Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Things People Say To Celiacs

researchmomma

By researchmomma
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

Rachel85 Rookie
Rachel85
Posted

I think my best one to date has to be when I went to my friend's house, she was cooking dinner for a group of us and they all know I can't eat gluten. The dinner was lovely (I helped her work out what I could and couldn't have, and prepared it with her to be on the safe side) but when it came to dessert...that was another matter. She'd asked us what our favourite desserts were and had made mine, but as she was bringing it out said "oh yeah so I was going to make a gluten free version for you...but then I couldn't be bothered, so you can just watch us eat ours!!"

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

She'd asked us what our favourite desserts were and had made mine, but as she was bringing it out said "oh yeah so I was going to make a gluten free version for you...but then I couldn't be bothered, so you can just watch us eat ours!!"

:o

that's just wrong.

damn, just when I thought she "got it"....with the dinner prep and all. Sorry, hunny!

um, did anyone else at the table find that at all offensive? just wondering.

Rachel85 Rookie
Rachel85
Posted

um, did anyone else at the table find that at all offensive? just wondering.

Sadly no. While my boyfriend has been wonderfully supportive and understanding, my friends all think I'm over-reacting "with this whole er....food thing". Also, a friend's partner has celiac and is so relaxed about it (gluten evidently doesn't make him feel like he's dying), eating gluten whenever he fancies it, so that doesn't help!!

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

Sadly no. While my boyfriend has been wonderfully supportive and understanding, my friends all think I'm over-reacting "with this whole er....food thing". Also, a friend's partner has celiac and is so relaxed about it (gluten evidently doesn't make him feel like he's dying), eating gluten whenever he fancies it, so that doesn't help!!

That is a shame, ignoring a celiac DX like that. Even if he doesn't feel the damage, it is happening nonetheless. He is just a ticking time bomb. :ph34r:

Steel yourself against stupidity and unkindness--and look into your boyfriend's loving eyes whenever you find yourself in such moments and smile at him and tell yourself, "No matter. HE gets it." :) It's what I do with my dear hubs.

researchmomma Contributor
researchmomma
Posted
  • Author

The things people say are really amazing. Like Irish, we have had more than a few people say "oh, you are on that fad diet".

Then there are the friends who go out of their way to accommodate and have you over for a really nice gluten free dinner (all the while asking questions to make sure they don't accidentally gluten my daughter).

I have a neighbor who has two or three autoimmune diseases and when she brought her ailments again, I told her about gluten free and what it has done for us. She said she couldn't even think about how much work it is to be gluten-free and how many things she would miss. She also didn't think her family would support it. I guess they would rather hear about all her ailments and grief. :o:(

Kimbalou Enthusiast
Kimbalou
Posted

Or my personal favourite which I have heard from everyone from family members to grocery store cashiers..."Ugh, I would kill myself if I couldn't have pasta/bread/croissants/cake."

Wow. You just said my life is not worth living. Think about that for a second.

Last time I got that comment from a cashier I responded with, "Well, I would kill myself if I had to bag groceries all day." I know that was rude but I couldn't help myself.

So funny! I dealt with an ignorant cashier yesterday. ugh

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

I have a neighbor who has two or three autoimmune diseases and when she brought her ailments again, I told her about gluten free and what it has done for us. She said she couldn't even think about how much work it is to be gluten-free and how many things she would miss. She also didn't think her family would support it. I guess they would rather hear about all her ailments and grief. :o:(

This is MY FAMILY.

:blink:

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


gfpirate Rookie
gfpirate
Posted

Love the video!

I've had a lot of varied reactions from people when they find out about my condition. I go to high school, and since kids there can be so rude and arrogant, I try to keep my condidition a secret. It seems every time I tell someone, an avalanche of questions follows.

I've had people say things such as,

"I would kill myself if I had to eat like that. Like, literally."

"Uhh, yeah, I'm a bit curious as to what you eat."

"That SUCKS."

"If I had that, I would just keep eating gluten and throw it all up. Big deal."

"Oh, THAT'S how you stay so thin."

"Are you still on your weird gluten free thing?"

And then they want to try my food...

"This tastes like I stuck my tongue in a helicopter propeller."

"Ew, does everything you eat taste this weird?"

But it's not all bad. I've had some really nice reactions as well...

"If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here."

"You have Celiac? Me too!" (She was my teacher and we had a nice conversation about all the local places with gluten free food).

