Need Support Here

[gf4life]

Is there anyone here who would consider being my gluten free/dairy (casein) free online buddy. I need support for it because my kids are not planning on being dairy free again anytime in the future and so the cheese/ice cream/milk will still be in the house. So far I haven't been able to stick to it. I reduced my consumption, but have not stuck to eliminating it altogether.

When I was off dairy for over a year I felt great and lost over 25 lbs. I went back on dairy slowly and felt fine with it for about 6 months. Then my health started slowly going downhill and my weight started to creep back up! I have now gained back about 20lbs. I really need to lose about 50-60 lbs to be at my ideal weight. I was so happy to have been about half way there.

I just really need someone who will support me. Someone who will check in with me every few days and see how I am doing, who will listen to me rant about how crazy it is making me to not be able to eat cheese (the only thing I cannot replace with a good substitute), and who will yell at me (loud enough to be heard through the computer!) if I feel like giving up and just dealing with the reduced health and excess weight...

Please PM or email me if you are willing to help. If you are in the same boat as me I would be more than happy to support you back!

[cornbread]

Hi gf4life,

I hope you found a casein-free support buddy! I would offer to help but I have such an awful reaction to casein (exactly like my gluten reaction - knocks me out for 10+ days) that I had NO problem at all giving it up! It's a double-edged sword I guess - I have zero urge to 'cheat' because those foods to me now seem like poison, but then again I can very easily get sick from the most minute amount of the 6 food groups I react to, that I can no longer eat out. I miss that aspect of my life more than the foods themselves. And I miss coffee and wine (yeast allergy) MUCH more than cheese!

I also couldn't find a good cheese substitute because I'm also allergic to soy, which is in all the casein-free fake cheeses. I just try and focus on the good stuff I CAN eat, and on how great not feeling sick all the time feels. Cheese is tasty, but I ask myself what would I miss more, cheese or strawberries? Cheese or (dairy-free/soy-free) chocolate? It makes me thankful for the delicious stuff I still can eat. And more than that, thankful for my health, at last.

[gf4life]

Yes I did find some support "buddies".

I am on my 4th day now Gluten-free Casein-free. I am doing fine. My belly is quiet again.

Today for lunch I had chicken tacos with avocado instead of cheese. It is a similar texture to melted cheese and so it fits the bill for most foods, except italian. Pasta and pizza are just not the same without cheese. I can do pizza with lots of toppings and not miss the cheese too much, but I can't eat it that way very often. What do I use to substitute cheese in lasagna??

Anyhow, I know what you mean about the soy cheese. It doesn't taste very good anyhow, but I am also allergic to soy. The first time I had the soy cheese I just had a little and took some benadryl. I still got itchy and had to take more. The second time I had some soy cheese I had problems breathing and figured I shouldn't try it a third time or else I might have a worse reaction! I took my soy allergy a lot more serious after that experience.

[Guest jhmom]

Hi Mariann,

Good to hear from you, I haven't seen you in awhile! I am glad you have found a CF buddy to help you through this, I know it must be hard! Take care

[gf4life]

Good to hear from you, I haven't seen you in awhile!

Hi Stacie,

I was just thinking the same about you. I've been here, but just not having the time to post very often. It has been crazy this year.

I'm doing well on the Gluten-free Casein-free diet. This is the first week in the past 6 months that my tummy has been calm and I haven't hardly needed the digestive enzymes. I do miss cheese the most, and it is taking a lot of thought to get through each meal, but I am getting there. There is just so much in the house with dairy in it...

Hope all is well for you.

God bless you.