Newly diagnosed with Celiac disease

[lnwalser96]

Hello! My names Lauren. I’m newly diagnosed with celiac disease and I am struggling. I have to eat on the go a lot due to my job. But I do my research and request gluten free. But it seems no matter what I get or eat I feel sick afterwards. Im not even entirely sure what symptoms I should look out for. What I’ve experienced so far is bloating, fatigue, gas, burping and nausea. Worse case scenario is extreme stomach pain and diarrhea….please help! I know meal Prep at home is best and I am discovering I may have to just do that! So recipes, stores, snack ideas are all appreciated!! 

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, Inwalser96! 

Studies show that eating out is the #1 way to sabotage the gluten free diet. You may order stuff that is gluten free but you have little or no control over how it is cooked and handled back in the kitchen to prevent cross contamination. Our administrator, Scott Adams, tells the story of ordering gluten free pasta at a popular Italian restaurant chain franchise and becoming quite ill afterward. He followed up with kitchen staff and found out that his gluten free pasta was being cooked in the same water along with wheat-based pasta. To avoid CC (cross contamination) things need to be cooked on dedicated or thoroughly cleaned grill surfaces/pots/pans, and be served/sliced with dedicated utensils, etc. How many eating establishments do you think are going to do that for you? I am also attaching this article which is a primer for getting off to a good start in eating gluten free. There is quite a learning curve as gluten is found in the food supply in places you would never expect: 

 

 

 

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum. 

If you can't avoid eating out due to work and travel, you may want to consider taking an AN-PEP based enzyme like GliadinX (a sponsor here), as there has been a lot of research that shows that it can break down small amounts of gluten in the stomach. I still eat out because I enjoy doing so, and I used to have issues ~30% of the time, but since taking these before any meal at a restaurant I haven't had any issues. I still want to support what @trents mentioned, which is the fact that it is still a much safer bet for celiacs to avoid eating out, as totally avoiding gluten is still the overall safest approach.

[Wheatwacked]

Red Bull (not sugar free)  for energy during the day.  Food at home.  Salads are hard to contaminate.