Annoying Friends!

[Victoria6102]

Hey all,

Well I've been on the gluten free diet for about 7 months (it feels like it's been 7 years haha ) I was diagnosed with Celiac in September, 2010.

In the beginning, I obviously had no idea which gluten free foods tasted good and which ones didn't. I do a lot of activities with my youth group at church, so I am constantly bringing meals and snacks with me and eat them in front of my friends. So, in the beginning I would bring some pretty nasty stuff because it's all I could find. My friends were curious and wanted to try my "strange and abnormal food". I let them and they ended up wasting my cupcake and, may I say, being quite rude by wiping what was left of it all over the pavement right in front of me. The next time I had some crackers and I got up to get a napkin....when I came back my friend had reached her hand in the box (while eating pizza) to try one of my crackers. When I said that I couldn't eat them now because of that, all my friends decided to laugh at me and make a big deal out of it. I didn't get what their problem was...

So after that, noone really wants to try any of my food (not that I want them to). But they make it a point to say something about my food, like "Oh, what do you have today, another meal that looks and tastes like rotten dog food?" Or, "How can you eat something so disgusting like that." Why do they need to make such unnecessary rude remarks to me?! Going gluten free is hard enough as it is, and I don't need my friends acting like this on top of it all.

I also get the annoying questions like "What are you going to do when you are dating, tell him 'oh we have to go somewhere gluten free'" And they say "gluten free" like I am some sort of exaggerator. That's another thing......they don't believe me. Especially about cross contamination. I try to explain that I am doing this because it is for my health..sometimes I even use scary things like "If I eat that my body will destroy itself." hahaha...I have to have a little fun with them sometimes! But most of the time I feel like either A.Freaking out!! B. Wringing their necks. or C. Praying that they all get celiac disease. lol

So how do you deal with those things:

1. Your friends not believing you or saying you are exaggerating.

2. Your friends making awful comments about what you're eating and about how careful you have to be.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

[psawyer]

The people who make fun of your dietary needs and do not respect them are not what I would call friends. My friends respect me and my needs, even if they do not fully understand them. That is what it means to be a friend. Your mileage may vary.

[Jestgar]

I agree. These are not nice people. Tell them the best part about gluten-free food is that it lets you know which people are unkind jerks.

[eatmeat4good]

Congratulations for hanging in there for 7 months. Me too. Exactly 7 months. I'm sorry they are being so insensitive and rude. I agree with both comments above. It is very superficial for them to ridicule you particularly when none of this is your choice. You are not exaggerating to say your body will destroy itself...I use that line myself! It does destroy you slowly but surely. All of your feelings are normal for someone who has put up with what you have. I'm wishing better friends for you.

[hnybny91]

I just don't get why people are like this about those of us that can not eat gluten. You would never be so rude to someone with a peanut allergy. I know celiacs is not an allergy but just because we do not experience or troat closing up does not mean it is not a real health concern.

If I were you the next time they started belittling your dietary concerns I would firmly tell them that this way of eating is SAVING YOUR LIFE and they they needed to shut up about it. But, I can be abrasive about things like that...LOL

[kareng]

Wow! This is a church group? They don't act very kind.

I think I would try to find other friends. I'm assuming these are probably teenagers but they are acting like mean 5 year olds. Next time, when its time to pull out your food, sit next to the youth pastor, priest whoever is the adult leader and let them see the nasty behavior. 100 years ago, if someone had acted like that in my church youth group, they would have been " counseled".

[Karla01]

Your friends don't sound very nice, sounds like you might need some new ones. My friends respect that I have Celiac and I was diagnosed in August 2010. They actually look for gluten free food for me. I started a new job and even my new fellow coworkers are more understanding and I have only know tham for 4 months. Maybe you could print up some literature for them to read and try to educate them, if they truly are your friends they will want to learn about Celiac disease.

[Victoria6102]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

Sometimes I feel like it is my fault, but what can I do about it? There is no cure for Celiac. One of my "friends" said "Oh, well you're just so weird. Not because YOU are weird, but because the Celiac makes you weird." That sure confuses me.

Got a question...do you all think that drinking out of someone else's water bottle after they've eaten a sandwich then drank out of it, could make you sick?

