Celiac In Denial

[Jencat]

I am new here but have been dealing with celiac for a couple of years. And I was gluten-free/DF and was well then I fell off the wagon and have been a mess ever since. Today I ate two oatmeal cookies-pure gluten!!! I am getting over glutening myself a few days ago and here I go again today. I hate feeling sick all the time but cannot stop. I start off well and then do this to myself. I am so disappointed with myself right now. Need to get myself back on track. Am considering a food journal but would like advice.-Jenny

[tarnalberry]

There's no magic trick that will keep you from cheating.

We tend to take food, and eating, for granted in our culture. But every thing we eat, every bite we put in our mouth is a CHOICE. Slow down, take the time to be aware of that choice, and then you can make better choices. (This whole "it's a choice" thing isn't to say "you've made bad choices"; it's to say "you have the opportunity, which you may not have fully been aware, to make good-for-you choices".) If every time you went to put something in your mouth you stopped and said "this is going to make me quite ill. do I want to be quite ill?", you probably would choose NOT to make yourself sick. But most of us get into the habit of turning off the brain when we eat, which is not so helpful when you're trying to get the habit formed of staying gluten free.

If there are particular areas that are hardest for you (going to a friend's house, for instance), take steps to make that situation easier (bringing your own, safe, food with you).

Mostly, it's an issue of practice, practice, practice.

[mamaw]

A food journal is wonderful.... but I think you need to rid your house of everything with wheat & gluten & replace it with gluten-free. If its not in the house then you can't eat it. Feeling crappy after eating gluten sometimes is enough to make someone stop but for others its a hard battle....so maybe rid the house of gluten.... a local food bank would love to have your wheat stuff!

Get a list of gluten-free places to dine out & only go there not a place that has no gluten-free selection.

You already know you feel better off of gluten....

I would think of all the food you can't be without & get a gluten-free replacement & start from there.

At times will power is what you need....tell yourself being ill is not an option.......

You can do this & better health is waiting for you..........

blessings

mamaw

[ciavyn]

I'm going to take this in another direction. Jenny -- why would an intelligent, clearly well-spoken woman value herself and feeling good so LITTLE that she'd disregard what is healthy for her and choose what is so very unhealthy? Don't take this the wrong way -- THINK about it. I had to. I struggle with sugar and carbs like you wouldn't believe. I'm not pointing a finger at you -- this is what I had to do, too. You probably work hard, take care of friends and/or family, and do for others. Why don't you do the same for yourself? You are worth it -- it's easy to say that, but you gotta mean it. This is not easy, and I'm not at all belittling how tough it is. But at some point, you have got to value being your best -- which requires you to not have things that make you sick -- over what is easy, or expected, or common.

Does this make sense? YOU have to decide, and then keeping a food diary and making better choices will become so much easier to do. Once you decide you will not accept LESS than feeling 100% (most of the time!) and that you will alter your life because it is what is healthy for YOU (even if your MIL or best friends acts like you are crazy), the struggle gets oh-so-much easier. Not easy, just easIER.

[GFinDC]

I am new here but have been dealing with celiac for a couple of years. And I was gluten-free/DF and was well then I fell off the wagon and have been a mess ever since. Today I ate two oatmeal cookies-pure gluten!!! I am getting over glutening myself a few days ago and here I go again today. I hate feeling sick all the time but cannot stop. I start off well and then do this to myself. I am so disappointed with myself right now. Need to get myself back on track. Am considering a food journal but would like advice.-Jenny

Check out post #37 by Backtalk on this thread. Seems like pretty good motivation to me.

falling off the gluten free wagon

[sandsurfgirl]

I'm wondering if you are on the young side and celiac hasn't damaged you enough to motivate you. I was misdiagnosed until recently at age 40. I have suffered so MUCH over the years I have no desire to cheat.

So maybe you need to scare yourself a little bit and realize the dangerous effects gluten is having on your body. If you are celiac you do NOT have an allergy. You have an autoimmune disorder. Your body perceives gluten as poison and your own immune system destroys your intestines. If you have a mild food allergy, sometimes there is a safe amount of the food you can eat and you can outgrow a food allergy. There is NO safe amount of gluten for your autoimmune disorder and you won't outgrow it.

Some stories I've read on here are chilling. Somebody just posted the other day that due to being misdiagnosed, her intestines perforated and she has to wear a colostomy. Look that up if you don't know what that is.

There are people on here who were literally at death's door before they were diagnosed. People who are 6 feet tall and only weighed 95 pounds. People who have had damage to other organs, people whose villi are so damaged they will never heal because they got diagnosed so late. People whose digestive system is so damaged that they have a laundry list of food intolerances and allergies in addition to gluten. People with multiple parasites due to their low immune system and being ill for so long. People who get sick every time they eat no matter what they eat and are failing to thrive.

My son almost died in childbirth, after having bleeding and contractions off and on my whole pregnancy. My OB is convinced it was due to undiagnosed celiac.

It's not cheating, like you cheat on your weight loss or detox diet. When you "cheat" and eat gluten you are destroying yourself. Literally.

