"Is this drug corn free?"

It's one of those weeks already. I've been to the allergist again due to a corn reaction, I was told to get some allergy meds. But of course the allergist could not tell me which ones to take because she had no idea if it was corn free or not.

Fast forward to the pharmacist and guess what? He could not help me either. So both told me to start calling the manufactures of these drugs. Well here is just one response for you, it's pretty much a repeat of all the other companies responses I got.  Lets just say I am trying to "Be angry and sin not."

"While we perform comprehensive testing on the more common ingredients that may provide an allergic reaction such as gluten, nuts etc., unfortunately, it is impossible to test for every ingredient and we cannot guarantee that our products are corn-free, since the source of an ingredient may change from time to time. Some of the ingredients in the product may have been purchased by us from outside distributors and we cannot say with absolute certainty that cross contamination with this ingredient did not occur at their facilities. We understand how difficult this can be for you and hope we can suggest an alternative product should you remain concerned about the possibility of an allergic reaction.

We suggest speaking to your health care provider as he/she is more familiar with your allergy related reactions/symptoms. Your your physician is really best suited to respond to any concerns that you might have about any of the product's listed ingredients and the potential for an allergic reaction, based upon your individual sensitivities. If you decide to try the product and you are dissatisfied for any reason, please contact us and we would be happy to refund you the purchase price.

Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies fully comply with all regulations on ingredients in the countries in which our products are sold. Wherever regulatory authorities have set limits on certain ingredients, our product formulations either meet those limits or contain a lesser amount of the regulated ingredient. We are committed to maintaining the high standards of quality and safety that have been our hallmark for generations of consumers.Consumer Care Center"

Thank you for NOTHING!
So here is the response that I sent to them.

"Just to let you know I contacted you because my allergist and my pharmacist could not help with the ingredients list, so they both told me to contact the manufactures directly to find out what products would be safe for me. Since you make the product, you should know what is in it.

Thank you,"

Some days I feel like I'm at the end of my rope and I just can't go on. I had a nurse argue with me yesterday about whether or not one of my RX drugs contained corn. She flat out told me that there is NO WAY that X drug contains corn. Well she is wrong and I plan on photo copying the ingredient list that I have from my pharmacist and giving it to her. Cornstarch is one of the main ingredients in the prescription! I think that cornstarch is CORN! lol  Am I wrong? Please, please correct me if I am wrong.

Yes, it has been an evil corn week here, maybe even month   :O)

Have a great gluten free, corn free, dairy free, homeschooling, only childing week!!

Moe

Are you a good mom?

I've been pondering that question for awhile now as I've been sick again with corn allergies sneaking up on me from somewhere. I've been miserable and tend to make everyone else miserable during this time. ( or so I think!)

I read a blog post about stay at home moms and as I read through it, I got thinking about what in my mind a good mom is and what a good housekeeper is. Well here is what I came up with, that I picture in my own mind when I think of a good mom and how my home should look.

A clean bedroom, toys picked up and kids playing well together.

The house is always neat, never any dirty dishes in the sink and bedrooms are neat.

Clean house, everything in it's place, bedrooms neat and tidy and no piles of dirty laundry.

 

Smiling happy kids, no dirty dishes, no piles of dirty laundry and clean bedrooms.

Where on earth did I ever get the mindset that this is what my life should be like with my family? Of course there is no dirty laundry, dirty dishes, piles of mail and magazines, messy cluttered kids rooms or toys all strewn about. These are FAKE homes, they are sets/props in which people/actors PRETEND to be homemakers, wives and mothers. Wow can our perspectives on life really be that inspired and convinced by years of media? I'm saddened that I allowed myself to believe this lie, of how things should be in my life. Is this what the Lord has for me? Am I reaping His very best for my life and my family?  Here is a link to the blog post, I hope it helps you to gain the perspective that the Lord has for you and your home. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevinwax/2012/08/

May you find blessings in your family life this week.
Moe

Gluten Free Easter Candy link

Gluten Free Easter Candy check this out and find out what goodies you can have for Easter. Of course they don't have a corn free listing, but those of you who can eat corn, enjoy your Easter treats.

According to Hershey, they are corn free and gluten free.

Moe

Corn FREE & Gluten FREE products

Corn FREE & Gluten FREE products

I do need to add a small disclaimer here, this product does contain Xanthan Gum & Citric Acid, which can contain corn and can cause allergy issue with those that are very sensitive to corn products.

Awhile back I was at the Amish Salvage store and I came across a jar of Grandma Hoerners All Natural Pumpkin Butter, it was 18.2 oz for $1.25. The ingredients looked safe, but with corn you just never know, so I bought it figuring my guys could eat it if I was wrong. I called the company the other day and they were very quick in getting back with me. I spoke with Matt Beyer and asked my normal corn questions.....lol. Since I call so many places and they are clueless about corn allergies and tell me "Why would we put corn in our product?" They are thinking corn as in corn on the cob........hahaha.  Well Matt knew exactly what I was talking about and even shared some other corn free products that they sell. I did a little happy dance while on the phone with him, I'm sure he thought I was bananas
(oh wait, I can't be bananas since I'm allergic to those too!). Here is the website to check out the products Grandma Hoerners carries, now they do have some products that do contain corn, so make sure to read the ingredients.