I think the worst was actually BEFORE I was diagnosed. I was always feeling miserable and wanting to leave school early. I got called a hypochondriac many times, an attention hog, and worse. Thankfully, many apologized when I told them that I finally figured out what was wrong with me.

jeanzdyn Apprentice
jeanzdyn
Posted

I have heard a lot of stupid statements and I was just diagnosed this past November.

I like to tell them about Kinnikinnick Pizza Crusts -- I start by saying "even if I did not have to be gluten-free I would buy these pizza crusts, because they are better than any pizza crust I have ever had..."

Also, maybe I am weird, but I have not found it that difficult to observe the gluten-free diet. I guess that maybe I was not consuming that much gluten any more, without really thinking about it. I had only a small bag of food items that I needed to discard.

I just feel like I have found a lot of good, and tasty foods that are gluten-free. Yes, I have had a couple of 'disasters'-gluten-free things I bought to eat that were truly awful, but by and large, I am not disatisfied with the gluten-free diet and I do not feel deprived at all. As long as I can have chocolate, yogurt, cheese, then I will be okay with this.

But I have to agree that I wish people who don't know what they are talking about would keep their comments to themselves.

WinterSong Community Regular
WinterSong
Posted

A few more things I've gotten:

"What's glucose?"

"You don't need to be on a diet! You're so skinny!"

"Can you hold a baby who has just eaten gluten?" :huh:

Also, I was at a restaurant with a bunch of friends (I wasn't eating - it wasn't the type of restaurant that would be able to accommodate) and had mentioned my diet to a new friend. She said, "Oh me, too! I have a gluten intolerance." And then she proceeded to eat some chicken wings that were drenched in sauce, probably filled with gluten. <_<

Monklady123 Collaborator
Monklady123
Posted

Yes, as someone said, these are funny and sad. Some of my favorites are:

- "Well just what *can* you eat anyway?" -- um...almost everything, just not wheat, barley, rye, or non gluten-free oats.

-- "You can just taste this, right? It's small." :ph34r:

-- "So-and-so [insert name of friend/cousin/woman from church] follows a gluten free diet and she never reads the salad dressing labels in restaurants." [this was during a church meeting we had at a local restaurant, and the server was nice enough to bring me the bottle since he wasn't sure of the ingredients.] -- And that would be because "so-and-so" either isn't really gluten intolerant/celiac or isn't worried about damaging her body. (which is exactly what I said! I was annoyed...lol.)

-- And one of my personal favorites, which many of you have already mentioned: "I made this with white bread so you can eat it, not whole wheat." [spoken by more than one person at church potlucks. But they do mean well...]

As someone said in another thread, we have to educate people. The ones that annoy me are the ones who HAVE heard me talk about it, more than once. If I've said "no I cannot eat even a 'little bit' of gluten" more than once then don't keep asking me if I can "just taste this cookie"! (a lady at church does this to me.) And once I've explained to you that white bread is also "wheat" unless it specifically says otherwise please don't keep offering me your bread pudding. :ph34r:

But if someone is new to the whole thing then I am happy to give them information because I know I was totally ignorant before I was diagnosed.

gfpirate Rookie
gfpirate
Posted

I've also had a similar experience as posted above... A lady my mom works with told me that she had Celiac as well. (This was when I was first diagnosed). I believed her at first but as time went on and I did more research, it seemed as if she was stretching the truth... this was confirmed when she walked in with a big bag of Chick Fil A and said that she didn't get me a chicken sandwich because of the bread, but I was "welcome to have one of the fried chicken strips, because those are gluten free." *facepalm!* The things we put up with...

curlyfries Contributor
curlyfries
Posted

Just had an interesting conversation at lunch today. It's not unusual for people who know me to ask, "So what is that you're eating?" A friend asked and I told her and she said, "I thought you couldn't eat meat."

:blink:

So maybe she heard something incorrectly in the past. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

I am also totally sugar/grain free. This same friend proceeded to tell me that salt is essentially the same as sugar. "You know that, right?"

:huh:

"Welll....my body doesn't think so."

"Are you sure?"

:rolleyes:

xjrosie Apprentice
xjrosie
Posted

I've also had a similar experience as posted above... A lady my mom works with told me that she had Celiac as well. (This was when I was first diagnosed). I believed her at first but as time went on and I did more research, it seemed as if she was stretching the truth... this was confirmed when she walked in with a big bag of Chick Fil A and said that she didn't get me a chicken sandwich because of the bread, but I was "welcome to have one of the fried chicken strips, because those are gluten free." *facepalm!* The things we put up with...

