Just Diagnosed

[minnow]

I am a 45 year old women who has just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Can anyone give me advice on what to do....what to eat, to buy, how to restructure my whole life and how I have done things? I need specific names of things you can buy at the grocery that are safe. Pls Help.

[minnow]

Hi I was just diagnosed with Celiac. I have no idea what to take what to eat should I take supplements how long untill my abdominal symptoms leave and I feel more normal again? I feel lost and don't know where to start. thx

[Lisa]

Welcome to the Club! You have found yourself the best source of Celiac information around.

The best advise I can give you is to start simple. Simple meats, seafood, rice, potatoes, fresh veggies and fruits. Limit your seasonings to salt and pepper until you learn what you can expand upon. Wheat, barley, malt, rye and oats are your enemy.

Your old toaster, chopping block, and scratched pots and pans are subject to serious cross contamination as gluten can hide everywhere.

Anything that you can put in your mouth must be checked for gluten, including your shampoo and lip balm or lipsticks.

If this is overwhelming to you, it's because it is! The beginning is very difficult and the learning curve is steep. With the help of these good folks here, they can teach you everything you need to know. Questions are always welcome.

Recovery is different with every one. For a totally recovery, it took me a full two years, with initial improvement within a month or so. It also is correlated to the level of damage. Good health can be yours again with diligence with the gluten free diet. It will get better and you have come to a wonderful place.

[~alex~]

There's not much I can add to the great advice and information that Lisa posted. You may want to stay away from dairy products for awhile since damaged villi can lead to temporary lactose intolerance. It's not a problem for everybody but might be a good idea if you're still feeling sick on the gluten-free diet.

If you haven't already, you may want to get some blood tests to check for deficiencies like anemia, low B12, etc.

I definitely does get easier. I never thought it would become second nature, but it has!

[Lisa]

Here is a list of companies who will clearly list all gluten (as in wheat, rye, barley and malt):

Open Original Shared Link

Learning to read labels will be the key to your success. It does get easier.

[AndrewNYC]

Depending on how sick you've been you might, for the moment, consider doing something like the caveman diet (meat, vegetables, fruit) for a while, to allow your stomach to heal. newbies inevitably gluten themselves by accident and it slows down the healing process.

I am a 45 year old women who has just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Can anyone give me advice on what to do....what to eat, to buy, how to restructure my whole life and how I have done things? I need specific names of things you can buy at the grocery that are safe. Pls Help.

[MDRB]

Hi,

You have come to the right place for information. Have a browse through the posts here and have a look at some other sites. When I was diagnosed I cleared out my entire pantry of anything that contains gluten. I stopped eating most processed food and made everything from scratch. I eat the occasional gluten free corn cracker or chocolate biscuit, but other than that, I don't trust companies to list ingredients properly or to avoid cross contamination.

Try to eat foods that are easy to digest, at least until you heal, flax seed oil is really good for this.

Oh, if you live alone, buy a new toaster. If you live with others don't share the toaster!!!!!

Good luck and welcome