Tomorrow I will do a review of the Grandma Hoerners All Natural Pumpkin Butter. I plan on making some cupcakes and then using my Cuisipro Cupcake Corer that I bought from Amazon.com. Love that thing! It really perks up gluten free cupcakes!! I will bake the cupcakes and then core out the middles and fill with the pumpkin butter, sounds good? We shall see.


Have a blessed day and remember what the Easter season is really about.
Moe

Changing things up a bit.

Had some time to mess around on here tonight. Changed some pictures while my dear sister-in-law took our son for the evening after we went out for all you can eat fish fry.......lol. I ate my allergy free chicken pot pie and crustless pumpkin pie, but had fun socializing with the all you can eat fish fry eaters. Ran in to our neighbor who has cancer and shared with us that he will be going to The Cancer Treatment Centers of America this month for a 2nd opinion, prayers for him and his journey would be appreciated.

I've taken Kiara's idea and started thinking more about what I CAN eat instead of what I CAN'T eat. Grocery shopping is still hard since corn (one of my main allergies) does not have to be listed on the label. I actually called Kroger foods today to find out if their cream cheese and brown sugar were corn free, the lady acted as though I was an alien....lol. She told me that cream cheese in itself does not have corn in it, but Kroger cannot control what the cows that provide the milk for the cheese eat in the field, they might eat corn.........LOL.  I shall be calling again on Monday to speak with yet another helpful agent.

I did get an interesting allergy sheet in the mail from my doctors office regarding corn allergies. Yet another laugh out loud fest. The first item that is listed is milk and it's only to be bought in glass containers, ah, yes, where am I to find that? Then there is the listing of "not to be consumed from waxed cardboard containers." Yes corn is really in everything. I'm thinking that is what a large part of the health issues in America are all about gluten and corn.

Today I went for blood work and I don't know how many vials of blood that they took, but it was a lot! They are doing more allergy testing through blood this time. I go back at the end of the month, so we shall see what the doctor says then. I'm not really noticing any difference besides not having a flushed face during or after I eat. I also think potatoes factor in somewhere as my joints ache the day after I have eaten them.

Big grin here, I can hear little baby peep cheeps coming from the basement chick nursery, so sweet.

I've found some great allergy-free cookbooks that I will share next time. I'm reading through them to see which ones are worth heading on over to my favorite hang out Amazon.

Have a great weekend!
Moe

rice casserole with bacon and spinach

This recipe looks so yummy!  rice casserole with bacon and spinach I plan on making it this week. I think I can make it corn free if I make my own broth.

Hope you have a wonderful week! We have a busy week coming, we are having a homeschool gathering to watch the Michelle Duggar DVD "Tea with Michelle Duggar" and then doctor and dentist appointments galor, husbands birthday and final school work to be done. With lots of nice spring weather on hand I'm thinking we will have some outdoor time too.

Still working on cleaning out the pantry, baked a turkey from the freezer (did you know that Butterball Turkeys all contain a solution made with corn that is injected into the turkey?  GGRR), used up some canned artichoke (ds made those last night sauteed with garlic and olive oil) I of course did not eat them since the can of artichoke hearts contains 'corn'.

We just can't get away from corn in this country, wonder if that is another reason why we have so many health issues in this country.

Thanks Kiara for the post about allergies.

Moe

Permission to whine?

I finally went for allergy testing, nothing for wheat (they still think that I may be gluten intolerant) showed up but corn did and corn is also IN EVERYTHING and causes stomach issues when you are allergic to it. Corn allergies can actually mimic Celiac Disease (without the villi being effected). 

So I pretty much have solved my problem with going wheat free since by not eating processed foods I pretty much cut out corn too by accident. And the 2 times that I thought I had gotten gluten last summer, I think it was actually corn. The one time I got sick I was eating Puffed Corn snacks and the other time I had Fritos.

Both Gluten and corn allergies are very similar in the way that the effect you.

So no corn, corn syrup solids, cornstarch, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose and all those other fancy junk sugars, ect. Corn does not have to be labeled in the USA since it's not considered one of the top 8 allergen :O(

They can sneak it in under names that we would never think of as CORN.

I am also allergic to

watermelon

red apples
grapes
pears
peaches
bananas
apricot
strawberry
raspberry
tomato
sweet potato
corn
almonds
Scallops (I don't like seafood anyway!) YIPPEE!  lol.
Thankfully I'm not allergic to chicken or eggs! We'd have to sell the farm.  lol

So any one want to refer me to a blog about corn allergies and cooking?

Here are some interesting places that corn hides, baking powder, powdered sugar, table salt,
hot dogs, candy, frosting, cold cereal and many more things.

I'm really thinking that the Lord is working with me (feels like hammering me!) on not making food a little god in my life. I love food and I love to cook. All the years that I was sick with stomach issues (we now know I was sick with food allergies) I spent my days thinking "What am I going to eat?" Where do I have to go today & what time should I eat so that I am not sick away from home?" So pretty much my thoughts revolved around food and what and when to eat so that I could function in my daily life. There are foods that I can eat, I just need to THINK before I eat (who wants to do that?). I have the "wilderness attitude" that the children of Israel had. "I'm tired of Manna and I'm tired of quail! I deserve better than this!"  Read the book of Numbers chapters 11 & 12 in the Bible and you will understand what I am talking about.

 I would covet your prayers in learning to deal with this. I go back to the doctor in one month to try some sort of rotation diet (not sure what that is).

Moe