I Need Some Advise Please Regarding The Diet Costs

[twinflame2]

I did not find a correct place to post this question so I placed it here. I am just starting my first month on the gluten free diet and the food and supplements have cost me over $200.00 in approximately two weeks.

Could anyone tell me approximately how much per month it does cost on average to be on this diet? I need an estimated total to take to a meeting to see if I may be able to get some assistance with the costs until I am well enough to return to work.

I simply don't have a clear idea just how much it will cost each month. If any of you could share what your experience is with this question I would be so grateful. I am flying blind here so I do hope some of you can help me out.

[celiac-mommy]

I think we may be in the minority, but since we've gone gluten-free, we are actually saving $$. We were eating out about 3x a week, now maybe 2x per MONTH. I don't buy a lot of the mainsteam gluten-free products, just a lot of whole foods-fruits, veggies, lean meats, cheese, yogurt etc.. The small amt of packaged stuff I buy, I get online at a/m/a/z/o/n by the case, also directly from Bob's Redmill. I make most things from scratch. I have 2 kids and I work full time, so I just have to make time to do it. Plan ahead menus etc... Plus, I save $$ on school lunches because we pack everything. I'm not sure if this helps, I just know it CAN be done!

[GlutenGalAZ]

I don't know the actual amount we spend every month off the top of my head, but I do know we are saving money. My husband and I don't eat out that much. We mainly just get fries occasionally as a treat at In N Out. We are eating a lot better now I do know that.

The first couple of months from what I remember did cost more b/c I was buying only items that said gluten free on the label -- which added up (online ordering and health food stores). Now after learning labels and what I can eat I can find almost everything I need at the grocery store not a health food store/market. There are a lot of foods if you read the labels that are gluten free where you don't have to spend a lot of money.

Good luck

[ravenwoodglass]

I also find that we spend less. I use my Rice Cooker a lot and make soups and stews and that sort of thing most of the time. Also because I am lucky and live near a Wegmans I get most of their named brand stuff as it is marked gluten-free if it is. It can seem like a lot when you first have to go out and replace most of your kitchen, I cryed when I saw all the stuff I had to give away out of my cupboards the first week. My food bank smiled though.

[tarnalberry]

I don't think there is an average - it entirely depends on how *you* choose to eat on the diet. We stick to naturally gluten free foods most of the time (unless I'm getting foods for backpacking, and not dehydrating my own), so it's not necessarily expensive if you shop with money-saving ideas in mind. (Things like stretching more expensive items like meat farther, only buying in season/on sale fruits and vegetables, buying in bulk when possible, using beans/brown rice as a base for your meals, etc.)

[kbtoyssni]

I also don't buy many of the specialty gluten-free substitutes. I do 99.9% of my shopping at the regular grocery store, buying on sale and in bulk when I can. I can't really remember what I used to eat, but I use potatoes, rice and corn tortillas as a base now. It takes a while to figure out how to change you diet to include mostly naturally gluten-free foods instead of trying to substitute gluten-free items for what you typically eat.

[MDRB]

I agree with what has already been said. If you stick to foods that are naturally gluten free such as rice, potatoes, meats, etc you will actually save money, especially if you shop at a fresh food market rather than a grocery store. The only gluten free processed foods that I buy are snack things such as gluten free muesli bars.

Good luck

[home-based-mom]

I agree. Many main stream items are naturally gluten free or labeled gluten free. You may need to switch from Hunts to Heinz ketchup and stuff like that, but it is still a main stream item.

Shop the perimeter of the grocery store where the meats and produce are rather than the middle where all the processed stuff is. Decide what you are going to substitute and what you can do without. You don't need to buy a pricey gluten free replacement of every food item you were used to eating.

Can you post what you spent the $200 on and maybe people here can offer suggestions?

[Ivanna44]

I did not find a correct place to post this question so I placed it here. I am just starting my first month on the gluten free diet and the food and supplements have cost me over $200.00 in approximately two weeks.

Could anyone tell me approximately how much per month it does cost on average to be on this diet? I need an estimated total to take to a meeting to see if I may be able to get some assistance with the costs until I am well enough to return to work.

I simply don't have a clear idea just how much it will cost each month. If any of you could share what your experience is with this question I would be so grateful. I am flying blind here so I do hope some of you can help me out.

