Switching to a Gluten Cassien Free Diet

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That's so interesting as it describes exactly what I feel like in the morning! If I've I had alcohol the night before, it's obvious to blame that. What I've 'censored' is that I often feel just as bad when I've no alcohol for days or weeks. This very morning I woke up groggy and my first thought was "I feel awful, what on earth did I drink last night?" And the answer (as it it most days) is "absolutely nothing"! It's normal for me to feel awful when I first wake, only improving after coffee, toast, cereal, *exactly* as you say!

I remember as a student many years ago, with a group of friends 'joking' (after a then rare sober night) that what we thought were 'hangover feelings' weren't at all. It was just normal 'morning feelings' as we all felt grim whether we'd indulged or not the night before.

On the idea of 'fasting days' I can recommend the "23 hour fast" as an easy way to do it. Basically, after an evening meal, you eat nothing till the next evening meal. Hence the 23 hours. This is easier than doing a 'natural day' as if you go to bed at the end of a day without eating, your actually pushing 1 1/2 days without food.

So about 6 weeks ago I went to a "98% free" gluten-free diet. I stopped eating all known sources Guten but didn't obsess over contamination or slight sauces when eating out.

I started feeling better within 10 days. I think now after 6 weeks, I've completely lost my tolerance. Even a slight amount I feel drugged. I had 3 fried oysters that were slightly breaded - with an entire meal - so probably about equal to eating 1/3 piece of toast - and I felt like crap for 90 to 120 minutes.

For me, it isn't intestinal or stomach symptoms - it's 15 to 20 minutes after consumption that I really feel drugged.

After long enough though, ( a year or more ), your body/brain will recover some/much of its long lost resiliency.

After I first ever cut out gluten, dairy, sugar and a couple of other things, all at the same time, and kept it up completely for about three weeks, I met a friend in a cafe, where I meant to stick to herb-tea and some innocuous lentil-patties, but ended up caving in to coffee with milk and sugar, and carrot-cake with that cream cheese topping. Within about 10-20 minutes I had become a raging harridan who brought my friend to tears with my laser-sharp criticism of something or other, ( luckily I realised at this point what was going on and explained and apologised, but I was shocked myself ), and then the reaction sort of "softened" after the first violent/"stress" effect, to one of immense euphoria. I felt on top of the world, giggling, totally ecstatic, utterly in heaven, floaty, joking, whizzy. We went to the cinema then, and I was killing myself laughing as we walked along; I hadn't been so happy in years. In the cinema I bought a mint and chocolate King Cone icecream, ( wheat wafer, concentrated dairy, sugar, and chocolate ),and we sat down to watch "Batman Returns". It was amazing. I cried tears of liberation, anger, grief, when Catwoman shreds her fluffy toys etc; basically I was totally stoned. It was brilliant! I went home on the bus as if I was weightless. ... And the next morning I woke up desperate, depressed, clumsy, my face mask-like, white, drained, eyes black holes, and so slow and staggery. A big hangover.

However if you cut it out for long enough the reactions gradually diminish, ( sadly ) , as the body retrieves stability, is no longer on such a knife edge of opioid effect/exhaustion, and it takes repeated exposure to have the old effect, ( for instance after 20 months gluten free I tried it again, and it took a few days to start affecting me, whereas dairy, which I eat on and off, still gives me an instant high followed by a low ).

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I am the mother of a 10 year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome. I also have 3 other children that are 12, 5 and 3. My 10 year old is angry most of the time, and I wonder if the casein free gluten free diet might help. With 3 other children in the house, I am afraid this could be very hard to manage, but if it would help, I'll try it. Does anyone know if this diet could help with his anger?

It certainly helped with mine. It is actually the reason that I have managed to exclude gluten for two very long periods as a mother, because it helps me stay calm, feel less frightened/aggressive, and I realised that I had to in order to cope as a mother, in order to avoid freaking my son out with my outbursts. I fly off the handle a lot less often, and a lot less violently, on a gf diet.

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to me trying it for 14 days would be worth the effort just for the learning... but that's me. Changing diet is really not that hard. Rice, potatoes, beans, corn - all are allowed! So cornbread instead of wheat bread... and corn chips instead of wheat chips. I'm not saying it is trivial, but it isn't _that hard_.

This is a blog by a food seller, but I liked the story - it seems to be a real parent who wrote in: http://blog.goodnessdirect.co.uk/2009/0 ... -syndrome/

I have gluten/wheat, casein, lactose, MSG and fructose intolerance. The diets are not easy to follow, but i always think, would I rather eat those foods, and get sick with diarrhea, stomach pains, be moody, have clouded thinking, and feel like crap where I can not even physically and/or mentally function, or would I avoid those foods and have a great life and be able to enjoy the things that I love to do, and feel better. I know it is very hard, but this is what helps. Sometimes, even with the food labels, there are "hidden" dangers and I end up eating something and then I get sick. then i would have to look at the ingredients because they will say the ingredients, but will not put on the label "contains Gluten", since the food companies do not have to do that, which is sort of like a "loophole" in that mandatory labeling of allergens. What I did was look up gluten and/or the other allergens and get a list of ingredients and things that may contain the allergen.
I hope this helps a lot. this helps me tremendously. I also know that they do have products out there for wheat free/gluten free, but can be very "pricey", which for me I have to make price adjustments so i can be able to get these foods. I am on food stamps and have a very limited income, so i am not able to get these with my own money, which means I sacrifice other foods, just so I can have these things.