Am I To Have A Total gluten-free Household?

[hafadai43]

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease four years ago and have been gluten-free since. In the last few months I have been losing weight, constipated with stomach pains, getting headaches, feeling tired and just all around terrible. My family doctor is in the midst of doing all sorts of tests to try and figure it out. I have had my thyroid tested, had an ultrasound and then more bloodwork. My thyroid is ok, and they found a small uterine fybroid, but it would not be the source of my symptoms. I haven't gotten the results of the latest bloodwork yet, which was testing for malnutrition and such. I am also scheduled for a bone density screening in a couple weeks. I am nervous with the uncertainty of it all and am sure I will keel over when I get all the medical bills. I feel the way I did before I was diagnosed, and it took a long time just to get it figured out. I am married and have a small child now, and although there is not much gluten in the house, I was wondering if it is a big deal that my husband and son eat foods with gluten in it. My son eats cheerios, crackers and things like that while my husband eats lots of sandwiches, pizza, and corndogs. I wash all the dishes thoroughly and wash my hands after handling their food, so is it a problem that it is even in the house? Could that be why I am feeling so sick again? I would feel terrible to deprive them of their favorite foods, so I will not unless I have to. I am tired of feeling sick even when I am taking very good care of myself. So do my husband and son have to go gluten-free too?

[ravenwoodglass]

It does make it much easier, but if not possible there are a few things that will cut your risk.

If you haven't already get your own toaster, cutting board and can opener. If your pots and pans are old and or scratched get yourself also a small set of the essentials for just your use. Now get a tote with lid label it as yours only and put those things in there. That way noone will use them accidentally.

Then divide your fridge, make sure any gluten containing foods are on the bottom shelf, like that leftover pizza, and make sure they are well wrapped by someone else.

Get another smaller tote for only gluten foods, this can have the toxic bread, cereals etc. Keep that closed and let others go into it.

Designate one area only for gluten food prep, If someone in the house is forgetful cover all others countertops with a clean dish towel until they remember.

If you have pets that consume gluten foods let someone else feed them and take care of the dishes.

Your child, who you are around and feeding presents some other issues. If you can try and switch him to some of the gluten free cereals and snacks. You don't want to have to turn down or get sick from those yummy crumbly kisses and hugs. In addition with celiac being a genetic disorder, and a great deal of damage able to be done before obviously gluten related symptoms show up it can't hurt to have your child eating as little of it as possible till he is older.

[maryjk]

It really depends.

My husband and son are not gluten free and we do not have a gluten free household. They eat gluten stuff most days. Today we had chili dogs for lunch. Their's on a bun, mine on corn tortillas.

I have my own toaster, cutting board and red handled utensils. I use the same can opener, but we have one that doesn't cut into the can, rather it lifts the top off. I have signs posted on cabinets over the counters that say, "Gluten free zone" and "Gluten zone." I also have a sign above the stove that says, "STOP, don't taste the pasta." Gluten free pasta is just too expensive to buy it for everyone.

Kisses from my husband are banned if he has eaten gluten and my son kisses my cheek. And my son tends to not want to kiss me if he has had gluten.

If gluten is eaten in the living room, it happens in two places. I don't sit at those places. We sit in the same chairs at the same place at the table to eat.

My goal, when I went gluten free, was to change as little about their lives as possible. I don't eat gluten, I wash my hands a lot and I wipe counters a number of times a day. It seems to work. I feel great and in seven months my blood test went from 124 to 5. I must be doing something right.

[hafadai43]

Thank you so much for the replies. I plan to make some changes to help cut down on my exposure, and it shouldn't inconvenience my family too much. I already have my own toaster and a designated pan for my husband's baked food and pretty much everything else we cook is gluten-free. So I will just try feeding my son more gluten free food rather than "death" cereals and crackers. Now I am just wondering whether the minimal exposure I have had would be enough to cause the symptoms I have been having lately. I will definitely talk to my doctor about it when they call with my latest lab results. Perhaps it would change the direction of our quest for answers.