I did that a month ago. I was actually on a trip with my church group. Don't get me wrong, I love my church and my youth group. Most of them are fine with it, but there are several who won't give it a rest. Constantly, it's got to be about me and how weird my disease is. So anyway, we were traveling in a car 18 hours from Canada (great situation to get glutened, huh?!)And my bag of gluten free snacks was on the floor along with someone else's bag of snacks. When I thought I was grabbng my water bottle it was actually someone else's. Didn't realize that til after I had drank out of it. I calmly freaked out (if that makes any sense haha) and said that I had not been glutened yet so wasn't sure how long til I would get the side effects of it, but I might know within 3 hours. Well 3 hours passed and my stomach started to hurt but I didn't say anything because they already thought I was exaggerating. Before I knew I had Celiac, I would get random mini-seizures...haven't had any since I went gluten free but that night, at the hotel I woke up with one, so bad I could barely even move. They thought I was making myself do that also. For the enxt couple days traveling home, I had all the great wonderful exciting joyful () side effects from getting glutened. Somehow, they thought it was all in my mind. I'm convinced it wasn't. So basically the whole way home I got comments such as "Stop faking for attention" or "Get over yourself". The last day travelling I was curled up in a ball crying because it hurt so bad, the whole ride. When we got to a rest stop, one of the girls "felt faint" (now who wants attention?!) and had to hold someone's arm. But when I asked to hold their arm to walk inside, I got a few rude comments and looks and they barely helped me at all. I lost great respect for many people that trip. I would not make any of this up! I also wouldn't eat like I do if I didn't have to....who would?!

And please do not lose any respect for churches or Christians because of this. Every church has the few people who will be rude to those who are "different"...guess I'm just having a hard time dealing with it! It's a lot for one girl to handle on her own...haha well enough complaining and long-stories. Thanks for listening Your help and advice is still greatly appreciated, especially on how to handle situations like the one above (one last note about that, I did not complain about my 'glutening" except once, to ask if we could find a rest stop.)

[SusieQ]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

Sometimes I feel like it is my fault, but what can I do about it? There is no cure for Celiac. One of my "friends" said "Oh, well you're just so weird. Not because YOU are weird, but because the Celiac makes you weird." That sure confuses me.

Got a question...do you all think that drinking out of someone else's water bottle after they've eaten a sandwich then drank out of it, could make you sick?

I did that a month ago. I was actually on a trip with my church group. Don't get me wrong, I love my church and my youth group. Most of them are fine with it, but there are several who won't give it a rest. Constantly, it's got to be about me and how weird my disease is. So anyway, we were traveling in a car 18 hours from Canada (great situation to get glutened, huh?!)And my bag of gluten free snacks was on the floor along with someone else's bag of snacks. When I thought I was grabbng my water bottle it was actually someone else's. Didn't realize that til after I had drank out of it. I calmly freaked out (if that makes any sense haha) and said that I had not been glutened yet so wasn't sure how long til I would get the side effects of it, but I might know within 3 hours. Well 3 hours passed and my stomach started to hurt but I didn't say anything because they already thought I was exaggerating. Before I knew I had Celiac, I would get random mini-seizures...haven't had any since I went gluten free but that night, at the hotel I woke up with one, so bad I could barely even move. They thought I was making myself do that also. For the enxt couple days traveling home, I had all the great wonderful exciting joyful () side effects from getting glutened. Somehow, they thought it was all in my mind. I'm convinced it wasn't. So basically the whole way home I got comments such as "Stop faking for attention" or "Get over yourself". The last day travelling I was curled up in a ball crying because it hurt so bad, the whole ride. When we got to a rest stop, one of the girls "felt faint" (now who wants attention?!) and had to hold someone's arm. But when I asked to hold their arm to walk inside, I got a few rude comments and looks and they barely helped me at all. I lost great respect for many people that trip. I would not make any of this up! I also wouldn't eat like I do if I didn't have to....who would?!

