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Birmingham?

jambo massive

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jambo massive Apprentice
jambo massive
Posted

Hello people hope everybody is doing well, Is there anybody from around birmingham on this site? im struggling to find gluten free beer in a bar is there such a place?

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Boffin Rookie
Boffin
Posted
Hello people hope everybody is doing well, Is there anybody from around birmingham on this site? im struggling to find gluten free beer in a bar is there such a place?

Hello! :)

I live just over an hour away from Birmingham and have relatives who live there so am in the area quite often.

Sadly I can't recommend any bars with gluten-free beer though. Only thing I could suggest would be to ask in a bar that has "guest ales" sometimes to see if they'd get one in to try in case it proved popular. You never know, it might bring in coeliacs from all over the place to drink their beer if they advertised it well.

I've only just been diagnosed and only been gluten-free for a week (although think I'm having some cross-contamination issues at the mo) so I'm still finding my feet really. How long have you been diagnosed and gluten-free? Did you find that you had to avoid other foods such as dairy to start with as that has been suggested to me?

Best wishes. :)

nikki-uk Enthusiast
nikki-uk
Posted
Hello people hope everybody is doing well, Is there anybody from around birmingham on this site? im struggling to find gluten free beer in a bar is there such a place?

I'm not in B/ham (I'm in E London) but my hubby (who is the coeliac) is yet to come across a bar that actually sells gluten-free beer :( (although you can get it in supermarkets)

Hubby usually ends up having either cider or an alchopop (e.g bacardi breezer)

Did you find that you had to avoid other foods such as dairy to start with as that has been suggested to me?

Not all coeliacs get the 'temporary' lactose intolerance.

My son has been fine with dairy since going gluten-free - whereas my hubby found that after about 6 months gluten-free that he got terrible stomach gripes with rotten headaches after eating cereal (gluten-free) with milk.

Hubby avoided it for around 3 months - then tried a tiny amount - found he was ok and just increased from there. :)

jambo massive Apprentice
jambo massive
Posted
  • Author
Hello! :)

I live just over an hour away from Birmingham and have relatives who live there so am in the area quite often.

Sadly I can't recommend any bars with gluten-free beer though. Only thing I could suggest would be to ask in a bar that has "guest ales" sometimes to see if they'd get one in to try in case it proved popular. You never know, it might bring in coeliacs from all over the place to drink their beer if they advertised it well.

I've only just been diagnosed and only been gluten-free for a week (although think I'm having some cross-contamination issues at the mo) so I'm still finding my feet really. How long have you been diagnosed and gluten-free? Did you find that you had to avoid other foods such as dairy to start with as that has been suggested to me?

Best wishes. :)

I have beee Diagnosed since i was 2ish but i gave up the diet when i was 8 due to lack of infomation from the doctors to my parents, but i started again about 3months ago after a spell in hospital i never knew how serious coeliac was i was foolish not to be on the diet for so many years (17 of them). I've luckly not had to avoid dairy but i agree cross-contamination is so hard to avoid especially at work i now have my very own special toaster so i can avoid it. Have you found it easy to switch to the diet?? I did at the start but im getting there now i have even started baking cakes!! they taste so yumm......

Hope your feeling well..

Boffin Rookie
Boffin
Posted

I'm not finding the diet itself too bad. It does require more thinking and planning than eating "normal" food but I think that as long as I plan meals ahead I should be ok. Spontaneous "grabbing something while out" occasions won't be able to happen now though.

I think the hardest think I'm finding so far is having to be so wary of cross-contamination. My husband is really thoughtful and careful but it's a lot of getting used to really. I have other allergies (to nuts, fish, mustard and some fresh fruit) so I'm used to having to avoid things and to read labels carefully but none of those allergies were so severe as to have to think really hard about sharing utensils etc.

Still, I've only been doing this for a week so I'm hoping that once I've got the kitchen better organised and got used to this it will become more second-nature.

