May Have Celiac

[melharris]

Hello - my name is Missy. I am totally new to this forum, and new to celiac. For the past week, I've been doing nothing but reading about this condition, hoping that it's not me, but realizing that it very well could be. Like most of you, I suspect, I have had many a test, including sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, and barium enema. They showed nothing, yet I have daily but not constant lower abdomen pain on both sides, and also gurgly stomach after eating. I also get bouts of weakness which I have earlier attributed to intake of artificial sweetners. Lactose intolerance has also made its way into my life in the past 2 or 3 years when I had no problem before that. I think I should try the gluten free diet, however, I am scared to death of it. I love to eat, and love to eat out. I plan on speaking with my gastroenterologist about the diet, but can anyone give me some ideas of what to order when eating out?? Is there anything to eat at an Applebee's or McDonalds, Arby's, etc? It is so overwhelming, I don't know where to start. I appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks for listening.

[lizard00]

Welcome to the forum!!

I love to eat too!!! And believe it or not, eliminating gluten has really opened up the foods that I eat. Which has really only made me even more of a foodie. I ate healthy before, but going gluten-free has really helped me to experiment with foods I may not have before, and my diet is much more diverse and healthy than before.

Honestly, there are only a few, and I mean few, places that I eat. Mcdo's has a gluten free list on their website, but at any restaurant, ESPECIALLY fast food, the risk of contamination is high. There are two places as of right now, that don't make me sick. Chipotle and Mimi's Cafe. There are a few big chains that have gluten-free menus, too. (outback, bonesfish, carrabas.... those are the ones that come to mind, but there are others)

My suggestion would be to decide how long is long enough to do the elimination before you try it again. I would suggest at least a month to 6 weeks, but that all depends on you. Then plan your first week, because that is the hardest. For me, after the week was over, things were much easier. I had gotten over the "OMG, what am I going to do without bread, or couscous?" and realized it wasn't nearly as bad as I initially thought. And I felt better too, which was a huge incentive to keep going.

Hope that helps a little!!! Stick around, someone else with chime in with other ideas. And if you have any other questions, I would be hard pressed to find better information elsewhere!!

[PeggyV]

I dont eat much fast food, but Wendys has food that is supposed to be gluten free. My favorite is Pei Wei or PF Changs. They both have a glutten free menu and I have had good luck. At least in Texas, I find that I have good luck with most Mexican food resturants. I generally stick to the beef, because I read somewhere that some chicken can have glutten added to it. You can always to salads with Oil & viniger. I love vegtables so that is my lunch alot.

[purple]

I dont eat much fast food, but Wendys has food that is supposed to be gluten free. My favorite is Pei Wei or PF Changs. They both have a glutten free menu and I have had good luck. At least in Texas, I find that I have good luck with most Mexican food resturants. I generally stick to the beef, because I read somewhere that some chicken can have glutten added to it. You can always to salads with Oil & viniger. I love vegtables so that is my lunch alot.

[lizard00]

I dont eat much fast food, but Wendys has food that is supposed to be gluten free. My favorite is Pei Wei or PF Changs. They both have a glutten free menu and I have had good luck. At least in Texas, I find that I have good luck with most Mexican food resturants. I generally stick to the beef, because I read somewhere that some chicken can have glutten added to it. You can always to salads with Oil & viniger. I love vegtables so that is my lunch alot.

Thanks for the reminder of Pf Changs/Pei Wei. I don't eat there much, but Pei Wei hasn't bothered me either. They have those YUMMY lettuce wraps.

[purple]

Hi, I am new at this computer/forum/celiac/gluten stuff, so sorry if I don't do this right! I read that Wendy's frostys, potatoes and chili are gluten-free but research it for yourself. My daughter doesn't have trouble at Panda Express nor Chapala's, if she orders corn tortillas. She is new at being Gluten-Free. She ate at a chinese place last night and her tummy hurt from it.