It is hard!! We all struggle with how hard it is to be gluten free. But there are very few foods you can't replicate if you look for recipes and try things. There are tons of good products out there to satisfy your cravings and many restaurants are accomodating allergies nowadays.

Come here with your questions. Look up old threads for information and read as much as you can on these forums and arm yourself to fight for your health and ultimately your freedom because if you are sick all the time your freedom is taken from you. You can do this and we are all here to help you! Go cold turkey and cut the poison!

[i-geek]

I'm infertile. We've been trying for 6 years. I'm convinced that it's due to undiagnosed celiac disease (since there aren't any other obvious problems). In fact, I'm still undiagnosed for celiac disease because I've never been able to get a doctor to take it seriously enough, and I've had problems for 15 years. Do you know how lucky you are to have a diagnosis, and it's still not enough for you? Think about it- keep eating the way you're doing, and you might not have kids when you want them.

[DonaldandAlanda Evans]

"Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherf**ker"

Thats what I think of when I want to cheat

[Takala]

If you are not already doing so, start taking gluten free vitamin B complex supplements and a calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium mineral supplement to help with the cravings. A multivitamin with iron is good also, if you are continuously ingesting gluten when you shouldn't be, you are not only triggering gluten cravings but damaging your insides so you are not absorbing nutrients.

Also, try eating less carbohydrates and more protein and fat. Fat is a slow burning fuel that will fill you up and help you feel sated. You need eggs, coconut milk or oil, nuts, avocados, olive oil, bacon, things like that. You should also eat at least one to two servings of vegetables a day. Canned beans, rinsed, and microwaved, are fast and filling. Try putting them into gluten free boxed soups, with a bit of olive oil. The more high quality food you eat, the less cravings.

Keep some sort of special gluten free foods around at all times so if you're hungry, and want a treat, you have something to fall back on. And carry it with you in your purse and/or a go back in the car. This can be as simple as a piece of high quality dark chocolate, a banana, a rice cake with peanut butter, a Lara bar, a gluten free coconut macaroon, a homemade hot drink with coconut milk and a gluten free biscotti, etc. I buy almonds in in big 5 lb bags, and then take cupsfuls and rinse them and put them in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute, and they toast that way. Mixed with chocolate chips, they make very good trail mix.

[sandsurfgirl]

"Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherf**ker"

Thats what I think of when I want to cheat

Hey whatever gets you through.

[DonaldandAlanda Evans]

Hey whatever gets you through.

It's from Pulp Fiction.......I don't really say that to myself, I just thought it was funny.

[Jencat]

Hi all, Just want to thank each one of you for your input and I am glad I posted. I am considering every thing said and trying to figure out what approach fits me best. Thanks a bunch.-Jenny

[Jencat]

I'm infertile. We've been trying for 6 years. I'm convinced that it's due to undiagnosed celiac disease (since there aren't any other obvious problems). In fact, I'm still undiagnosed for celiac disease because I've never been able to get a doctor to take it seriously enough, and I've had problems for 15 years. Do you know how lucky you are to have a diagnosis, and it's still not enough for you? Think about it- keep eating the way you're doing, and you might not have kids when you want them.

Hi i-geek, Just wanted to share my recent realization. I am the mother of three and am celiac. I was thinking of my pregnancies and was astonished at the realization that with my last pregnancy, which was ten years after my second I never used any type of contraception?huh? yet after being gluten-free forabout a year and a half I got pregnant.My first two pregnancies came both at times when in effort to lose weight I eliminated carbs. I have never used contraception- except Gluten I guess? I truly wish you the best and remember stress effects one in astonishing ways. Thankyou for you words-Jenny

[Reba32]

The single best treatment for eating all the wrong foods, is to eat all the right foods, in proper amounts and at regular intervals. If you're not hungry, then you won't get cravings. And if you don't have the cookies in the house, you can't eat them!

Strategy - eat like a hobbit. Breakfast. Second Breakfast. Elevenses. Luncheon. Tea. Dinner. Supper. Seriously, if you keep yourself sated (NOT full or overstuffed!) then you won't be tempted by things you shouldn't eat. Eat a balance of healthy fats, protiens, and veggies at every meal and snack. Eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking, and eat every 3 hours or so.

Never go longer than 6 waking hours without eating. EVER. And always always always have food in the house that you *can* eat. When you're out, have food in your pocket or purse that you can eat, so you are not tempted to stop at the bakery as you walk by. I usually carry a bag of nuts with me, and lately a gluten free low carb snack bar as well (got caught at the veterinary ER for 5 hours one night and hadn't had supper...dogs never think of ME before they decide to get sick do they? nooooooo! )

There are so many gluten free options, why go with something that can cause so much pain?

[sandsurfgirl]

Keep Betty Crocker gluten free mixes on hand for cravings. They are so good!

[Jencat]

Keep Betty Crocker gluten free mixes on hand for cravings. They are so good!

