Eating A Cracker On Purpose

[floridanative]

I've been gluten free for almost a year now and my Mother was dx'd (due to my dx) about 10 months ago. She is not careful when dining out (tries to be but her personality gets int he way) so she occaisionally gets glutened and doesn't enjoy it when it happens. I've accepted the fact that she is not as careful as she needs to be since it's her life. I know when she gets cc'd after eating out some times, she does not feel well for a day or two after. She also does not enjoy feeling badly - gets typical reaction that I luckily was never afflicted with. Bloating or a stomach ache is the worst is gets for me now which happens rarely anyway. She was at the point before her dx of being careful to know where every bathroom in town was. So today she tells me she decided to do a little gluten challenge yesterday, her b-day. The grandkids were having saltine crackers which she loves and misses so she had one. Needless to explain what followed but how ridiculous is that?! She is not a dumb person, at least I didn't think so but having a cracker to see what will happen when you really know what will happen is embarrassingly stupid. When she told me about it she was complaining that one little cracker made her sick. Duh!!!!!!!!! You have Celiac disease. I made an excuse to get off the phone. I don't feel right scolding my own Mother but I had to vent so I figured I'd bore you guys with my rant. Thanks if you had time to read. Oh and happy 2007!

[hez]

That made me laugh! The idea of scolding ones mother. My guess is she still had some denial going on, maybe. At least now she will not miss saltines so much after gettig sick!

Hez

[Kaycee]

I'll go along with the denial theory, or the I just want to see what happens, but then it could be addiction and obssession.

After being symptom free for a while, I did something stupid and ate gluten. I don't know why, but the thought of this food had been nagging at me for weeks, and I did not think the craving would stop until I ate it, I never stopped to think I might want some more later on another time. Is that obsession or addiction? Probably obssession. But they are both hard things to fight with.

I must admit the food did not taste like I remembered it and it made me sick, maybe not straight away, but for a good week anyway, and guess what, I will never eat another licorice allsort in my life. And they were my favourite sweet. I do wonder if I did not give in, would I still be hankering after them?

So don't be too hard on your mum, times are tough, and being gluten free is a whole new ball game, and new skills are needed to cope. Some find it easier to adjust than others. But I imagine she has learnt her lesson and will not eat another saltine cracker again.

You are lucky you have someone in your immediate family to share all the pitfalls of gluten with, hang in there and support each other, you might not always agree with what your mum does, but you both need each other for support. Think of all of us out here, me included, whom coeliac has just struck us out of the blue, and nobody else in my family wants to know about the disease, or understands. My mother in her late 70'sI believe has it, but won't do anything about it, and I don't think dad would let her. There is nothing I can do, as she is an adult and responsible for her own choices.

A work colleague a few months back, who is not gluten intolerant thought a 5 year old was luckier than me for being diagnosed early, as she would not know what the food she is missing would taste like, but I thought I was lucky because I did know what it tasted like. I am not sure now, but I would've been better of to have just remembered what it tasted like than to eat and find it tasted different. Who knows. But one cheat, (which I find is a hard work to digest, as I can't even cheat doing crosswords) in a year is not too bad.

Happy New Year

Cathy

[floridanative]

Thanks for the thoughts on why someone would do such a thing. I guess I really have had it much easier that Mother since having to go gluten free. In Dr. Green's book he says there are two kinds of people in the world (he did not coin this phrase) - those who live to eat and those who eat to live. Mother is the former and I'm the latter. I'm sure that makes a big difference in how we each dealt with having to go off gluten. Food is an emotional crutch for her which I can't understand, but I know that's her reality. Okay I feel much better now so I'm off to make my gluten free lasagne and I'm having a Redbridge beer to go with it. This is a good day after all!

[sspitzer5]

I think I can understand doing something like your mom did, although I haven't done it because I don't want to be sick. Sometimes it's just really hard to come to terms with the fact that something you've eaten your entire life can make you so sick. Especially something as simple as a saltine!

