anabananakins

ell said, IH.  I thought it needed repeating.  We are still here.  And we are still here in the hopes that we can help others to be still here, living life.  We are not here to be the wicked witches of the west.  We are not here because we like arguing or because we feel sorry for ourselves.  We are here to try to give you whatever help you need.  If you don't like the message, feel free to disregard it.  But don't complain because it was offered -- you did after all come here seeking it, even if it wasn't the message you hoped for. 

 

 

I haven't been around much lately but I am still so grateful to 'shroomie and many others for all their help when I was preparing to go gluten free.  Even though I am not around so much, I am super grateful for them and that they are still here helping others who came after me. Thank you.

 

This borders on harassment, if you ask me.

 

I agree. I don't get any grief about what I do or don't eat and I would never take it from anyone.  It's not worth it to my health, and I don't want to associate with anyone so nasty.  I get that you can't chose your co-workers, and work situations are a lot harder, but I wouldn't bother being gracious to anyone who treated you like this, even if it's in your nature to be nice to people.  Sometimes, they deserve a not so nice response to those kind of insane argumentative replies. 

 

I do disagree with the comment that that alcohol is not pushed so much beyond teenage years as food is.  That may be the case in communities in the US but Australian culture includes a lot of drinking and so did life in London where going out for after work drinks a number of times a week was super common and accepted.  Many of us turned up for work feeling rather worse for wear and in retrospect, I think that was an issue. But it was work encouraged and often endorsed (we had drinks at work, or were out drinking with our managers and coworkers).  When my team was seen as a bit cliquey and not attending drinks with everyone else, they moved the location to our office and some Friday evenings we were literally sitting at our desks finishing up our work while coworkers from less busy teams drank and socialised around us.  Whereas food, pfffft, no one cared about that.  I also think the style of food in the US is much more gluten-y than I am used here to so I do sympathise there. It stresses me out a fair bit when I travel to the US whereas in Australia and the UK it's no big deal and there are usually quite a few items that would be naturally gluten free.

 

To the OP, I can be pretty wussy and want to stay home if I feel ill. I figure if I don't feel well at home, communting an hour each way on the bus is really not going to help.  So don't beat yourself up about it, you have a fellow wuss in me :-)

I always get chocolates that I can't eat but I figure it's the thought that counts and I regift them. I actually really appreciate being saved the trouble of having to do my own shopping for those kinds of little gifts.

I got given shortbread this year - my mother loved it.

I'd much rather be given chocolates I can't eat but that someone else will appreciate than a cheap junky gift that will end up in landfill or that I wouldn't want to pass on for fear people would think it was my taste.

Actually, I was one of the less common types of students (as you probably read above) that actually did attend a residential college.

As far my university record went, I began in 2010 and passed most of my first semester courses (followed by me failing most of my second semester courses). In 2011, I passed all of my first semester courses but then failed all of my second semester courses (as I noticed my health deteriorating) and was placed on academic probation. In 2012, I failed all of my first semester courses (with marks like 13 out of 100) and (as you quoted above) was excluded from the University and would have to show cause if I wished to continue my studies in that particular program.

I also gather that, reading between the lines, the admin staff (including sub deans) at my residential college were keen to see me go.

I didn't wish to go down the "self-catered" accommodation route because we worried that buying groceries and cooking meals would hinder my ability to concentrate on my studies. My heart didn't seem to be in it like it should have been and so I decided to "pull the pin" (so to speak) and come home.

I did well in my senior studies at high school, so I'm hoping that this will still count for something (should I wish to attend university in the future). I have no idea how they determine whether one is eligible or not but, given the record above I'm very doubtful.

Yes, I saw that you were in a residential college, that bit of my post was more for general info. I can understand why you'd want to be in one, but the time taken to prep meals isn't too much after you get used to it, perhaps you could practice while you're at home?

