BriLee

Thank you all for your encouraging words!

From what you have all said, I think my problem is that I have not accepted it yet. The fact that most of you had a relatively easy time going completely gluten free is honestly not what I was expecting. Knowing what I have been going through I just figured that it was a normal part of the process. Hearing your experiences I think maybe it is important that I go speak to a psychologist and figure out how to bring myself to acceptance.

I have definitely been broadening my gluten free choices but only to a certain degree. As I said before I love to cook, but right now I do not have the time. When this all started I was in college first living in a dorm off of cafeteria food (which was when it all started) and then in my own apartment when I had to make time to cook for myself every night and somehow stay on a very tight budget. I am still in college and am currently taking two online classes as well as working a full time exhausting job. I am very thankful that I was able to live with my parents this summer because my mother has been great about helping me to cook gluten free dinners and find new recipes to try.

Thinking on it more, I think most of my issues come from the social aspect of eating. When you are celebrating you eat, when you are with friends you eat, whenever you get together with someone the first thought is lets do lunch. Our society focuses so much on eating and if you cannot eat with everyone else then you are sometimes left out. With how busy I am with my intense major in school and studying I barely have time for a social life as it is, so to be left out of that even more is really difficult. So when I am around people who are eating cookies and talking around the kitchen table, I know it is possible for me to just talk and not eat, but it never seems like the best choice.

Hopefully soon I will be able to control my cravings and figure out how to live a wonderfully gluten free life. Until then, I thank you for your kind words and for listening to what I had to say. Many thoughts and feelings are held in when you don't think anyone will understand, so knowing that you have all had somewhat similar experiences is sort of a relief in a way.

-Bri

Hello, I am new here so please don't mind if I do something silly like post this twice or something.

I have been struggling with intense stomach pains for over a year and a half now, went from doctor to doctor being told that I was just over sensitive and should just eat more fiber. Finally a few months ago I found a new doctor who actually believed me and decided to do some tests. I have the gene for celiacs disease but am low risk and my biopsy came back negative so technically right now I do not have it. My doctor says that I have "sub-clinical" celiac disease because I have all the symptoms but don't technically have it, but she is deeming it IBS with gluten as a trigger.

I have been trying and trying to be gluten free for at least 2 months now, and I just cannot seem to force myself to do it even though it makes me feel so much better. I do great for a short period of time and then I come across a cookie. A deliciously store bought perfectly not burnt cookie. What am I to do? Every time I go to my boyfriend's house there is some kind of deliciously gluten filled treat, and I think well I don't technically have celiacs disease, so just eating one shouldn't hurt me long term.

Food has always been a huge part of my life, I went to school for nutrition for a while, then wanted to be a chef, still love to cook but only have time to do it occasionally. Even while I knew it was the food that was hurting me I used anything flavorful to be happy. Back then every food that I ate seemed to bother me, so I gorged myself in order to make it worth it. Now I am having serious issues because I am craving all kind of food like you would not believe, and I find myself getting home from work and binging on junk food that just makes me feel terrible.

Everyone keeps saying, well why would you eat that stuff, your just hurting yourself, just walk away from it. But they don't understand, they aren't being told what they can and can't eat, they aren't having anything taken away from them. I hope that eventually I will become used to this diet, but until then I have been able to keep my pain to a minimum but every other symptom that I had before is still here and bothering me because of it.

Wow, that was long. Point is, I have been lingering around on this site for a few days and just reading some of your posts makes me feel so much less alone. So I wanted to thank you all for sharing your experiences and allowing me to get that all off my chest, even if it was super long.

Did anyone else have problems like these? Any kind of helpful tips, advise, telling me I am crazy, I just need to figure out a way to make this work.

Thanks for Listening!

-Bri