Googles

My grandmother knows about my celiac and actually has a friend who has it also. So she is not totally unaware of the requirements. However, I don't know how much of my extended family knows about it. I didn't tell them but my dad may have. Packing food is going to be hard as I will have to fly to get there. I find the ongoing stress hard of not knowing what is going to happen with his health and what will be happening with food. As I just got glutened from food that said gluten free on the box my tollerance for ambiguity in food is low. Thanks for all the support and I will use your suggestions as I can.

I am probably soon going to be traveling to my grandfather's funeral. I am trying to figure out how to deal with food as I will not be able to travel easily on my own and I have no idea what will be happening with food and meals. I have a very large extended family and so meals will probably be at restaurants that will seat all of us. But until this happens I don't know what is going to happen. When we eat at my grandparent's house I wont be able to guarantee gluten free food or that I can make it to a grocery store (there isn't one close and everyone shares cars) to get food for myself. This will be my first time traveling for more than a day since I was diagnosed. I know there is going to be a lot of stress for everyone. I've never been through this before and then with trying to figure out the gluten free part of it just makes it worse. While some people know, I don't feel that I can do anything to suggest where we eat and what not. I really can't get sick because I will most likely be missing school already and can't take any more time off. Any advice would be much appreciated. I hate first times of doing things.

I went through this same fear. What was I going to do about my carbohydrate cravings? But I found that after I stopped eating gluten, those cravings actually ended. I was surprised. I didn't realize that most people did not feel that way about their carbohydrates. However, when I get glutened they come back for a short period of time (but not as bad.) I can tell after I've been glutened and go to the store that the donuts want me to eat them . But if I'm not glutened before going to the store I can just walk past them with no problem. Good luck.

I thought that Kinnikinnick or Mi-Del? one of the other companies anyway, made round vanilla sandwich cookies. Haven't had them but I've seen them on the shelves.

I've seen them on shelves too and I remember someone telling me they were not too bad either. Though I've never had them myself.

I'd have a Cinnabon (sp?) cinnamon roll w/ extra frosting. I'd also go for an old fashioned donut, Frosted Flakes, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread. And last but not least Cookie Dough Ice cream (maybe with a few other off limit flavors thrown in, like cookies and cream).

The mix sounds like a possibility - does the label state "gluten free" or are the ingredients just gluten-free? Does it mention whether it is produced in the same facility or production line as wheat?

Accidental glutenings are nearly impossible to avoid 100% - my reaction is pretty violent, but I do take digestive enzymes as soon as I bloat - 1st sign of gluten for me - this doesn't repair instantly, but I am usually back to normal by the next morning.

Good Luck!

Thanks.

The box specifically says it is gluten free, but does not say it is made in a dedicated facility or if they use the same equipment. Too bad the boxes of mix were Expensive! They shouldn't say that unless it really is gluten free! I hate food!!!!!

My stomach has been feeling upset and like it is burning. (at least that is the best way I can think to describe it.) But it isn't heart burn-it is lower down right at the bottom of my diaphragm. It isn't helped by probiotics or tums. I think it was caused by the banana bread mix I made. There isn't any chance of CC unless it came in the mix, but it says it is gluten free. Has anyone experienced the same thing? What did you do to help? Thanks.

Hello,

I was just diagnosed last June right before going to graduate school. While I don't have to deal with trying to get an exception to eating dorm food, it is a big adjustment with food. There are a number of threads that have to do with people's experiences in dealing with schools and where to go to get help if your school is problematic around the meal plan issue. It is a major adjustment. If you get the diagnosis don't start with thinking about having to do this all at once. Think about it as one day at a time, one meal at a time. Come here and ask lots of questions and get support. Almost every situation someone has had before and we can give you advice on how to deal with them and what foods to eat and which ones to stay away from. one thing I found was that I had so many other things besides just digestive problems related to my celiac. Things that I had never even thought of as problems, instead they were just a part of my life. Good luck and look around the forums and ask lots of questions. We are here to support each other.

I was wondering what people eat when they are sick (but not from gluten). The foods I used to eat are no longer okay to eat. All I have in my cupboards for when I am sick is a couple of boxes of jello. What else should I add? I live alone so I need to be prepared before I get sick. Thanks for the help.

There may be more ways than what we've done but this is our experience. I found an allergist/immunologist who does food testing with the skin prick method. They have a list of about 100 foods. Pumpkin is on the list! Per Dr.'s orders, I eliminated all the foods that showed a reaction and quite to my suprize I felt almost nothing after eating the meals that were absent of the offenders. My tummy was so calm it felt so strange! So, it sounds like you may be right and you may benefit from such testing. We are lucky that our allergist is up to date on gluten as well. Our previous allergist didn't believe in dietary changes unless a life threatening allergy presented.

Thank you for the information. I will look into it in the new year when my school health clinic can refer me. Do these other intolerances keep my small intestine from healing from the celiac damage?

Is there a way to get tested for other sensitivities/in tolerances besides gluten besides elimination? Are there tests my doctor can do? I seem to be sensitive to pumpkin (it gives me heartburn) . I just feel crappy and am unsure if it is related to food or other stress in my life. I have been doing well up until recently. I just feel like a mess now. I'm so stressed out. I just want to be able to enjoy food again.