Actually, I wouldn't chalk this one up to ignorance. When my daughter was diagnosed in December, one of the first meals I made was chicken nuggets. As I was frying them, I realized they were covered in gluten-filled coating! The first two weeks were a major wake-up call as to what my kids could and could not have. When we went to McDonald's for the first time after the diagnoses (more than one kid with Celiac) I had to break the news to her that she couldn't have a filet-o-fish. In my head I was thinking, "Oh, she can just have chicken strips." But then I remembered that they're BREADED! Sheesh, we had to leave and find someplace else to eat that night.

I, too, have had people say how horrible it would be to not eat all the gluten-filled goodies. I just tell them we can, but our food is better because we're not poisoning ourselves with unnecessary food additives. In fact, when I make things for my kids, they say my homemade foods are better than the store-bought foods I'm replacing!

ctenny Rookie
ctenny
Posted

"I know you can't have Ice cream, so I got you a malt"...

WTF

I swear, if anybody offers me a malt... I will... grrrr..

But we can have basic flavors of ice cream as long as they don't have ingredients containing gluten right? Like pure vanilla ice cream is still okay... right?

Strawberry-Jam Enthusiast
Strawberry-Jam
Posted

pure vanilla ice cream is fine--cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla. Read the ingredients.

That is, of course, if you don't have a problem with lactose or casein.

Rachel85 Rookie
Rachel85
Posted

"So if you can't eat anything, why aren't you like, really slim?"

faithforlife Apprentice
faithforlife
Posted

Yes IrishHeart I take gluten-free communion myself and share with 2 other gluten-free families!

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

Yes IrishHeart I take gluten-free communion myself and share with 2 other gluten-free families!

I am happy to hear that so many churches are accommodating the parishioners. That's great news! :)

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Thoughtidjoin's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      3

      Dried Chickpeas

      If a package of dried chickpeas or lentils says “may contain” or “may have been cross contaminated,” that usually means they were processed in facilities that also handle wheat, barley, or rye. The concern is not gluten dissolved on the surface like dust that can simply be rinsed away, but small fragments of gluten-containing grains that may be mixed in duri...
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Thoughtidjoin's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      3

      Dried Chickpeas

      Welcome, While picking through chickpeas and lentils I have found little pebbles and on occasion, a kernel or two of wheat. Farm equipment and transport trucks are used to harvest different crops. It would be really expensive to have separate trucks and packaging lines for each crop. I have found sorting or picking through the peas or lentils...
    3. trents
      - trents replied to Thoughtidjoin's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      3

      Dried Chickpeas

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @Thoughtidjoin! I would think so, yes. But you need to realize that cross contamination studies with lintels have shown the real problem isn't only coming in contact with gluten containing grains in processing but in the actual mixing in of cereal grain seeds in significant quantities with the lentils. I think it...
    4. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams commented on Scott Adams's article in Origins of Celiac Disease
      7

      Do Antibiotics in Babies Increase Celiac Disease Risk Later in Life? (+Video)

      I think you're reading way too much into this study--it is a large population-based study, and when they do these they aim not to focus it on a particular smaller sub-set of the population, in fact, they take measures to be sure that doesn't happen.
    5. Thoughtidjoin
      - Thoughtidjoin posted a topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      3

      Dried Chickpeas

      Can I wash gluten off dried chickpeas or green lentils when the packet says “may have been cross contaminated?” Has there been any research into this? If so what are the results? If no research has been done why not? I am getting mixed advice from different sources, how serious is this or are the food manufacturer being over cautious? Many tha...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,431
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Dave162
    Newest Member
    Dave162
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Dried Chickpeas

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      If a package of dried chickpeas or lentils says “may contain” or “may have been cross contaminated,” that usually means they were processed in facilities that also handle wheat, barley, or rye. The concern is not gluten dissolved on the surface like dust that can simply be rinsed away, but small fragments of gluten-containing grains that may be mixed in during harvesting, storage, or packaging. Rinsing and sorting can reduce surface flour and remove visible stray grains, and many people do this successfully, but it does not guarantee that all gluten contamination is eliminated. Some limited testing has shown that naturally gluten-free grains and legumes can contain measurable gluten when cross-contact occurs in shared facilities, which is why manufacturers use precautionary labeling. The seriousness depends on the individual: for someone with celiac disease, even small amounts of gluten can trigger intestinal damage, so choosing certified gluten-free legumes is the safest option. Manufacturers are not necessarily being overly cautious; they are often acknowledging real cross-contact risk in complex agricultural supply chains.
    • knitty kitty
      Dried Chickpeas

