Gluten Allergy

First of all, I wasn't sure which forum to post this topic. Sorry if it is the wrong one!

My question is...how do you know if you are allergic to gluten (wheat products). The reason I ask is... I think I have some weird allergy to a food group. I have random bumpy, red rashes on my body and tongue. I also have digestive proglems. (These symptoms have been going on for about 8 months) I have researched these symptoms and got it narrowed down to a food allergy. Now I am vegetarian (I do, however, eat dairy). So I don't know what the heck I could be allergic to. ???

I eat the same things every single day (I am obsessive about it):


Breakfast is cereal/milk, fruit.
Lunch is Oatmeal, english muffin, fruit.
Snack is banana, yogurt, string cheese
Dinner is veggies

I am a little depressed because a big % of my diet is wheat-based products. Now I'll have to cut those out. I'm new at this. Help!

have you tryed talking to your doctor about it?

i vegan, and the breads i eat dont have gluten in them.
i dont know were you live/what country your in.
but i go to Market of Choice and they have alot of gluten free stuff there.

I'm going to warn you; I have Celiac's Disease (gluten intolerance) so this is going to be a very long and very informative post! :D

First of all, go talk to a doctor. They will be able to do a blood test on you that is supposed to determine whether or not you have CD. That having been said, every person I know has gotten a false negative with this test. Also, if you go to a gastroenterologist they may choose to do a biopsy on your intestines. I had a colonoscopy done (TERRIBLE prep for it but the stuff they put you out with makes you feel like you had the best sleep of your life). After the colonoscopy, I went to speak to an allergist who put me on a gf diet. If you ARE gluten intolerant, there is a huge chance that your body will have a difficult time with dairy as well. Another big thing is to find out if there is any family history of this in your family. Celiacs is hereditary and that's pretty much the biggest deciding factor. The only way to find out is either to have a $500 test done (healthcare doesn't cover this so I said heck no) or you can go on a gf diet for a min. 4 to 6 weeks.  The villi in your stomach needs time to heal itself and things may not get better for a while.

Also, gluten is not just found in wheat. It is in wheat, barley, rye, and some people have problems with oats (I can't eat oats at all). You also have to be wary of unidentified starches, modified starches, malts and other things that I can't think of right now. Some people do have a sensitivity to wheat specifically and don't have to worry about the other things (with the exception of the starches).  What kinds of digestive symptoms are you having?  For me, it was extreme abdominal pain, constant diarrhea, gas, dizziness, and fatigue.

Now, let's say you do find out you have CD. There are different brands that make plenty of food that is vegetarian and gluten free. Food for Life Baking Co. is one, and EnerG makes a tapioca loaf that is vegan, gf, and out of this world when it's toasted. Enjoy Life makes gluten free granola that you can put your choice of milk in and microwave; it sort of tastes like oatmeal. 

Let me know what you find out! Sorry for being so long!

Wow...that sounds pretty intense. I'm interested to know what your daily diet looks like. How do you get your energy?

As for my digestive symptoms...I have constipation, gas, discomfort. I don't know, it's sounds like you know alot about food allergies, so maybe i'm barking up the wrong tree. How long have you been a vergetarian and how long have you had Celiac's Disease?

Anyway, thanks for all the info!

I've had Celiac's all my life but we didn't know until I had graduated high school. When I was younger, I had a lot of the symptoms- I was underweight, very small for my age, and had a lot of digestive problems. It went in to remission for a while and I didn't have any symptoms. My junior year the problems returned and I went for two years without being diagnosed. I've been a nondairy vegetarian for over a year and vegan for a few months. Today my diet was like this:

EnerG toast w. soy nut butter and a glass of soymilk.

sandwhich w. two pieces of EnerG bread, 1 p. soy cheese, vegan mayo, lettuce and tomato. grapes

apple, gluten free granola, air popped popcorn

gluten free pasta, tomato sauce, green beans, 1 p. toast with earth balance 

strawberries in soy yogurt. a few gluten free animal crackers.

This put me around 1500 cals for the day.  I eat a lot of specialty stuff and a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. I just love that EnerG bread because it's vegan and has 80 cals/slice. Definitely go talk to your doctor! It's always best to see what you can find out.  You might actually have a dairy intolerance that surfaces every once in a while. I have one friend who can have cheese but can't drink milk. funny, huh?

You are much more likely to be intolerant or allergic dairy than to gluten. I would try cutting it out for about two weeks. If after two weeks you are still having problems, I would follow what skinnyogi said about celiac disease.

I too have Celiac disease as well as a dairy allergy/intolerance.  I was sick for several months with chronic, persistent diarrhea, stomach cramps,  and vomiting.  My family was convinced that I had gall bladder disease and needed surgery.  Being a bit phobic about being cut openI did not go to the doctor, but instead began to research my symptoms online.  What I came up with was Celiac disease.  So, I went on a gluten free diet and my symptoms were gone within a week!  I then went back on some of the gluten items and requested the blood test from my regular physician.  It came back positive and they recommended an endoscopy  (similar to a colonoscopy but done through the mouth and not the other end!).  I really didn't want to have such an invasive procedure done and chose  to accept the positive blood test and the fact that avoiding  gluten took care of the problem. 

I now try to be as gluten free as possible (I would estimate about 85% gluten free),  because I know when I "cheat" that I will suffer the consequences.   I would guess that I am approximately 95% dairy free, because I cough and wheeze when I ingest any dairy products.  Milk as an ingredient in a dish, such as mashed potatoes or a cake, doesn't seem to be a problem.  But cheese (absolutely love it and miss it!) and ice cream especially are problems for me.  They make me physically sick.

So, if you do have Celiac it is quite a change from what a "normal" American diet is.  But, it is actually healthier for you once you get used to it.  It does require more cooking since most fast food and prepackaged meals are loaded with gluten.  If you think you have it I would definitely recommend cutting out all wheat, barley and rye products and read ingredients to look for hidden gluten ingredients.  If cutting out the gluten reduces or eliminates your symptoms then I would suggest seeing your doctor.  

 Good luck!

Sounds like the skin rash you have could be Dermatitis Herpitaformis (A rash some people get when they have celiac disease. I hope you followed up with your doctor after all this feedback!! There are alot of gluten free and vegetarian groups out there on the internet that can also give you more information if you are still doubtful. Check it out on all the group sites.

If you are indeed allergic to gluten it's not big deal. You can get gluten-free cereals, breads, pastas, muffins, cakes... and if dairy is the problem then you replace dairy milk with soy/almond/rice milk and get dairy-free muffins, bread, whatever else.. These days lots of people have allergies and that niche in the market is very well catered for.