I am very pleased with my family physician so far. She genuinely seems concerned for my health and wants to get to the bottom of what is going on currently. She is familiar with celiac disease (my last family doctor was not, which is why I spent five years very sick while he dismissed my symptoms) and seems dedicated to making me feel better. She is taking in all the possiblities. So if anyone who reads this lives near Lebanon, Indiana and is not happy with their current Dr....check out Dr. Czeskis and the Medical Office Building at Witham Hospital. She's wonderful.

Thanks again for your input! It definitely helps.

[Sweetfudge]

i couldn't ask my husband to cut out all his staple foods, nor could i afford to feed us both on strictly gluten-free food. So he has everything separate from me. A shelf in the fridge for his bread, butter, tortillas, etc., and one in the freezer for waffles and burritos. A cupboard for cereal. A separate toaster, away from mine. It's helped tons! The only thing is just watching shared foods, like cheese, which he is not always so careful about touching w/ sandwich hands.

[kevieb]

are you having your Ttg levels tested on a regular basis. this would be a really good way to know whether or not you are getting cross contamination. there are 9 of us in our household, 3 of my daughters are celiacs. we cook all of our meals gluten free, but i do keep crackers, bread and cereal around for the rest of the family. i used to try and cook both a gluten free and a regular recipe of certain things, but i found that i would forget and use the same spoon to stir with, or some other brainless thing----so i finally decided the chance of cross-contamination was more important to worry about than the money i would save by trying to cook two different versions of the same thing.

[casnco]

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease four years ago and have been gluten-free since. In the last few months I have been losing weight, constipated with stomach pains, getting headaches, feeling tired and just all around terrible. My family doctor is in the midst of doing all sorts of tests to try and figure it out. I have had my thyroid tested, had an ultrasound and then more bloodwork. My thyroid is ok, and they found a small uterine fybroid, but it would not be the source of my symptoms. I haven't gotten the results of the latest bloodwork yet, which was testing for malnutrition and such. I am also scheduled for a bone density screening in a couple weeks. I am nervous with the uncertainty of it all and am sure I will keel over when I get all the medical bills. I feel the way I did before I was diagnosed, and it took a long time just to get it figured out. I am married and have a small child now, and although there is not much gluten in the house, I was wondering if it is a big deal that my husband and son eat foods with gluten in it. My son eats cheerios, crackers and things like that while my husband eats lots of sandwiches, pizza, and corndogs. I wash all the dishes thoroughly and wash my hands after handling their food, so is it a problem that it is even in the house? Could that be why I am feeling so sick again? I would feel terrible to deprive them of their favorite foods, so I will not unless I have to. I am tired of feeling sick even when I am taking very good care of myself. So do my husband and son have to go gluten-free too?

I too am four years diagnosed. Just like you this winter I had a terrable reaction and no known contamination. This reaction lasted four months!!! My skin is still recovering (dermititis herpaformosis). My husband and I read a thread on here about kissing someone who has consumed gluten. So he decided to go gluten free. And suddently I began to feel better. When I looked back at when all of this last episode got really bad it was Christmas with my niece and two young nephews. Lots of kisses and lots of gluten during that time. So now when I visit them I try to get my kisses first thing in the morning and if I can steer them to non gluten foods while we are together I do. So I guess I tell you all of this because, having my house gluten free has been best for me. I buy Amy's pizza and doctor it up or make my own crust with Pamela's pizza/bread mix. And the last time I was at the store I saw gluten-free corn dogs. There are a lot of nice substitutions out there. They are usually a lot more work, but certainly worth it. I am lucky my husband will be gluten-free for me. He rarely even cheats when he is out of the house. Good Luck. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

[hafadai43]

are you having your Ttg levels tested on a regular basis. this would be a really good way to know whether or not you are getting cross contamination.

No, I don't have it checked regularly. I'm thinking I didn't go to a very good gastroenterologist to be diagnosed. Though I am thankful he figured out most of my problem. But I have been having problems ever since, and when I went back after six months, I told him I still have diarrhea and such, and he just said it was IBS and gave me some meds that he said to take 'as needed'. I haven't seen him since. He never said to come back regularly for any reasons. I know that some celiacs get check ups on things and I haven't. Now I've got a whirlwind of health problems (mostly general so it's difficult to know what is causing it) and I don't really know what to do. My life and finances (because of the expensive bills to come) are in the hands of my current family doctor. There is a good gastroenterologist at the same hospital she will send me to if I need to go, but right now she's just running so many tests. She hasn't suggested testing for other food allergies yet, so when they call with my recent lab results I think I'm going to suggest it myself. I think (and hope) that is all it is and it's nothing more serious.