It sounds like you've already shown that you can achieve at university and you've just had some big struggles that were beyond your control. Seriously, for the reasons you were excluded they *do not* exclude you for life. It's not like you were thrown out for cheating. You can absolutely go back again when you're ready. You'll just have to do a more detailed application as they will no longer just look at your school records. In my second year I started dropping subjects until eventually I dropped the last two after the cut off and was asked to 'show cause' for my two failures for withdrawing after the cut off. I didn't and I was excluded. I reapplied a few years later (for another course) and was too lazy to do a supporting statement. I didn't get in. When I called the university to ask if that was why they said I would've been admitted if I'd done the statement. Lesson learned and the following year I applied again with a supporting statement explaining what had happened. I included a letter from my doctor (I dropped out because I was depressed, even though I wasn't being treated at the time).

Don't let anyone tell you that you won't be able to go back to university. Don't even tell yourself that. You absolutely can. If you want to stay home, then I highly recommend distance education. You have a supportive family. I was 25 by the time I finished; I'd been incredibly depressed and incredibly broke but I managed it and you can too

I'm really sorry about the hard time you had :-(

With regards to not being able to go back to uni, I gather you were "excluded" (for non-Aussies, this is a term they use when you drop out with fails and without following any of the procedures). That doesn't mean you are excluded for life, you just need to explain when you reapply what went wrong and that you're in a better position to be successful with study. I got excluded too when I dropped out suddenly when I was 19 but it was fine later when I reapplied and I was able to complete my degree. Have you considered doing distance education and staying at home? The University of New England are great for distance studies and there are other places too. I really enjoy distance education, I can work full time and fit in my studies. I've actually found it easier to get to know other students too because before we were all commuting and super busy (Australian unis don't tend to have the same community aspect, most students live at home and commute, or in shared flats. Living on campus is pretty rare).

Rose, the situation in Sydney hasn't been as great as it used to be, a lot of people have been laid off and we definitely get more applicants for any advertised positions than we used to. But there's still work available. It is a super expensive place to live as a student though. Paying sydney market rents on the types of jobs students get meant years of soul crushing poverty for me. So I wouldn't recommend a move here unless there was some support network in place.

My overactive imagination has conjured up an image of a terrible accident with a chicken nugget delivery truck that left billions of those little frozen crumbed morsels bouncing all over the highway like ping pong balls.

I stuffed myself with gluten for three months and still tested negative. Unless you want to keep eating gluten for another few months to re-do the testing, you might as well accept that you're not going to get an official diagnosis now, but you can go gluten free anyway. Heck, you could stuff yourself with gluten for years and still test negative, it doesn't mean it's not bad for you. There are heaps of us here who tested negative but who removed all gluten from our diets and felt amazingly better for it.

There are a lot of threads about this. The testing sucks, there are so many people it seems to fail. But going gluten free is nothing like as bad as it seems before you've done it - and the benefits can be amazing. Just make sure you decide if you want to pursue the testing or not as once you go gluten free you can't have the testing done unless you do a long gluten challenge.

It's also really positive that they have invited you to bring your own food. It's way less tricky than negotiating situations where they say "we've made something gluten free especially for you!" and you're then terrified that it's been contaminated (likely) and have to feel bad about not eating it (either pushing it around your plate in which case they are likely to try making something "gluten free" for you again another time or hurting feelings by saying outright that you appreciate the gesture but you can't eat it. Neither is fun )

It does get easier with time. I hope you have a good time at the events!

I'm australian and therefore used to be a happy little vegemite... alas, no more (vegemite is not gluten free) I'm not bothering witht the gluten free versions because in my experience, the type of spread you eat (marmite, vegemite etc) depends on what you were given as a little kid and all the others taste awful! I used to love it on vita wheat biscuits with butter, when you squeezed them together they made little worms ;-) I also loved it on toast. Vegemite is now one of those childhood things that I'll never ever have again... but I have fond memories so I'm ok about it

Everyone else has suggested useful tips but I just wanted to stop by and say how touched I was by your thoughtfulness to your future room mate. You are being the sweetest friend to her and I hope you both have lots of fun living together.

