Just Diagnosed

[ellenk1989]

Hi!

I recently got diagnosed with Celiac Disease. It has been a tough road. I had stomachaches so severe I thought I was going to die. My question for those who have had this a long time, does it get easier to handle? I am just 21 years old and like its so hard to go out because I am still not sure of what is "safe" or "unsafe". So far, I have completely eliminated gluten products and all dairy products but I still slip up like today, I ate at McDonalds and apparently their sweet and sour sauce has wheat.....BIG MISTAKE not reading the label. My other question: are there any restaurants that should def be avoided?

[ravenwoodglass]

Welcome to the board. It will get easier in time. McDonalds is one of the restaurants that you should be avoiding. In fact it is best to avoid restaurants all together for a bit unless they have a gluten free menu and even then it can be risky. You want to go with as much whole unprocessed food as you possibly can. You could so a search by naming the restaurant and putting the words gluten free in the search bar. If they have a gluten free menu you should find a link to it when the results come up. I know PF Changs has one and I think Outback does also. Since more of us are being diagnosed more restautants are getting the hang of how to feed us safely. There is a lot to learn about being gluten free. Read as much here as you can and post any questions you need to.

If you go to the home page here you will find a link to a list of safe and unsafe ingredients that may help a bit.

[Emilushka]

I've been diagnosed for only a month but I've been finding it easier and easier every day. The easiest thing I've found is to focus on what you CAN eat instead of what you CAN'T. It takes a lot of cooking, but even with just a toaster oven, microwave, and rice cooker you can make a lot of different things that will be gluten-free.

You can totally do this. It's a challenge and you really have to read EVERY label (wheat is SO SNEAKY), but you can totally do this.

[Reba32]

Personally, I would avoid all fast food places entirely. They're not really set up for gluten free preparation (except a couple of pizza chains in Canada now, not sure about the US). I also stear clear of all buffets, and breakfast/pancake places (Denny's, IHOP, etc). Yes, they have gluten free options but it's all cooked on the same griddle, and for some odd reason they add pancake batter to their scrambled eggs and omlettes, so what you would think should be gluten free, really isn't.

For sit-down type restaurants either check their on-line menu or call before you go to find out if they can accomodate you. Don't just look for naturally gluten free options, but *ask* them if their preparation area/cooking area is also gluten free. And ask about "hidden" ingredients. Chicken may sound safe, but strangely some manufacturers inject whole chickens with wheat to plump it up, and some restaurants may use a dry rub with wheat flour on chicken, pork and beef.

I have had really good luck with restaurants, just by being very direct with the server. Tell them you cannot have any gluten containing products even touch your food. Be specific, most servers (and even most "chefs") won't know what gluten is. Tell them wheat, barley, rye, and oats and ask them to check the labels on everything that goes in or on. If you're ordering a steak, ask them how it will be prepared, and if anything else is cooked on the grill or cut on the surface that contains gluten. And get steamed veggies, not fries. Most fryers in restaurants are shared with the chicken fingers and fish fingers so the oil will be full of painful gluteny stuff.

It's better to call ahead, but in the real world, you can't always do this. Spontenaity happens. If there's nothing on the menu you can eat, find somewhere else to go.

I went out for lunch with a bunch of family one day at the local slots casino. I asked about the rotisseri chicken and the salad. The server went to the kitchen to ask the chef, and I was told that though both options are gluten free, their kitchen is not, so there is risk of cross contamination. However, because they were not the least bit busy, the chef was willing to scrub down the counter to prepare my meal for me. Had they been busy, I would have had to go hungry while I watched my Mum, Aunt & cousins eat.

I know in future to not eat there, because the chances of the same understanding chef being there, and not busy are slim.