The Most Annoying Thing About Celiac Is...

[love2travel]

Although I love murder mysteries, I dislike being a detective when it comes to eating out. I have yet to attend a social function such as a church potluck or wedding since my diagnosis this year. My husband and I get invited out less often; in fact, rarely.

I do not like drawing attention to myself in restaurants when questioning the server and/or chef (though I always call ahead). But I still do it because I must. As I have severe chronic pain, I always carry around my lumbar support so I feel like a sickly chick with my celiac, lumbar support and having to get up and walk around several times during the course of dinner. I do not want it to be my identity from others' perspectives. There is far more to me than celiac disease!

[beebs]

Oh god - I am with you love2travel. I hate hate drawing attention to myself when eating out. I hate being "the gluten free one" hate, hate, hate!

[Ellie84]

Agree with Glutendude: it takes all the spontaniety out Also, I'm in constant fear of being glutened because my symptoms are so severe.

[Glutin-Free Man]

I do have another pet peeve actually.

I would like to go to the store and buy some gluten free cookies/bread/cereal/cake mix/snacks/frozen meals. Not gluten free, corn free, dairy free, egg free, organic, vegan, fat free, peanut free, seed free and fair trade.

It's not that any of those other things are bad but I get annoyed when all the "special diet/allergy" groups are lumped together into one really expensive and substandard product.

I like eggs and dairy and nuts and meat and fat in my food.

Same goes for cookbooks.

I get that. I used to feel the same way.

Now I'm gluten-free, AND dairy-free, AND nightshade-free, (and probably xanthum gum-free). I know people who are gluten-free, dairy-free, and corn-free.

Note that none of this is by choice.

It's actually nice to be able to eat some things they sell at the supermarket.

(although nightshade-free means I can't eat most of the gluten-free products that are on the shelves, as most of them contain potato starch.)

[MenHen]

Traveling and spontaneity for sure. I have not done much long distance travel yet, but I am nervous about that. I hate all the planning and packing I have to do to go on short trips to like my dad's house.

I also do not like being the center of attention at all. All the questions and being singled out is not fun at all to me.

[love2travel]

Oh god - I am with you love2travel. I hate hate drawing attention to myself when eating out. I hate being "the gluten free one" hate, hate, hate!

I know - it can be annoying and frustrating at times. And some servers are excellent at making me feel "normal" by discreetly offering house-made gluten-free breads for bread service, for example, without drawing unnecessary attention. Others make such a big deal out of it which attracts attention I do NOT want.

[tennisman]

All the extra health problems

[gfpirate]

Hey there, I'm new to this site, but have been gluten-free for 8 months now:)

I'd have to say the most annoying thing about Celiac is everyone else's cluelessness! For some reason, it always bothers me when I go to a restaurant and the waitstaff has no idea what I'm talking about when I ask about gluten free options. But I know that this is a double standard, because before I was diagnosed, I wouldn't have known what gluten is either. However, I do believe it is important for waitstaff to know about common food allergies. I am servsfe certified myself, and throughout the course we learned about all the major allergies and how to avoid CC. I know it is more or less of a lie, but I usually just say I have wheat allergy, because it is easier than to describe Celiac disease. I've noticed that people tend to take allergies more seriously than a disease they've never heard of, even though it's probably the opposite!

[curlyfries]

Knowing that my Mom was never Diagnosed with Celiac...

Me too....sadly.

[curlyfries]

All the extra health problems

.....and the other food intolerances that appear.

....and having to prepare every meal. Before gluten free, I had reached a point in my life where I had decided that I was tired of cooking. Kids are grown....I'm just going to slack off. Oh well....I probably would've been eating a lot of processed food. I am eating much healthier this way.