Hi twinflame2

Welcome to the forums. You are in the right place for support, encouragement and venting when need be

In terms of costs. As one other member said, I do believe it is the most costly when we first start out. As we are trying to "sub" for things we commonly ate in the past. I am just my first month of gluten-free . But I'd have to say I spend about 300 in the first month. Keep in mind that's Canadian. You learn to shift your carb needs to things like rice, potatoes, plain corn chips, plain potatoe chips.. Just be sure to Read and Re-READ labels a lot. So to give a ball park estimate, I'd go middlish ground and tell them its about 300 USA funds a month. I understand you need to "present" this to get financial assistance with the costs till you are able to return to the workforce. Sorry to hear you are off work due to illness too ((((((( hugs ))))))))

You have to keep the following things in mind, you learn to be "thrifty" and that takes time. You find stores that carry items for cheaper so on. Its an adjustment to going gluten-free eating so on. You don't need to replace vitimans monthly, you don't need to get everything at a health food store. Personally myself. I got a month or more worth of gluten-free flour baking products for about 40$ Canadian, for making myself treats and that. Its a case of finding a "flour mix" you like, and then shopping around. I do pay a bit more for the product as it came from a Organic store, but I was just trying it out. Now, that I know I like it. I'll probably get it from the online store. Even though there's a 10 shipping fee, the products themselves are sometimes 3$ less per package by ordering them online. Its again, being thrifty.

Learning to read Labels and looking for generic name brands that don't have the gluten will save you tons. As will subbing for fresh produce, fresh meats and doing a lot of "homemade" meals. Going gluten-free is really a return to "back in old days" making it from scratch. Make a pot and freeze it for the "busy days." Being an extra busy mom, at least once a week I make some sort of meal that I freeze in individual portions for the "extra" busy days. This link at this site will help you the most. Learning what to look for in terms of the NO NO food ingredients

https://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsaf...ents/Page1.html

Allow yourself time to adjust too. Going gluten-free is hard, its a big adjustment at first, but one that is worth it in the end. Especially if you are all the healthier for it

One TA DA at a time, and you'll get there.

I hope you are soon well enough to return to your job

hugs

[twinflame2]

Many thanks to everyone that took the time to answer my questions. All of your responses were very helpful for me. One more thing though, I am guessing that most of the family's have all started eating the same way am I right about that? If I am this is my other sticky situation regarding the diet. I have a husband and two teenage boys that are not in any way interested in eating the diet I am required to. They still wish to remain on their regular standard type diet.

This fact will make what I need to do even more difficult and costly I believe. I mean how easy is it going to be to prepare two separate diets one kind for them and another for me? They like to eat quite a few things that I simply can not have. The type of dishes I am speaking of are not normally one of the recipes that are or can be modified. I anyone out there living in a household that wants to eat two separate ways?

Maybe with this extra information everyone can understand why I am so worried about the grocery bill totals. Doing things this way it seems would absolutely cause a very high food bill right. Any suggestions as to how I can handle this situation with my family? It is no small wonder that I am feeling like a duck out of water here and no cool pond in sight to retreat to.

I have my doubts about doing things this way even being a workable option. Is there anyone out there that has experience with this kind of delima?

Oh yes and as far as the vitamins I absolutely do have to replace them every month, I am so ill from the celiacs that I can not absorb any of the vitamins or minerals that it affects. I am on antibiotics right now for a staph infection in my sinus area and the only way my body can absorb enough of the medicine to help me is by having a Picc IV line in my arm. I have in home health nurses come in three times per week to do blood draws and change my dressing. I administer the medication myself and it is extremely strong. I believe my doctor said it is one of the strongest ones they have available. I was taking very good vitamins from a health food store for three months that provided two and a half times the daily requirement of vitamin D and my blood test still came back low enough for my doctor to put me on a vitamin D RX script to try and bring my levels back up.

I most likely will be set up to take injections of the nutrients that I cant absorb until I can utilize them again. The last time I was admitted to the hospital my potassium was so low I was in danger. I was so dehydrated from the lack of this vitamin that I was throwing up stomach bile. They kept me for eight days and gave me potassium in my IV every day I was there to help bring it back up to a safe level. Even now after a little over two months out of the hospital and taking the best vitamins I can still feel the life ebbing away from me due to the reducing amounts of critical nutrients that I just cant assimilate.

I unfortunately am one of the celiacs patients where the disease has gotten as bad as it can get. In case everyone does not know or understand a person can actually die from the amemia that the deficiencies cause from this disease. So I have a long road back to any kind of substantial state of health that is good again.

Sorry to burden you with my sad tale, but it is kind of scary sometimes, like I am running against the clock kind of regarding everything. Anyway thanks for letting me share everyone here is so wonderful and supportive.

One bright spot though! I have found a great pro biotic of friendly bacteria culture supplements to take that are helping me keep the thrush down in my mouth from the antibiotic. Because I also have a good case of candida in my gut as well from taking strong antibiotics four times since Jan. 2007.

I better close this before they start charging me for writing a novel here, lol.

[twinflame2]

It was potassium I was so dangerously low in that caused me to be admitted. I also had a severe sinus infection on top of that. a month of oral antibiotics did not clear it up.

The first time to the hospital was for a staph and e coli infection in my sinus area that made me critically ill. My doctor told me at that time that I could have not been able to pull through the illness. So there it is in a nut shell guys. I am open to suggestions if anyone has any

[Ursa Major]

My suggestion is, to cook supper gluten-free for the family. Explain to your teens that you don't have the energy to cook two meals, and if they don't like it they will have to cook their own meal themselves. And be firm about that!

