Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Nervous About Family Vacation... Help!


MYSweetPea

Recommended Posts

MYSweetPea Newbie

Hi everyone!  :) This is my first new post so I'll give a little history - I have been gluten free for about 3 months now. It has completely changed my life! I had really bad panic attacks & stomach pains before and now I don't have them at all! (Well, unless I get accidentally glutened.) I'm relatively new to this so I haven't gone out to eat very much. 

I'm going on a cruise to Bermuda in August and I'm really nervous! I know that the cruise line knows of my diet but I'm scared about being accidentally glutened. Also I'm going with my extended family (ALL of which don't understand ANYTHING about gluten intolerance at all) and I know they all want to eat out at least once in Bermuda.

I have done some research and have emailed different restaurants but I usually get one word answers which doesn't help me much.

Does anyone have any tips for me about being gluten free and traveling? Or even eating out while I'm in Bermuda.

 

 


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Gemini Experienced

I came upon this website that might be of help to you:  Open Original Shared Link

 

It is good that you are doing this because you need to get back on the horse and live life and not be afraid to travel.  I have been doing this since 2005 and yes, I have been glutened a few times while traveling but it may happen, it may not.  You will become more comfortable the longer you do it.

 

Cruise lines are supposed to be good but remember to ask the important questions when speaking with waitstaff like how food is prepared and handled.  I do not go overboard with questions but let anyone know, very politely, how sick I will be if I take a hit and if you say it with a smile and your best manners, it has never failed to elicit positive responses and extra effort.  You will become an expert on this in due time but do not be afraid to speak up......even to family members.  Do not them tease you...this is serious.

 

If you feel uncomfortable about something, just order plain food at first.  A steak and potato, fish, chicken and keep it simple.  Above all, do not be afraid.  You can do this.  If the unthinkable happens and you are glutened, it will pass and you will have learned a lesson.  But if you keep it simple in the beginning and remember how things are cc'd, then you should be fine.  I also can tell you that if you eat out in Bermuda in a higher end restaurant, they usually always get it right because the chef's generally have been trained in culinary school and have more knowledge.  Bermuda is not cheap, by the way, and restaurants there should be able to handle it well.

 

Make sure to have some safe snacks in your cabin to fall back on.  Carry a protein bar with you when you sightsee but if it's hot, that might be problematic as they can get melty.  I hope the website can offer up some tasty places for you to try.  Last thing....do not go overboard on rich food.  If you are still healing and have been eating in and plainly, sometimes going crazy can end up with a tummy ache!  Pace yourself and have a blast!

bartfull Rising Star

I went to Bermuda 40 years ago so I can't help you. But what I do remember is that there are a lot of guest houses with full kitchens that you can stay in. I imagine your family has already made reservations so unless they got a guest house you'll have to rely on restaurants.

 

The other thing I remember is that it was so humid that when the maid came in and changed the sheets evey morning they were dry, but by the time I crawled into bed at night they felt damp. Connecticut was humid, and the deep south was humid, but I have never experienced humidity like they have in Bermuda! So even though there is usually a breeze off the ocean, try to go easy. We celiacs don't do as well in heat and humidity as other folks.

 

Oh yeah, one more thing I remember. If you are swimming in the ocean and notice large fish bumping against your legs, look around and see if everyone else has gotten out of the water. I thought the fish were neat so I was trying to catch them with my hands. When I FINALLY looked up and noticed I was the ONLY person still in the water I waded back to shore. I found out those fish I was trying to catch were barracuda!! :o

pricklypear1971 Community Regular

Having just come back from vacation, I can tell you it's important to make an effort to eat whole foods as frequently as possible.

 

I am pretty sure I'm suffering from too much processed foods / too much low level gluten exposure after two weeks of living with gluten eaters and their gluten. I relied too much on processed foods....

 

Honestly, the cruise kitchen is probably safer than a gluteny home (no matter how clean it is). Oddly enough, I always felt better eating out (and eating a chef prepared meal) than eating in my parents' house...and yes, I used precautions.  It's just endemic.

 

You may want to order some meal/restaurant cards. I think they sell them on the celiac.com store.

surviormom Rookie

Just came back from vacation.  Our host had a ton of gluten food, we tried to eat out a lot and I managed to avoid the bad food as much as possible, loaded up on probiotics digestive enzymes acid aids etc. and do not feel bad.  Neither do the kids.  No one is showing the signs that I expected.  The only issues are in the bathroom, and that is mild.  How did we survive this?  Or has it just not hit yet?  I did have an awful sinus reaction the whole week, but nothing severe and one son has a rash.  Thoughts anyone?

pricklypear1971 Community Regular

I've had mild, lingering weird stuff for two weeks. I'm just 'off' - stomach a bit off, headaches, gas, now vertigo, allergies.

I never got one big hit but a low level for two weeks. Ugh.

Everyone is different. Cross your fingers.

surviormom Rookie

Home 4 days tummies are all good, sinuses are improving.  So, lesson, probiotics, vitamins, and enzymes helped, or we just really got lucky.  :)  We really did try to stick to good food, but I know the kids had some gluten food, and I know, I encountered CC.  Relatives do not always understand and just want to spoil kids.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,186
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Kris46
    Newest Member
    Kris46
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):




  • Who's Online (See full list)


