notme

A lot of it is perception. Is the glass half empty or half full? Yes, many food things are now off the celiac's plate but many things remain. I think for a lot of people, the social toll they perceive is more of their own framing than that of their family and friends. They imagine themselves as the fifth wheel at social gatherings and their presence as introducing awkwardness into the event. It's a self-consciousness effect and becomes a self-fulling prophecy. It actually causes them to withdraw and then others withdraw from them. You do have to put extra effort and forethought in remaining engaged with family and friends after going gluten free, and part of that is preparing and bringing your own food. That's the hard part for me. It's so much trouble and I get lazy about it. Yes, I am oversimplifying this phenomenon because there is another side to it. But you can only control your own reaction so that is what I am now emphasizing. One thing that might help is making up a bunch of self-contained meals and putting them in the freezer so that when social events come along you don't have to do a bunch of cooking each time.

Hello Tony9K,
when I was diagnosed a year ago I felt very sad about my future life too. I felt "nothing would ever be the same", and I "won't be able to travel and socialise" and what not. In retrospect, I find these emotions rather exaggerated. I am socialising just fine with people over coffees or wine mostly (where I come from we have a very strong coffee culture where people basically meet in a cafe and sit with one espresso for 2 or more hours). I also travelled last week (5 days abroad) for the first time since the diagnosis. I took some gluten free snacks with me, but I didn't even need them. I ate boiled eggs, cheese, plain vegetables and fruit at a hotel buffet for breakfast, and afterwards I just snacked on nuts, fruit, yoghurt and corn on the cob for dinner. It is very hot, so I was not hungry at all. I met a friend where I was travelling and even joined her in a restaurant while she ate her meals. I felt only slightly awkward, but mostly I was drinking my drink and enjoyed our conversation. The first day I felt a bit crabby during her meal, and felt a lititle sorry for myself. But after the meal was finished, I ran across a food stall with corn on the cob, bought it, found a place to sit with a really nice view and felt like I was on top of the world :). I was just greatful that I was on this trip, seeing nice places, reuniting with my friend and enjoying pure taste of fruit and vegetables. Now, when I think of this trip, I don't remember anything about how I wasn't able to eat in a restaurant. I only have fond memories of it and I am looking forward to future trips! When I was diagnosed and feeling sad, another friend told me "Well, before you could do 100 things, and now you can do 99", and he was right. Still plenty out there to enjoy life and we should focus on those things instead. And I don't think anyone will mind our lunch box or a pack of nuts while they enjoy our company!

Yes, "gluten light" isn't a good option for those with celiac disease. It will only lead to serious health issues.

Whoa whoa whoa. This is massively bad and very dangerous advice. Celiac's is an auto immune disease and the only treatment available is to be completely gluten free.
 

Marry a celiac. That would solve part of the problem.

Sometimes it has occurred to me that not being able to drop into any bakery or fast food restaurant is a blessing in disguise as far as my waistline is concerned.

i had gluten withdrawal when i went gluten free.  some people do, some do not.  i know what withdrawal feels like bc i was a heroin addict a very long time ago.  take it day by day, eat clean, and pay attention because you will start feeling better a little at a time, each day a little better.  rest (i slept a LOT) and eat small, unprocessed meals.  try to keep a food journal - if not to see what digests well, just to note and be able to 'see' that you are improving.  i got over the wd's in about 2 weeks.  hang in there, it's worth the work/changes.  you're gonna feel fantastic.   

How do we explain the depression, nausea, headaches, lightheadedness, dehydration, emotional outbursts, intensive wheat cravings, bloating, constipation, even intensification of joint pain, effects that are not likely attributable to hypoglycemia or poor mobilization of energy? Delayed ramp-up of fatty acid oxidation is indeed part of the reason for the phenomena of wheat withdrawal, but does not explain all of it...Most of these phenomena are caused by withdrawal from the gliadin-derived opiates in wheat, the 4- to 5-amino acid long polypeptides that increase appetite and cause addictive eating behaviors. You can actually trigger the syndrome abruptly in someone who is not wheat-free by giving them naloxone or naltrexone, opiate-blocking drugs. Because it is a form of opiate withdrawal.   https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2013/09/surviving-wheat-withdrawal/

