Jump to content
  • 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

Food Social Relatives


Vasiliki

Recommended Posts

Vasiliki Rookie

How do you guys handle the upcoming holidays?

I have Christmas Dinner happening at my mother-in-laws place, and flour usually ends up EVERYWHERE! :( She does a whole bunch of baking and cooking that day, and often hugs everyone with her flour-covered apron on. Recently she exclaimed all happily that she made gluten free cookies specifically for me! Only after trying one and getting a headache did I realize she was preparing all the cookies on the same counter... with regular flour on the rolling pin to keep everything from sticking.  (I've noted my error in this, even though I triple-checked before eating it)

I've tried expressing my anxiety for Christmas to my husband, and he's not sure what we should do. My mother-in-law has very very beginning stages of dementia and doesn't remember everything when we tell her lately.

I've offered to make my own food and bring it with us to the entire event, but I feel like it's going to be a day of cross contamination. Like, bringing my own plate and fork kind of thing.

How do you politely tell people that you've just brought your own.... everything...? :lol:


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



icelandgirl Proficient

Gosh I don't know.  I have the same issue.  We went to my mom's for Thanksgiving and although I'm sure she did her best,  the chicken broth she used in the turkey and gravy was not gluten free.  I also saw her sampling the potatoes and stuff and resampling and asked what she had eaten prior...an English muffin.  I ended up only eating what I brought which was stuffing, cornbread, cranberries and dessert.  It kind of stunk...although much better than getting sick

  I'm not sure how to handle Christmas either.  I know it's just food...but I'd like to enjoy mine like everyone else.

bartfull Rising Star

I always bring my own food (yes, and dishes and utensils) when I go someplace. I just tell the people something along the lines of, "I get SO sick from gluten that I have made it a rule to never eat anything I didn't prepare myself." Then to soften it I admire all of the food the other folks prepared and tell them how much I wish I could eat it because it looks so good/or I remember how good it was. When they start feeling sorry for me I tell them it's the COMPANY that matters most.

Darren Apprentice

The above advice is best. Just say it and do what you need to do to stay safe. And for goodness sakes don't worry about offending anyone, it's your health not theirs and as long as you are polite and say how much you would love to try their food but simply can't, that's all you can and need to do. Everyone will be done eating soon enough and then you can just move into drinks! Don't sweat it just Have fun!

icelandgirl Proficient
19 hours ago, bartfull said:

I always bring my own food (yes, and dishes and utensils) when I go someplace. I just tell the people something along the lines of, "I get SO sick from gluten that I have made it a rule to never eat anything I didn't prepare myself." Then to soften it I admire all of the food the other folks prepared and tell them how much I wish I could eat it because it looks so good/or I remember how good it was. When they start feeling sorry for me I tell them it's the COMPANY that matters most.

You are so wise bartie!  I'd love to have dinner with you!  

ravenwoodglass Mentor

You could do a gluten free Christmas dinner at home on Christmas Eve and then load up a plate (with a microwveable cover) with your gluten free turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes etc and pop it in their microwave as all are sitting down to eat. You could even bring a small plate of cheese and crackers for yourself and a larger one to share before dinner. And don't forget a yummy desert.  You won't feel deprived and the others won't feel guilty eating their yummy poison in front of you.

bartfull Rising Star
4 hours ago, icelandgirl said:

You are so wise bartie!  I'd love to have dinner with you!  

No, not wise, just experienced. :D And you are welcomed to come to the Black Hills any time. We'll have dinner at my house because the only gluten-free restaurant in the area (that pizza place I always rave about) burned down the other day. :( I sure hope they rebuild.


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.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - xxnonamexx replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      32

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

    2. - xxnonamexx replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      32

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

    3. - SamAlvi replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

    4. - trents replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,842
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    aetherwax
    Newest Member
    aetherwax
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • xxnonamexx
      I made it through the holiday w/o being glutened. I had my brother cook with gluten-free breadcrumbs and I didn't get sick. I baked cookies with gluten-free flour and had dry ingredients for cookies in ziplock bag. I also made gluten cookies as well and guess I did good washing to avoid CC. My wife also went to a french bakery and bought a gluten-free flourless chocolate cake dedicated gluten-free it was out of this world. 
    • xxnonamexx
      What do you mean it would not allow any celiac to eat gluten again. I think if this helps cross contamination when eating out at a non dedicated gluten-free restaurant this would be nice not to encounter the pains. But is their a daily enzyme to take to help strengthen the digestive system? 
    • SamAlvi
      Hi, thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, no other antibody tests were ordered. I am a 32-year-old male. About two months ago, I ate pancakes and then developed severe diarrhea that lasted the entire day. At night, I became unconscious due to fluid loss and was admitted to the ER, where I received IV fluids. Two days later, I ate bread again and once more developed severe diarrhea. I ended up in the ER again and received IV fluids. In my country, Pakistan, doctors are unfortunately not very thorough, so they treated me for a stomach infection. I visited three or four doctors, including a gastroenterologist, but it seemed like they just wanted to keep me on medications and IV fluids. Eventually, I did some digging myself and started connecting the dots. For years, I’ve had excessive gas buildup and frequent loose stools, but I never paid much attention to it. I also cannot easily digest dairy products. Two years ago, I had a CBC test that showed iron deficiency. My doctor told me to eat more meat and said it was nothing serious. However, for the past five years, I’ve also had severe motion sickness, which I never experienced before. Whenever I get on a bus or in a car, I sometimes lose consciousness for 10–20 seconds and wake up sweaty, and occasionally I feel the need to vomit. After more research on the internet, I came across gluten and celiac disease, so I got two related tests (TTG-IgA & TTG IgG) done along with a stool test and another CBC. The stool test showed weakly positive blood. Ever since eating those pancakes and bread, I’ve had a burning sensation in my gut. My doctor reviewed my tests, he told me to completely stop eating gluten and started me on IV fluids for 20 days, saying that I had severe inflammation in my gut. It has now been two months since I quit gluten, and I’m still not sure whether this is celiac disease or gluten intolerance. I don’t really trust doctors in Pakistan, so I thought I might get some help here.
    • trents
      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @SamAlvi! Were there any other antibody tests ordered? Particularly, was there a "total IGA" test ordered to check for IGA deficiency. When people are IGA deficient, celiac panel IGA test scores, such as the TTG-IGA, are likely not valid. If a total IGA test was not ordered, I would request such to be done. Note: "Total IGA" goes by other names as well. I will include a primer on celiac disease antibody testing which does a good job in covering the nomenclature variations connected with the various tests. Elevated IGG scores can certainly indicate celiac disease but they are more likely than elevated IGA tests to be caused by something else.  
    • GlorietaKaro
      Thank you— yes, valid and essential— The issue either doctors is that every one I have tried to talk to about this has essentially rolled their eyes and dismissed me as a hypochondriac, which gets discouraging. I believe a diagnosis would help me to be taken seriously by doctors as well as being validating, but can carry on without it.    There are many, probably most people in my area of my age and gender, who avoid gluten, but many just avoid it casually— eating the occasional plate of wheat pasta or a delicious-looking dessert, or baking cookies with wheat flour for gatherings.  That is not an option for me. I don’t eat other people’s cooking or go to restaurants that do not have strict cross- contamination procedures. It can be boring and lonely, and people do look at me as if I am being a bit dramatic but weeks of symptoms after a single small exposure has taught me to respect my experience.    Thank you very much for your response— sometimes I just need to hear that I am not crazy—
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.