How Long Did It Take You To Get The Diet Right?

[Shannonlass]

So I've been gluten free for about 11 weeks. Most times I feel I get the diet right but on occasion I know I've been glutened though I cannot always tell from where. So my question is how long do you feel it was before you had gotten to grips with the diet and were avoided getting glutened 99% of the time!

[kayo]

Mmmm, let's see.... gluten free for about 10 months and still coming to grips with it.

I'm at a point where 3-4 weeks will pass with no CC issues. I have a good handle on it at home but it's eating out and eating at other people's homes where the risks get me.

[MagpieWrites]

Ummm.... I'm at just about the one year mark and am finally thinking I'm okay with keeping things on an even beam - most of the time. Had a moment of moron this last week (two bags of oats in the cupboard - one gluten-free, one just Bob's Red Mill NOT gluten-free. Guess which one I grabbed, make cookies from, and ate? Yeah. That bag... is now at my inlaws house and with it - no more gluten anywhere in my home!) but beyond that? When I got the celiac diagnosis, I pretty much purged the house. Scrapped any suspect pans, picked up a new toaster, etc - so all I have to do is keep what comes in on the safe side and I don't have to worry about it all that much. I'm lucky that my NON-gluten-free husband decided to go gluten-free at home, so there isn't any worry about cc.

The biggest thing I've had to learn is to travel at all times with snacks. I keep dried fruit, cheese sticks, homemade crackers, etc in my purse at all time, along with a refillable water bottle. This keeps me from just grabbing things when I'm out that I "think" are gluten-free and lets me be sure.

Cross Contamination still happens occasionally, but all in all, I think I'm in a really healthy place at last.

[ciavyn]

Honestly, the only time you risk CC is when you eat out (unless you have a bag of gluteny oats hiding somewhere in the pantry...). If you've cleaned out your kitchen, regularly wipe down your counters and you are careful, you should be okay. Most of it is habit. Once you get used to eating this way, you simply do. It isn't as hard as it is in the beginning. For the most part, I have no issues, except a once in a while drive-by glutening at a restaurant.

[Skylark]

I had it down after a few months. A subscription to the Clan Thompson software really helped me learn. After five years of eating gluten-free I've become much more sensitive (or maybe my health has improved to the point that I notice a glutening more) and am having to learn all over again. Suddenly the "may be manufactured on equipment used to process wheat" line has become a concern where it wasn't before.

[Northern Celiac]

Hi, It took me 6 months to get it right. And then it was almost by accident that I got it right. I had real bad insomnia during the bad time as I call last yr. I was watching 30 minute meals and started cooking mediterranean style almost by accident. I make my own hummus and bake my own crackers. The meals I make are from scratch and the only thing I use that is packed is gluten-free pasta, tomatoes, and vegetables from a jar, when they aren't in season. Occasionally I will have a gluten-free pizza, or a glutino meal(pad thai) but not very often.

Rachel ray is right it doesn't take that long to make something from scratch.

[sandsurfgirl]

Do you think maybe you are just still healing? I would get symptoms when I knew I wasn't glutened because I had cooked all my food. I have a gluten free house too.

My kids were glutening me with their crumbs so they are on gluten free stuff in the home.

[dilettantesteph]

It depends on how sensitive you are. I'm very sensitive and it took me around 2 years. I still play Russian roulette every time I decide to try to add something new to my diet. The only way for me to tell if I can eat it is to give it a try. Just because some other celiac can eat it, does not mean I can!

[Shannonlass]

I am fairly confident our home is gluten free. I bring my own lunch to work and eat it on clean napkins to ensure I don't pick up crumbs from the tables. I do cook a lot of meals from scratch now. Have really gone back to basics. Only tonight I made chili con carne and it actually tasted really good. We eat out maybe once a week and so far I haven't gotten any severe glutenings. Normally we eat at reputable restaurants who understand the condition and are very willing to discuss the ingredients and cooking processes with me. I know lots of folk on this forum are extremely anti-buffets. I have eaten at them a few times and had no issues. (The chef has always come out and walked me through each dish's ingredients.) It will be interesting to see if I get more sensitive and cannot do buffets anymore. (They are really popular here in UAE!)

[Skylark]

Ah, buffet roulette. I've seen people pick up a serving spoon and serve themselves from two or three dishes before replacing it. A scoop of mac and cheese, and then a scoop of that rice you thought was safe with the same spoon. Then a scoop of gravy from the back of the table that they manage to drip on everything else on the way to the plate .

[buffettbride]

I'd say a year before I was completely confident with it and we were going months without a glutening. We're down to about 3-4 glutens a year *knock on wood* that are usually restaurant cross-contamination related. Pretty good considering we eat out several times a month.

We keep our house gluten-free, so other than the one time I bought the wrong kind of cookies, no issues at home at all.

The first few months there was a glutening about once a week--then once a month--and it tapered off from there. It's tricky to get the hang off, especially cross-contamination.

[Shannonlass]

Ah, buffet roulette. I've seen people pick up a serving spoon and serve themselves from two or three dishes before replacing it. A scoop of mac and cheese, and then a scoop of that rice you thought was safe with the same spoon. Then a scoop of gravy from the back of the table that they manage to drip on everything else on the way to the plate .

I'm not sure if it has to do with the establishments we eat at but I have never seen this happen. I have watched for it since I was diagnosed though because I had read the negative reaction towards them here. Buffets are a way of life here. They are a huge social outlet.

The buffet stations here are fairly large. There is a space between each dish. Each dish has it's own spoon that lives in a holder attached to it. Here the lids are always kept shut on the food so if you have your plate of food in one hand you have to put down the spoon before shutting the lid...if you get my drift! At our favourite buffet the bread is kept well away from all the food at another table which is good. I've been for about 4 buffets since I was diagnosed and I'm either totally insensitive to gluten or I have been very lucky. I've had no symptoms after them and have been monitoriing my body like a hawk as I was so paranoid

[Skylark]

That's totally different from buffets here. I'd not worry either if all the dishes were covered with their own spoons and all. How nice that you have that!