Any Celiacs From Gainesville, Florida?

[eleep]

There used to be a Gainesville celiac group, but it is apparently defunct. I'm a UF graduate student, so I'm thinking about starting one through UF (if there are a bunch of students) or just in Gainesville itself.

Let me know if anyone's interested -- I want to get a sense of how many people there might be before I take this on (otherwise, it's not a productive procrastination tool for me as I should be writing my dissertation).

[samking72]

I'm in Orlando... kind of far

[Jace006]

I am a student at SFCC, is that good enough?

I have been looking for a local support group and have been unsuccessful so far, so I would be interested in starting one, or at least attending.

Let me know.

[eleep]

SFCC is definitely close enough -- and there's one other UF graduate student celiac on this listserv as well! I'm not in a great position for the next few weeks to get something started (turning in a major draft to my advisor soon), but perhaps sometime in September we could set something up?

[beaglemania]

I live in Sout Florida. far from Gainesville

*South*

[floridanative]

I'm surprised they dont' have a group there. I go there to see DH's family every year and I'd always ask local groups where I should eat in their town. We almost always go to Hops and some place called Ashleys which is sort of a dive but I've been to neither since my dx. I think you can get help starting a group from www.csa.org (not sure of address). Best of luck to you!

[laurelfla]

hi!

i'm very interested in getting together... you guys still up for it?

[beaglemania]

I live in south florida. martin county. maybe in a couple of years I might be a gator though.

[beaglemania]

Florida is much to big of a state. everybody lives everywhere!! I just went on vacation and we drove from Ma to Connecticut and I was like, such a short ride to a completely different state!! We also had to drive through Rhode Island. You could drive for hours and never get out of Florida at the end of the day, depending on where you start from. boring, flat, swampland. That's where we live. Go FLORI-DUH. (I discovered from my cousins thats how they pronounce Florida in California.) Nice, huh?

[lj333]

hey,

I am currently a student at UF and was wondering about a support group. If you did start one, I would be more than interested! Let me know your progress!

Thanks!

[grantj]

Hey, I'm a UF law student and I'd be interested in starting an SG-sponsored Celiac/gluten-free awareness group here at the university with you guys. Send me an e-mail if you are interested, or look me up on facebook.

-Grant Johnson

[Katherine Daly, Ph.D.]

Hi,

I am a PhD student in psychology at UF. I was diagnosed with a pretty severe case of Celiac Disease in 2002 and still struggle to maintain a healthy weight. Besides the weight issue, I am finally feeling that I am able to stick to a 100% gluten free diet and exercise four times a week, which makes me feel very healthy. I also struggle with the skin condition associated with Celiac Disease when I am very ill and that has been pretty devastating. I would love to join a support group in Gainesville if one has been started. If not, I would also be willing to start a group.

Katie

p.s. try Pamela's pecan shortbread and chocolate chunk cookies...they are phenomenal!!

[laurelfla]

Hi, Gainesville Celiacs!

Let's get together!! For our first meeting, we could go to dinner somewhere.... Outback? Carrabbas? or just meet at Starbucks or Maude's or somewhere and toss around ideas. I tried to find out about a group here when I was diagnosed Aug 2005, but the "contact person" said she was too busy. So then I went to Jacksonville for months after that to their support group, but it fell apart too! I would love to get together, please, please, please, let's do it!

[MJS]

i don't have much time to work on getting a group together, but i would also love to attend a meeting. i live in gainesville as well.

[CarolAnne]

Hello! My name is Carolanne...and I've lived in Florida for over 20 years. I am a Celiac, and I've been Wheat-Free for 20 years, and Gluten-Free for over 3 years. I'm trying to locate people who live Gluten Free here in Florida...and it's not been easy. Most of the links I've found have been disconnected or discontinued...and I'm having a devil of time finding people to connect to. I'd really like to find others who are interested in getting together...and I understand that I am not alone. I've read several posts from people looking for help, Doctors, restaurants, support groups, meetups and such here in Florida.

