Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Its That Time Again...Sales Meeting

jasonD2

By jasonD2
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

jasonD2 Experienced
jasonD2
Posted

Got my company sales meeting in a few weeks. Lunch will be brought in and there will be group dinners at night..restaurants unspecified. For lunch I probly wont eat or just bring some protein bars, but what if the dinners are at restaurants that are not celiac friendly? I will be sitting at a large table with all of my co-workers and dont wanna seem weird...and I must be at these dinners.

Coping with the social aspect is still a huge problem of mine

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


momtopa Rookie
momtopa
Posted

Got my company sales meeting in a few weeks. Lunch will be brought in and there will be group dinners at night..restaurants unspecified. For lunch I probly wont eat or just bring some protein bars, but what if the dinners are at restaurants that are not celiac friendly? I will be sitting at a large table with all of my co-workers and dont wanna seem weird...and I must be at these dinners.

Coping with the social aspect is still a huge problem of mine

I'm not going to be much help here, unfortunately. In fact I avoided work today because I knew our managers were serving lunch to everyone and I didn't want to stand out. I normally work at home every other day and today was my day to be home anyway, so I lucked out there. Sounds like you don't have much of a choice, though, huh? Is there any way you can call the restaurants ahead of time and explain the situation so they can be ready for you when you get there? Good luck to you! How are you doing otherwise?

Janessa Rookie
Janessa
Posted

do you have time to go home between work and dinner? You can have dinner then meet everyone at the restaurant and have salad or steamed veggies. You can also excuse yourself and speak to your waiter away from the table if you don't want attention on yourself.

JNBunnie1 Community Regular
JNBunnie1
Posted

Unless your coworkers are Wheat Association of America employees, they probably won't think you're weird. Just call ahead and tell them you need naked chicken and green beans and when you get there tell them you're the naked food dude.

Reba32 Rookie
Reba32
Posted

speak to the organizer ahead of time and make arrangements for edible food for you to be brought in at lunch, and pick restaurants that will have at least a couple of choices for you. Don't starve yourself just because you're to shy to tell people you have a food caused disease! That's just rediculous. If you had diabetes would you be too shy to say you can't eat a bowl full of sugar?

SGWhiskers Collaborator
SGWhiskers
Posted

OK, what you SHOULD do is call ahead to the chef at 2:00-4:00 in the afternoon that day and explain your order of plain steak, veggies, and baked potato. Request that he make your dinner and deliver it discretely and emphasize the allergy part. Then when you get to dinner, try to sit at the corner of a table so you can catch your waitress or get up more easily. Discretely tell her you have food allergies and that the chef will be making your dinner for you.

If you see an impending disasterous restaraunt on the schedule, I would see if you can talk the head cook or manager into allowing for a dish to be delivered from someplace safe. They will be wanting the business from all the other sales people, so will be more willing to accomodate one person with allergies. I would figure the closest safe place to your work and have them on standby all week for a pick up from you. Hmmm. Maybe even talk a bus boy into delivery for a good tip to the office for lunch with a second meal you can have cold for dinner at a risky restaraunt if necessary. Our Outback has takeout.

The people at the sales meetings won't be concerned about your food looking different or arriving in a take out tray from another restaraunt/home. Just slide the meal from the take out tray onto your plate and move on. If you get a look or a question, simply state "food allergies" and if they remain curious, state "I'm not going to bore you with the story" then ask them a direct sales question. Shift the conversation back to them. Even if it is asking about their lovely wife, their last vacation, their marketing projections, or their view of the presentations that afternoon. Something so that they have to think and answer in a paragraph and it will get their mind off your food.

If they press you with questions, tell them "Ask me again after dinner. Right now, I want to learn more about your company."

If you had a cast on your arm, people would ask what happened. For us, eating out gathers the same type of questions. In more formal situations, I try to keep the answers brief. If I get the sense people might think I'm wacko, I mention blood tests and doctor wants me to be strict with my precations. Curiosity is natural when something looks different. It is your response to that curosity that will make the difference in how you are viewed. With a cast, everyone would expect you to share that you fell on ice and then eat with your other hand, but no one would want to listen to 30 minutes of accident, ER, and itchy cast stories.

I really do feel for you Jason. You are in a tough situation and have learned to gracefully handle this.

StacyA Enthusiast
StacyA
Posted

I had a company dinner that I was NOT looking forward to, but I called ahead, and ordered a naked steak and baked potato and it was good and I felt okay afterwards. There is life after gluten-free.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

I'm just diagnosed. My 13 year old son asked today "Have you told anyone? Is this a secret?" I said it it not a secret because it is nothing to be ashamed of. However, I don't like to make a big deal or cause others a lot of extra work. If the people around you ask why your eating that or not eating, I think a brief "food Allergies" & if they want to know more "That's boring, lets talk about something else".

