Anyone else gluten-free?

[spacemountain]

I've been suffering from stomach problems for a long time now, and knee problems for about twice that long, which I only recently realized could be related. Both my GP and the gastroenterologist, think it could be celiac disease. After researching it, I realized that it would explain every single one of my symptoms. I started paying attention to ingredients, and I realized that I only had stomach pain after eating things with gluten. Yesterday I had an endoscopy and I have to wait for the results of the biopsy, but I've started going gluten-free already because I figure at the very least I must be gluten-intolerant.

Does anyone else here eat gluten-free? Do you still find it overwhelming, or has it gotten easier the longer you've been doing it? Any tips on favorite recipes, products, or restaurants that have a lot of gluten-free options?

I figure if it will make me feel better then it's more than worth it

 

[fimac]

My middle son and I are gluten free.

It will get easier as you get to know what is available. Many rest, chains have gluten free info on their web sites.

celiac.com is a great web site for information.

If you are lucky you will have a good local support group.

It is a hereditary illness so talk to family members you might find others in your family who are suffering too.

Good luck you can do it.

 

[JLiz]

I'm gluten fee. It gets much easier after a while. It's very easy to get overwhelmed in the beginning with all of the gluten free replacement products at places like Whole Foods or online. They are expensive and most of them are not actually that tasty. So, I just didn't eat anything that wasn't already naturally gluten free for the first year or so. All vegetables, fruits, meats, milk and cheeses (careful though as many Celiacs also have problems with dairy), rice and corn are gluten free. So, I recommend just eating those things for a while to give your body some time to heal and calm down. Plus you will forget what real bread, pasta, and cookies taste like so when you eat the gluten free options you'll think they are good. I do recommend the Whole Foods gf cookies, Betty Crocker gf cake mixes and Tinkyada pasta. Also, it's important to educate your friends and family about products that contain gluten. They'll get that you can't have a plate of spaghetti but don't understand why you won't eat the meatball. Let me add, before anyone jumps all over me, that this should really only be with people you are very close with and eat at their houses often with a very informal relationship. I think it would be extremely rude to be invited to someone's house and demand they make something special for you. Usually I eat before I go, anyway just in case.

Disney is extremely accommodating and you will be able to find gf options at just about every TS and CS restaurant. Take a browse through the disABILITIES forum for a lot more info.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm gluten intolerant, but tested negative for celiac, which my cousins' are carriers, and their kids have. However, a week before my GI appointment, I decided to try gluten free, and my issues cleared up in 12 hours, so I stuck with it, so my celiac test might not be accurate.

I'm no longer gluten free, but should do it again - what a difference! The problem is than I have 6 other people in this family, and can't afford to feed everyone gluten free, and hate making 2 meals. My sister's ds is allergic to wheat, eggs, dairy, peanuts, and bananas, so I see what a PITA it is.

You will be amazed what has gluten in it - twizzlers - who knew.

 

[dizneygurl007]

If you still want to have breads, biscuits, pizza, and other products like that that do contain gluten, try http://www.glutenfree.com/index.cfm . They have all sorts of stuff. My gramma has celiac and she lives a relatively normal life food wise. I hope the website helps.

 

[MIGrandma]

I suffered from irritable bowel syndrome for 10 years before I decided to try going gluten free to see what would happen. Within a couple of days I was so much better! I stick to gluten free most of the time, but occasionally do give in to the cravings of having bread but only if I'm going to be at home the next day, close to the bathroom.

I mostly stick to chicken/fish, lean meat, fresh vegetables (frozen too), fresh fruit, corn and rice products, gluten free pasta (Tinkyada is great!), but I do buy some gluten free snack type foods too. Not many as they are quite expensive, but occasionally want a cookie, or pretzels, etc. so then I buy those as a treat.

I have recently discovered dairy is something I need to stay away from as well, so now I use Silk milk on my morning cereal. I do miss eating cheese, but for my cholesterol too it is best to stay away from it. Ice cream will be hard to stay away from all the time this summer though. I may try it, and take a Lactaid just before, and see what happens.

