Things People Say To Celiacs

[Rachel85]

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!!"

[IrishHeart]

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!!"

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]

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]

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.

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]

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.

[Kimbalou]

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]

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.

This is MY FAMILY.

[gfpirate]

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]

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]

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?"

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]

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."

-- "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.

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]

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]

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."

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?"

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

"Are you sure?"

[xjrosie]

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]

"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]

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]

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

[faithforlife]

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

[IrishHeart]

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!