We've not really bought many specifically gluten-free items yet as most didn't look that fab and are also very expensive. So far we've just been making things from scratch with the Doves Farm gluten-free flour. The bread is very different from "normal" bread but I actually really like it so that's ok. My husband was kind enough to make me a gluten-free choccy cake with the recipe off the flour and that turned out fantastic. You couldn't tell that there was anything "odd" about it!

Hope you continue to do ok. I'm not sure if I'm really noticing much of a difference yet as my symptoms were variable anyway so I think it's too soon to tell. Just keeping fingers crossed that all turns out well really. :)

  • 4 weeks later...
covsooze Enthusiast
covsooze
Posted

Just noticed this thread! I live in Coventry :D and used to live in B'ham (pre-coeliac days). Have you managed to find gluten free beer in the supermarkets yet? I've bought some from Tesco. Never had any in a bar. Have you been to le Petit Blanc in B'ham? They have a gluten free menu and it's delicious. :) Not cheap though - although much cheaper at lunchtimes and is definitely worth it for a special occasion.

Have you joined Coeliac UK and found a local group yet? That's probably your best bet for getting local info.

Boffin, where do you live?

Susie x

  • 2 months later...
Blinkyz Newbie
Blinkyz
Posted

Oops double post - See below :D

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Blinkyz Newbie
Blinkyz
Posted

Hi there,

I'm new so not sure if my post will work.. But I recently moved from Birmingham to Sweden.

I was never properly diagnosed because my doctor was a complete idiot and kept telling me it was a ulcer or IBS or whatever else they could come up with, but I can tell you it's a bit obvious that I'm a celiac as I can't tolerate hardly anything from the "Ingredients to avoid list". I've been a celiac for about a year now..

I never did find a gluten free beer in stores, but you should do a search on google or any other search engines and you can find beer that you can order online. It is a bit more expensive and make sure to check that it's Celiac safe and not just gluten as some people don't really get the difference.

Also - If you go out quite a bit in brum, becareful of Vodka. Yes vodka. I never knew that most vodkas are made from wheat!? Smirnoff is the only one I have managed to come across in a bar that's Celiac safe. (That doesn't mean Smirnoff Ice though as I think it has malt in it.)

Hope this helps! Any probs send me a mail or message (Still getting used to this site!)

Rach xx

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      Test interpretations

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Based on those results alone, it’s not possible to say you have celiac disease. The test that is usually most specific for celiac, tTG-IgA, is negative in your results, and the endomysial antibody (EMA) is also negative, which generally argues against active celiac disease. However, your deamidated gliadin IgA is elevated, and your total IgA level is also high, which can sometimes affect how the other antibody tests behave. Another important factor is that you were reducing gluten before the test, which can lower antibody levels and make the results less reliable. Because of that, many doctors recommend a gluten challenge (eating gluten regularly for several weeks) before repeating blood tests or considering an endoscopy if symptoms and labs raise concern. It would be best to review these results with a gastroenterologist, who can interpret them in context and decide whether further testing is needed.
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      Since you compromised the validity of the antibody testing by experimenting with gluten withdrawal ahead of the testing, you are faced with two options: 1. Reintroduce significant amounts of gluten into your diet for a period of weeks, i.e., undertake a "gluten challenge". The most recent guidelines are the daily consumption of at least 10g of gluten (about the amount found in 4-6 slices of wheat-based bread) for at least two weeks leading up to the day of testing. Note: I would certainly give it more than two weeks to be sure. 2. Be willing to live with the ambiguity of not knowing whether gluten causes you problems because you have celiac disease or NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity). There is no test for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out and we have tests for it. Celiac disease has an autoimmune base. NCGS does not. GI symptoms overlap. In the early stages of celiac disease, other body systems may not be showing stress or damage so, symptomatically, it would be difficult to distinguish between celiac disease and NCGS. Both conditions require elimination of gluten from the diet for symptom relief. Some experts feel that NCGS can be a precursor to celiac disease.
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    • MicG
      Test interpretations

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      I had been eating reduced gluten until about 3 days before the test. I did realize that wasn’t ideal, but it was experimental to see if gluten was actually bothering me. One slip up with soy sauce and it was quite clear to me that it was, lol. 
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