Normal suppers don't have to have gluten anyway. Potatoes or rice are naturally gluten-free, as are vegetables and meat. There are great gluten-free pastas as well (you will have to try them to find out which brand you like best). I absolutely refuse to have anything with gluten in the house, and I certainly won't cook anything that has gluten in it. The same goes for baking. The flour that will be in the air when baking is enough to make me sick. Regular flour is banned from my house.

I have served gluten-free spaghetti and lasagna dishes to company, and nobody knew the difference. In fact, one of my daughters (who is not gluten-free) prefers rice pasta, she likes it better than wheat pasta.

You can thicken gravies with corn starch, rice flour or light buckwheat flour (my personal favourite). In fact, for Easter I cooked a fabulous dinner, with gluten-free stuffing that was so good that I barely managed to get any (and I was the only one who normally eats gluten-free of everybody here for that meal). My husband said that the gravy was the best he had ever tasted. And my gluten-free Black Forest cake was to die for!

About those prescription vitamin D supplements: They are useless. Prescription vitamin D is D2, which is inferior to the natural vitamin D3 (of course, the pharmaceutical companies can't make money off that, so doctors prescribe the lab produced D2).

The best source of D3 is cod liver oil. Even though it appears not to have all that much of it, it is assimilated well by our body, and would bring your vitamin D level up fairly quickly. My vitamin D was very low when tested a month after going gluten-free (2 1/2 years ago). I took two tablespoonfuls of Carlson's cod liver oil for several months, and eventually, after nine months, had to reduce my dose because it was getting too high!

You are so ill, that in order to recover faster, you really need to at least for now have a completely gluten-free house, to avoid cross contamination. If your family cares about you and wants you well quicker, they need to eat their gluten outside your house, and allow you to have a safe haven at home.

You also absolutely need to have your own toaster, as your old one is NOT safe for you to use. The same goes for wooden cutting boards and cooking spoons, and especially for plastic colanders that have been used for wheat pasta. It is not possible to get them clean enough to be safe for you.

It is also advisable for you to replace any personal care items that have gluten with gluten-free ones, like shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, lipstick/chapstick etc. Look for things like wheat germ oil, barley extract and oat bran.

You sound like you need iron injections for the anemia. At this point it sounds highly unlikely that taking oral iron supplements are enough to bring your levels up fast enough.

Don't apologize for needing to finally 'talk' to people who understand! It is okay to vent here, and to tell us what is going on. If we don't have a fairly clear picture of your situation, we won't be able to be very helpful. So, go ahead and write a 'novel', nobody will mind at all.

[MDRB]

Oh dear,

I was once in the hospital for low potassium, and my mother in law once had to stay in for a week for extremely low iron. So although my situation is not as dire, I do have some idea of what you are going through.

Amost everyone has 'the family problem' when they are diagnosed and it can be really tough especialy with kids.

When I went gluten-free I rid my house of everything with gluten in it. My fiance keeps his bread and some mustard but that is about it, all the meals that we eat together are gluten-free and luckily for me I managed to nab one of the suportive ones

The thing to remember is that if you are doing the cooking, you are in control! Don't make a fuss aout the their meal being gluten-free and chances are that they won't even notice! Try making their favorite dish but gluten free, or win them over with really tasty gluten-free cookies or muffins. Act like its a pleasure not a chore to be gluten free and never let them smell your fear

Good luck

[home-based-mom]

Many thanks to everyone that took the time to answer my questions. All of your responses were very helpful for me. One more thing though, I am guessing that most of the family's have all started eating the same way am I right about that? If I am this is my other sticky situation regarding the diet. I have a husband and two teenage boys that are not in any way interested in eating the diet I am required to. They still wish to remain on their regular standard type diet.

Excuse my brutality here, but "too bad." You need to get every trace of gluten out of your house ASAP and cook gluten-free from now on. It won't kill them to eat healthy, but it will kill you not to. Can they not see how sick you are?

If they think they "have" to have their favorite pizza or something, let them eat it at the restaurant and then wash their hands and brush their teeth before coming home. Meanwhile you can indulge in a gluten-free treat and watch a chick flick!

[GlutenGalAZ]

My husband can eat gluten so we have gluten and gluten free items in the house. We make our own meals for breakfast and lunch but for dinner it is always gluten free. We make tacos, spaghetti, hamburgers etc -- a lot of "normal" meals that certain items just have to be replaced with gluten free items.

We don't have kids so I honestly can't understand/know what it is like to have more than one other person in the house that would eat gluten. My husband uses one counter to make his meals on and I use another then he cleans the counter when he is done. His gluten foods are mainly bread and things in packages. We keep our things on separate shelves and I label/put a fun sticker on my things that we have the same of i.e. butter and peanut butter (container things).

You need to heal so everyone should support you in feeling better. Either by having reallllllly strict rules about gluten eating in the house and see how that goes or have everyone eat gluten free and see how that way goes.

Best of luck with everything...