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Ginger38
      So I recently had allergy testing for IGE antibodies in response to foods. My test results came back positive to corn, white potatoes, egg whites. Tomatoes, almonds and peanuts to name a few.  I have had obvious reactions to a few of these - particularly tomatoes and corn- both GI issues. I don’t really understand all this allergy versus celiac stuff. If the food allergies are mild do I have to avoid these foods entirely? I don’t know what I will eat if I can’t  have corn based gluten free products 
    • Kris2093u4
      Geography makes a difference.  I'm in the West and Trader Joe's gluten-free bread tastes great and is a better price than most gluten-free breads sold elsewhere in my area.  
    • JForman
      We have four children (7-14 yo), and our 7 year old was diagnosed with NCGS (though all Celiac labs were positive, her scope at 4 years old was negative so docs in the US won't call it celiac). We have started her on a Gluten Free diet after 3 years of major digestive issues and ruling out just about everything under the sun. Our home and kitchen and myself are all gluten-free. But I have not asked my husband/her dad or her other siblings to go completely gluten-free with us. They are at home, but not out of the home. This has led to situations when we are eating out where she has to consistently see others eating things she can't have and she has begun to say "Well, I can't have <fill in the blank>...stupid gluten."  How have you supported your gluten-free kiddos in the mental health space of this journey, especially young ones like her. I know it's hard for me as an adult sometimes to miss out, so I can't imagine being 7 and dealing with it! Any tips or ideas to help with this? 
    • Jane878
      By the time I was 5 I had my first auto0immune disorder, Migraine headaches, with auras to blind me, and vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound. I was 5 years old, and my stepfather would have pizza night, milling his own flour, making thick cheesy gluten pizza, that I would eat and the next day, I would have serious migraines, and my mother & stepfather did nothing about my medical problems. When I was 17 in my first year at college, I was diagnosed with my 2nd known auto-immune disorder, Meniere's disease. I was a elite athlete, a swimmer, and soccer player. And once again my parents didn't think anything of understanding why I had a disorder only older people get. Now after my mother passed from Alzheimer's disease she also suffered with living with gluten. She had a rash for 30 years that nobody could diagnose. She was itchy for 45 years total. My brother had a encapsulated virus explodes in his spleen and when this happened his entire intestines were covered with adhesions, scar tissue and he almost lost his life. He has 5 daughters, and when I finally was diagnosed after being pregnant and my body went into a cytokine storm, I lost my chance to have children, I ended up having Hashimoto's disease, Degenerative Disc disease, and my body started to shut down during my first trimester. I am 6ft tall and got down to 119lbs. My husband and I went to a special immunologist in Terrace, California. They took 17 vials of blood as we flew there for a day and returned home that evening. In 3 weeks, we had the answer, I have Celiac disease. Once this was known, only my father and husband made efforts to change their way of feeding me. At the family cabin, my stepfather & mother were more worried that I would ruin Thanksgiving Dinner. It wasn't until one of my cousins was diagnosed with Celiac disease. They finally looked into getting Gluten Free flour and taking measures to limit "gluten" in meals. He did nothing but ask for me to pay for my own food and wi-fi when I came to the cabin to stay after our house burned down. When he informed my mother, they proceeding to get into a physical fight and she ended up with a black eye. The is just more trauma for me. Sam had no interest in telling the truth about what he wanted. He lied to my mother that he had asked my husband if I could pay for "food" when he asked Geoffrey if I had money to pay for my wi-fi. My mother hates when he spends so much time on the computer so he lied and said I could pay for my own food. I will remind you I weighed 119lbs at this time. (At 6ft) that is a very sick looking person. Neither parent was worried about my weight, they just fought about how cheap my stepfather was. As my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014. He had her sign over the will to a trust and added his children. He had no testimonial capacity at the time, so she signed without proper papers. Making this Trust null and void. When I gave my brother my childhood home, my mother stated I would be getting an equal part of inheritance to the house on Race. It currently worth 2.0 million $. I got nothing, and my stepfather has since disowned me b/c of my claim and he knows that my mother would never have left it uneven between my biological brother and myself. She sat me and my husband down, as we lived at the Race Street house and treated and took care of it as our own. My brother took over b/c he was going through a horrific divorce and needed a home so he could get a better custody deal with his soon to be ex-wife who was a Assist DA for Denver. She used the girls against him, and he & I were the primary caregivers. We, Judd and I spent the most time with them pre the divorce. Once Judd moved into the house, he threw all of my mother, grandmother and my family heirlooms out to the Goodwill. Nobody told my mother about this as she was going through cancer treatment and had Alzheimer's disease in her mother and her sister. My stepfather and biological brother took advantage of this matter, as I called a "family council" that my brother just never could make it to at the last moment. All of the furnishing, kitchen ware, everything was in the house my brother just moved into. He had had 2 weddings, I chose to elope b/c my stepfather ruined my brother's first wedding by talking about his relationship with my brother in front of my dad and his entire family, insulting him and having my grandfather leave the ceremony. It was a disaster. My stepfather just plays dumb and blames my father for the slight. I was the only child not to have a wedding. So, my mother and stepfather never had to pay for a thing. My mother had had an agreement with my father he'd pay for college and all medical issues with their kids, myself and Judd. So truly my mother never had to pay for anything big for me in her entire life. I am looking for anyone that has had a similar story, where they grew up in a household that had a baker that regularly milled flour and ate gluten. What happened to you? DId you suffer from different auto-immune diseases b/c of living with a baker using "gluten" Please let me know. I have been looking into legal ways to get my stepfather to give me what my mother had promised, and he erased. Thank you for listening to my story. Jane Donnelly  
    • trents
      Possibly gluten withdrawal. Lot's of info on the internet about it. Somewhat controversial but apparently gluten plugs into the same neuro sensors as opiates do and some people get a similar type withdrawal as they do when quitting opiates. Another issue is that gluten-free facsimile flours are not fortified with vitamins and minerals as is wheat flour (in the U.S. at least) so when the switch is made to gluten-free facsimile foods, especially if a lot of processed gluten-free foods are being used as substitutes, vitamin and mineral deficiencies can result. There is also the possibility that she has picked up a virus or some but that is totally unrelated to going gluten-free.
×
×
  • Create New...