I was just wondering the other day where you'd gone. Congratulations!!!!! Welcome Jacob, yay!

In the modern world, we hear so often: X food just doesn't agree with me, or X food gives me gas, and we think that this is normal. The one thing I've learned after finding out about all our food issues is that people whose bodies DON'T have problems with these foods? They don't have issues with it 'agreeing' with them or giving them gas or bloating. The only people who seem to have trouble with it is the ones whose bodies are reacting inappropriately somehow to it.

Funny how we're taught that all sorts of ill health is somehow normal, so we never try to get rid of it.


"I think gluten is fine in moderation. Everything is fine in moderation"

Haha, yes. 18 months ago my mum said "don't be silly, everyone gets stomach aches". But I think she's getting tired of updates from the world of non-stomach-ache land and I might be able to convince her to join me here

I've eaten there twice and thought they were great. I love getting my meals on a separate plate - I know that way that they are correct.

It's not chinese food like I used to be able to eat (from small family run places here in Sydney) but better than no chinese food at all :-)

Don't beat yourself up, there's so much to learn, but flour is a definite no no. And it's YOUR house, you can say so. Heck, my mother respects my request to please not do any bread baking in the days leading up to my visit (and she uses a bread machine so she's not flinging around flour much) and that's me asking her to do something in her house. She gets that it's poison to me.

I'm sure you'll find someone if you advertise, and I bet there is someone out there desperate to live in a gluten free home so do advertise it as such. It must be so tough to be young and broke and to already be spending more than average on food only to be stressed about finding suitable share accommodation.

Even if he was the nicest guy possible, if he likes baking with regular flour then he's not a suitable person to share your house. Since he sounds like a creep, you should definitely give him notice. And then change the locks!

i say i got glutened... i heard it on here- and it stuck. my friends think it's pretty hilarious.. i like words that are kinda made up

Hee, me too Cass and my friends find it hilarious too.

I would say "I was glutened" but if I'm worried about a food I'd say "no, I won't have any because it's probably contaminated". I want people to realise that take even the chance of a dusting of "poison" seriously. They wouldn't eat something if there was the slightest chance it was contaminated with rat poison, so I think using the term contaminated helps get across how seriously I take gluten contamination.

I have to admit that I have been put off by some of the self-diagnosed people. I wish they would identify themselves (and many do) as gluten-free but not celiac disease. This disease is no joke and you need proper medical care and follow up. There are many health issues associated with gluten that are not celiac disease so self-diagnosing is not a good idea. Self-diagnosing your children is even worse. It's a blood test and a biopsy and it's worth it. Obviously there are exceptions, but now that this is becoming a somewhat trendy diet it is more dangerous.

I think that makes self-diagnosed people even more worthy of compassion, because due to the lack of meeting specific criteria to get the official label of "celiac", they won't get that follow up care. I tested negative (blood tests). I did not have the genes and so current wisdom says that there's no way I have celiac. Well, why does it make me so ill? Why did I have such a dramatic improvement to so many symptoms after I went gluten free? Why did my B12 levels double in the year since I went gluten free? There is so much doctors do not know about gluten intolerance and the effects gluten has on the human body. It is a spectrum. I'm not going to make myself sicker while medicine catches up to what I already know - you don't eat things that make you ill! It's bad enough dealing with the gluten eating masses, we don't need to have two classes of people within the gluten free world.

Most self-diagnosed people aren't following it as a trendy diet. They are self-diagnosed because doctors ran out of suggestions or dismissed their symptoms. The types of people who follow it as a trendy diet and merely "gluten light" and I doubt most would be bothering to attend support group meetings. There is absolutely no health benefit to eating gluten that you can't get from other foods. Our society has such an obsession with wheat, it's frightening.