Getting the bad news

[sqbr]

So I FINALLY got to a recommended chronic fatigue specialising GP today. He started by asking what the "Dr" was for, and then when I said maths his whole face lit up and he started fanboying maths (apparently he seriously considered majoring) which was a nice start. He took my history and unlike all the vague handwaving I've gotten from other doctors was all "Ah, I know what's wrong with and how we can fix it" which was both encouraging and discouraging (I'm not sure anyone can be that sure with chronic fatigue)

Anyway, he gave me some vitamins and stuff to take, and suggested a gently increasing course of walking, and then said "Hmm. You say you're intolerant of dairy. Well, you should cut that out completely and also cut out gluten"
"Really? Are you sure? Because it never seems to affect me"
"Trust me"
"And..you mean cut them out completely? Not even skim milk?"
"Yes, sorry, even a little bit can set it all off again"
"But! But!! ...man, this is going to suck, I'm hard enough to feed as it is"

And I went to the supermarket, and it does suck. There do not appear to be any cake or bread mixes (or actual cakes or breads) which don't replace wheat with soy and or milk powder. All I could find was plain flour and rice cakes :/ Are there any high fibre gluten-free grains apart from brown rice and amaranth? I eat a lot of whole grains. Any other gluten-free-living advice would be nice, I may have specific questions after I have a chance to rest and think about it more (shopping was TIRING)

He was fairly understanding, since he has trouble finding gluten free stuff himself. I'd fight it more but afaict it's pretty much the first thing everyone suggests for chronic fatigue :/
Also he said I should try to make sure my meat is organic
Me: "Does kangaroo count?"
Dr (with pained expression) Kangaroo?
Me: Why, is that bad?
Dr: How can eat something that can give you a hug?

Heh. That is SO not my first consideration with food right now :) (And yes, it turns out he's vegan, though he made no attempt to get me off meat or eggs and pretty much implied I should keep eating lots)

Oh, and if you want the doctors details it's Dr. Alastair Nuttall, 6 Burgess Street Midland, 9250 6977.

Comments

[loic.livejournal.com]

I <3 Quinoa!

[aquaplanage.livejournal.com]

Nasty oily taste, at least the roast dog I had in Vietnam, not fab. (Reminded me a bit of a whaleburger I had once in Japan but less fishy - the fishyness made it yummy, but I felt vaguely guilty afterwards)

Glad I ate both meals, but still prefer beef pho, or okonomiyaki for that matter.

My mum had a pet chicken, but her dad made her eat it. Farmers, hey?

I had a pet kangaroo but she grew up and had to go to a wildlife refuge. She was sweet, and had no interest in disemboweling people, at least as far as I noticed. But maybe disemboweling cats. Our cat was terrified of her.

[aquaplanage.livejournal.com]

A couple of nice, easy gluten-free breads:

Farinata and socca - chickpea flour fried breads from Southern Europe. Super yummy with onions and herbs baked in. Try it, it's easy - especially good when you're at the end of your tether and need something quick and easy - and it stores well in the fridge too. http://www.chow.com/recipes/11011

Tapioca flour with buckwheat (not actually wheat!) works pretty well with baking powder.

And like one of the other posters said, your local healthfood shop should be able to help out.

And perhaps you've already heard about the "spoons theory"? A couple of links about it follow, one of which was written by a friend of mine:

http://viv.id.au/blog/?p=517

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/lyme-disease-article/energy-and-spoons/333850

Good luck - do remember to ask people for support if you need it!

[rabbit1080.livejournal.com]

Orange and almond cake (http://www.recipezaar.com/Orange-and-Almond-Spanish-Cake-75916)?

Quinoa is expensive compared to rice, but it also has quite high protein content for a grain. So it's not "just" a rice substitute.

Kangaroo meat tastes yum :)

[flyingblogspot.livejournal.com]

I've got it from IGA and from Coles/Woolies - look for the yellow! (It's usually either near the baking and flour stuffs, near the pasta, or in a health food section.)

You can make a kind of savoury slice by cooking it then spreading it out and grilling it, but velvetbutter usually cooks it to a mashed potato consistency and stirs blue cheese through. I don't know much about how to cook it in exciting vegan ways though, so if you find any let me know!

[alias_sqbr]

He actually didn't seem TOO extreme: he admitted to eating some butter-fat containing chocolates himself so had sympathy for me doing the same :) And, well, my health issues are extreme, perhaps an extreme change is required :/

Re: Actual food thoughts. Don't know if it'll help though.