when i had my endoscopy, the doctor put in her report that she visually saw damage.  i was under sedation, so i wouldn't know this if she didn't include it.   i was surprised, because my blood tests had all came back negative.  so, 10 years later, i am feeling finer than frog hair split four ways   that's redneck for 'great' 
my brother, my daughter (also hypoglycemic and dx'd with r.a. at age 12), my son (also has type 1 diabetes), and my nephew are all gluten free.   so, my dx has actually helped the rest of my family who were suffering to try the diet and they're definitely all doing very well.  
my vitamin levels were all over the place before i got dx'd - my b12 and vit D was tanked, i had high selenium (?) and high iron.  also, my liver enzymes were elevated and a few other weird things.   i think my wbc was high??  can't recall - but - everything eventually got to running smoothly and back to normal, good levels.  your nutrients are not being absorbed.
personally, if your blood tests came back positive, that's a good indicator that you'll have a celiac diagnosis.  o, and, hey, i'm an old young lady, too.    allllll my strange fatigue, rashes, migraines, etc went away once i changed my diet!!  some of it took awhile, but i continue to improve.  also, my natural immunity is tremendously improved.  like almost bulletproof   i have only been ill once in 10 plus years that i had to take an antibiotic.  i used to catch every germ that came around, now the whole house gets it and i do not.  so, there's that to look forward to!!  good luck!!   

i also love your attitude of gratitude!!   i am 10 plus years into my lifestyle/diet change and i feel fantastic  and blessed.  
i do make my own pasta but i don't use any particular mix/flour.  i just wing it - it turns out pretty good every time, but i have made it a lot over the years, so i have had my failures early on  i do like to play with my food!!  my biggest problem was if your dough is too wet, it'll stick to the rollers.  good luck!  and welcome to the forum  

Welcome to the forum @acurry! 
It's great to hear that you have a doctor who is on top of this. The UK diagnostic criteria for blood tests only is fairly new, and more about that is here:
 

Wow, thank you both for all of that information 😊 mmm I wonder if they will bother as both are positive, I can’t lie I feel like I’m a bit of a fraud As I have no symptoms that would suggest celiac at all..... apart from my bloods I suppose. I’m putting the jigsaw together slowly, my mum is almost completely gluten-free as she suffers terribly with foods and my daughter does have some symptoms when she eats bread, we’re just have to wait and see now I suppose 
I will keep you updated of my progress etc and once again thank you for all the information, it’s been a massive help 😊 

G'day from the Land Down Under
I'm so glad to be here and needing some tips on gluten free, egg free fresh pasta
By way of introduction, I was diagnosed with MS back in 2011 and then almost as big a shock discovered I'm gluten intolerant in 2012. 
When life gives you lemons as they say the only thing you can do is make lemonade. So I radically altered my diet going from a meat eating carnivore to gluten free vegan plus seafood, regularly exercising and  meditating on the Word of God. 
10 years on, I'm drug free, am able to walk 18 holes of golf and hold a full time job. My neurologist says I'm his best patient. He puts it down to luck but I give the credit to our Creator and changing my lifestyle.
Anyway, I've finally bought a pasta maker and am keen to try it out this weekend.  My favourite bought pasta is San Remo Fettuccine which lists contents as Maize starch, soy flour, potato starch and rice starch. So I figure this maybe a great place to start.
Would anyone be able to make an educated guess as to the rough quantities to mix together the ingredients above please?
Better still, I'd love to know your go to favourite flour mixes for making fresh pasta that don't contain eggs, butter, milk, cheese please?
Thanks in advance and I'll leave you with my tip of the day:
Never sing in the shower. Singing leads to dancing, dancing leads to slipping, and slipping leads to paramedics seeing you naked. So remember....don't sing.
Blessings
Alex

this week, i tried the nuts dot com brand of gluten-free organic rolled oats with success    the texture/flavor was much better than the instant brand (natures path) that i've been able to digest.  the taste is 'plain', too, lolz.  i jujjed it up with some craisins and mesquite maple walnuts (also from my favorite nut company)  
off to find golden syrup!!  our grocery store actually has a british section, so i'm gonna start there   

this week, i tried the nuts dot com brand of gluten-free organic rolled oats with success    the texture/flavor was much better than the instant brand (natures path) that i've been able to digest.  the taste is 'plain', too, lolz.  i jujjed it up with some craisins and mesquite maple walnuts (also from my favorite nut company)  
off to find golden syrup!!  our grocery store actually has a british section, so i'm gonna start there   

I'd really like to try this.   I shall look out for it.   
However, I wonder if it would taste like or even "act" like Lyles as the only ingredient in Lyles is partially inverted refiners syrup which is made from either cane or beet sugar, and there is nothing else in it.  I guess the message for flapjack purists would be to track down Lyles first, make a batch, then try the same with Golden Eagle.   Mmmm... a nice excuse to bake tonnes of flapjack!