And please do not lose any respect for churches or Christians because of this. Every church has the few people who will be rude to those who are "different"...guess I'm just having a hard time dealing with it! It's a lot for one girl to handle on her own...haha well enough complaining and long-stories. Thanks for listening Your help and advice is still greatly appreciated, especially on how to handle situations like the one above (one last note about that, I did not complain about my 'glutening" except once, to ask if we could find a rest stop.)

wow. people are so rude. but trust me, i know how you feel when u said that they thought it was in ur mind and wasn't real. that how my family is to me.. my sister told me that nothing would happen to me if i have ONE bite of rice but i didn't want to eat it. she told me to not be rude (because i was at someone's house at the time) and to just eat it so it wouldn't be a hassle for them. so i took only ONE SMALL bite and i regret ever listening to her. after an hour my joints were hurting (thats the main symptom that i get) and i told my sister and she said that thats not possible for it to hurt that fast cus it hasn't digested yet..but i knew that i was right and didn't want to fight and just pretended to agree.. and she said i probably ate something the day before by accident.. and my mom didn't believe in the whole gluten thing ruining my body on the inside. shes just starting to actually believe that gluten ruins my body...kind of...and my siblings say that (when i eat gluten by accident and my joints begin to hurt) its all in my head. they don't believe it cus they cant SEE it! and i hate that they don't believe me most of the time!! so i feel ur pain. btw if the people who were rude to you are ur "friends" then i think u need to meet some new ones.. like ME! haha jk. anyway, how old are you? im 13

[Victoria6102]

Wow I am so sorry that your family treats you like that! My family understands...so I am blessed for that!

Maybe I should clarify something...these people aren't really my friends...more like my peers. People who are here that I see a lot that I have to get along with somehow. So thank you everyone for your advice about getting new friends. I used the term "friends" incorrectly...I really only have 3 friends and they all understand and buy me gluten free stuff. They're great! Getting Celiac has shown me who really is a true friend and who isn't!

Joint pain...I didn't get joint pain. That must be awful! I basically got overall unbearable pain (especially stomach), headache, lightheadedness, my mini-seizure and felt like I wanted to cry. It was so weird. Maybe I'm a wimp but the thing that scares me the most about Celiac is that I'm going to get glutened sometime in my life again. Atleast once. It's nearly impossible not to. I am so dreading the results of it. Am I the only one?!

13, huh?! I'd prefer not to put my actual age on here, but I will say that I am a teenage girl who is older than you. I do need some more friends!!!

[kareng]

Where are the adult chaperones during this meaness and illness? Haven't your parents explained it to them? I chaperone groups of teens and I want and need to know what illnesses and special issues they have. I keep an eye on them to make sure they are OK, taking meds, eating, whatever they need.

[Sadasar]

I agree. These are not nice people. Tell them the best part about gluten-free food is that it lets you know which people are unkind jerks.

I second this one. And I firmly believe what goes around comes around so don't worry either they will grow up or you will move on.

[jolie.fleur.peu]

I know how you feel. People either always think I'm exaggerating or they "feel sorry" for me. I don't want their pity or attention. I just want them to be understanding and tolerant. When I was nine I was at a girls party ( she was my best friend at the time)and she gave me a piece of candy with the ingredients in asian. When I said "not thanks, I can't" she said " Oh, you just want attention, you just want everything to be about you. You're being so rude, you should just eat it."... in front of her mother who said NOTHING. When I was thirteen another 'friend' grabbed a yogurt I was eating and chucked it to the ground screaming " You're lactose intolerant, if you eat that you'll have some sort of fit!" Uhm no, actually, I'm not lactose intolerant and you just chucked my lunch on the ground...people like that p*ss me off :/

Anyway just tell them to f*ck off They probably don't see how frustrating it is so if you just let loose on them next time they take the p*ss of you or your food. They'll get the message

[123bree]

I know how you feel. People either always think I'm exaggerating or they "feel sorry" for me. I don't want their pity or attention. I just want them to be understanding and tolerant. When I was nine I was at a girls party ( she was my best friend at the time)and she gave me a piece of candy with the ingredients in asian. When I said "not thanks, I can't" she said " Oh, you just want attention, you just want everything to be about you. You're being so rude, you should just eat it."... in front of her mother who said NOTHING. When I was thirteen another 'friend' grabbed a yogurt I was eating and chucked it to the ground screaming " You're lactose intolerant, if you eat that you'll have some sort of fit!" Uhm no, actually, I'm not lactose intolerant and you just chucked my lunch on the ground...people like that p*ss me off :/

Anyway just tell them to f*ck off They probably don't see how frustrating it is so if you just let loose on them next time they take the p*ss of you or your food. They'll get the message

I no what you mean. people always "feel sorry" for me to or think a 'little bit does not heart'. they always comment on the food i eat for lunch like if i eat cheese there always like 'you can't eat cheese' than looking at me like i'm going to drop dead any minute. then i'm like 'yeah i can' and that happends every day. most people that don't have celiac disease just don't get it.

