How Careful Must I Be?

[joyjoy]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the middle of waiting for my enterolabs results, but after being gluten-free for a year and slipping last nov, and then going gluten-free again and accidently eating some this week, it's pretty obvious to me that I have a problem with gluten.

I've been reading the boards and I see people talking about having separate pots and pans? I always thought that washing them would be enough? I mean, I use knives and cutting boards at home and at work that are used for things with gluten... so washing them out isnt good enough? Am I being exposed because things are baked in the kitchen with wheat flour? Is there a good guide for me to look to for direction? I thought I knew everything, but that info was new to me... now I'm scared because I'll never be in a gluten-free home and my family constantly leaves crumbs on the countertop. CONSTANTLY! How am I supposed to protect myself?

I'm also curious if there is a website to send to partners? I've been dating someone new and although I've tried to explain to him about celiac, he just doesn't understand. I felt bad after kissing his cheek one day when he used a new cream. He understands having to brush his teeth after eating if he wants to kiss me, but i'm not sure how careful he is. I'm sure he will be after this week since I'm going to have to cancel plans we had. I ate something by accident and I'm misearble, my whole body hurts, and well... you guys know...

he needs to realize that he's gonna have to make sure his lotions and lip stuff is ok... is there a website for that?

thank you all so much

[Adalaide]

This is all pretty new to me, but some things are just far too risky in my opinion. Sure, you can wash a cutting board but what about all those little cuts and grooves in it from the knives. What happens when your nonstick pans are scratched? All sorts of fun stuff can hide in there. Anything wooden is right out. As I understand it plastic is porous and can "absorb" gluten then contaminate your food. Just think what one of those disposable Ziploc type bowls looks like after you microwave some things in it, they end up permanently discolored and with all sorts of ridges and and pocks.

Maybe I overreacted when I bought a brand new set of stainless steel pots and pans but better that than to risk continuing being sick over some contamination. If I were constantly getting contaminated from not being careful enough I may as well be eating bread by the loaf. Okay, that may be extreme, but what good is it to go through all the effort we go through if you just end up getting gluten every single day from your cutting boards or pans or whatever else.

When it comes to your health is there such a thing as too careful? There are lots of posts in the products area of the forum that have a lot of useful information about lotions and such, just make sure you watch the date on it and always always check every bottle you buy every time you buy it. I was trolling around the internet today and saw that Neutragena Naturals line is entirely gluten free. I'm pitching all of my skin care products tomorrow after I go shopping and find replacements.

My husband and I live with his mother and her husband. Even if it weren't for them I doubt my husband would go entirely gluten free and I wouldn't ask him to. I am simply careful in the kitchen. There are my pots and pans, and the ones for everyone else. I have my own cupboard to keep my storage containers. I have my own shelf in the pantry to keep things that are mine. When it comes time to cook I get a fresh dishcloth and clean up all the counter tops and the sink. Sure it's a real pain but I want so desperately to be healthy again.

It's frustrating and difficult but everyone here has been so awesome at assuring me that it's all worth it. Accidents will happen, and when they do you may spend some time with that whole "hit by a bus" feeling. All we can do is keep on trying and being diligent. I look at it as learning to walk. First we crawl, eventually we walk but not without spending a lot of time falling down. Even after we can run we still stumble sometimes but we don't just park on our butts and say "oh hey, I fell so I'm never going to walk again." Focus on how much better you know you can feel, it's what helps me stay positive and focused on the hard days.

I'm sure someone with a ton more experience than me will be along shortly and have much more helpful information. Probably even links that I'm far too lazy and tired to go find since I wasn't smart enough to bookmark them.(((hugs))) You can do it!

[notme]

get your own toaster, too. and replace any wooden spoons, plastic utensils, etc - anything that is soft enough to be scratched because gluten will hang out in the cracks. stainless steel and glass seems to work fine tinfoil is your friend. ie: i still use my old pizza pans, i just cover them in foil. disclaimer: this works for me. it may not work for everybody.

lolz on the boyfriend - yeah, my husband has found out the hard way we can't cut corners when it comes to cross contamination. a few months ago (after being gluten-free over a year) i had to get after him because i was going crazy trying to figure out what zapped me and it turns out he made gluten soup in a pot and didn't scrub it with the brillo before he put it into the dishwasher. he had a very lonely week as i was in the bed, sick. alot of people have entirely gluten-free houses, but our daughter and her kids live with us right now, so we still have a mixed kitchen. i gotta watch everything: it is exhausting. after they move out in june, i am going to try to convince the hub that it would be waaayy easier if we had no gluten in the house. (except his beer - i already know i'm gonna lose the beer argument)

good luck!

[joyjoy]

darnit! I just lost my entire post

anywho thanks so much, that makes alot of sense.

so if stainless steel is ok, do i need to buy new pots? all our pots are stainless steel... I think I just need a new cutting board since all ours are plastic or wood.

I'm not sure if I even got a special one that no one would use it... my mother i'm sure has celiac, she has rheumatoid arthritis very bad and eats bread like its going out of style. she leaves her crumbs everywhere in the kitchen and makes a huge mess. she wont even consider eliminating wheat and the house is permeated with it.

Maybe I should just my own place and make it gluten-free!

[Adalaide]

  On 2/7/2012 at 5:02 PM, joyjoy said:

Maybe I should just my own place and make it gluten-free!

That's my plan when we're out of my MIL's house. Shhh.... don't tell my husband, he doesn't know yet.

[Poppi]

Your own gluten free home is definitely the easiest!

I am lucky because we have 2 kitchens. So the upstairs kitchen (My kitchen) is 100% gluten free. The downstairs kitchen is gluten central. Other than making a PBJ for the kids once in a while I don't cook anything down there and I definitely don't eat anything that came from down there. It's almost like a kosher house, we don't share pots, plates, cutlery or anything else between kitchens. This way not everyone has to be gluten-free with me.

As far as the pots? If you have stainless steel pots you are okay. I would give them an extra wash before you use them to be safe. Only use metal cutlery and spoons and such and if possible keep a safe sponge set aside for you to give everything a quick wash before you use it. Shared sponges can harbour all kinds of crumbs and such.

It's unlikely that kissing the boyfriend's cheek would make you sick to be honest - unless of course he is putting wheat germ oil on his face or using aveeno lotion. If you are that sensitive then you would need to be extraordinarily careful about everything else too. Possibly there was some other CC earlier in the day or maybe you just felt sick for a different reason. It's so easy for us to blame every single symptom on gluten. Everyone gets sick now and then from 1000 different sources, even us.

He does need to be aware of washing his face, brushing his teeth and washing his hands before you are intimate in any way. This should quickly just become second nature for both of you.

For lotion, my husband and I use Lubriderm and Vaseline Intensive Care lotions and Burt's Bees lip balm and that seems to be just fine.

[joyjoy]

oh good! I think it was Vaseline intensive care that he used that day so it must have been a fluke. he just bought a new one and I haven't inspected it yet lol

is there a post somewhere that has the hidden names of gluten? I've had a little this week by accident and I feel sooooo bad! I'm really going to have to crack down on things!

[kareng]

IN the US, in food, wheat must be clearly labelled. It cannot "hide". Rye is used in bread so its pretty obvious, Barley is listed as barley or malt. However, if it says "rice malt" that is made of rice. IF it just says malt, it likely is made of barley.