Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

College, Work, Travel, And Dating

Hobbes

Recommended Posts

Hobbes Rookie
Hobbes
Posted

Hi everyone,

 

I'm 20 years old and want to share my story and my perspective, on some common issues for people with celiac. 

 

I have been gluten-free for various periods of time in my life, as I tried different diets to help get rid of fatigue, brain fog, and anxiety. When I look back, I can see now that I have been allergic to gluten ever since I was 13, maybe even before then. I ignored the symptoms for the most part, until at 16 I began to realize how I would feel different after eating certain foods. So I tried a variety of different diets over time: Atkins, Paleo, Vegetarian, Vegan, and Fruitarian. In between all of these diets I would try to go back and eat "normal" foods again, and would inevitably get sick, and the cycle would start over again. However, some of these diets, particularily Paleo and Fruitarian, made me feel really good. I realized what they had in common: they were gluten and dairy free. I did some research and figured out that I had celiac and was lactose intolerant. I've been on a gluten-free, vegan diet for about 9 months now. It's been tremendously successful for me.

 

However, there are aspects of life that can be challenging for this lifestyle, namely college, work, travel, and dating.

 

College is difficult because the beer&pizza stereotypes exist for a reason - college is full of it. The way I have gotten around it is to have a mini fridge, microwave, and large rice-cooker in my dorm room, which allows me to prepare essentially all my own food. Classes are also only a couple hours a day, so it's no problem.

 

The problem for me right now is with work. I have two internships this summer back-to-back through-out the day. I leave my house around 6:30 am and don't get home until 5:00 pm. This represents a huge challenge to me, as I now have to either bring enough food to last me all day, or I have to bring some food and eat out at lunch. The problem is that there is essentially NO gluten free place in the area I'm working in that can provide me with 100% gluten free food on a daily basis. It's a challenge. Right now I'm just bringing enough food for the day, but it's hard to do. 

 

Travelling is difficult for obvious reasons. You can't prepare your own food most of the time, and you're constantly on the move. However, I've found  it to be significantly easier than work. Since you're not tied down to being in any specific location, you're more free to hunt and explore for places that have gluten-free accommodations. 

 

A lot of people on here have expressed concerns about dating, and I would like to echo some of the advice already given on here. It's really about respecting yourself first and foremost. Celiac is a disease. It is a medical necessity to you that you are gluten free. When you find the right person for you (and you will), they honestly will not care about the restrictions this poses to them. Life is about people and human contact first, and food second. Having celiac has made me more aware, empathetic, and tolerant of others' struggles and disabilities, and it's made me realize that we all have them. Nobody is perfect, and that's the point. When you're dating someone, it's because they want to be around you, not because they like to eat pizza (and besides, there's always gluten-free pizza).

 

So there's both hope and despair, for on the hand being gluten free has allowed me to live once again! It has represented the largest single change that has brought me the most clarity, and I'm very thankful for that. But on the other hand, it feels like it has severely restricted my ability to be free. My life has become more routine and structured and isolated, and I sometimes feel irrationally afraid of the world (filled with gluten). So it's bittersweet, and I'm sure it's a normal part of the process as I learn to live with this. 

 

It's really interesting how much diet truly does matter.

 

 

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Georgia-guy Enthusiast
Georgia-guy
Posted

So there's both hope and despair, for on the hand being gluten free has allowed me to live once again! It has represented the largest single change that has brought me the most clarity, and I'm very thankful for that. But on the other hand, it feels like it has severely restricted my ability to be free. My life has become more routine and structured and isolated, and I sometimes feel irrationally afraid of the world (filled with gluten). So it's bittersweet, and I'm sure it's a normal part of the process as I learn to live with this.

It's really interesting how much diet truly does matter.

This part of your posts is exactly what I've been feeling like lately. I just go my Dx a week and a half ago(ish), and I've had some people I've talked to that are baffled, I've had some who are familiar with celiac (they have family and friends that have celiac), and some one person (whose mom is celiac and about 100 other food issues) tell me "you're life is gonna suck." Yeah, finding stuff I can safely eat sucks, and seeing things I love that I can't eat sucks. But on the other hand, I'm finally healing physically, I don't wake up to severe joint pain every day, I don't have horrible abdominal pain on a regular basis, and I actually feel up to going out and doing things!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. trents
      - trents replied to Atl222's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Increased intraepithelial lymphocytes after 10 yrs gluten-free

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @Atl222! Yes, your increased lymphocytes could be in response to oats or it could possibly be cross contamination from gluten that is getting into your diet from some unexpected source but not enough to damage the villi. And I'm certain that increased lymphocytes can be caused by other things besides celiac disease...
    2. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Aretaeus Cappadocia's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      Brown Rice Vinegar (organic) from Eden Foods is likely gluten free

      This is a solid, well-reasoned approach. You’re right that “koji” by itself doesn’t indicate gluten status, and the risk really does come down to which grain is used to culture it. The fact that you directly contacted Eden Foods and received a clear statement that their koji is made from rice only, with no wheat or barley, is meaningful due diligence—especia...
    3. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to wellthatsfun's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      nothing has changed

