Hi @DayaInTheSun Welcome to the forum! I've been a Mod on this forum for some years now and your feelings are shared by many of us.    I am not sure how long you have been diagnosed, but in my own case I do find that time has helped.  It was pretty exhausting at first trying to explain to friends but they now have a pretty good grasp of coeliac disease and what it entails, either because they've hung around me long enough or have got to know other coeliacs who have educated them.  Also, two of my close friends are coeliacs and another has become allergic to yeast and with that has developed a shed load of other intolerances, so we either cook for each other or tend to socialise over coffee or just a visit to the pub, or meet for a picnic. I now have found a few trusted restaurants and pubs where I can relax and enjoy a meal.  But I would never risk this without a bit of research first, looking at online reviews and preferably asking friends for their personal recommendations. If I am not sure, I don't take any chances and eat before I go out, just saying to the staff, "I'm not eating, but I'll order a drink" without any explanation.  I actually find that much easier than saying, "I'm a coeliac" because they then try to persuade you to try their gluten free menu which can be a bit hit and miss.  I hope others will chime in but I just wanted to reply to say you are certainly not alone in this.  I do hope that over Christmas you will find a few treats you can eat at home. Cristiana    

Anyone else feel this way? Not only do I have celiac disease but a few food intolerances too. I can’t do dairy, soy, nuts (nuts is an actual allergy lip swelling need an EpiPen) , or eggs. I get stomach pain when I eat seeds, dairy gives me crippling pain, I only recently put together the hives when I eat  soy.  Family wants to go out and eat tells me the restaurant is gluten free but the gluten free bread has eggs or soy or they use the same prepping area as food with gluten in it. I’ve been slowly eliminating food trying to figure what my triggers were. It’s been 6 months since I’ve last had hives and joint pain after cutting out all the foods I listed above. But I can’t help but feel like a burden to everyone. They always heavily sigh when I refuse to eat from restaurants.  They encourage me to eat out but I’m only now starting to physically feel better. I want to give in so I won’t be such a burden. And ruin other people’s fun.  Going out on dates is a nightmare trying to explain to them what I can and cannot have they pretend to understand but I feel like it’s a turn off. 

When cooking pizza, first a regular (gluten-containing) pizza is baked in the oven. Before the gluten-free pizza goes in, the oven is wiped down with a cloth soaked in vinegar oil. Is this method safe for avoiding cross-contamination? Similarly, if gluten-containing bread is heated in a pan, and before gluten-free food is cooked, the pan is wiped with vinegar and oil—would this be safe for someone with celiac disease? I’m asymptomatic, so I can’t tell if I’ve been exposed to gluten, but I’m worried about the potential risk of malabsorption or long-term damage. Would everyone with celiac disease be affected by such small traces of gluten, or could this method be acceptable? Also I don't eat out anymore due to potential cross contamination. The only thing that could gluten me is the things I mentioned above and that my family is not completely glutenfree. Also I eat spices like pepper which say "could contain traces of gluten" (I live in Germany). Even if they contain traces of gluten, do you think it wold be more than 20mg or be enough to cause damage? I mainly eat glutenfree, my only risk is cross contamination. Do you think it could still cause damage to my small intestine leading to malabsorption? (my only worry as I never had symptoms even if I ate gluten). My blood tests for tTG-IgA (I get tested yearly) are negative, but I heard those are not reliable as it could be that they are only high if you ate lots of gluten.

I would say I wasn’t on a gluten free diet but I’m not sure if I was consuming enough gluten before I took the tests. How long should I be consciously including gluten in my diet before I take the test? I would say I wasn’t on a gluten free diet but I’m not sure if I was consuming enough gluten before I took the tests. How long should I be consciously including gluten in my diet before I take the test?

Was the blood draw made while you were still consuming regular amounts of gluten and had been doing so for at least a period of months? Getting blood antibody tests after already having embarked on a gluten free diet or even limiting gluten consumption will invalidate testing.