GlutenFreeInFlorida-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

I've created a Yahoo Group in the hopes of connecting with other people here in the Sunshine State...and to help others connect as well. I'd like to know if anyone is interested in something that will enable you to contact others in your own local area. I'd like to make more information available to people who are living Gluten-Free in Florida.

[upearly-shelly]

There used to be a Gainesville celiac group, but it is apparently defunct. I'm a UF graduate student, so I'm thinking about starting one through UF (if there are a bunch of students) or just in Gainesville itself.

Let me know if anyone's interested -- I want to get a sense of how many people there might be before I take this on (otherwise, it's not a productive procrastination tool for me as I should be writing my dissertation).

Hi there. My name is Michele. I believe I suffer from either an intolerance or sensitivity towards gluten. I live in G-ville as well. I attended SFCC several years ago, then I moved to go to a diff college (nothing personal towards UF) then I moved back. Anyhow, I am interested in getting together.

I was also hoping to find some info on a G-ville doc to test whether there's truth to my personal gluten theory, but I

[adoty]

Michele,

I live in Gainesville also. Through diet elimination I have determined I have gluten intolerance. I searched through the Shands directory and all the doctors in Gainesville hoping to find one that was familiar with Celiacs; I did not. I ended up going to Digestive Disease Associates of America. Since it was at least 3 months until the next doctor was available, I ended up seeing an ARNP. She seemed to have an understanding of Celiacs. I have not been eating gluten for 1.5 years, so she will not do a blood test on me until I eaten gluten for 20 days. The thought of eating gluten for that amount of time makes me what to cry, so I am not sure if I will be returning. I wish I knew of a great doctor in Gainesville, but I can't say that I do. Nevertheless, I hope this information helps. Below is the link for Digestive Disease Associates. The website has the address, phone number, and a brief biography of all the doctors. Let me know if I can do anything else to help.

Open Original Shared Link

Best,

Andrea

[laurelfla]

I went to Digestive Disease and that is where I got my diagnosis. I just told them my symptoms and a PA ordered a bunch of blood tests, Celiac among them. They were not too helpful with the diet (I got the standard handout ordering me not to eat any gums and no vinegar -- so that was confusing for a while) but I am grateful to have been diagnosed so quickly. I can't remember the PA's name (Patricia, maybe?), but my Dr. is Leibach and I liked him all right.

Good luck!

As for the support group, I'm definitely open to getting together. I feel like a broken record when I say that because I keep saying it but nothing ever happens! Andrea, Michele and Shelly -- if you want to get coffee sometime or something, let me know!

[murfsgirl]

Hi Michele,

I know these posts are old, but in case you never found anyone (or for any other new people from Gainesville) I figured I'd post. I went to Dr. Dean Kramer. He's located near North Florida Hospital, and while he did want to diagnose me with IBS, he did agree to do the bloodwork for gluten for me when I asked him to. I haven't been back to him because he cost way too much with my bad insurance, but he did send me a letter stating my bloodwork results were postive for celiac and I've been gluten free for a few weeks now.

Also, did anything ever happen with a support group or meeting up? I'm interested, and I need help!

[JohnL]

I was also wondering if a group ever got started up because I would definitely be interested in joining. I was diagnosed not too long ago. I'm a grad student at UF so I would be interested in one on campus or off.

Hi Michele,

I know these posts are old, but in case you never found anyone (or for any other new people from Gainesville) I figured I'd post. I went to Dr. Dean Kramer. He's located near North Florida Hospital, and while he did want to diagnose me with IBS, he did agree to do the bloodwork for gluten for me when I asked him to. I haven't been back to him because he cost way too much with my bad insurance, but he did send me a letter stating my bloodwork results were postive for celiac and I've been gluten free for a few weeks now.

Also, did anything ever happen with a support group or meeting up? I'm interested, and I need help!

[archaeo in FL]

Hello, I was just diagnosed and am in Gainesville. Would love to learn resources, pool local knowledge - did this group get off the ground? Any interest in getting one together, if not?

[squirmingitch]

This is all I was able to find:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Honestly, it doesn't look like much is going on.