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Welcome,  While picking through chickpeas and lentils I have found little pebbles and on occasion, a kernel or two of wheat.  Farm equipment and transport trucks are used to harvest different crops.  It would be really expensive to have separate trucks and packaging lines for each crop.   I have found sorting or picking through the peas or lentils along with a good rinse sufficient to make them safe for me.  Do remember that lentils and such are high in carbohydrates.  Eating a diet high in carbs can lower thiamine B1.  Good sources of Thiamine and other B vitamins are meats.  Extra thiamine is needed for tissue repair to grow the villi back and recovery from malabsorption.  Low thiamine symptoms (gastric Beriberi) are very similar to symptoms of a glutening.  Try adding thiamine hydrochloride or Benfotiamine and see if you still react to chickpeas and lentils the same way. Supplementing with extra thiamine is safe and nontoxic.   Best wishes.
    • trents
      Dried Chickpeas

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @Thoughtidjoin! I would think so, yes. But you need to realize that cross contamination studies with lintels have shown the real problem isn't only coming in contact with gluten containing grains in processing but in the actual mixing in of cereal grain seeds in significant quantities with the lentils. I think it was a study done by Gluten Free Watchdog I'm thinking of but they did an actual count of the seeds in a purchased mainline food company bag of lintels and found something like 20% of the content was wheat seeds. So, you'd better do some sorting first.
    • Thoughtidjoin
      Dried Chickpeas

      By Thoughtidjoin · Posted

      Can I wash gluten off dried chickpeas or green lentils when the packet says “may have been cross contaminated?” Has there been any research into this?  If so what are the results? If no research has been done why not? I am getting mixed advice from different sources, how serious is this or are the food manufacturer being over cautious? Many thanks Catherine
    • catnapt
      Collecting all possibly related lab work?

      By catnapt · Posted

      I've got some lab work results going back to 2010, various MRIs and CT scans and ultrasounds. I discovered two things that MIGHT be of interest to the GI doc tell me what you think? one is the results to an abdominal CT scan with contrast in 2013 that includes this:  "there is some thickening seen in the second and third portions of the duodenum"    Since this CT scan was for left lower quad pain, it was not followed up on   Then in May of 2024 I saw a foot specialist for problems with my feet. Some of that pain is due to a very obvious deformity of both of my legs- the right worse than the left. The dr suggested that my symptoms sounded like an auto immune condition (???) and I thought he was nuts but he ordered some lab work- it came back negative except for a weak positive on one test HLA-B27 and there was a follow up test recommended but that was never ordered and this dr gave me a useless Rx for custom insoles which he refused to address - and my calls to his office were never returned.   At that time I was having all over joint pains, plus some numbness in my feet (also stiffness) and some burning pain in my toes- esp the big toe on the right foot (the more deformed side of my body)   The last time I was eating any appreciable amount of gluten containing foods was in the period of Nov 2024 to around sometime in the summer of 2024. I regularly ate a barley soup that I loved and had subs and pizza and toast etc. I was no longer eating wheat pasta, had already switched to brown rice pasta but otherwise I had not yet made a clear connection between what I was calling 'refined grain products' and any symptoms that I had. And the symptoms were vague and could be attributed to other things.   I was referred to a neurologist in late 2023 for symptoms  of confusion/disorientation, that included loss of balance that I attributed, in part, to the inability to feel where my feet were. Some symptoms such as high spikes in blood pressure (some close to 200 over 100! scary stuff) were later determined to be due to covid or long covid (also had loss of sense of smell and taste)    I had periods of dizziness that did NOT include any spinning sensations, it was more of a feeling of lightheadedness as if my mind would go blank- very strange, never really got any answers about that but that eventually went away so not worried about that   WHAT OTHER THINGS from my past records might be good for the GI dr to know? I had my very first Vit D test done in 2023 and it was low at 23, supplements have gotten that up in the range of adequate but values varied up and down... most recent test was Nov 2025 and it was 45ish I think. That's on a min of 5000Ius per day (there are some fortified foods I eat sometimes that have added vit D)   I thought my serum calcium ran on the low side but it turns out that the reference ranges have changed for the labs that I use- one changed their RR back around er, 2014 I think? so I have no clue how to compare the results before and after those changes   calcium has never been below normal and most of my blood work looks "normal" except during illness or other issues like if I'm in afib- blood work looks insane LOL    I don't know what to make of all this but it sure will be nice to get some answers!         
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.