annamarie6655

Hi everyone, 
I don’t mean to use you all as my personal dumping ground, but the support I’ve seen on this forum is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. 
 
So, my mother and I have always had a rocky relationship, but when I got diagnosed w celiacs, I thought we were now on the same team together. She started off saying things like “ We’re gonna figure this out together” or “I will always make sure you never have to worry about food with me” to telling my siblings that I’m not grateful enough and I don’t have a right to be upset when I get glutened bc I do so “purposefully”…
 
.. so I’m brand new to celiac and just learned I can’t just trust gluten-free labels unless it’s certified. I’ve been trying my best, and thanking everyone for being accommodating and trying to make things as painless as possible, so I just don’t understand. Should I be bending over backwards for people who accommodate me? Or just general gratefulness? 
 
This whole diagnosis has further ostracized me from my family and friends, and it’s really hard not to feel completely alone. I seriously appreciate any advice you have to share!

Hello, so I was diagnosed with Celiacs about 8 months ago. After being diagnosed, I have been trying very hard to maintain a completely gluten-free (and celiac safe) diet. 
Two of the main times I had a huge reaction, it was from:
- gluten-free Digiorno Pizza w Pepperoni
- Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (this was in canada if that changes anything)
Both are marked as gluten-free. Following eating these items, I had a severe bout of diarrhea, uncontrollable and heavy muscle spasms throughout my whole body, and aching throughout every joint.
 
If these are both gluten-free, why would I be reacting to them? Should I be worried about a separate allergy?  In regards to the muscle spasms, should I follow up with someone about that?

@trents
i am only taking collagen powder and Vitamin D, but I can definitely look into Magnesium, thank you! 
 
@Scott Adams 
thank you so much for your input! I will watch closer to how I’m reacting to xanthan/guar gum from now on. Are there any other common ingredients to be on the look out for?

Hey @annamarie6655,
I think we've all glutened ourselves during the learning process of what it takes to be truly gluten free. Don't be hard on yourself. You're not glutening yourself purposefully ... it takes time to figure it all out.
You should stand up for yourself and advocate for yourself at all times. The family dynamic can be very difficult for us Coeliacs.
It may be worth mentioning that Coeliac Disease is genetic and runs in families. And any of them could develop Coeliac Disease in the future ... though that may be a difficult conversation to have. It was for me, but at least my conscience is clear! It's ok to be grateful but not overly so. I would tell them that it's a steep learning curve and I'm trying to figure out a major lifestyle adjustment to preserve my health now and into the future.
If it makes you feel any better, I have a sibling who thinks the dinner table is their own personal buffet and dips into the food of whoever is sitting opposite or adjacent without asking for permission ... which is extremely rude. No regard for cross contamination or poisoning my food with gluten. Despite my diplomatic efforts in asking that sibling stop it and explaining the consequences of a crumb of gluten getting into my body, it keeps happening. At family dinners and at restaurants, I now sit at the opposite end of the table well out of arms reach of that sibling.
At another siblings 60th BBQ birthday recently, I was trying to assess a safe place to cook my homemade burger having brought my own food .... I was attacked by an in-law who said "there's no place safe to cook just use the BBQ". I stood my ground and asked for a clean frying pan to cook my burger on the cooker.
If you live in a city, you might be able to find a support group or make a new Coeliac buddy in a gluten-free Cafe of Breakfast Bar. There's lots of people on Instagram and Tiktok who are Coeliacs that arrange meet-ups. And there's several Coeliacs running podcasts on Spotify.