Am I Missing Something? Seems too easy

[Deades 3]

I am only 7 weeks gluten free and it hasn't been that bad.  I am a silent celiac so I may be glutening myself without knowing it. However, it hasn't been as bad as I thought.  There are a lot of foods I can eat.  When I have had to eat out, I bring my own salad.  At home, whatever I prepare is gluten free.  A friend of mine who had breast cancer a few years back, contracted Parkinson's last year and the. Found out her cancer is back.  It really put this in perspective for me.  I don't have to take pills and deal with side effects, I don't have cancer.  I have to watch my food intake.  I can do it.

[squirmingitch 696]

Yep, we really have it good when you think about it. The only treatment for us is eating gluten free. No pills, no chemo, no radiation. And there is plenty for us to eat, especially now with so many gluten-free foods on the market that are tasty. Labeling laws make it easier too. 20 years ago, these things were not true and celiacs had to be wary of so much. I am glad to hear you are taking your own food when eating out. Kudos!

[Ennis_TX 817]

1 hour ago, Deades said:

I am only 7 weeks gluten free and it hasn't been that bad.  I am a silent celiac so I may be glutening myself without knowing it. However, it hasn't been as bad as I thought.  There are a lot of foods I can eat.  When I have had to eat out, I bring my own salad.  At home, whatever I prepare is gluten free.  A friend of mine who had breast cancer a few years back, contracted Parkinson's last year and the. Found out her cancer is back.  It really put this in perspective for me.  I don't have to take pills and deal with side effects, I don't have cancer.  I have to watch my food intake.  I can do it.

Yep I nailed a JAXpac meal prep kit on amazon day and have been leaving my house more with it packing my own gluten-free herbed flat bread, salads, almond butter, and seeds with me. Made a nice vegan  taco soup the other day with my own cheese sauce, keto salsa (watered down low carb version thickened to a sauce with konjac) miracle rice, and jackfruit meat sub, was great with some taco seasoned thin flat breads from my newest recipe used as tortillas. Lifes been good for me this month celiac health wise. >.< everything else is SUPER bad lol.

[Gemini 871]

You shave stumbled onto the biggest secret out there..........the gluten-free diet isn't as horrible as many would have you believe, including the medical profession. There is plenty of good food to eat and the biggest drawback is we have to prepare it ourselves the vast majority of times.  That's the worst part.    And like yourself, I have friends who have much more serious health issues and they do not have the control over theirs as we do over ours. There may be times when you will be faced with temptations you will have to turn away from but you will move on and survive. 

Congratulations on having such a positive attitude!

[Dimples Des 0]

I was diagnosed about 7 weeks ago, and have been gluten-free since. A few slip-ups, mind you, that I paid for. 

I was diagnosed on my symptoms only. However, I understand there is a more definitive diagnosis with a blood test.   Is it recommended that I get this done? 

Thanks. 

[Ennis_TX 817]

16 minutes ago, Dimples Des said:

I was diagnosed about 7 weeks ago, and have been gluten-free since. A few slip-ups, mind you, that I paid for. 

I was diagnosed on my symptoms only. However, I understand there is a more definitive diagnosis with a blood test.   Is it recommended that I get this done? 

Thanks. 

YES get the blood test and the endoscope done if you can, if your doctor will put the dia. formally on your records without these then your blessed in a way. I had a similar issues getting mine done. You have to be eating gluten for 12 weeks at least a half slice of bread a day for the antibodies to build up for the blood testing, 2 weeks for the damage etc to show up in a endoscope.

[squirmingitch 696]

So to repeat, you will have to do a gluten challenge which is 12 weeks of eating 1 slice of bread per day for the blood tests or 2 weeks of gluten eating for an endoscopy.

[cyclinglady 1,663]

9 hours ago, Dimples Des said:

I was diagnosed about 7 weeks ago, and have been gluten-free since. A few slip-ups, mind you, that I paid for. 

I was diagnosed on my symptoms only. However, I understand there is a more definitive diagnosis with a blood test.   Is it recommended that I get this done? 

Thanks. 

Celiac disease is not diagnosed by symptoms alone. Why?  There are over 300 of them and many, if not all, overlap with other autoimmune issues or other illnesses.  Learn more about proper testing:

http://www.cureceliacdisease.org/screening/

I am formally diagnosed.  My hubby is not.  His mis-informed doctors told him 16 years  ago to give up gluten.  It worked, but now we do not really know if he has celiac disease or not.  He will be the first to say that I get WAY more support from family, friends and medical.  

I am sorry at your doctor gave you the wrong advice.  Now, you must decide if testing is worth pursuing.  I wish you well.  

[Pegleg84 50]

I also never had a formal diagnosis, but due to symptoms and family history, I do and will always consider myself having Celiac.
As Cyclinglady said, you do want to get some more testing done if possible. If you're unwilling to do a gluten challenge, there may still be traces enough after 7 weeks to come up positive (worth a shot), or other conditions with the same symptoms should also be investigated.

Anyway, back to the OP, yeah! It is that easy! When I went gluten-free 8 years ago I was feeling noticeably better by the end of a week! It took a long time to figure out all gluteny traps you can find yourself in if not careful, but man, if I only had to worry about gluten I would be soooooo happy. Of course, first came dairy, then came soy, then came a few other weirdo things that my body just won't tolerate. But even that just means: if it makes you feel like crud, don't eat it. Simple.

If only the same thing worked for Fibromyalgia (oh! So it isn't gluten making my body cramp up into horrible aches. Good to know)

But yes, it definitely puts things into perspective. It's not cancer. It's not dehabilitating. We don't need to take drugs. We don't even need to eat expensive special food (though a gluten-free baked treat is always needed on occasion). Not so bad.
Keep it up and it will only get better!