I Feel Like The Only Guy Who Cant Eat Gluten

[jasonD2]

Seriously, every single person i meet or hear about w/ a gluten intolerance is female. I feel like the only guy who has it...why?

[mushroom]

Could just be that women are generally more in tune with their bodies and more likely to explore and accept that they have things wrong with them.

[psawyer]

You must just have a knack for meeting women. :

It is estimated that the prevalence of celiac disease is equally divided among males and females, but that many more females are actually diagnosed. Given the difficulty in getting a correct diagnosis, persistence is often required. A woman is much more likely to keep pushing and going to the doctor to get the real answer. A man is much more likely to accept IBS as a diagnosis (it isn't) and continue washing his pizza down with beer.

Of the members of this board who indicate gender in their profile, 24% are male.

I'm a guy with celiac disease. The board owner and two of my fellow moderators are men with celiac disease.

[shopgirl]

I also think women are more likely to join a forum to discuss their issues than men. Unfortunately.

There's nothing girly about gluten intolerance.

[ravenwoodglass]

Yea in my family it was 2 and 2. The men in my family would never likely join a support group for anything. There are plenty of celiac guys out there but some are 'in the closet' so to speak. A lot of guys wouldn't want people to know for whatever reason. It is like they taught us in one CPR class I took... We were asked what the most common thing was for a man to do who was in a restaurant and thought he was having a heart attack. The answer was he would go to the rest room where he would die all by himself. Whereas a woman would be more likely to ask for help.

[quincy]

Seriously, every single person i meet or hear about w/ a gluten intolerance is female. I feel like the only guy who has it...why?

That's an interesting point, though I am a male with Celiac. I go to a celiac support group in New Jersey and

there are a good number of men there, though definitely outnumbered by the females. Part of the danger for guys is that they will ignore their symptoms for many years until it gets to the point where they have no choice. I did not do that myself, and to top it off, my GP kept telling me the discomfort under my ribs was a pulled muscle from working out... so lame. SO you are not alone!

[lynnelise]

I think men are more likely to trust what the doctor tells them. Plus, I know in my experience the men I know go to the doctor much less often than women. My husband only goes to urgent care clinics when he thinks he has bronchitis and my dad was 70 before he started seeing a doctor for check-ups.

My husband was sick for a week once with a blocked bile duct before he finally went to the hospital. He had gone to a regular doctor when the pain started and was told it was acid reflux. I kept urging him to see someone else because it was obvious it wasn't acid reflux...but he didn't seek help until he was doubled over in pain, turning yellow, and his urine was bright red.

[Dixiebell]

My stepfather may not have known, for a while, about his high blood pressure. He went to the eye Dr. and they checked his BP and it was high. He told him he needed to get to the hospital but would not let him just leave until my mom came to get him. I don't think my biological father even has a Dr. So yes, I agree that a lot of men just ignore symptoms and don't go to the Dr. and if they do, they believe everything the Dr. says and do no further research for themselves.

[mushroom]

So yes, I agree that a lot of men just ignore symptoms and don't go to the Dr. and if they do, they believe everything the Dr. says and do no further research for themselves.

So maybe the docs think, oh no, not another female patient All these head-case, know-it-all wimmen Men are much easier to deal with.

[GFinDC]

... All these head-case, know-it-all wimmen Men are much easier to deal with.

Well shoot, don't we all know that's true! Har de har, just kidding!

I am male too, and and I do agree it seems like their are women "out there" as it were, for whatever reason. I figure maybe women are more social than men, kind of like cats you know. So more likely to get involved in groups and organizations and letting it all hang out.

I wouldn't be surprised if more of the "undiagnosed" are men than women too.

[mushroom]

I figure maybe women are more social than men, kind of like cats you know. So more likely to get involved in groups and organizations and letting it all hang out.

Yes, but have you ever tried to herd them??

[Igg postive]

It

[lynnelise]

Another thing I've noticed is that guys don't seem to find bodily functions to be as embarrassing as women do. At various workplaces I've been they seem almost proud to wreak havoc in the restroom. The women I know would like it to be thought that they only go to the restroom to check their reflection and touch up their make-up! So I guess when women have symptoms that cause them embarrassing bathroom trips they want to get it diagnosed and fixed pronto!

[GF BRO]

I have never met anyone in person who has Celiacs that is a guy. But I agree with what people are saying. I know a lot of my friends have stomach issues but would rather just grin and bear it then have to deal with going to a doctor. To be honest, I was the same way until the pain just got to tough to deal with. Sucks to feel like there are fewer guys to relate to with the disease, but I think more and more males will be diagnosed in coming years.

[Fire Fairy]

My brother never went to the Doctor as an adult until he started feeling really bad. When he finally went the Dr checked his blood. His blood sugar was so high the Dr wanted him to go straight to the emergency room! That was 10 years ago and he was diagnosed type 1 diabetic. He is the only type 1 diabetic in my entire family. I strongly suspect he has undiagnosed Celiac disease. He's gone to the ER three times with DKA. The family had to force him to go all three times.

