Sad, Worried, Sad, Sad, Sad, Worried, Etc.

[varthurs]

I have recently received blood tests that would indicate that I have Celiac Disease. I'm waiting for appt. with specialist. But honestly, I asked my Doctor to test me for it, so i'm pretty sure I have this lovely condition no matter what the biopsy says. And boy oh boy, am I SAD. Isn't that a strange reaction? But really, no more beer? My favorite meals are all italian, pasta, breaded chicken cutlets. I am a junk food junkie. Pretzels are my favorite snack. And on top of this, I am a lazy cook. For that, I am very worried. How am I going to survive this? Sorry, I figured if there was a place to vent, it would be here. I really just want to cry.

But on the same note, I really want to feel better. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Can anyone give me some good news? Can I expect to lose weight (need to lose about 20)? Will my fatigue go away? Anxiety be gone? Is this going to be a cure-all, or I am weighing too much on this?

Oh and I am also already dreading that one of my kids is going to have this because of me.

Sorry to be all "debbie downer".

Thanks

[giggleburger]

It's definitely not a strange reaction to feel sad, it's totally understandable. You're facing having to overhaul your whole diet. Just focus on those positives you mentioned. Do get excited that you're going to feel better, because you WILL. And you can find substitutes for plenty of foods. Pasta is a super easy one. There's lots of rice pastas, or various non-gluten things.

As for losing weight, I'm not sure how it is with everyone. But I'm currently just two months into the elimination diet stage and I can fit some jeans I haven't been able to fit in a while. Don't know if that's weight loss or loss of bloating, but I don't care either way.

Since you say you like junk food and a lot will be cut out you might lose weight because of that. But if you're not active it's only going to go so far.

[kwylee]

First of all, this is the place to come when you're down and need to talk to people who understand. I think it's okay and normal to go through a short period of grief over what seems to be such a tremendous life change. But once you get the hang of it, those changes more than make up for feeling better. You asked how you were going to survive this? The answer is that you're going to survive BECAUSE you're doing this. I was NOT a cook prior to having to remove gluten/dairy/soy from my diet, but thankfully, mostly everything I can eat is super easy to prepare, meat, vegetables, salad, fruit. And I have dropped well over 40 pounds since June 2010 without ever feeling hungry - and believe me when I say, I was the American south's biggest chow hound!!!! At first, I would advise staying away from gluten free treats, as well as processed foods and preservatives, until you heal. I think you'll feel better faster, and you'll lose more weight that way.

My symptoms were all neurological, and those are gone entirely just by eating this way. This forum is a plethora of information on everything physical, emotional and culinary, so start reading and let everyone know how you're doing.

[eatmeat4good]

Boy do I have Good News for you!!

Glutino Pretzels are BETTER than regular pretzels.

Everyone who eats mine says so and I totally agree.

Also-

If your weight gain is from malabsorption or inflammation you very well may lose the excess weight.

I lost a lot in my one year gluten free. I had gained a horrible amount of weight being sick and undiagnosed.

It just melted off of me and I eat more now than I ever have in my life.

From 180 lbs at my sickest down to 110 and perfectly healthy.

I would hope for you that your anxiety and fatigue will resolve when you go gluten free.

Mine did. I was 7 years sick with "fibromyalgia" but really it was Celiac.

All depression and anxiety and muscle weakness and fatigue are gone.

Unless....I get contamination from gluten.

It has just been amazing to me.

As for cooking, when I was very ill, I couldn't stand the thought of cooking. I was so sick and so weak I just did not have the energy. I understand how you feel. I still don't really like to cook. So I'm going to give you some pointers that have worked for me.

I bake a lot of potato's at one time and keep them in the fridge for the week. My son microwaves them and loves them. (I am Paleo so I don't really eat them, but once in a while I will.)

Rice- I make a huge pot and separate it into ziplock baggies and freeze. Easily warmed in the microwave.

I fry a lot of hamburger patties and freeze them and we nuke them as needed during the week.

I buy a lot of frozen vegetables and just warm up at mealtime.

I eat mostly meat and veg on my diet.

One way I can afford steak is to buy eye of round and fry it hot and fast after it is cut the thickness of a steak.