I wish I could find a good gluten free bread as I do miss that. I tried a loaf of tapioca bread and it was awful. I have heard people say Udi's bread is good but I can't find that here. Amazon.com has a lot of gluten free items, but most of them are sold in packages of 6 so I don't buy them. I don't want to not like it and have wasted all that money on 6 of an item that I won't eat. I wish Amazon would let you buy just one loaf of bread, instead of 6.

As far as restaurants go, I think the more people that ask for gluten free items/menus the more restaurants will get on board and offer them. DH and I just went to Tennessee for a 10-day vacation and it was difficult eating out as I had to be careful of what I ordered. I would suggest just letting your server know of your problems with gluten and/or dairy and they will help you make good decisions. I ordered tilapia at one restaurant and it had cajun seasonings, the waitress came back and said there was 2% wheat included in the seasonings, so I chose lemon pepper instead. It does get easier the more you know what to avoid.

I do feel so much better since going gluten-free, but it's hard at times. If I make goulash for dinner I have to make a small serving of my own, with gluten free pasta. Same with spaghetti, etc. so it's more time consuming but in the long run it's worth it.

 

[spacemountain]

Thanks for all the advice. I think you're right, it will get easier when I forget what all those things are supposed to taste like. I ordered pizza from a local pizza place that has gluten-free crust last night, and it wasn't too bad. The hardest part will definitely be making separate meals for myself at home, or at least some separate parts. My family is being really supportive, which is great, but of course I can't ask them all to give up gluten as well.

I've noticed that Trader Joe's seems to have a good amount of gluten-free products too, so I'm slowly trying different things from there. Hopefully soon I'll be a success story and I won't even miss the gluten!

 

[DisMomme]

There are lots of websites out there to help you find information. My MIL has Celiac and she gets a book of brand name GF items. It is updated each year and has items she can get at the grocery store. It is from Celiac Sprue Assoc.

http://www.csaceliacs.org/cgi-bin/store/store.cgi?loc=33,0,0,0&ref=details&prodid=779

I think that link will bring you to the book. We lived with DMIL for 6 mos and we never ate better. Fresh meat and vegetables at every meal. It wasn't too hard to stick to the diet. We could still have hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill, she just didn't have a bun. The only thing we had to change was pasta. If we cooked pasta for us, we would make a side of rice pasta for her.

Anyway, good luck. I think the longer you stick with it the easier it will be for you.

 

[TeresaNJ]

I've been gluten free for almost a year now after having unexplainable muscle and bone pain for quite some time, which was getting worse, and no one could diagnose it. I got to the point where I was searching for something I could do to improve my quality of life when I read about problems that gluten intolerance could cause. While my symptoms didn't disappear, they are markedly improved, and I do feel very ill after eating anything with gluten in it. I've tested it several times, just to prove to myself that the improvement was from not eating gluten, and each time I got the same results. Now I avoid gluten like the plague.

I've been diagnosed with some kind of auto-immune disorder, but no concrete diagnosis. It's extremely frustrating. I've also stopped eating anything with MSG in it. One problem I have is that of not being able to absorb Vit D. I had been taking 2500 iu of Vit D for the last year, to find out I am still almost in the deficient level. I switched rheumatologists after feeling like I was getting no where with the one I had been seeing. It's the new rheum who put me on 50,000 iu Vit D, once a week for 4 weeks, and wants me to have a biopsy to see if I have celiac. The thought of having to eat gluten for the week prior to the test freaks me out though. I told the rheum whether the test is positive or not, I'm still not going to eat gluten.

I basically cook the same for everyone, I just don't eat the things with gluten in it. I'll make my own side dish of rice, or just eat extra veggies. You don't have to buy special gluten-free foods, as they are expensive. The only thing I put out the extra money for are gluten free oatmeal, because even though something like oatmeal doesn't contain gluten, it could be processed in a plant that processes gluten products. I also will buy gluten free pizza crust, but that's about it. Watch out for soy sauce, it does contain gluten, but there is a gluten free one, I just forget the name.

Disney really caters to gluten-free dieters, and the chefs made me some wonderful alternatives! Good luck.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would suggest going over to the disABILITIES Forum. One of the first threads is the disABILITIES FAQs. On Post #3 we have a lot of information for people with dietary restrictions as well as useful links about special diets. To get directly to the disABILITIES FAQs from here just click on the link in my signature.