[Menic]

I'm a man in his early thirties, and I put up with my undiagnosed condition until my wife forced me to see a specialist after being sick on and off for over a month. I think men will generally go to the doctor if they get injured or are seriously ill, but since some symptoms can be "put up with" they don't bother, especially if they have been wrongly diagnosed in the past. Eight years before my diagnosis I was told that I had IBS and to watch what I ate, some help there. There's probably some combination of the feeling of futility and just plain old stubbornness.

[kbracing]

I just found out i have celiac and i am to a guy. it sucks because all the foods and sweets you like to eat you cant. the gluten free cookies,cakes,etc are just down right horrible. its hard to deal with. but i think more and more males out there are starting to find our more and more they have celiacs. so your not alone

[gramma elaine]

I have two granddaughters with Celiac. One is almost 8 and has been on a gluten free for about a year and a half. Her little sister 23 months has been gluten free for about 2 weeks. All the other people we have met with Celiac are also female, I also think it would take longer for a male to be diagnosed because most of the men I know don't seek medical help until their really sick. My younger brother hasn't been to a doctor for 15 years.(were all nagging him to go for a check-up.

[gramma elaine]

k bracing. I hope you like to cook and bake. Home made things are much better. It takes awhile to get the hang of it but is well worth the effort.

[JonnyD]

Jumping on this late... sorry.

I'm a guy and turn 37 this weekend and just found out that I have Celiacs two weeks ago. The chronic constipation was finally too much. The doc I initially saw told me to eat more veggies and whole grains and less cheese. I insisted on the celiac panel and wasn't surprised when the test came back positive. The signs and symptoms are very clear in hindsight but I'd of never put it all together. My brother was diagnosed a year ago and was very persistent in finding out what was wrong. We've always teased him as being the 'whiner in the family'.

So, yeah, guys generally do just deal with it. I did for too long.

Jonny

[Meatballman]

Another guy here. Diagnosed at 41. Hardest thing for me as a guy with Celiac is not being able to have a cold PBR. Gluten free beer is horrible .

[JonnyD]

Another guy here. Diagnosed at 41. Hardest thing for me as a guy with Celiac is not being able to have a cold PBR. Gluten free beer is horrible .

I hear you on the beer front. My older brother (who I suspect has it too) was shocked when I told him I had celiac along with our younger brother. When I told him it meant no more beer, he responded with, "(Expletive)! There's no way I'm getting tested then!"

[quincy]

I hear you on the beer front. My older brother (who I suspect has it too) was shocked when I told him I had celiac along with our younger brother. When I told him it meant no more beer, he responded with, "(Expletive)! There's no way I'm getting tested then!"

RedBridge isn't bad as far as gluten-free beers go. My brother and 2 sisters refuse to get tested even though I was dx'd in April and they all have various symptoms. My older brother passed away from Type 1 Diabetes and I strongly believe now that he was an undiagnosed celiac. My younger brother has had unexplained seizures since a child. The doctors just declared that he had epilepsy without ever finding the area in his brain that was causing the problems. I have sent them so much info and they STILL refuse to get tested so go figure.

oh and btw, I was always labeled the whiner too. I was always sick as a kid, now I know why... thanks for the thread.

[celiac-scott]

In my case, it's embarrassment. Rational Me knows this disease is not a reason to be embarrassed.. people don't choose their diseases, etc etc... but when I see guys gulping down their beer and eating their 1200 calorie burgers, it makes me feel really inferior.. how can I possibly order a salad, pull out my own bottle of dressing and not feel weird about it?

Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but before you were diagnosed, or maybe before you had even heard of Celiac, try picturing the above (salad with own dressing) and how you would react if you saw a man vs. woman doing it in a restaurant.

I'm ashamed to admit this, but if I had seen the woman, I would've thought

- trying to maintain weight

- trying to maintain clear complexion

- trying to be healthy

For a man in the exact same situation, I would've thought

- what the f is wrong with him?

- let's get him in the parking lot (okay, exaggerating a bit on this one to make a point)

[ravenwoodglass]

In my case, it's embarrassment. Rational Me knows this disease is not a reason to be embarrassed.. people don't choose their diseases, etc etc... but when I see guys gulping down their beer and eating their 1200 calorie burgers, it makes me feel really inferior.. how can I possibly order a salad, pull out my own bottle of dressing and not feel weird about it?

Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but before you were diagnosed, or maybe before you had even heard of Celiac, try picturing the above (salad with own dressing) and how you would react if you saw a man vs. woman doing it in a restaurant.

I'm ashamed to admit this, but if I had seen the woman, I would've thought

- trying to maintain weight

- trying to maintain clear complexion

- trying to be healthy

For a man in the exact same situation, I would've thought

- what the f is wrong with him?

- let's get him in the parking lot (okay, exaggerating a bit on this one to make a point)

Instead of a just a salad what the men in my family do is simply ask for a steak cooked in a clean pan and a baked potato. They tell the waitress they have a food allergy and will season it themselves at the table. Nothing wimpy about a steak.