[Jungle]

I am sorry that people are so rude to you. What do you think about making an appt. with your youth pastor and asking him why he allows people to bully you? The behaviours you are describing are not okay for any reason. He needs to come up with a plan to stop them. He is responsible for creating a safe environment. If you get no where with him go to the senior pastor or other elders. You need some help in getting this under control.

Celiac is not that big a deal. We can't eat some foods (unfortunately the yummy ones) and need to be careful but it really only affects the celiac not anyone else. So it isn't really any of their business.

[Noomers]

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. Your response is incredibly mature!

I once spent a summer living with 7 other girls from church, one of them had celiac. I'm sure we glutened her constantly because we really didn't get it (or care enough to figure it out) and I feel really bad about it now (just found out I have celiac). I'm thinking of contacting her now and apologizing. We never made fun of her but I'm sure we contaminated the peanut butter a number of times.

It's clear that your peers really don't get it. Is there some way that you can educate them? I know that you probably don't want to make a big deal about this, but maybe there could be one last-ditch effort on your part to understand. Maybe you could printoff some small papers with an explanation of celiac disease and what it is, what steps you have, what happens if you don't go gluten-free,etc., to take and hand those out to the obnoxious ones? Or maybe there is a doctor in your congregation who would be willing to sit down and talk to the group for a few minutes (of course you might have to educate that doctor first). Would your youth leader let you address the group and share how hard it is for you to be gluten-free? It sounds like you're doing a great job of giving these kids the benefit of the doubt and what they really need is more education.

[Victoria6102]

Thank you, it is hard to act mature sometimes when they treat me like this! lol

Good idea about talking to my youth pastor. You're right, I don't want to make a big deal out of it...I wish I could just bring my own meal with me to things and have noone make any comments at all and pretend I was eating what they're eating! Sadly, it is not that way, and even more sadly, I know it will never be that way! But I do have those who are with me and who don't make any comments to me, only encouraging ones!

I have tried to give one girl information about it before but she ignored my email Guess I could give it another try.!

Actually, my mom is a nurse! She did talk to the youth leaders and those in charge of my youth group and church about it so they mostly understand. I would ask if she could try to explain to my friends but I am afraid that would make it worse.

Don't feel too bad about glutening this girl before you knew about celiac that much....to be honest, before I had celiac I had no idea what gluten really was and if someone had been saying the stuff that I say, about what I can and can't eat and how serious it is, I might have thought they were exaggerating too....I guess when something happens to YOU, it really puts things in persepctive!!

[beatthewheat]

ha yeah i have the same problem! im fifteen and a high school cafeteria is scary enough without having to bring gross looking food... My friends poke fun of my food and intolerance and i laugh along because i don't want to be too sensitive but their "joking" daily gets old... My best friend and I recently got in a fight and her retort was "At least I can eat cake! and what the he11 are you gonna do on dates?". This made me upset because i do worry about how my life wont be normal in the dating world all the time! After i walked away she was like "gosh I'm just kidding!", but I don't think i can handle her hurtful "jokes" everyday!! but other than these jokes, my friends are really good friends and we all get along really well, I just don't know how to lightly make them stop being rude...

So i guess i don't really have any advice for you since i'm struggling with the same issues,maybe you could start with talking to your closest friend about how serious it is and show her/him that there's other humor besides your food..The less that you pay attention to it the less they will continue to talk about it. I'm just hoping that it will get better once my friends grow up and realize its seriousness.. Thankfully my closest friends understand how much pain i go through when i eat it on accident, so they take me seriously, but that doesn't stop them from making fun of my food or eating all of my good food! i always feel like rude when i don't give my hungry friends some of my food but i know i wont be able to eat anything from anywhere else. Good luck!

[aeb]

You may not believe this but even as a grad student I have felt this a little. I being cereal with me to my early morning class and snack during break. The other students "tease" about my kix cereal, and not its not actually kix but a gluten free version. We then went through the whole, want a piece of my muffin thing, no thanks im allergic, it doesnt have nuts, im not allergic to nuts thanks anyway, then what are you allergic to, gluten its in wheat. Yes I find it easier with people I am not close with to describe it as an allergy. And I got to do it all again a weak later when a someone brought in a b-day snack, except she didnt realize that white wheat is still wheat (she really wanted me to try it because it didnt have whole wheat). I dont mind this, people want to share food, its nice (as long as its not my expensive foods). But then this girl goes around to everyone offering food and asking (a bit loudly) if they have a food allergy declaring that it doesnt have nuts (why is it always nuts???) So yea, of course a bit awkward for me, cuse of course no one else had an allergy, and the girls friend then glares at me and says "Its special for her birthday" like my gluten intolerance is something personal against her.

