How Do I Cope?

[jasonD2]

just found out i have a gluten sensitivity and am going gluten-free - 2 days and i'm already miserable. the thought of never having my favorite beer again, never being able to go back to Israel and have a falafel pita, no deli sandwiches when i go home to NYC, no Matzah ball or chicken noodle soup for the jewish holidays.

I have had digestive problems for 5 years and am already dairy free..now wheat too? i'm sure i'm probably sensitive to other foods that i will ultimately have to cut out as well. is there a happy ending to all of this? if my gut repairs itself as a result of avoiding gluten will i develop a better tolerance for other foods? This has put me into a serious depression. i dont mean to whine or sound like a child but i have already had to give up so much and now this? where will it end? I have a huge dinner party to go to tomorrow...last week i was excited as all hell and now that i know i have this problem i could care less cause i wont be able to eat all the great food thats gonna be there.

sorry for the vent, but i just dont know how to cope with this anxiety

[Centa]

Welcome to the site, Jason

I hear what you're saying...those are all such important traditional dishes, and I know some of what you're talking about is being in a special place and sharing food, not a time to be insisting on being different but a time to be joining in

Falafel is made from chickpeas or a mixture of chickpeas and fava beans, so it will be fine The pita won't be. The deli meat likely is just fine, that great bread not. You remind me: I'm not Jewish, but one of my very best recipes was an authentic New York Jewish rye bread...truly the staff of life, but something that's out for me now. So there will be some things that you won't have to stop eating, others will need to be modified and you can still eat, and some things will be completely out.

There will be possibilities like these

Matzah, matzo balls

Open Original Shared Link

On your next trip to Israel, contact groups like this one. They may well have leads on places to eat, and you might find some dining companions: Open Original Shared Link

None of this takes away from the feelings that you're having. My first post on this site, which wasn't so long ago, was a vent, too. Glad you're here.

Oh, beer and noodles There's a beer that some members have been praising highly, or maybe a couple beers. Search "Red." That was the first word in its name. I hope someone who has tried it will tell you about it. And there are non-gluten noodles that sound very satisfactory, so don't give up on that chicken noodle soup. Look around in the forums on baking and ingredients and ask what you like..people here have been so helpful.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Whoa, be careful of falafel--it is often made from mixes that do contain wheat flour or wheat starch!

On the other hand, Whole Foods (often known as, "Whole Paycheck") makes a mock rye bread that really does taste like rye. Not the best rye, but quite rye-ish, enough to quell the craving!

[jasonD2]

thanks for all the kind feedback

i'm also concerned how this will affect my social life. im a 33 yr old single guy and am very self conscious when im in restaurants cause i cant have dairy. but now if i go on a date and i cant eat anything the girl will think i'm a total freak

[tarnalberry]

I think there are two big learning curves when it comes to celiac:

1) learning what substitutions you can make for the things you already like - be it the gluten free beers, or pastas, or breads, or whatevers.

2) adapting YOURSELF to socializing without the need for food, regardless of how other people socialize.

they're both challenging adaptations, and fortunately can be done independently, but both useful to have.

as for other people thinking your a freak... I joke with my friends that I decided that I just have to embrace my inner freak, because heaven help me I'll never figure out what other people think of as normal (or I dislike it), and they just tell me I'm not freaky enough to be a freak.

[JNBunnie1]

thanks for all the kind feedback

i'm also concerned how this will affect my social life. im a 33 yr old single guy and am very self conscious when im in restaurants cause i cant have dairy. but now if i go on a date and i cant eat anything the girl will think i'm a total freak

Just from my own experience dating- laser tag is a fabulous first date! We've been together for a year, just had our anniversary! Plus, coffee is naturally gluten free, so is every outdoor activity on the planet (unless you're at a chili cookoff). Once she already likes you after all the fun, she won't care about your freaky food habits. I say this from the chicks point of view.

[Shotzy1313]

Sup Jason,

I feel exactly how you do right now, but maybe a little better because I have been reading these forums for a few days. They really do help seeing that you

[Shotzy1313]

Opps

[UR Groovy]

Hi Jason, & welcome,

Just wanted to mention - the beer that Centa was talking about is Redbridge. It's around. It's made by Anhueser Busch. I get it at Henry's. I really like it. Usually, if I'm going to a dinner or party, I bring a few Redbridges in a cooler for myself. (oops - Shotzy beat me to it - the redbridge thing - while I was posting - guess this old lady's a little too slow).

It gets better. If I start thinking too much about certain breads or things I can't have anymore, I really try to flip a switch in my brain and concentrate on the foods that my body wants. It takes a little time.

Take care

[Centa]

On the falafel, not the dating

Whoa, be careful of falafel--it is often made from mixes that do contain wheat flour or wheat starch!

On the other hand, Whole Foods (often known as, "Whole Paycheck") makes a mock rye bread that really does taste like rye. Not the best rye, but quite rye-ish, enough to quell the craving!

Fiddle-Faddle's right, the mix needs checking...and looking further, I see that many Israeli falafel recipes do have bulgur. There are Jewish recipes without bulgur on the net, too...

Look at this! This site is just loaded with things. How long has it been up and going?

Whole Paycheck, Fiddle-Faddle I'm about to go deplete my resources there this afternoon.

[Green12]

i'm also concerned how this will affect my social life. im a 33 yr old single guy and am very self conscious when im in restaurants cause i cant have dairy. but now if i go on a date and i cant eat anything the girl will think i'm a total freak

Jason,

I completely relate to this, it took me a long time to drag out all of my health issues and bring special diet to the table (literally ) with my bf because I worried how it would be received.

I think a lot of the time we underestimate people, and most are compassionate and understanding. If they aren't then that isn't really the kind of person you want to be with anyway. You want someone who will accept you for you, being supportive of your health issues and your non-dairy non-gluten diet at the top of the list.

I found it was really me who was making it such a big deal and being weird about it. And we aren't freaks because there are so many of us out there on special diets of some sort, so it isn't really unheard of nowadays for someone to not eat this that and the other for one reason or another.

I was thinking there was a link to some dating service for single adults with celiac posted in a thread dealing with this very issue, but it was probably last year some time. That's a thought if you want to test out the dating waters with a woman who is going through the same thing. You aren't alone.

I say just embrace it, own it, say hey, "I don't eat dairy or gluten, what about it? "

Good luck!

[hathor]

I think it is normal to "grieve" for all those foods you can't have again. Your life has changed irrevocably and that is hard for anyone. But as you feel better ... and find foods you can eat ... the sadness will go away. It will probably go away sooner than you expect.

Don't worry about being a whiner. At first I tried to put a brave face on and say that it isn't that big a deal. "I will heal. It isn't like I had (insert disease here) where I need to take medication with possible side effects, the treatment isn't that effective, etc." My BIL at the same time was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I thought how petty it seemed to worry about not eating my favorite goodies when he was having problems walking and his life could be cut short.

But then I finally let myself be unhappy and sorry for myself for a few days. I think I just had to get it out of my system. Then I woke up one day and felt fine.

You will be able to find alternatives for most everything over time. They might not taste quite the same, but your tastes adjust. Also if you accidentally have gluten, you will feel awful, and realize the diet is definitely worth it.

[Guest thatchickali]

If you're worried about dating, find yourself a Celiac girl