I Wonder When The "learning Experiences" Stop ...

[hathor]

Dang. The story: I was feeling so good, I was even wondering if I really had problems. My husband said he thought I didn't respond to tiny amounts of gluten. I get a salad that had croutons in it and the waiter takes off before I saw them. I thought I could just pick them out, or dh thought so, anyway. Eating it I actually crunched into a tiny crumb I had missed.

I'm into day 3 of brain fog. Sigh ... I guess I really do have to become higher maintenance in restaurants.

I really hate it when menus don't list all the ingredients. Why would the same restaurant mention croutons & cheese for some menu items and not for others? I also picked some shaved cheese off my entree -- I'm probably reacting to that too. It was just a very busy & noisy restaurant, harried staff, you have to shout to be heard, etc. (I know I should stay out of such places -- I just couldn't do any better since we were out of town for my son's college graduation & all the restaurants we could find that would have seemed to work were like that.)

So, chalk up another learning experience. I'm really tired of them

I don't expect any advice here. I just have to vent a little. I know, I know. I should have known better ... people say you can't just pick the croutons out ... etc., etc.

[zansu]

we sympathize! It really stinks to have your health in someone else's hands and sometime you can't help it/ I hope it was AFTER graduation.... or that you were seated conveniently

[kbtoyssni]

I find it helps to carry a card listing all the things I CAN'T have. And some of the things I can that people think I might not be able to (like corn, rice, etc). This helps eliminate the communication issues from the waiter (who likely won't even know what gluten is) to the chef. For salads I also ask about all the things I CAN'T eat even if the menu doesn't say it has it. I tend to get burned by the roll - I can't tell you how many times they've brought out my nice, crouton-free salad with a big wheat roll because I forgot to mention it mainly because I don't even think of the possibility of someone putting a roll on a salad. If I have to send it back I emphasize that they CANNOT just take the roll off; I need an entirely new salad. And I try to remember something about how the food was arranged (i.e. there were two tomato slices on top of each other) so I know for sure if it's a new salad they bring out.

You may also want to try going out to eat at non-peak times when the staff can devote more time to you. I try to call and talk to the manager at a non-peak time, too, to answer all my questions about what has gluten and what doesn't.

Good luck and sorry you're sick today.