SO the point of this is just be confident in you. dont let people get under your skin, I know its hard, Im still not 100% there yet and I think Im probably nearly 10 yrs older. As you find yummy foods and share them with new friends, they will think being gluten free is something good. My best friends dad went this way, he bought foods for me to eat when I visit (tortillas, chips, crackers, dips, etc), and tried them, now they get them all the time for themselves. As for your youth group, I agree talk with the pastor or just tell the kids, if I was a diabetic and didnt share your cake would you tease me, if I were allergic to peanuts would you taunt me with your PB&J; they probably will say no. Celiac is the same, you shouldn't be teased for following a diet that makes you feel good and keeps you healthy. Seems to me like you are doing a good job, spend time with people who will support you and not bring you down.

Good luck!

[shadowicewolf]

Some are just plain idiots that only care about their own wants and needs

Just ignore them. They aren't worth the time spent coming up with something to say back if they are going to say such things.

Don't let it get you down hun! Can you bring this up with your youth groups leader? Perhaps letting them know whats going on will help, better yet, find their parents and tell them what they have been doing

But in reality, ignoring them is the best bet. I was a victim of bullying for years (bad enough i would skip school most of the time and failed 6th grade because of it). It is hard, i understand completely.

But hey, at least you aren't eating that modified stuff they're eating Take the high road

[Cypressmyst]

How do I deal? I educate and convert. I know you said you wish they would all get Celiacs...I have some good news for you then. Every human on Earth can not digest gluten. Celiac is simply one symptom of this problem.

Other symptoms include:

Hypo-Hyper thyroid

Diabetes

Menstrual Cramps, PMS <--------No these are not normal. We should not have these as women. Mine disappeared at the 9 month gluten-free mark.

Infertility

Cysts

Fibroids

Acne

Skin rashes, eczema, rosacea, Dermatitis Herpetaformis

Asthma

Heart burn

Migraines and Headaches

Body/Muscle aches and twitches

Depression, Bipolar, Schitzophrenia

IBS

Ulcerative Colitus

Diverticulosis/itis

Joint pain/ Arthritis

Allergies to food and the environment

Insomnia

Night sweats

Night terrors

Sleep apnea

Sleep walking

ADHD, Aspergers

Brain Fog

Low Libido

Rage

Paranoia

Nauseaus all the time.

Lupus

MS

Parkinsons

Really any autoimmune disorder

Heart disease

Cancer

Slow healing

Scoliosis

Obesity

I'm willing to bet your friends suffer from more than one of these things all thanks to our friend gluten. Been killing us for a long time now. But it is just in the last few decades that wheat was modified to be 50% gluten instead of 7% and it is in everything we eat, all day every day. We never get a break.

As a result we have an explosion of chronic pain and disease.

When people cut it out they see that they feel better and stay away from it. But understand that it also has an opioid effect on the brain. People are addicted to it like it is heroine. This explains the defensive reactions of your friends.

Do your research and educate them. Try to have the same patience with them as you would a drug addict. Don't get preachy but realize that this is poison, not food, and you are doing the right thing by your body staying far away from it.

F%#* Gluten!

[GlutenFreeManna]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

Sometimes I feel like it is my fault, but what can I do about it? There is no cure for Celiac. One of my "friends" said "Oh, well you're just so weird. Not because YOU are weird, but because the Celiac makes you weird." That sure confuses me.

Got a question...do you all think that drinking out of someone else's water bottle after they've eaten a sandwich then drank out of it, could make you sick?

