Newb Here

[K Dog]

Hello all,

I recently found out that I have Celiacs Disease. I was worried at first because I had no idea what that was and thought right away that it was over. Well as you can imagine , i am relieved somewhat to know that the only thing that is over is my past eating life. I started this past saturday Gluten free and I am still trying to wrap my head around this disease, and I am slowly getting to understand it. It is a difficult thing to become gluten free over night as y'all know.

I am from central Wisconsin and have lived here for the past 2 years. For years I was misdiagnosed as Lactose intollerant. My wife and kids are being very supportive with the change in our lives, and I hope that I can return the favor 10 fold someday when they need me for more than a father and husband.

This website has been very helpfull and I hope y'all don't mind if I ask alot of questions.

Thank you and remeber, Life is good...

K Dog

[mushroom]

Hello all,

I recently found out that I have Celiacs Disease. I was worried at first because I had no idea what that was and thought right away that it was over. Well as you can imagine , i am relieved somewhat to know that the only thing that is over is my past eating life. I started this past saturday Gluten free and I am still trying to wrap my head around this disease, and I am slowly getting to understand it. It is a difficult thing to become gluten free over night as y'all know.

I am from central Wisconsin and have lived here for the past 2 years. For years I was misdiagnosed as Lactose intollerant. My wife and kids are being very supportive with the change in our lives, and I hope that I can return the favor 10 fold someday when they need me for more than a father and husband.

This website has been very helpfull and I hope y'all don't mind if I ask alot of questions.

Thank you and remeber, Life is good...

K Dog

Welcome to the forum, K Dog. I hope you will find this place to be a home away from home and it is certainly an excellent place to find answers to lots of questions. Our members have varying levels of knowledge about different things from genetics to testing results, with lots of personal experience of the kinds of things you are likely to encounter.

The first thing, as you obviously understand, is that we all make many mistakes at first. All we can do is educate ourselves and learn where to look for gluten. It most certainly is hidden in a lot of processed foods, it pops up in places we are least likely to expect it, like marmalade and ham (WIH, why is there gluten in these things??) and more obviously in sauces, in marinades (soy sauce, e.g.). It can be found in ice cream, but if you are lactose intolerant you will not be eating that anyway

The first thing that is hard is that you have to read every label, which means grocery shopping takes 2-3 times as long as it used to and you need good eyesight The second part is looking for gluten in all your personal care products and in your medications. Unfortunately, the FDA does not require pharmaceutical manufacturers to identify which products contain gluten, so you will have to ask your pharmacist or check with each drug company yourself whether or not their product contains gluten. I can honestly say the only times I have been glutened is from prescription medications. Many of our forum members take their cellphone shopping and dial the companies' 800 numbers to help determine whether or not a product is gluten free.

It is recommended by forum members to replace toasters,scratched teflon pans, wooden spoons, colanders, all kitchen utensils that cannot be completely free of gluten. If you are going to be having a shared kitchen, as it seems you will, you need a dedicated gluten-free working space that no gluten food touches and a gluten free corner of the refrigerator for your gluten-free items as well as your own utensils. Your family needs to be educated that these are no-go zones for them. And you will need your own jars of spread, jams, etc., that will not have any gluteny knives or spoons dipping into them because of the cross-contamination issue. Your family may think this is a bit extreme at first but you can educate them that this is necessary. While we are on the subject of family, since celiac is a genetically inherited disorder, it is recommended that all first degree relatives should be tested (this means yhour children should be tested too).

Good luck on your new gluten free lifestyle and feel free to pop back in with any question you may have. Our members are very obliging.

[K Dog]

Wow, so I guess my OCD will come in handy here with clean prep place...lol Is it safe to assume that beef ,pork and chicken prepared by me in my smoker as well as my grill will be gluten free? I dont use sauces on the meets, just salt and pepper. And Fish as well is Gluten free as long as it isnt coated in the junk from restaurants . I believe my oldest son has the same thing and I will adress that issue shortly with him.

Thanks for the usefull info. ( didnt think that vitamins and deo would have gluten in it ,but I now know I need to check everything that is associated with me )

[ranger]

Welcome K Dog,

Did you live anywhere near Madison? I moved here from Lake Kegonsa, which is just south of Madison.

Mushroom has given you a lot of good advice that I can't really add much to, but feel free to ask question, or just talk, or if you feel the need to vent, this is the place to be. There's always someone who can help you out.

Again, welcome.

Susan