Am I Being Too Careful?

[cdfiance]

Since Alex

[MySuicidalTurtle]

I like to avoid things with gluten. It is better safe than sorry especially when it comes to gluten on my hands! Good luck to Alex!

[cdfiance]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Alex is my fiance and she's turning 24. So it would be paints and paintbrushes and not fingerpainting or anything like that.

Sorry for not clarifying that; I can see why it looked like my post should be moved to the kids/babies section -- my bad.

Ryan

[GeoffCJ]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Alex is my fiance and she's turning 24. So it would be paints and paintbrushes and not fingerpainting or anything like that.

Sorry for not clarifying that; I can see why it looked like my post should be moved to the kids/babies section -- my bad.

Ryan

I think you have to pick your battles, and the risks that you can accept. I'd imagine that for an adult, injesting paint is a pretty low risk, but if paint is available gluten-free, then I'd buy it. It might be tough to find ingredient lists.

Hey, How's Alex doing? Is the diabetes diagnosis helping get things settled down for you two? Give Alex our best.

Geoff

[darlindeb25]

I truly believe we can not be too careful. Once you let up on that carefulness, that's when accidents happen. I think you are doing a wonderful job of supporting Alex--we all should be so lucky.

[SunnyDyRain]

I'd say try to get gluten free, but I agree it might be hard. I'd buy her a box of powder free latex gloves (if she isn't allergic to latex!) for her to mix paints or wash the brushes. I can see that she may not get alot of paint on her hands painting, but it's the set up and clean up it may get under her nails then she could put them in her mouth.

[CarlaB]

I used to paint paintings... though I might see if gluten-free paints are available, I wouldn't worry about it. I know I never ingested the paint .... and I washed my hands really well to be sure it was all off before I ate.

I paint our walls in our house and never worry about it, though I'm very careful when spackling or sanding drywall because that puts dust in the air ... and yes, drywall does contain gluten.

With all she's been through, I definately think it would be overkill for her to give up her hobby, too, as unlikely as it is that the paint will make it into her mouth. She should just be meticulous in cleaning herself up afterward (I'm thinking paint under fingernails).

[lovegrov]

If you can find gluten-free paints, fine, but I do think it would be overkill for a 24-year-old to just never paint again.

richard

[cdfiance]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm still hoping I can find gluten-free paints but if not I do agree that it is probably low risk. The latex gloves sound like a good idea to avoid getting it under her fingernails. I really don't want her to have to give up something she enjoys doing.

Hey, How's Alex doing? Is the diabetes diagnosis helping get things settled down for you two? Give Alex our best.

Actually things have been going pretty well that last week or so. We're starting to get into a good routine with the blood sugar checks and insulin injections and she's getting better all the time at recognizing early when her blood sugar is getting too low or too high. And best of all it seems like her GI tract is finally starting to calm down! She has less pain and fewer bouts of diarrhea a day. Her sleep is much more restful now that she's not up multiple times a night in the bathroom. I'm almost afraid to say it but it looks like we're finally making progress. We even went to see a movie the other day! I know it sounds like nothing but its a big deal considering the doctor's office, the drug store, and the hospital have been pretty much the only places outside our house that Alex has been in the last few months.

Thanks,

Ryan

[wowzer]

I'm glad to hear that Alex is on the mend. I hope that you can find gluten free paint. Good Luck.

[GeoffCJ]

I'm almost afraid to say it but it looks like we're finally making progress. We even went to see a movie the other day! I know it sounds like nothing but its a big deal considering the doctor's office, the drug store, and the hospital have been pretty much the only places outside our house that Alex has been in the last few months.

Thanks,

Ryan

Ryan,

That's great to hear! It was certainly sounding scary there for a while, so any return to something closer to normal is great.

It's great that you are there for her too. My wife and I are newlyweds (just over a year, I think we still count). I actually started to figure out my Celiac disease after our delayed honeymoon. I haven't had nearly the difficulties Alex has, and I can still say that having a supportive partner is a godsend.

When my wife's mom got sick, and my wife was upset, it was killing me to not be able to "fix" it. As men, we, stereotypically and I think it's true a lot, don't see problems as things to be dealt with, or worked around, but things that should be fixed. Disease can be tough mentally, because often you can't fix it. There are "solutions" in the form of avoiding gluten (and in Alex's case, blood sugar controls) but it's not really fixing it. I was talking to my wife the other day, and mentioned how frustrated I was that there isn't a cure for Celiacs, and we ended up talking about Diabetes too. She was suggesting that there was a cure, avoiding gluten and insulin. I was arguing that those are patches, not cures. My analogy was that it was like driving with one of those little donut spare tires. It might get you home, but it was limiting. A cure would be like getting a new tire. And it got me thinking about how I approach problems, and I think I am the stereotypical guy. I see every problem as something that needs to be fixed, and I get very frustrated when I can't. Especially when it's hurting or affecting the people I love. Have you been having the same reactions?

Anyway, that's just my thoughts. I feel bad for Alex, but it seems like you're doing everything you can, and that's great.

Geoff

[CarlaB]

Geoff, I think you're right! That is how guys are! Sometimes women will come to their man with a complaint ... we're just looking for a shoulder ... men think we want it fixed ... all we want is someone to say they understand our frustration!

It seems that for women, many things can be "fixed" with a hug ... our idea of fixed is a little different than yours.

Funny observation.

Congratulations to both of you ... I've been married for 22 years.

[cdfiance]

I see every problem as something that needs to be fixed, and I get very frustrated when I can't. Especially when it's hurting or affecting the people I love. Have you been having the same reactions?

Yeah, you

[aikiducky]

Ryan and Geoff, I just wanted to say that it's really helpful to read about your frustration because it helps me understand my husband better! I hope other women on the board will read this too. It's not uncommon here to read about a newly diagnosed celiac wondering about why their partner is reacting so seemingly unsupportively, I think it's very good to keep in mind how hard it can be for a guy to be in this situation!

You guys in turn might keep in mind that just like Carla said, women often don't really long for a solution as much as they long for someone to validate their feelings. You know, women (probably even more than men) have often had the experience of being told it's in our head, we're just being hysterical...whatever you do, don't try to downplay problems in hopes it'll make her feel better, because it won't! So if your loved ones are complaining about something, remember the first thing to do is to say something supportive and give them a hug. It really is a kind of a fix even though it might not feel like it to you.

I hope you won't mind the slight ranting... I'm hoping this might help someone out eventually, if not, just ignore me.

Pauliina

[kbtoyssni]

Although it's extremely unlikely that she'll get glutened off the paint, if you can get gluten-free paint I'd do it. The world is a risky place for celiacs; I prefer to eliminate as many situations with the potential for CC as I can. That way I can engage in other "risky" behavior like going out to eat more frequently.