      Seven months can still be early in celiac healing, especially if you were mostly asymptomatic to begin with—symptoms like low iron, vitamin D deficiency, nail changes, and hair issues often take much longer to improve because the gut needs time to recover before absorption normalizes. A tTG-IgA of 69 is not “low” in terms of immune activity, and it can t...
    4. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams commented on knitty kitty's blog entry in Thiamine Thiamine Thiamine
      1

      About Celiac Remission

      This idea comes up often, but it’s important to separate theory from what’s actually supported by evidence. In celiac disease, the immune system does not “forget” gluten in a permanent or reliable way, even after long periods of avoidance, and the celiac genes do not turn off. While antibody levels (like tTG IgA) can normalize on a strict gluten-free diet an...
    5. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to TheDHhurts's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      need help understanding testing result for Naked Nutrition Creatine please

      Gluten testing is normally reported in ppm (parts per million), which is equivalent to mg/kg, not micrograms by itself. A result of <0.025 mcg only becomes meaningful if you know the sample size tested (for example, mcg per gram or per kg). If that value represents <0.025 mcg per gram, that would equal <25 ppm, which is above the gluten-free threshold...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,190
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Atl222
    Newest Member
    Atl222
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Increased intraepithelial lymphocytes after 10 yrs gluten-free

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @Atl222! Yes, your increased lymphocytes could be in response to oats or it could possibly be cross contamination from gluten that is getting into your diet from some unexpected source but not enough to damage the villi. And I'm certain that increased lymphocytes can be caused by other things besides celiac disease or gluten/oats exposure. See attachment. But you might try eliminating oats to start with and possibly dairy for a few months and then seek another endoscopy/biopsy to see if there was a reduction in lymphocyte counts. 
    • Scott Adams
      Brown Rice Vinegar (organic) from Eden Foods is likely gluten free

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      This is a solid, well-reasoned approach. You’re right that “koji” by itself doesn’t indicate gluten status, and the risk really does come down to which grain is used to culture it. The fact that you directly contacted Eden Foods and received a clear statement that their koji is made from rice only, with no wheat or barley, is meaningful due diligence—especially since Eden has a long-standing reputation for transparency. While the lack of gluten labeling can understandably give pause, manufacturer confirmation like this is often what people rely on for traditionally fermented products. As always, trusting your body after trying it is reasonable, but based on the information you gathered, your conclusion makes sense.
    • Scott Adams
      nothing has changed

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Seven months can still be early in celiac healing, especially if you were mostly asymptomatic to begin with—symptoms like low iron, vitamin D deficiency, nail changes, and hair issues often take much longer to improve because the gut needs time to recover before absorption normalizes. A tTG-IgA of 69 is not “low” in terms of immune activity, and it can take 12–24 months (sometimes longer) for antibodies and the intestinal lining to fully heal, particularly in teens and young adults. Eating gluten again to “test” things isn’t recommended and won’t give you clear answers—it’s far more likely to cause harm than clarity. Weight not changing is also very common in celiac and doesn’t rule anything out. Please know that your frustration and sadness matter; this adjustment is hard, and feeling stuck can really affect mental health. You deserve support, and if you can, reaching out to a GI dietitian or mental health professional familiar with chronic illness could really help you through this phase. This study indicates that a majority of celiacs don't recover until 5 years after diagnosis and starting a gluten-free diet: Mucosal recovery and mortality in adults with celiac disease after treatment with a gluten-free diet However, it's also possible that what the study really shows is the difficulty in maintaining a 100% gluten-free diet. I suspect that if you looked closely at the diets of those who did not recover within 2 years might be that their diets were not 100% gluten-free. Perhaps they ate out more often, or didn't understand all of the hidden ingredients where gluten can hide. Either way, it shows how difficult recovery from celiac disease can be for most people. According to this study: This article explores other causes of flattened villi:    
    • Scott Adams
      need help understanding testing result for Naked Nutrition Creatine please

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Gluten testing is normally reported in ppm (parts per million), which is equivalent to mg/kg, not micrograms by itself. A result of <0.025 mcg only becomes meaningful if you know the sample size tested (for example, mcg per gram or per kg). If that value represents <0.025 mcg per gram, that would equal <25 ppm, which is above the gluten-free threshold; if it’s <0.025 mcg per kilogram, it would be extremely low and well within GF limits. Without the denominator, the result is incomplete. It’s reasonable to follow up with the company and ask them to confirm the result in ppm using a validated method (like ELISA R5)—that’s the standard used to assess gluten safety.
    • Scott Adams
      Medications

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Medication sensitivity is very real for many people with celiac and other autoimmune conditions, and it’s frustrating when that’s brushed off. Even when a medication is technically gluten-free, fillers, dose changes, or how your nervous system reacts—especially with things like gabapentin—can cause paradoxical effects like feeling wired but exhausted. The fact that it helped bloating suggests it may be affecting gut–nerve signaling, which makes sense in the context of SIBO, but that doesn’t mean the side effects should be ignored. You’re carrying a heavy load right now with ongoing skin, eye, and neurological uncertainty, and living in that kind of limbo is exhausting on its own. It’s understandable to feel overwhelmed and discouraged when systems and providers don’t meet you where you are—your experience is valid, and continuing to advocate for yourself, even when it’s hard, really does matter. You can search this site for prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.