Newby

[SueznRN]

Hi there,
I was diagnosed last week with Celiac disease following an upper endoscopic biopsy of the small intestine. I went in for my annual physical and my routine labs showed a hemoglobin of 5 and "almost undetectable iron levels"! Needless to say, I was admitted to the hospital, received some blood and iron and underwent the endoscopies. When the pathology report came back and the diagnosis was made, I was prepared because my GI doctor suspected this with my symptoms and medical history. I was not really prepared for some of these changes (like giving up my Oreos!!) but am keeping a positive outlook.
I am a nurse with an advanced degree, but was not too familiar with Celiac before now. I am not quite sure what happens now, but am finding that this discussion board is very helpful. I just wanted to say "hello" and "thank you" for all of the valuable information.
I look forward to all future discussions.
Take care and thanks again,
Susan

[aklap]

Hi Susan,

Welcome to the board! Glad you found us. Hope you hang out and learn as much as you can....that way you can take your new knowledge back to your doctors so we don't have to wait so long to get dx'ed Although it sounds like your have a good GE if he/she figured it out from zero iron levels! Hang on to that one!!!

Lots of stuff here, take your time, make yourself at home. The fridge & cupboards are stocked with all sorts of GF goodies - just help yourself! EVEN GF Oreo's!!! If you have any questions - just ask

Take care! Hope you get your iron levels backup. What kind of supplements are you on?
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[SueznRN]

Hello and thank you for your reply and your welcome! I cannot wait to hear about the "Oreo's"!! DO TELL.
Yes, I have a good group of doctors. They diagnosed me based upon low iron and hemoglobin levels, medical history, some other symptoms I was having and then confirmed with an endoscopy with biopsy.
I am not taking any iron supplements because I do not tolerate them well. I am going to see a hemotologist next week to discuss intravenous IV infusions if I need them, after closely monitoring my iron and hemoglobin levels every few months.
Thanks again and keep in touch.
Susan

[aklap]

[SueznRN]

Thanks! I ordered a box today and cannot wait to try them!
Susan

[confang]

Yep my daughter loves those cookies too. They are the best on the market and if they don't appeal to you right away, wait til you have adjusted you taste to the GF diet, then try em again. My daughter had a very hard time getting her iron level up to norm. She loves spinach, cooked and raw, as well as broccolli. Still it took nearly two years with oral supplements. Go for the IV, I say. By the way the best noodles I have found are tinkyada, and nothing compares to home made bread, the flour you buy makes a huge difference in you end product, BoB's redmill is too course, try an asian market, it is WAY cheaper and so much finer.Good luck.

[SueznRN]

Thank you for all of the information! I will try the noodles and the flour. I appreciate all of the help I can get! Glad your daughter is doing well. Thanks again.
Susan

[The Edifying Conscience]

Mi-Del also makes and "oreo like" cookie. I haven't tried the brand that Al posted but I've had the Mi-Dels and they are a definite "fix." Nothing can be as good as Double Stuff Oreos on a bad day.

Also, Whole Foods has a GF bakery in North Carolina that provides their stores with fresh, frozen breads and pastries. The sandwich bread and the tomato bread are both really good as is the premade pizza crust. They also have cakes, cookies, pies, scones and biscuits. It's not cheap, but it's nice to have something around when needed. My grandmother stocks the pies in her freezer and when she has her meetings with the ladies she takes one with her. The pies serve 2.

Whole Foods also has the Tinkyada pasta as well as hundreds of other GF items. You can download a GF product list on their website.