S

[mamabear]

Gosh, how I understand ! I've been gluten free for nearly 4 years now(except for the occasional glutenings) and did have a few mishaps early on....like I literally forgot I had celiac!! and took a bite of a hamburger(to the horror of my family).Or when I ordered macaroni and cheese in front of a co-worker and was chompimg away before we both were shocked I had forgotten! The foods didn't taste the same , but somewhere in my head, I think I wonder sometimes if I might just do it anyway! When I get too busy at work and frustrated and tired, I think a "real" cookie would help! How lame is that? But I know how she felt.....or at least I have been sorely tempted. I guess I wish my GI had told me celiac was a possibility so I could have gone to IHOP or Perkins one more time!! On the positive side today, I FINALLY baked the Bob's Red Mill gluten-free bread all by myself! A friend who was a cook in another life was doing this on occasion for me, but I got some time and decided to try it for myself. I am delighted to say it looks like bread! Turns out I had been selecting gluten-free foods and condiments,etc.. fot years anyway.So, go easy on her......I'm the lone ranger in my family....so far. Not that I want any of them to have it, but I know there will be some. Gee......turned into a mini-digression!

[Rusla]

Being Celiac is like being an alcoholic. In a as much as with us a little bit of wheat will hurt us and so will a little bit of alcohol take a dry alcoholic back on the road of drunkeness. The difference isw we have to eat to live and an alcoholic does not need alcohol to live. We can and have learned to eat and live without wheat, that is what your mother needs to do. But then it is her perogative to suffer if she doen't think she has suffered enough.

[Saz]

sorry I double posted- Not sure how to completely delete my post tho.

[Saz]

A work colleague a few months back, who is not gluten intolerant thought a 5 year old was luckier than me for being diagnosed early, as she would not know what the food she is missing would taste like, but I thought I was lucky because I did know what it tasted like. I am not sure now, but I would've been better of to have just remembered what it tasted like than to eat and find it tasted different. Who knows. But one cheat, (which I find is a hard work to digest, as I can't even cheat doing crosswords) in a year is not too bad.

Happy New Year

Cathy

I agree with you- You are the lucky one. I was diagnosed at 5 and by this age you can still notice a different in taste even when you get older, You might not remember exactely what real food tastes like. Although I was very ocassionaly alowed a piece of Normal bread(and I mean very ocasionaly) When I was 15 I started to eat gluten food again because I wanted real food. This went on for about 4 years but I stoped majorly cheating in september last year however had still been having some chocolate and other things. On Thursday night I ate the last piece of gluten in the form of chocolate. While gluten-free food isn't perfect it tastes great now compared to back in 90's! I have always wished that I had been dx as a baby, or very young because if I don't know what something tastes like I can't want it.

It sounds like your Mum is trying, I am sure she will get there eventually.

[cathzozo]

My grandmother recently made a similar bad decision. She really wanted one of her husband's cookies, so had one. And then really regretted it. She's only been gluten-free for about 6 mos. I think so this was the first holiday season. My mom will be visiting her next week, and will be making her a bunch of gluten-free cookies to stick in the freezer so she can safely fulfill the desires of her sweet tooth. She's diabetic, so it's still cheating for that diagnosis/diet, but at least not bringing back her IBS such that she can't leave the house for several days!

I think I can understand it, though. I've had no problem replacing my sweets. I think the gluten-free sweets are pretty good, and I've found that I do a decent job of making them, but I LOVE breakfast tacos. And almost every morning, I have to consciously talk myself out of going for breakfast tacos at my favorite place -- because not only is there a pretty high chance of CC, it's also not good on my checkbook to go out for breakfast every morning. I don't know what part of breakfast tacos is so addictive, but it really is tough for me to say no to that!

[ravenwoodglass]

I don't have too much to add other than I can sympathize a bit with her. Pre gluten free I would make a snack of saltines and butter and ate them with everything. Those and the little oyster crackers, sigh. I did find a really good gluten free saltine though it took a while. Ener-g makes them, we ordered them by the case till I told our local health food store about them. Perhaps she might want to give them a try.

[floridanative]

Veru interesting posts - thanks everyone.

ravenwoodglass - I gave her the Ener-G crackers and she does like them best for a gluten-free cracker. Still she says it's no Saltine and of course she's right. I guess I just don't miss anything as I've found more food than I ever knew existed that I love. One thing is for sure, if I was ever tempted to cheat -it would be with a hot Krispy Kreme doughnut - not something as boring as a Saltine.