If you do not overcook it, it isn't too tough. Certainly it's tougher than other cuts, but this is the way I can get a meal without really cooking something. If you can afford the better steak it is going to be really easy for you.

Tollhouse Cookies can be made with the same recipe on the bag of Nestle Chocolate Chips.

Just substitue gluten free flour such as Pamela's. Yummy.

Here's the last bits of good news I have for you.

Snickers are gluten free.

Cheetos are gluten free.

Dove Chocolate is gluten free.

AND If gluten is your problem, you are going to be feeling soooo much better that you will not regret the effort to go gluten free.

I too, was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I can tell you,

It is wonderful to feel wonderful!

I do understand the sadness and I too, went through it.

But I wanted to give you some of the good news.

[dani nero]

Everyone feels like that in the beginning, but it's not the real you speaking, it's actually your addiction to all those harmful foods that is reacting and protesting.

It is hard in the beginning because it's a big change. It's never easy, and nothing worth the effort is ever easy, but believe me it's worth it. You'll soon learn that a home-made burger or pizza is 100 times yummier once you find the perfect recipes that you can't resist. This is an opportunity for you to find out that restaurant food is not the best there is flavor- and quality-wise. You will actually get disgusted by junk food when you get used to natural, healthier alternatives that make your life brighter because your mood and health will improve thanks to them. You'll actually start wondering in time: Why on earth did I spend all those days poisoning and slowing myself down?

You'll get used to feeling well, and once that kicks in, you'll not care about all the things you left behind :-)

[love2travel]

It is perfectly normal to go through a grieving process when handed something scary and unknown. The varied stages can certainly do include sadness. I went through shock, denial (I love food too much!), pity, anger, sadness and finally acceptance. It took me a long four months to get to that point but the positive thing is, I got there and here I am! Celiac honestly is just a normal part of every day life now. To be honest I rarely feel sorry for myself as I used to; in fact, the only times I do are when I am traveling and in certain social situations. Even then it is less sorrow than just plain planning ahead for all eventualities.

Allow yourself the time you need to grieve then move into your new and healthier life! Become more strategic in your food/meal planning. This is your time to become creative in the kitchen. Get excited about food! There is NO reason for us not to eat as well or better than gluten-eating people. Go to the market or grocery store and see food in new ways. Maybe try a new vegetable or fruit per week and soon your repetoire will be large and varied. Try new techniques. Who knows? It is possible to fall in love with cooking and baking.

If you avoid gluten-free snack foods (those I've tried are not great anyway) it is possible to lose weight. The thing with gluten-free snacks is that many are not nutritious and there can be extra sugar and fat in them to make them more palatable. It did not take me to lose 25 lb. It's true that you CAN have awesome gluten-free pizza and pasta. I personally cannot stand corn and rice pastas but others love them. I like the blends such as millet with buckwheat or sweet potato with sorghum but that is my personal taste and I love to cook and bake.

So, hang around here, get to know and love people and learn and contribute when you can. Sounds trite but it can be a lifesaver for folks.

All the best to you on your new journey!

[researchmomma]

Welcome to the Board and you are right, this is the place to vent.

Someone posted about the emotions that one goes through with a Celiac Diagnosis. It was well stated but I can't find it. Maybe someone else can.

You will find that you will try different products that others rave about and you may not like it. For example, we like Synder's gluten-free Pretzels. My daughter's friend asked me for a bag for her birthday because she likes them better than gluten pretzels, lol.

You are in mourning. But once you start to feel better, you will pick yourself up and find what works for you in this gluten filled world that is slowly adding gluten-free options to its repertoire.

Loves2travel is right....I wasn't a baker before my gluten-free life. And now...I am. It took awhile and I don't know why I decided to take on the challenge, but I did. On Sunday morning, I made gluten-free Cinnabon Clone and it was so good. We had gluten heads and GFers try them and the gluten folks didn't even know they were gluten-free. They were that good.

So hang in there, grieve, get your official dx (stay on gluten), get off gluten and join the world of health.

We will be here, so ask away.