Can celiac mess with sleep? I'm trying to nail down the cause of my sleep issues. I had a really bad week for sleep because of finals but now can't sleep more than four or so hours at a time (often less than this). Has anyone else had problems related to sleep? I have had insomnia for a long time and take meds for it, but now this is different. I've never had trouble staying asleep before.

Thanks.

Also know that even if a restaurant has a gluten free menu you still need to be careful. I went out for my birthday to a restaurant with a gluten free menu and still got glutened. My fault for not speaking up and assuming that because they had a gluten free menu that they would know what they were doing. Oops. At least I had just gone gluten free so my symptoms weren't too bad.

Apparently for me it isn't just depression, it is really really bad anxiety. (Some of the worst I've ever experienced). I've been glutened twice since I moved into my own apartment after being diagnosed (I moved for school). The first time I got majorly depressed and now this past weekend had some of the worst anxiety ever. As I also suffer regularly from depression and anxiety it was really bad. I'm dreading getting glutened again. (neither time did I eat anything that i knew had gluten in it, or come in contact with it.) I'm afraid I will get some other psychiatric symptom that I'm not used to and freak out. I'm still not sure how long it takes between when I get glutened and when symptoms show up. UGH!

thank you all for your help in trying to sort out what is a much more complicated interconnection than I realized.

Hello,

I was wondering if someone could explain the difference between intollerance to a food, a food allergy, celiac, and an allergy like hay fever so that I can explain it to other people who ask? I just want a lay explination of what the similarities and differences are. Are they all auto-immune disorders? Mostly questioning about allergies and celiac.

Googles.

This is also my first Thanksgiving since being diagnosed. I am in graduate school and away from my family. One of my friends invited me to her house for Thanksgiving. Everyone is aware of my Celiac (or at least I'm assuming her Mom is) and so she asked exactly what I could and could not eat. After I started answering her questions and realizing how complicated it would be for her family to try and make even a small number of dishes gluten free, I offered to just bring my own food (though this is different from dealing with family.). I will be bringing my own food to eat, along with a vegetable platter and dip and dessert to share. I will make sure that I get my own portions before they are passed around. (haven't decided if I am going to take them out at home or when I am there yet). That way I will only have to worry about CC from the dishes I am using (hopefully). I am really bummed that I am not going to be able to share in the usual foods (even though they have never been my favorites.) I hope that since I will still be eating some food it wont be as awkward as if I was eating nothing. I'm glad that my friend invited me and thought about what I can and can't eat. Even though it will be challenging to deal with all her family that I don't know, I can only think of how great it will be after my many years of having Thanksgiving alone in my dorm.

I hope your Thanksgiving goes as well as possible. I would suggest making your own food and bringing it with you, then you wont feel so out of place. If they say anything, just let them know that this is what you have to do to keep healthy and leave it at that.

Thanks so much for the help! It makes my life 1000 times easier.

Hello,

I am coming up on six months gluten free. My GI doc (from where I lived before) said I should get tests done again at six months. But she didn't say exactly which ones. I am at school and I don't know if the school health center has any knowledge about celiac so I want to be able to go in and just ask for the tests I need. Can anyone tell me what tests I should get? I can't go to a GI or other doctor as I don't have the money.

Thanks.

Thank you all for your sharing your experiences. It helps me feel more sane and think that this new thing is probably related to gluten. I end up majorly depressed (this last time) for three to four days and then it dissipated over the next week. I don't get glutened that often, but if this is what happens when I do, UGH. I was barely able to get out of bed and go to class, much less get homework done. Last time I was had to take two tests and almost failed one. I just didn't care and my brain wouldn't work. Thanks again.

I got glutened last week (cc I think, as everything I ate was good). I became extremely depressed and I was wondering if this happens to anyone else. I usually suffer from depression, but this was a totally different flavor (so to speak) of depression. I was wondering if this might be due to the glutening or if I just am experiencing a new phase of my depression. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Thank you everyone.

These are such great suggestions that I will have to put into motion.

Thanks again.

I was glutened last week, I think by peanuts. Today I ended up having a lot of stomach pain, bad BM, gas. The only new thing I added to my diet today was sparkling apple cider. How long after being glutened do I need to be careful with my stomach? And is there any reason that apple cider would hurt my stomach (100% apples)? Also can I be sensitive to peanuts and not peanut butter? Thanks.

I had some Reese's Peanut butter cups which i thought were gluten free, but I think I had a reaction.

Has anyone had trouble with these? I'm not sure what else it could have been so I checked their

website and they were not clear.

Thanks.

Part of my frustration is I was glutened last week and don't know how. I think it was cc. And my stomach feels raw.

Before I went gluten free I lived on a lot of gluten filled foods:

pasta w/ tomato sauce.

mac and cheese

top raman w/ chicken

chicken w/ shake n' bake

cereal

pb&j sandwiches

pizza

and other assorted things.

Like I said, I am a picky eater.