[blueeyedmanda]

At my house there is me and my fiance, he has his food I have mine. It is rare that he has sandwiches and buns and such so the toaster I bought is all mine. I keep all my food in the pantry/closet area. I had gotten a brand new set of pots/pans for Christmas. When we make pasta and such for dinner it is always gluten free version and he is good with that. Most of my other meals are naturally gluten free so that is not a problem. The only gluten things that are usually in our home are cookies and cakes for him and he is a neat freak so there are never crumbs.

It works for us, but may not work for all. It depends on how big your family is too, for us with just two it works this way.

[ravenwoodglass]

No, I don't have it checked regularly. I'm thinking I didn't go to a very good gastroenterologist to be diagnosed. Though I am thankful he figured out most of my problem. But I have been having problems ever since, and when I went back after six months, I told him I still have diarrhea and such, and he just said it was IBS and gave me some meds that he said to take 'as needed'. I haven't seen him since. He never said to come back regularly for any reasons. I know that some celiacs get check ups on things and I haven't. Now I've got a whirlwind of health problems (mostly general so it's difficult to know what is causing it) and I don't really know what to do. My life and finances (because of the expensive bills to come) are in the hands of my current family doctor. There is a good gastroenterologist at the same hospital she will send me to if I need to go, but right now she's just running so many tests. She hasn't suggested testing for other food allergies yet, so when they call with my recent lab results I think I'm going to suggest it myself. I think (and hope) that is all it is and it's nothing more serious.

Your regular doctor can order the repeat Ttg tests for you, she should also be running a check of your B12, ferritin, iron, and folate at a minimum to check and see if your are absorbing nutrients yet.

[hafadai43]

Your regular doctor can order the repeat Ttg tests for you, she should also be running a check of your B12, ferritin, iron, and folate at a minimum to check and see if your are absorbing nutrients yet.

Those are the lab results I am waiting on. I got them done last Wednesday, so hopefully they call me soon! They're also testing for Calcium intake. I am supposed to have a bone density xray in a couple weeks to check for bone loss.

[dally099]

my house is not gluten-free as i have a DH and 4 kids who are not diagnosed and to feed 6 people gluten-free would put us in the poor house, not to mention that their are some things they just dont like. breakfast and lunch i tend to eat seperately from everyone now as they are eating what i call "death pills for mommy" and their good with this, when i cook dinner i cook gluten-free meals as its easier for me. some things the kids will eat, they are used to the pasta now, some they wont, so i will make them a hotdog or some thing like that for supper if all else fails. my hubby dosnt notice the gluten-free suppers as any different, except for the bread he wont touch mine, allthough im now making corn bread and they like that. i have my own pantry in the laundry room that is my stuff, i mix the canned and jar goods in with the other stuff but i know which stuff is safe me and whats not, i have my own cupboard for pots and pans and knives and cutting boards etc. i have my own toaster and bread box, which is on a spot far away from the other stuff. i suspect im still getting some traces but i know that it will get better as the kids get older, my oldest is 8 and she can make a lot of stuff for me that im not supposed to be around its tough though with the babes that want their crackers, cookies etc ( the rest are 5, 3, and 21months). so seperate your stuff, i have my own containers for leftovers in the fridge, my hubby accidently used my honey the other day but he told me and bought me a new tub. its just being carefull. GOOD LUCK

[hafadai43]

I got my results today from my lab work. Calcium is fine, but phosphorus and iron are low. This means I still need the bone density xray. My doc is putting me on supplements, so hopefully that will relieve my headaches, fatigue, and irritability. As far as my bloating and whatnot, I have spoken with my husband and laid down new rules to help keep the contamination at a minimum. I appreciate all of the support and suggestions you all have given me. Thank you!