Funny Encounters

[wozzy]

First off, I'm new to this site, so hi!

I was volunteering at something a few weeks ago. They had lunch for the volunteers, and the woman in charge told me to take a lunch.

I told her I probably can't eat any of it since I'm allergic to wheat (I say wheat first since most people don't know what gluten is).

Then she said "Well, did you bring your epi pen?", implying that I should just inject myself with an epi pen and then eat the sandwich.

I'm sure some of you have some interesting encounters with people about celiac disease. I find it much easier to laugh about stuff like this than get frustrated.

[BRUMI1968]

What the heck is an epi pen? Still...funny.

I have a friend from Iraq who is a doctor here in the states. She hates it when I come over because in Arab culture, it is absolutely unacceptable not to have food out for your guests. Every time I visit (we're working on a project, so it's plenty), she runs through everything she has in her pantry. No I say. No I say. And she's a doctor. Finally she gets mad and swears she's going to study it (she's in genetic medicine) and find the genes and come up with gene therapy. All of that so that she can give me something to eat when I visit.

[Green12]

What the heck is an epi pen? Still...funny.

Hi wozzy, a warm welcome to the board

I don't really have a specific encounter to share, mainly what I experience is most people not knowing what gluten even is.

Bully4You, an epi-pen administers a dose of epinephrine when an anaphylactic allergic reaction occurs. So the story is even that much more funny now that you know this, that the lady expected wozzy to have a near death experience eating a sandwich and to just use an epi-pen to take care of it.

[Kaycee]

A colleague knows I am coeliac, and we were planning on going out to a chinese restuarant, and I was ummning and arring, and she came out with, "Just bring your own oil and get them to use it, you will be fine."

And then at a chinese restuarant, after telling them that I can't eat gluten, they want to know if I can has potato starch.

Double duh!!

[ebrbetty]

hi and welcome.

my moms great but she'll say things like lets go out to lunch and get a sandwich then say say oh no, sorry i forgot you can't eat that..then SHE feels bad, its just a habit she has trying to feed me.

[Tangerine]

For some reason people always seem to think I'm allergic to glucose, not gluten. " Oh yeah, Lindsay can't eat anything with glucose in it".... hello!!! Some of these people I have to consistently tell GLUTEN! It's GLUTEN!

My mom about hyperventilates when I come to visit. She rushes around the house--- "can you eat this, this?!!! I forget, What can you eat!"

My brothers rub in that when I finally move to Germany I won't be able to indulge in their great beers! What is even worse is I have been to Germany, had their wonderful beer, and now, NEVER again . It's like getting one kiss, and never anymore! argh.

My best friend steve labels things as 'gluterific'... this does not just apply to food either. He could call a dog walking down the street gluterific, or ask " Does that come with an extra double dose of Gluten?".

I have been kicked out of a resturant for bringing my own food. The whole table was also kicked out with me. 11 other people, who were all eating food they ordered there!!! That was really lame. Never go to the Lucky Lab family resurants and Pubs in Portland, OR!!!! Super rude!

[wozzy]

One time I went to Perkins and asked them to cook my gluten-free pasta for me the night before a triathlon I was doing in Memphis...

They wouldn't do it.