I did that a month ago. I was actually on a trip with my church group. Don't get me wrong, I love my church and my youth group. Most of them are fine with it, but there are several who won't give it a rest. Constantly, it's got to be about me and how weird my disease is. So anyway, we were traveling in a car 18 hours from Canada (great situation to get glutened, huh?!)And my bag of gluten free snacks was on the floor along with someone else's bag of snacks. When I thought I was grabbng my water bottle it was actually someone else's. Didn't realize that til after I had drank out of it. I calmly freaked out (if that makes any sense haha) and said that I had not been glutened yet so wasn't sure how long til I would get the side effects of it, but I might know within 3 hours. Well 3 hours passed and my stomach started to hurt but I didn't say anything because they already thought I was exaggerating. Before I knew I had Celiac, I would get random mini-seizures...haven't had any since I went gluten free but that night, at the hotel I woke up with one, so bad I could barely even move. They thought I was making myself do that also. For the enxt couple days traveling home, I had all the great wonderful exciting joyful () side effects from getting glutened. Somehow, they thought it was all in my mind. I'm convinced it wasn't. So basically the whole way home I got comments such as "Stop faking for attention" or "Get over yourself". The last day travelling I was curled up in a ball crying because it hurt so bad, the whole ride. When we got to a rest stop, one of the girls "felt faint" (now who wants attention?!) and had to hold someone's arm. But when I asked to hold their arm to walk inside, I got a few rude comments and looks and they barely helped me at all. I lost great respect for many people that trip. I would not make any of this up! I also wouldn't eat like I do if I didn't have to....who would?!

And please do not lose any respect for churches or Christians because of this. Every church has the few people who will be rude to those who are "different"...guess I'm just having a hard time dealing with it! It's a lot for one girl to handle on her own...haha well enough complaining and long-stories. Thanks for listening Your help and advice is still greatly appreciated, especially on how to handle situations like the one above (one last note about that, I did not complain about my 'glutening" except once, to ask if we could find a rest stop.)

I have gotten glutened from sharing a water bottle..so that was not in your head. I also had unexplained seizures/fainting prior to going gluten free. As far as the youth group goes...tell an adult please what is going on. Where is your youth leader or his wife when all this was going on? Were there no adults in the car that knew about your celiac disease? You need to have a talk with your parents about this too--you don't have to tell them WHO was being mean but tell them that you were picked on and didn't feel safe telling anyone you were hurting. Maybe between you, your parents and your pastor you can work out a better plan for next time you go on a youth trip. Like maybe a trusted adult you can tell when you get glutened instead of the kids that picked on you? The kids will probably still pick on you for goign to an adult and getting special treatment if you get sick, but that's jus th way they are. Hopefully you can work out a safe plan for next time and also find a way to forgive these rude kids (which doesn't mean you have to trust them to take care of you or help you get safe food either)Do what Jesus would hve done--forgiving his enemies and praying for them. Stay strong girl!

[shadowicewolf]

ADHD, Aspergers

I'm going to be a bit picky on these two (no offence ).

I agree with most ADHD cases, where that it is something eviormental (ie: Food). But in other cases it isn't (thus why i think its overdiagnosed).

Aspergers, on the other hand, has nothing to do with diet (again, misdiagnosis could be more common here).

As someone who has both, it just slightly insulting. Nothing towards you or anything, but i hate it when someone says that this is the cause for this when it isn't.

(sorry for the tangent, but it somewhat irks me )

---

Op another thought, why not stop going for a little bit (a meeting or two) and see if that calms things down for a bit.

[sierrabn]

I had a similar experience with one of my close friends recently. We were going to go out to eat, and he insisted on going to one of our favourite places we used to visit, before we figured out what was making me sick. He proceeded to mock me about it, accuse me of exaggerating, and insist there was something on the menu I could eat, because it was "ridiculous to believe that anywhere had nothing for me to eat". I ended up telling him he was being insensitive, and leaving.

I let him cool down and after a few days he came back to talk to me about it and ask questions about how serious it was, and I realized I needed to be more specific in giving actual examples that relate to me, not general examples, in order for him to put how it effects me into perspective.

[rgarton]

That is just outright bullying, and shouldn't be tolerated at all. All my friends are really understanding and caring fortunatly, my partner has even made our whole house gluten free to keep me safe and makes me lunches if i have to go anywhere, gets me hand gel incase i touch anything that someone else has had and writes my name on water bottles! I feel so lucky after reading this. But i really do feel for you. I did have an unfortunate case of one 'friend' telling me i was over exaggerating that i couldn't come and see her because i had been glutened, but i calmly explained to her exactly what happens when i eat gluten and the side effects from it in the grossest possible detail, shes never complained since. Maybe find or make a really yummy cake to take in and let everyone eat and tell them initially you won't eat any then once they realise how yummy it is tuck in and say 'see, aint so bad hey?'