[alias_sqbr]

And don't expect readymade food as anything other than a treat

Yeah, I reached that stage a while ago with all my other food issues :/ (Though pasta as one of the few things I could eat out, dammit. At least I can still have steak and salad :))

I will definitely check out health food stores, thanks. I know there's a biggish one in Morley, will have to do some digging.

[alias_sqbr]

I got some generic "Plain gluten free flour", I'm planning on trying to make some pancakes and seeing how that does. I get the feeling being gluten free means getting to know LOTS of different wheat flour substitutes.

[alias_sqbr]

I also can't have coconut which sadly seems to be a common ingredient :(

Anyway, thanks. We're going shopping tomorrow, and our shopping centre has both Coles and Woolies so will check them both out.

I can see me eating a LOT of potato...

*looks at alternative bites and is hungry..*

Re: heh

[alias_sqbr]

If it makes me even slightly better it will have been a VERY cool doctors visit :)

[alias_sqbr]

Hey thanks!

I am unfortunately also intolerant of coconut (though thankfully NOT other nuts) so that's the fudge out. Probably for the best. Will definitely keep an eye out for Orgran mixes, my birthday's coming up and I want cake dammit.

I forgot about Quinoa. Must buy some more, Kakulas brothers has it in bulk (no offense to your fine employer :))

[alias_sqbr]

Can I use this as a quote?

Go ahead!

Thanks for the suggestions.

And yes, sorry, didn't mean to imply that a vegan doctor would push their ideology, but given the kangaroo comment(*) I thought someone else might make that assumption so I should clarify.

(*)Which in context wasn't pushy, he was just genuinely shocked into saying what he really thought :)

[alias_sqbr]

Thanks!

[alias_sqbr]

Ooh! Your comment reminded me of these hazelnut biscuits. Now I have excuse to make them again :D

That cake looks bizarre but interesting.

[alias_sqbr]

No indeed we do not, at least not in Perth, I spent some time in awe of the one I saw in Chicago. We do have smaller health shops with a similar but smaller range. Then again, if my brief experiences in Ohio are anything to go by, our regular supermarkets are much more healthy :)

I've already had to give up so many of my default comfort foods that I'm kind of used to it by now.

[alias_sqbr]

Thanks for the specific rec, the gluten free pasta I had last night was kind of blah.

I am definitely going to have to try the Earth Market, I think.

My soy tolerance is actually worse than my dairy tolerance :( Also he said to cut out ALL dairy. But afaict dairy isn't as chemically important to baking as gluten, so the recipe might be salvageable.

Yes, I forgot all about Quinoa but it is win.

[alias_sqbr]

They were out of gluten free bread in the woolies I checked out yesterday, I see a long evening of checking ingredients ahead of me on Thursday :/

[alias_sqbr]

Oh wow, thanks. My mum's gotten really into chickpea flour recently for feeding my vegetarian siblings, so I've been meaning to try it anyway.

Oh yes, I know all about spoons. I am currently answering email to build up the physical spoons for lunch :)

[alias_sqbr]

That looks tasty, thanks :) (I think all the acid might set off my reflux, but I'm sure there's other almonds+syrup recipes out there)

[seaya.livejournal.com]

For regular supermarkets it depends on the area and the company. There are certainly some awful ones. Wegmans is this awesome regular supermarket that has all kinds of neat stuff. Otherwise we have Trader Joe's and Whole Foods (affectionately known as Whole Paycheck) plus some local huge health food stores too.

[flyingblogspot.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the specific rec, the gluten free pasta I had last night was kind of blah.

Most of them are - I was ecstatic to discover the San Remo NORMAL TASTING ones. :)

I will do some further pondering on what could make a dairy and soy free sour cream substitute, and after my exam may do Baking Science Experiments...

[nessbrain.livejournal.com]

I recall getting some corn pasta from Woolies once, I didn't check the ingredients list though so I'm not sure if it was wholly wheat-free. It was in the health foods section I think. There are also rice noodles which come in various types, maybe try an asian supermarket and see what their range is like?

Good luck with it, gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free is just nasty.

[auntpol.livejournal.com]

It turned out really ummm kind of pudding-y? The pears go quite well.

[velithya]

I totally forgot about mentioning the san remo pasta in the normal aisle, sorry :( every other gluten free pasta tates terrible if you're not used to it, the san remo stuff tastes normal and is also awesome and comes in many varieties!

some supermarkets have gluten free products scattered throughout the supermarket in with the regular stuff, just labelled gluten free, which makes them a bit tricky to find. If you are wanting any particular product you can let me know and I can think about where in the supermarket I get it from...

[velithya]

I have never managed to successfully find GF bread in woolies sadly, it's always either been from my IGA or the Herdsman shopping centre, which is an organic store near herdsman lake.