This is my favorite brand of golden syrup.  Have enjoyed it for years without problems.
https://www.goldeneaglesyrup.com/about
It's delicious!

Yes... I googled an exact US alternative to golden syrup and several sites says there isn't one!  However, I gather you can buy it in certain stores in the US.  The brand you need for an authentic British flapjack is Lyles Golden Syrup.   
Sorry... going slightly off piste with this Oats thread!

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/guests/regula-ysewijns-flapjacks
 
This looks like a good recipe.   I'd advise to stick to oats - don't use spelt - and also forget about the chocolate chips.  Your first flapjack should be unadulterated.   If you slightly undercook them or add a bit more syrup (I think in the States it's called light treacle?) they will be softer.
https://www.nigella.com/recipes/guests/regula-ysewijns-flapjacks

Perhaps this will be of interest to you....
 
"Understanding nutrition, depression and mental illnesses"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738337/#!po=63.7500

Anxiety and depression are very much linked to celiac. When you eat any of the 4 grains wheat, rye, barley and oats, the gluten in them releases harmful peptides called gluteomorphins that cross the blood/brain barrier and upset brain chemicals. Many other problems of the mind are also linked like autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactive disorder, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease.

I had most of the classic symptoms, including chronic diarrhea, and being in my 20's this was the worst thing I could imagine. I worked in downtown San Francisco and had to take a Muni street car to work, which became an underground subway once it hit downtown. I always dreaded the ride, and knew the location of every bathroom around every stop on the way. Once it went underground there was no getting off, and every once in a while a street car would break down in the tunnel and cause a random half hour to one hour delay. This was the worst, and in my case I also had symptoms of vertigo and panic attacks. Luckily I managed to avoid any incidents, but there was a lot of serious mental stress associated with what should have been very simple thing--taking public transportation.
Having the chronic diarrhea disappear within weeks of going gluten-free was like a miracle. Most of my other issues also went away shortly afterwards as well, and at the time it seemed like I had become a new person. I would say that the mental issues took longer to deal with, but after a few years those also subsided.
BTW, to this day I have a mental map of where you can find bathrooms all over San Francisco! It has come in handy from time to time whenever I visit the city, but I doubt those without celiac disease ever have to develop such a strange "skill set." 😉

i'm in the usa, so not sure if the brands that i use will be available to you.
baking powder - i use clabber girl brand
baking soda - i use arm and hammer brand
vanilla - i use back bay brand
yeast - i use fleishmann's brand
i don't know how you would make these ingredients - maybe vanilla you could, but i've not had any problems finding vanilla extract that is gluten free.

if i waited for my doctors to give me a firm diagnosis, i would be dead by now.  almost 11 years later, they finally wrote on my medical records "celiac:  confirmed"  🙄
my blood test was neg, because my gp told me to start the diet without testing first.  i was so underweight that the gi doc didn't want to risk a gluten challenge, and basically told me when they drew blood for the test that it would more than likely come back negative.  when my gi doc could actually *see* the damage when she did my endoscopy, that was good enough for me to start the gluten-free diet.  
my opinion is that once you get a celiac dx, the medical industry can't make bank on you anymore, because the 'cure' is a diet.  not meds or operations.  plus, they can't treat stuff like dh or peripheral neuropathy (ie) or all the myriad of other goodies that come along with untreated celiac.  
i had migraines, but more importantly, i had a 'background' headache that i didn't even know i had till it went away.  and a laundry list of other symptoms that mysteriously went away when i went on the gluten-free diet.
my advice:  stop wasting your time, your positive reaction to the diet is one of the 5 points of diagnosis.   😎 👍