! My mind is waking up from its hibernation and I'm remembering stuff I'd thought long forgotten. My voice is improving. I feel like a new woman! I feel like I'm going to be able to lose weight and do all the things I need to do like experience that new learning curve in cooking so I can do lots of GF from scratch so that I will be able to afford to put my children onto the new diet and they will really enjoy the food!

I've been scrapping, and no longer feel its too hard. I feel positive, less depressed, less fatigued. No signs of hay fever/asthma (I didn't even know they would ever improve).

I can sing! Yeah! I can LIVE again *)

Glutened again... and something else.

Very stupidly I've me, actually. I got glutened by accidently eating soy sauce. I just find it a bit dangerous having to feed other's gluten meals and not accidently get stung by it.
So far, tummy pain, gas, acid reflux (which I can't treat because the only meds we have against it IS glutened! But besides my problems, I've got my children to worry about.

Dante looks to be very much suffering the symptoms of coeliac's. He has tummy pain/bloats/the big D quite regularly. Silly thing is, of course, he is the tallest out of the children and he sports a six pack. He begged me tonight, after having nausea/bloat/tummy pain to put him on a GF diet too. I would in an instant except he needs his diagnosis. I explained this to him, telling him he'd need to be glutened (and it would be worse) if he didn't wait first to get the tests. I said they'd probably test Raven first (as he has the classic problems for children - the distended stomach/short stature/poor weight gain/anemia/joint pains/lethargy.) Then I would insist they test all the children. He said he didn't want to wait, he wanted to find out immmediately. SO, talking it over with Andrew, we've decided to take him back to our GP and explain that we want him to get the CD bloods done straight away and get him fast tracked. His insensitivities also include intolerance to dairy. Poor little guy! I think it takes a year on the waiting list. I certainly hope not!!!

I really wish they could be a bit faster for children - its their development at risk after all.