I definitely am going to try them. Thanks for the tip

[sandsurfgirl]

I definitely am going to try them. Thanks for the tip

Here's an even better tip. I don't want to make the whole batch and eat the whole batch sometimes so I just make one serving. I've tried it with the chocolate chip cookie and brownie. The brownie is more gooey but the cookie is the right texture. Take about 3 tablespoons of the mix and half teaspoon of melted butter or margarine. Add a few spoons of water and stir until it's the right consistency, like a thick dough. Microwave it for about a minute. The brownies I have to do for 1 1/2 minutes and I burned one once doing it for 2.

It's a perfect one serving for a craving. I just had a chocolate chip cookie like this. I microwave it in the bowl I stir it up in, so it's not a cookie shape. I eat it with a spoon.

[kayo]

Since going gluten-free I don't crave sweets like I used to but for the rare occasion I keep these brownies in my freezer. They even have single serving size. I can buy these at my regular grocery store and at Whole Foods.

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[CMCM]

I'll throw in a few empathetic comments because I've struggled with this myself. After a lifetime of dealing with digestive issues, one gets accustomed to that to a degree. I wasn't as severe in my reactions as my mother is. I didn't figure out what was going on until I was about 56. And even then, since I had minimized gluten for several years to the extent that it didn't show up in a blood test, I got the Enterolab testing panel done. I had the celiac gene, the tests showed supposed inflammation. But no gold standard definitive diagnosis of either active celiac disease, or merely gluten intolerance, so I've been left not really knowing for sure. I'm sort of thinking this vague situation contributed to my on and off the wagon behavior the last 4 years. Despite all this, my gut feeling and the physical evidence points to the fact that I should never eat a smidgen of gluten. Never.

They say you crave what you are sensitive to. My severely celiac mom found that to be true with bread, etc. She craved and ate tons of exactly what made her sickest. Probably same with me...and my weakness has always been pastries and cakes, and to some degree, bread. Sometimes I totally got away with eating it, and that probably fueled future behavior. Other times I'd get inexplicably sick, but I would tend to attribute it to other things. Compare this to my mom: if she would get one crumb of gluten she'd be violently sick within an hour or less. So part of my denial came out of not seeing the same reactions and reaction time as my mom.

What really got my attention was when my reactions turned more into joint pain...specifically, in my hands, thumb and wrist. I could live with the digestive upsets....after all, I'd had that my whole life, it was familiar. But the joint pain was horrible and I was really driven...FINALLY...to get rid of it. Cutting out gluten entirely made it go away over time, although it took a few weeks. I've finally accepted my need to 100% avoid gluten, but it has been a slow road. I'm a person who loves certain foods, I didn't want to give all these things up, but I learned it was pretty much ENTIRELY a head trip to get your thoughts around doing this. I've learned along the way that giving up gluten yet having an occasional cheat here and there simply DOES NOT WORK. It leads to total relapse into eating gluten, I've seen that with myself.

Here's a bit of what I found, too. I wanted to drop about 25 lbs so I started the Atkins diet a month ago. On Atkins, eating meat/chicken/fish, green veggies, small amounts of cheese, eggs....your appetite and cravings really just evaporate completely, and this has enabled me to be totally indifferent to the bad foods which previously tempted me. Before doing Atkins, I also learned that I really do have digestive trouble with other grains as well...the gluten free flour combinations plus the sugar really upset my stomach, PLUS...I found they lead to cravings too, and when I was in baking mode doing lots of gluten-free baked goods, I often got off track and back into the gluten foods. I don't know if my digestive system is just too sensitive after so many years of eating gluten, or if I'm just a very sugar/carb sensitive person, but I learned through doing Atkins which simple foods suit me best. I cannot and will not go back to my former "cheating ways", but I realize I will always have to eat carefully so as to not trigger the cravings. And I'll lose my extra fat in the process....it's coming off quite effortlessly on Atkins (a much maligned diet, I'll add....it's NOT a fat filled diet as many people seem to think).

[Jencat]

I'll throw in a few empathetic comments because I've struggled with this myself. After a lifetime of dealing with digestive issues, one gets accustomed to that to a degree. I wasn't as severe in my reactions as my mother is. I didn't figure out what was going on until I was about 56. And even then, since I had minimized gluten for several years to the extent that it didn't show up in a blood test, I got the Enterolab testing panel done. I had the celiac gene, the tests showed supposed inflammation. But no gold standard definitive diagnosis of either active celiac disease, or merely gluten intolerance, so I've been left not really knowing for sure. I'm sort of thinking this vague situation contributed to my on and off the wagon behavior the last 4 years. Despite all this, my gut feeling and the physical evidence points to the fact that I should never eat a smidgen of gluten. Never.

/quote]

Hi Carole, Thank you for sharing your story. I can say I actually relate and see myself in your shoes. I am 31 and wake up in pain. Terrible joint pain even my ankles hurt. At 31 I sometimes feel, and have expressed it openly,70. Posting on this forum has been the best step I have made because I have felt alone in this battle. Thankyou

[Black Sheep]

/quote]

Hi Carole, Thank you for sharing your story. I can say I actually relate and see myself in your shoes. I am 31 and wake up in pain. Terrible joint pain even my ankles hurt. At 31 I sometimes feel, and have expressed it openly,70. Posting on this forum has been the best step I have made because I have felt alone in this battle. Thankyou