Family

[T.H.]

So how does your family react to your super-sensitivity? Supportive? Doubtful? Aggressive on your behalf or against you? What's been your experience?

And how do you deal with problems that crop up with this?

How do you deal with the limitations placed on you vs. what your family can do and experience?

[AVR1962]

For me, food allergies ran rampant in my family so we all are aware that this person can't have this or that which is nice in a way. However, of all the family I seemed to be doing the best and seemed to escape the allergies and then it hit me like a ton of bricks all at once and then was worse than everyone else, and that I think my whole family (including me) is still kind of boggled by.

My husband is very very forgetful and thinks I can just anything or anywhere but he is getting it. It's been slow for him too, we have been married 19 years.

My limitations seem more with friends and being invited to their house for a meal, or going out for a meal. I used to not say anything but now I talk about it and I have been able to inform several of my friends of what I am dealing with. They understand and it helps.

[Roda]

I wouldn't call myself a super sensitive..YET! However I am finding I am becoming more sensitive to lower levels than previous. As far as my immediate family, everyone is supportive. Myself and both my boys are gluten free. I am finding that my youngest(who is celiac) is getting more sensitive to low levels of CC also. Older son(non celiac gluten intolerent)I "think" is a lot less sensitive than his brother and I and it appears he can tolerate gluten free products that may or do have gluten free oat CC. His brother and I don't tolerate those things at all. Hubby is pretty supportive. I know at times he gets anoyed because of the inconvenience, but it is not directed toward anyone. Luckily he doesn't care if we go out to eat often. We were pretty much home bodies to begin with. When we do go places I always pack a cooler with food for everyone. I haven't turned down many social invites, but then again, we didn't get many before. We have a few friends that we go to their house and they understand. We don't travel much, only to my parent's and inlaw's houses, so that hasn't been an issue. We do like camping and to make it easier, we make things up ahead of time or eat safe things out of a can. Not great food, but hey, we are camping and don't want to drag everything with us. I tend to invite people to my home for dinner more now because I know I can safely eat. Hubby and I got an invite 1st weekend in Nov. to a pig roast. We accepted the invite even though my hubby will be the only one eating. I'll pack something similar for the boys and I. I don't want to give anyone the impression I can't do something because of celiac. We will go and have a good 'ol country time visiting with everyone. It does take more planning than in the past and the spontaneity is gone.

[Di2011]

My mum has had a big turn around in her attitude. A few months ago she said my issues weren't serious enough to be celiac. I got so sick of it that I eventually bit the bullet and showed her the worst of DH and scars. Mine has been head to knees and my knees, thighs and upper arms are plain awful looking ((still healing & scarred)). I also made a point of telling her way more than she needed to know about my digestion system!!

Now she drops by with gluten-free products she spends hours shopping around for! She even admitted to me that she has started cutting down on the wheat products and she is looking better for it.

[AVR1962]

My mum has had a big turn around in her attitude. A few months ago she said my issues weren't serious enough to be celiac. I got so sick of it that I eventually bit the bullet and showed her the worst of DH and scars. Mine has been head to knees and my knees, thighs and upper arms are plain awful looking ((still healing & scarred)). I also made a point of telling her way more than she needed to know about my digestion system!!

Now she drops by with gluten-free products she spends hours shopping around for! She even admitted to me that she has started cutting down on the wheat products and she is looking better for it.

I am glad to hear this! I think sometimes we shelter our friends and family from what we don't want them to know about us, or be concerned about, and then we don't understand that they don't know more. This is something I had to realize and I had to learn to open up more about what I was dealing with and what I was going thru to help others understand. It is very confusing for ourselves, let alone someone else. Good for you showing your mom your DH issues and as hard as it maybe to to talk about, maybe your mom has a better understanding what you have been thru now.

[dilettantesteph]

It's interesting how they start off not believing it, and then they end up gluten free themselves. They find out that they had been very sick without realizing it. My dad had always had D problems, and so had his dad. When I got them, it seemed like some inherited thing, which it was. We just didn't know that it could go away.

It's funny how you don't want to give things up. Then, when you do, you realize that giving these things up is nothing compared to how much better it makes you feel.

Many of us have been sick a long time trying various things to treat it. We can tell before there are outward indications that this time we have finally figured it out. When it becomes obvious to others they become more supportive.

[lizard00]

I'm pretty much a PIA when I've been glutened, so my family is pretty protective over me!

Seriously though, they really are protective. They saw me when I was at my sickest and know the real effects of gluten on me. On top of which I have the genetics on both sides of my family, so a couple of my other family members are gluten-free also. And they all know that a crumb will make me sick. I consider myself very blessed!

[Di2011]

And my son (9y/o) checks labels when we go to the store and encourages me not to itch too much!!! He is my biggest champion. I think he can see how much less I need to sleep, I'm not nearly so lethargic or grumpy and he sees I itch less since going gluten-free - so it is quite obvious to him that he prefers 'this' mum around

A friend of mine baked a gluten-free orange cake to bring to a gathering of school fete organisers!! It was still warm and yum-o. I've been very tentative and adverse to anything that looked baked, pasta-like etc but it was such a nice thought I couldn't resist. ((Even better that I had no effects from eating it!!))