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for jumping in on this one and adding lots of good tips and recommendations. As you can see Abby, we who eat GF AND have IBS have a lot to say about the subject. I'm another one who follows a GF diet. I've been on one for 16 months now. I too had the bloodwork done, twice, and both times it came back strong postives on the IGG and the IGA but negative on the TTg, the one most sensitive for celiac disease. I also had a test for the celiac gene which also came back negative as did the endoscopy. So, I don't think I have celiac.

My first GI doc insisted that I should continue to eat gluten because he said that people can have positive results and that this happens. He believed that my problem was IBS. My second GI doc who received the same blood results told me the complete opposite advice. He told me that I may be Latent Celiac and that I should not be eating gluten! UGH!!! I LOVE this second GI. Obviously he has worked with a lot of Celiacs and knows how dangerous being gluten intolerant can be. So I was/am very confused as to what I have to do. It would be so great not to have to be on the GF diet. I would love to eat all Heather's breads and I don't know how to adapt them to a GF recipe, although Kandee assures me it's possible. You name the recipe, and I'll adapt it for you, OK?

Anyhow, I bounced all this off of Kandee as well and she believes that I should avoid gluten because two of my tests did come back postive, just as she advised you.

I agree with what Kandee said about gaining weight being on the GF diet. I was very malnourished before going GF. Since going GF, and NOT eating desserts or cookies that are GF safe even, I have gained over 20 pounds on the GF diet. Now while I needed to gain at first, I am worried that it will not stop!!! GF foods tend to be higher in fat because the rice flour needs more fat to bake and taste properly. At least that's what Bette Hageman says (the GF cookbook guru)! If that's what she says, I disagree with her on this one. As long as there is SOME fat, to coat the flour granules, you're OK. In most of the recipes you can successfully reduce the amount of fat if it's to high for IBS...and in some cases, adding more Xanthan gum or Acacia will make it as tender as if you added more fat!

I do like the kinniKinnick bread the best. I've got to get some of this stuff, even if I have to mail order it in!!! The GF folks vote for Manna from Anna for the best bread mix. I'm going to try that one too. You do NOT need a bread machine for good GF bread, but a heavy duty stand mixer is advisable. You don't even use dough hooks, or knead the stuff. I learned this the hard way...my first bread machine bread rivaled any brick in the building industry you can name! Kandee is right. I recommend the white type of that brand only though as the brown rice sandwich bread contains whole flax seeds and seeds may cause a problem for you. Thanks...I'll have to remember this too, since I have diverticulosis and should not be eating small seeds unless they are pulverized. Whole foods and Wild Oats do not carry this brand (they carry Food for Life GF bread as does Trader Joes and it is much cheaper, but it contains fruit juice concentrate which makes me leery, but Kandee thinks it's still safe). If you want KinniKinnick, which is the best hands down! (the only GF bread that tastes okay when not toasted, Toasting GF bread always makes it better tasting in many people's opinion) you can get it at most special small HFS. If you don't want it toasted, say for sandwiches, put it in a zip plastic bag and nuk it for a few seconds. It will soften right up. I've been to 4 HFS and all of them carry this brand because there is such a high demand for it because it tastes the best. Believe me, I've tried many that tasted like cardboard! ROTFL...me too!!!

Best to just go to all these HFS and check to see what they've got. For example, I've found out that a Trader Joe's on the east coast carries different items than those on the west coast. Same with Whole foods. Now if we lived in Atlanta, fabulous GF bread would be available from WF. One of the bakers is Celiac and has developed fantastic GF breads and goodies.

Oh, before I went GF I too was chronic D, going 6 to 7 times a day, popping immodiums, etc. Since going GF, I am battling constipation. Traded one for the other!

That may change for the better, but like I've learned with IBS it's hard to predict how you're going to be one day to the next. I'm a "C" and that's NOT totally uncommon for gluten intolerance or even CD, but mine I believe is from being hypothyroid, which BTW, is a common autoimmune disease connected with Celiac, as is Lupus, Diabetes, Arthritis and a whole host of other autoimmune diseases. It's enough to scare anyone who is gluten intolerant to COMPLY with the diet so you don't end up with any of these other ailments.

If you do decide to eat GF, Wild Oats, Whole Foods, and Trader Joes all have take home guides that lists their GF foods by category. It's easier than reading lists of ingredients, especially in the beginning when you aren't sure if a particular ingredient is gluten. It is goes by many names. For instance, if a product says Natural Flavoring, it could contain gluten So true! You can also do a google search for Brand name GF products that you can buy in a regular grocery store. I know Hellmans mayo is GF, for example.

If your doctor does want to do an endoscopy on you, DO NOT start eating GF until after the endoscopy as this will contaminate the results and may give a false negative. Since you had a negative TTG it sounds like you don't have celiac, but just a gluten intolerance. The endoscopy only confirms Celiac, not gluten intolerance.

All great points here Beth, thanks for adding.

Okay, I probably gave you info that you weren't even asking for but please feel free to email me if you want or post again. My email address is in my profile.

I was very confused and frustrated that my test results came back "inconclusive", not all positive and not all negative. It will always keep me wondering if I need to eat GF or if I'm doing all this GF restricting for nothing. You won't ever convince me you're not doing this for a GOOD reason!!! Do you feel the same way?

Are you going to eat GF? Do you think you need to because of how your tests came back? I'm anxious to hear your thoughts on this, as your test results were similar to mine, except that mine were both High positive.

If this old lady could wave a magic wand and let you see what the future would hold for you if you continue eating gluten or not, I would. But I can't, so you will just have to read, and read, and read about the subject and decide for yourself. The more you read, the more I think you will come to see that you are worth it. We eat to live, not the other way around, and isn't living well, even if it means making substitutions, the name of the game?

Kandee

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