I'm A Celiac For Attention

[num1habsfan]

A lot of my family still wont believe how sensative I am to gluten, and still dont even believe I have Celiac, even tho both have been true for over 3 years already. They tend to rub it in my face, and offer me food they know I cant touch, or give me a huge lecture about something.

Wish we could all convince the whole world it exists and is real and we arent lying when we have it!

~lisa~

[schuyler]

I'm lucky that my family believes me (it took a few weeks for my dad to believe-at first he thought that I just didn't want to eat). Initially, only my mom understood how serious it was, but after a severe reaction to gluten in toothpaste at my dentist's office, they all understood!

My friends are a whole different story. They are convinced that I have an eating disorder(s). Right after I was diagnosed, my friends invited me to a small get together that they were having. I went, but since it was a last minute thing, I didn't have time to grab some of my gluten-free food. When I declined all of the food at my friend's house, they all started telling me that I just use vegetarianism and celiac as an excuse to not eat. Yea right! I was like, don't you guys remember how sick I was before and how I was eating all the time and loosing weight? They had no answer. A few friends were even with me after my first glutening after going gluten-free, and they actually had the nerve to tell me that I was faking the pains and nausea, so that so that I could vomit all of the food that I had just eaten, and no one would suspect that I had an eating disorder. So, according to my friends, I am both anorexic and bulimic! Some people are just crazy! I'd hate to see this ruin relationships, but they are just driving me crazy (everytime I have seen my friends recently, they have brought it up). I'm not giving up on it yet; I think that they just need time to come around. It's so frusterating when people don't believe you!

Danielle

[whitball]

I have friends, family and co-workers who think that I am a whimp. I have had "mysterious" symptoms for years. Lots of pain, lots of sick days. My friends laugh and say "oh, do you have another ailment?". Makes me mad as H---. My boss has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair and is tough as nails. She does struggle every day, but it doesn't mean that I don't struggle too. So, now, I do not say a word to them about how crappy I feel. It's not worth the frustration. Tara

[IntensePort]

Well, I'm happy to know that I'm not the only one. It doesn't get to me as much as it used to, as I'm getting more and more used to eating gluten-free.

[2Boys4Me]

My BIL is a pharmaceutical buyer for a large HMO, so he KNOWS that drugs are the best way to treat anything. He has argued with me and says that it's ridiculous to have to be that careful with any food. Last time we ate at his house (he does most of the cooking) he swore up and down that the meat patties he was making just had "ground turkey, onions, garlic, salt and pepper". I ate one and before I got up from the table had a horrible stomach ache and ended up with D for 3 days. My SIL later told me that you can't make that recipe without bread crumbs and she knows he put them in. This is the same BIL that argued with me about changing my diet to treat my horrible psoriatic arthritis. He insisted that without the medication I'd still be doing damage to my joints, that feeling better was just in my head. Ten years, 13 triathlons and 4 years of coaching basketball later he just treats me like I'm a hypochondriac, so I avoid him most of the time. And I will NEVER eat a bite of food at their house again.

Why the heck didn't your SIL tell you about the bread crumbs!? She's just as bad.

[lonewolf]

Why the heck didn't your SIL tell you about the bread crumbs!? She's just as bad.

She's the "other" sister-in-law, not married to that BIL, and she was at work and missed the party. The SIL who's married to that BIL (this is all hubby's family) is dingy enough that she believed him when he told me he didn't put in the crumbs.

[2Boys4Me]

She's the "other" sister-in-law, not married to that BIL, and she was at work and missed the party. The SIL who's married to that BIL (this is all hubby's family) is dingy enough that she believed him when he told me he didn't put in the crumbs.

Okay then, I'll forgive her. THIS time.

[Fayt]

I think it's really rediculous how people think you made it up or something. Like you want to have to go through all of that pain if you get glutened. I mean you wouldn't give a person with diabetes a big pound of sugar and tell them "It won't kill you." It's rediculous with some people. Gah I'm sry but ignorant people just make me really mad.