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,904
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    AnneSN
    Newest Member
    AnneSN
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Xravith
      Taking Probiotics but Still Getting Sick After Gluten – Advice?

      By Xravith · Posted

      Yes, you are right. Indeed, I’ve been feeling anemic since the beginning of this week, and today I felt horrible during a lecture at the university, I was trembling a lot and felt all my body incredibly heavy, so I had to come back home. I’ll do a blood test tomorrow, but I’m just worried about the possibility of it coming back negative. I’ve been eating two cookies in the morning as my only source of gluten over the past two weeks—could that affect the final result?
    • trents
      New (possible) celiac diagnosis

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @Judy M! Yes, he definitely needs to continue eating gluten until the day of the endoscopy. Not sure why the GI doc advised otherwise but it was a bum steer.  Celiac disease has a genetic component but also an "epigenetic" component. Let me explain. There are two main genes that have been identified as providing the "potential" to develop "active" celiac disease. We know them as HLA-DQ 2.5 (aka, HLA-DQ 2) and HLA-DQ8. Without one or both of these genes it is highly unlikely that a person will develop celiac disease at some point in their life. About 40% of the general population carry one or both of these two genes but only about 1% of the population develops active celiac disease. Thus, possessing the genetic potential for celiac disease is far less than deterministic. Most who have the potential never develop the disease. In order for the potential to develop celiac disease to turn into active celiac disease, some triggering stress event or events must "turn on" the latent genes. This triggering stress event can be a viral infection, some other medical event, or even prolonged psychological/emotional trauma. This part of the equation is difficult to quantify but this is the epigenetic dimension of the disease. Epigenetics has to do with the influence that environmental factors and things not coded into the DNA itself have to do in "turning on" susceptible genes. And this is why celiac disease can develop at any stage of life. Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition (not a food allergy) that causes inflammation in the lining of the small bowel. The ingestion of gluten causes the body to attack the cells of this lining which, over time, damages and destroys them, impairing the body's ability to absorb nutrients since this is the part of the intestinal track responsible for nutrient absorption and also causing numerous other food sensitivities such as dairy/lactose intolerance. There is another gluten-related disorder known as NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity or just, "gluten sensitivity") that is not autoimmune in nature and which does not damage the small bowel lining. However, NCGS shares many of the same symptoms with celiac disease such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea. It is also much more common than celiac disease. There is no test for NCGS so, because they share common symptoms, celiac disease must first be ruled out through formal testing for celiac disease. This is where your husband is right now. It should also be said that some experts believe NCGS can transition into celiac disease. I hope this helps.
    • Judy M
      New (possible) celiac diagnosis

      By Judy M · Posted

      My husband has had lactose intolerance for his entire life (he's 68 yo).  So, he's used to gastro issues. But for the past year he's been experiencing bouts of diarrhea that last for hours.  He finally went to his gastroenterologist ... several blood tests ruled out other maladies, but his celiac results are suspect.  He is scheduled for an endoscopy and colonoscopy in 2 weeks.  He was told to eat "gluten free" until the tests!!!  I, and he know nothing about this "diet" much less how to navigate his in daily life!! The more I read, the more my head is spinning.  So I guess I have 2 questions.  First, I read on this website that prior to testing, eat gluten so as not to compromise the testing!  Is that true? His primary care doctor told him to eat gluten free prior to testing!  I'm so confused.  Second, I read that celiac disease is genetic or caused by other ways such as surgery.  No family history but Gall bladder removal 7 years ago, maybe?  But how in God's name does something like this crop up and now is so awful he can't go a day without worrying.  He still works in Manhattan and considers himself lucky if he gets there without incident!  Advice from those who know would be appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • Scott Adams
      Patiently Waiting to See Results

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      You've done an excellent job of meticulously tracking the rash's unpredictable behavior, from its symmetrical spread and stubborn scabbing to the potential triggers you've identified, like the asthma medication and dietary changes. It's particularly telling that the rash seems to flare with wheat consumption, even though your initial blood test was negative—as you've noted, being off wheat before a test can sometimes lead to a false negative, and your description of the other symptoms—joint pain, brain fog, stomach issues—is very compelling. The symmetry of the rash is a crucial detail that often points toward an internal cause, such as an autoimmune response or a systemic reaction, rather than just an external irritant like a plant or mites. I hope your doctor tomorrow takes the time to listen carefully to all of this evidence you've gathered and works with you to find some real answers and effective relief. Don't be discouraged if the rash fluctuates; your detailed history is the most valuable tool you have for getting an accurate diagnosis.
    • Scott Adams
      Gluten free beer ?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      In this case the beer is excellent, but for those who are super sensitive it is likely better to go the full gluten-free beer route. Lakefront Brewery (another sponsor!) has good gluten-free beer made without any gluten ingredients.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.