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P.F. Chang’s Pesky Gluten-free Disability Lawsuit Won’t Go Away Just Yet


Scott Adams

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Does P.F. Chang's Asian Bistro discriminate against people with celiac disease by charging more for gluten-free dishes than for their non-gluten-free counterparts?

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    • Scott Adams
      Your post nails the practical reality of living well with a celiac diagnosis. The shift from feeling restricted to discovering a new world of cooking—whether through a supportive partner making gluten-free spanakopita and gravy, or learning to cook for yourself—is exactly how many people find their footing. It turns a medical necessity into a chance to build kitchen skills, eat more whole foods, and actually enjoy the process. Your point that the basics—knife skills, food safety, and experimenting with spices—are all you really need is solid, helpful advice. It’s a good reminder that the diagnosis, while a pain, doesn’t have to stop you from eating well or having fun with food.
    • Scott Adams
      You are experiencing a remarkable recovery by addressing core nutrient deficiencies, yet you've uncovered a deeper, lifelong intolerance to fruits and vegetables that appears to be a distinct issue from celiac disease. Your experience points strongly toward a separate condition, likely Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) or a non-IgE food intolerance, such as salicylate or histamine intolerance. The instant burning, heart palpitations, and anxiety you describe are classic systemic reactions to food chemicals, not typical celiac reactions. It makes perfect sense that your body rejected these foods from birth; the gagging was likely a neurological reflex to a perceived toxin. Now that your gut has healed, you're feeling the inflammatory response internally instead. The path forward involves targeted elimination: try cooking fruits and vegetables (which often breaks down the problematic proteins/chemicals), focus on low-histamine and low-salicylate options (e.g., peeled pears, zucchini), and consider working with an allergist or dietitian specializing in food chemical intolerances. 
    • Scott Adams
      Your satiation is challenging and a common dilemma for those with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity: distinguishing between a routine viral illness and a reaction to gluten exposure. The overlap in symptoms—fatigue, malaise, body aches, and general inflammation—makes it nearly impossible to tell them apart in the moment, especially with a hypersensitive system. This ambiguity is a significant source of anxiety. The key differentiator often lies in the symptom pattern and accompanying signs: gluten reactions frequently include distinct digestive upset (bloating, diarrhea), neurological symptoms like "brain fog," or a specific rash (dermatitis herpetiformis), and they persist without the respiratory symptoms (runny nose, sore throat) typical of a cold. Tracking your symptoms meticulously after any exposure and during illnesses can help identify your personal patterns. Ultimately, your experience underscores the reality that for a sensitive body, any immune stressor—be it gluten or a virus—can trigger a severe and similar inflammatory cascade, making vigilant management of your diet all the more critical. Have you had a blood panel done for celiac disease? This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. One test that always needs to be done is the IgA Levels/Deficiency Test (often called "Total IGA") because some people are naturally IGA deficient, and if this is the case, then certain blood tests for celiac disease might be false-negative, and other types of tests need to be done to make an accurate diagnosis. The article includes the "Mayo Clinic Protocol," which is the best overall protocol for results to be ~98% accurate.    
    • Scott Adams
      Your situation highlights a difficult but critical crossroads in celiac diagnosis. While your positive blood test (a high TTG-IgA of 66.6) and dramatic improvement on a gluten-free diet strongly point to celiac disease, the gastroenterologist is following the formal protocol which requires an endoscopy/biopsy for official confirmation. This confirmation is important for your lifelong medical record, can rule out other issues, and is often needed for family screening eligibility. The conflicting advice from your doctors creates understandable anxiety. The challenge, of course, is the "gluten challenge"—reintroducing gluten for 4-6 weeks to make the biopsy accurate. Since your symptoms resolved, this will likely make you feel unwell again. You must weigh the short-term hardship against the long-term certainty of a concrete diagnosis. A key discussion to have with your GI doctor is whether, given your clear serology and clinical response, would be getting a diagnosis without the biopsy.
    • Scott Adams
      Your experience of being medically dismissed for decades, despite a clear celiac diagnosis since 1994, is unacceptable. It is a tragic common thread in our community that the systemic failure to understand celiac disease leads to a cascade of other diagnoses—like SIBO, IBS, depression, and now the investigation of MS or meningioma—while the core autoimmune condition is neglected. The constant, severe flu-like symptoms and new neurological concerns are absolutely valid and warrant serious investigation for connections to celiac-related autoimmunity or complications like refractory disease. It is enraging that you must fight so hard to be heard. While I don't have a medical answer about MS or meningioma links, your instinct is correct: relentless symptoms require a specialist who understands celiac disease beyond the gut. Regarding the California proclamation, it is a symbolic advocacy effort; reaching out to the women mentioned may provide supportive community, but your advocacy with your local representative is the most direct action. 
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