[Guest Norah022]

I have a mixed reaction..Luckily for me my dad has celiac's (was diagnosed 7 years ago) so when i tested positive in may my parents and my siblings already knew what to expect.

My boyfriend who I started dating at the end of July has stomach problems as well so he can understand some of what I go through. In fact, I am home for break from school this week and got to see my boyfriend for the first time in 2 months so he planned a romantic day. He researched restaurants that had enough gluten free stuff on their menu (we went to outback) then bought mouthwash to rinse out his mouth so i wouldnt get sick from what he ate. So he is INCREDIBLY understanding.

Some of my friends at school support it, others think i have an eating disorder, and some think I exaggerate my disease and make it too big of a deal...

[tiffjake]

Its so funny that this thread was pinned today, b/c I recently found out that a (now ex-) friend has been talking about me behind my back and saying that I "diagnosed myself" and "googeled" everything and "made it all up with no proof" and I just can't believe it!

Yes, after my Lame Advertisement, EnteroLab, Celiac Panel, googeling, and arguing with my doc, I was diagnosed. Yes, I looked things up online. If I had not, I WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN WHAT TO TALK TO MY DOC ABOUT! Obviously they don't know everything (docs) or I would have been diagnosed many, many years ago.

Anyway, I no longer talk to her. Anyone who thinks I would volunteer to eat gluten-free just for kicks is down right nuts, and can bite me. No one needs friends like that.

[Liz92]

Is there ANYONE besides myself and maby three other people that are under than 20? When I was like 12(this was like 2-3 years ago), I found out I was Celiac, not officially diagnosed, but I knew I was anyway, my brother, who IS a celiac, was telling all of his friends that I was only pretending to be Celiac for attention, When in my opinion was the worst part of being Celiac, and some of his friends had younger siblings who were my friends, so eventually one of my friends came up to me and asked me if it was true, I was really ticked off then but now I'm Happy that she asked me becuz I wuld much rather have that then her always wondering if i was an attention freak. I was diagnosed Just a little bit later. But, ya, life's just fine and DANDY!!!

[stef-the-kicking-cuty]

She's the "other" sister-in-law, not married to that BIL, and she was at work and missed the party. The SIL who's married to that BIL (this is all hubby's family) is dingy enough that she believed him when he told me he didn't put in the crumbs.

I would have faked such big cramps, that I would have thrown over the table with the food and then puke all over it. I'm sorry, but I hate people like that .

I had one good friend being suspicious. She never told me to my face, that she thought I was lying, but her strange reaction gave me the feeling, that she thought, I was lying. I killed her with friendliness and invited her to a dinner at Outback Steakhouse. When we entered I emphasized the importance that I needed a glutenfree menu. Later on I asked the server, if she knew what I was talking about. She said 'yes, I would need the glutenfree menu, because I can't have gluten, because of several reasons. I'm either allergic to wheat or I'm a celiac.' When my friend heard that, she turned from pale to yellow to green to blue. No comment or stupid looks from her anymore, ever. Problem solved!

[tarnalberry]

When my friend heard that, she turned from pale to yellow to green to blue. No comment or stupid looks from her anymore, ever. Problem solved!

How sad is it that your friend had to hear this from some random wait-person at a restaurant that she had no knowledge of before she believed it?!?!?!

[Liz92]

ctually,now that I think about it,I seriously have no clue of what ur all talking about... The real reason II don'teat gluten is well... Iguess just for kicks.....

Ps, my other comment was by ma friend....

[starvedartist]

well, my mom and I both have are celiacs, and some of my "friends" dont believe me b/c they dont understand...but a lot of my family members are hicks, and dont really understand it either...and I am having a really hard time w/ peer pressure...just the other day I went to a friends house, and she made a cake...and it was so tempting...I had two pieces and was sick for a week......but yeah...a lot of my family members think that it is all made up...