How Stringent?

[webagail]

Hello-

I am new here and have my appointment to recieve my endoscopy results on Monday. I have been trying to gather information and started reading posts. I have started to get overwhelmed! How stringent do I have to be? Do people really have reactions if they are just sharing a butter dish with guten friendly knives? Or do you really have to make your companions brush their teeth before kissing after lunch at a sandwich stand?

I don't have any other food allergies so the idea of being told what I can and can't eat is depressing enough but do I really have to change my ENTIRE lifetstyle?

Meag

[ravenwoodglass]

Unfortunately yes you do. Even if the biopsy results are negative you do need to give the diet a good strict try as there are a lot of false negatives. It will seem hard at first but you will get used to it and the difference in the way you feel will be well worth the trouble of the adjustment.

[tmbarke]

I was so upset at first.

WTF?!?

I was in a whole new world......like a new kid at school and when I went to a 'Harvest Health Food' store and asked..."what do you do with these? what are they used for?"

His reply was........."To put things in your MOUTH!"

I was furious and insulted!

I searched and bought a small basket of food for me to eat that nite and for a day or two.

40 bucks!

I decided to come to this forum and found out that you don't have to go to a 'special' store to eat!

Your stores are now adding gluten free products lists and labeling shelves too.

I eat pasta and sauce with meat and cheese (I make it)

I can make chili too (I'll soak my beans tho)

I can even have tacos!

It's just better choices.

Most items say gluten free now - but not all

Ask your grocery store for a list ... if they don't have one, ask them to create one.

It saved me so much time!

I went from 3-1/2 hours for a small cart of food (reading every label!)....to 1-1/2 hours by using the store brand gluten free list!

What a life saver!

It's not losing all of your favorites, just altering them to accommodate YOU!

And the fact that you'll start feeling so much better and notice how your body changes for the good is......PRICELESS!

Tena

[Shess0816]

Hello-

I am new here and have my appointment to recieve my endoscopy results on Monday. I have been trying to gather information and started reading posts. I have started to get overwhelmed! How stringent do I have to be? Do people really have reactions if they are just sharing a butter dish with guten friendly knives? Or do you really have to make your companions brush their teeth before kissing after lunch at a sandwich stand?

I don't have any other food allergies so the idea of being told what I can and can't eat is depressing enough but do I really have to change my ENTIRE lifetstyle?

Meag

Yes, you are going to have to be strict. Once you have been gluten free for a little while, you will be able to tell a difference. You'll start feeling better, have more energy, not feel as foggy. You do NOT want to revert back to where you were before starting the gluten free diet. I don't know what other people's experiences have been, but since going gluten free (March 2009) I actually have had much stronger reactions and felt sicker when I accidently had gluten than I did before starting the gluten free diet. It's just amazing how much better you can feel! As far as the butter issue goes, I made grilled cheese sandwiches the other day for me and the boyfriend (gluten free bread for me, of course). I started putting butter on his bread and then realized that I'd been double dipping in the butter container. I took a look and sure enough, tons of crumbs! All it takes is one little crumb of gluten to make you sick. And it's just not worth it! So, what I did, I immediately went and grabbed a permanent marker and wrote his name all over that container of butter and put "G" all over it too. Then I went downstairs and told him he had his own special butter container with his name on it. That way, I won't accidently grab the wrong butter container and end up glutening myself!

On the bright side, you do NOT have to change your entire lifestyle! It is definitely an adjustment, and I'm not going to lie, it is a little rough until you get kind of in a routine, but when you feel so much better, it's totally worth it!! You just have to make changes essentially to the brands of food you are eating. If you like pasta, GREAT, they make gluten free pastas and some of the mainstream pasta sauces are gluten free. If you like ice cream, go for it! Just don't get cookie dough or cookies and cream -- instead choose something like mint chocolate chip or pumpkin (my favorite!). If you like to eat sandwiches every day, feel free to do so! All you have to do is go to grab a loaf of gluten free bread (I'd recommend Udi's), your favorite gluten free lunch meat, and some cheese and enjoy! There are a lot of chips that are gluten free. They make gluten free pretzels, soups, tortillas, pizzas.... You just have to look a little harder, read more labels, and yes, it is a little more expensive.

The big thing, keep posting on this board. I just recently found all these wonderful people on here and it would have been SO MUCH EASIER if I could have posted some of my issues the first few months on here and received some advice! Good luck and enjoy feeling better!!

Sally

[ang1e0251]

This change must seem like a huge mountain that you see no way to surmount and no way over. But if you turn the mountain a few degrees you may notice a path up the side that you didn't see before. Turn to another angle and you notice a train that chugs through the mountain to the other side. Walk a little more around the mountain and you run into a guide who can help you navigate the mountains trickiest passes.

It is a big change but you can do it. There are tricks and guides and helpful reading and, of course, supportive friends like us who have been there before you. We're happy to help and to listen. You are not alone and the health benefits you'll soon be seeing will make it worth all the trouble.