taylor!!

Hey there! So I was diagnosed when I was really young, then in high school I kind of started sneaking wheat sometimes. (in my defense, I didn't remember the really bad side effects of gluten because I was so young when I was diagnosed...no one judge me (: ). Once I got to college, i stopped sneaking gluten but I also started getting really fatigued and my hair started thinning a lot and I lost a lot of weight. The doctors checked my thyroid and ran lots of tests and eventually decided to do another endoscopy, which I hadnt had since I was 18 months old. They told me I had a little damage to my small intestine, and wanted to make sure I wasnt cheating. I was a little offended by this, since I don't really know any life other than a gluten free one, but decided I had kind of slacked off from how I lived when I was younger.

After that I went through all my personal care items, shampoos, conditioners, makeup...and kind of tested myself by not going out to eat at all and avoiding places that had a lot of gluten in the air (bakeries, the kitchen when my roommates were baking, etc.). Almost all of my symptoms went away after changing that stuff within about a month. The conclusion was that the way I reacted to being glutened had sort of..hmm..morphed? Whether it was the stress of college or the new environment, something triggered a change in me that made me start reacting differently to gluten. When I was younger I would throw up or get diarrhea, and now, I get massive migraines and extremely exhausted.

My hairloss got much better about a month after going through all of my products and watching my food extra carefully, and now I find that I'm much more sensitive to bakeries and just being around places with flour in the air. I really don't think working in a gluten-filled bakery is a good idea,but then I know that some people are ok being in that kind of environment. The suggestion to explore gluten free baking is a great idea...I would definitely enjoy some new baked goods on the market .

Good luck!,

Hey there! I have lived with roommates for the past 5 years and have never had any problems with cross contamination or anything like that. I explained the situation to them and just always had a mutual understanding with all of them that we would clearly label what food is ours and clean dishes thoroughly. I had a seperate toaster that i used and we were all good about keeping the stove and oven clean. The only issues I ever had was if they decided to bake. The flour in the air bothered me, so if they were ever baking cookies or anything and I wasn't home they would just shoot me a text and let me know so I didn't walk into a kitchen covered in flour.

Basically it depends on how comfortable you feel living in an environment like that and how willing you both are to make sure your foods are separate and the kitchen is clean. I think if she understands the diet and is willing to work with you, and you think you can live with her, go for it. There are a lot of great benefits to having a roommate, especially in the first few years of college. I still talk to some of my past roommates and don't know how I would have survived college without them.

Hope that helps a little

I'm Christy, from the Tallahassee area and have been gluten free since September of 2010. I was diagnosed a few years after a family member found out she had it. Just wanted to say hello!

Hey Christy! I live in Tallahassee too! Welcome