[Mom-of-Two]

I am newly diagnosed as well - positive blood panel about 6-8 weeks ago and then positive biopsy a couple weeks ago. Been gluten free about 10-12 days now and moving from the sad/denial/pity/why me/I can't do this/down and out ....into the acceptance and take control stage. Totally normal and healthy/natural what you are feeling, it will get better, it will.

I agree, stay away from all the boxed gluten free items for now, stick to real foods. Meats, veggies, fruits, etc and keep it simple. I will say I enjoy the gluten free pretzels, I have not tried Glutino but they had Snyders at my natural store and we all like them, super crunchy, you can tell no real difference, kids enjoy them. I keep them in my car so I have something safe if I find myself out and about.

I know it feels rotten to think you may give it to your kids. I am having my kids tested next month to put my mind at ease, and find out if we will indeed be a gluten free family. Your children should be tested for sure.

It can take time for your symptoms to get better or go away, but they will.....also many people feel it gets worse before it gets better. Sort of like withdrawl, I was super cranky and irritable the first week, had some headaches and major fatigue when first going gluten free. As I am almost at the 2 week mark, feeling better and it's felt much more do-able.

Many people don't understand why it feels like a grieving process, but that's exactly how I described it to my good friend, you have to let yourself get through it and just take your time. And most of all, look forward to feeling better!! It is nice to know it's in your control and making the lifestyle change is hard but empowering, since you can reverse your current symptoms by doing that alone!

[squirmingitch]

I will add that there may be a second grieving process you go through. At least this has been my experience (and I hope there isn't a third!). I got through the first one & was doing real well & then as the learning & discovery takes place once you're ready to start trying to add new foods a 2nd grieving may take place. It's hard to learn all the rules of this stuff & even harder to remember them. You have to constantly be on your toes.

But hold fast & all will be well in the end.

Keep your chin up.

[Skylark]

It's OK to go have a good cry and get it out of your system. Of course you're sad. It's an enormous change.

You'll probably feed much better gluten-free. Anxiety is a big gluten symptom for a lot of us, as is fatigue. I had both and while the fatigue went away fairly quickly I had to really bump up my vitamins and take fish oil to get rid of the anxiety. I also had to get really good at the diet. Anxiety is my main reaction to a mistake on the diet. It took me a couple years to figure everything out. Make sure your Dr. tests your iron, D, and B12 levels as deficiencies can make you tired. As for weight...well, gluten-free calories are still calories and gluten-free junk food is still junk food.

You'll still be able to have good food. Rice pasta is easy to find so you can still have your Italian food. Olive Garden even has gluten-free pasta and there are a growing number of restaurants doing the same. There's plenty of other flours you can use for breading, or just get gluten-free breadcrumbs.

I'll second the awesomeness of Glutino pretzels too!

[cahill]

I had both and while the fatigue went away fairly quickly I had to really bump up my vitamins and take fish oil to get rid of the anxiety.

Just a word of caution about fish oil if you have very low blood pressure ( many of us do).

Fish oil can lower your blood pressure.

[varthurs]

Wow, I logged on this morning and I am overwhelmed by the kindness of everyone on here. I can't thank you all enough for your words of encouragement. What a wonderful website and group of people I have found. I am confident that you will all make this journey a little more tolerable. I hope some day I can be as supportive and helpful.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!

[ndw3363]

I too have grieved the "loss" of some of my favorites. However, the hardest part for me is the feeling that I'm now "high maintenance" when it comes to food. Whenever I'm out and about (errands, shopping, vacation, etc) I always have to wonder where my next safe meal is coming from. I used to be very go with the flow, but now I really have to plan ahead.

Pasta - I prefer Quinoa pasta to the rice pastas...corn is my second choice. Breading for meats? I like to crush gluten-free cornflakes in my food processor and add a bunch of spices (best breaded pork chops I've ever had were made this way). You can also just use a gluten-free flour (I mix in some gluten-free breadcrumbs) for pan frying.

You are definitely in good company on this forum. I've gone through the "why me" stage quite a few times and I've been doing this for a year. But you really will feel better. I used to have headaches ALL the time. Now when I get a headache, it's a strange feeling because they are so rare for me. We are all here to help when you have questions...check out the search option at the top and the gluten-free foods category...both were life savers for me when I started.