Just Diagnosed

[hazeleyez682]

Hello All

After over a year of blood tests 2 endocopys 1 colonoscopy and coutless appointments i have been diagnosed a celiac. I have done alot of research on going gluten-free and i am ready to get healthy, but i have one major concern. I work in an italian resturant where we make our own pizza calzones ect... Everything on our menu is pasta pizza, calzones and other "glutney" foods. I come in contact with much of it. I do my best not to handle these things, but i do wonder with the dough being made there all day long and im sure flour is in the air, is working in this resturant going to hinder my going gluten-free???? Any input would be useful.

[ravenwoodglass]

Unfortunately the answer is yes, it could interfere with your healing and keep you reactive. The reason why is flour that is airborne is going to be breathed in. It will come into contact with your system and will keep the antibodies going.

[RiceGuy]

Yes. As ravenwoodglass stated, you'll not really be gluten-free if you continue working around all that wheat flour. Now, if the restaurant owner/manager wants to be progressive, they'll start making gluten-free versions of the foods you mentioned. Though they'd have to have a dedicated room with appropriate ventilation so that wheat flour from the rest of the place doesn't filter in. Then you could keep working there.

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 6/19/2010 at 3:04 PM, RiceGuy said:

Yes. As ravenwoodglass stated, you'll not really be gluten-free if you continue working around all that wheat flour. Now, if the restaurant owner/manager wants to be progressive, they'll start making gluten-free versions of the foods you mentioned. Though they'd have to have a dedicated room with appropriate ventilation so that wheat flour from the rest of the place doesn't filter in. Then you could keep working there.

Great idea but wouldn't having the wheat flour in the dedicated room be a better way? If they cook gluten free stuff and then walk it through the area where the wheat flour is floating around then folks would still be breathing in the wheat flour particles and it would be drifting down onto the gluten-free food also. I cooked at a restaurant a long time ago where they made their own bread and there was a little room where all the baking stuff and these huge mixers were kept. It had glass walls so the customers could watch the homemade bread being made while they ate their individual loaves. I always felt a bit like a zoo exhibit when the regular baker was off and I had to do it.

[hazeleyez682]

  On 6/19/2010 at 3:04 PM, RiceGuy said:

Yes. As ravenwoodglass stated, you'll not really be gluten-free if you continue working around all that wheat flour. Now, if the restaurant owner/manager wants to be progressive, they'll start making gluten-free versions of the foods you mentioned. Though they'd have to have a dedicated room with appropriate ventilation so that wheat flour from the rest of the place doesn't filter in. Then you could keep working there.

Well this puts me in a bind as i dont believe they will do anything like seperating stuff for me, it's tough as EVERYTHING on thier menu is not celiac friendly at all. And the kitchen space is limited to one large room so seperating these items would be impossible...I'm in trouble ;-(

[Mari]

  On 6/20/2010 at 1:51 AM, hazeleyez682 said:

Well this puts me in a bind as i dont believe they will do anything like seperating stuff for me, it's tough as EVERYTHING on thier menu is not celiac friendly at all. And the kitchen space is limited to one large room so seperating these items would be impossible...I'm in trouble ;-(

I can see that this is difficult for you, particularly if food handling is the only job you are trained for and you are satisfied with this type of work. Any other similar job might present the same problems. You might contact your local government agency and look into unemployment benefits which might bridge the gap until you find a different kind of work. Some states have funded re-training programs which you might be entitled to with your gluten problems. Years ago I read about a dentist who became very allergic to dental materials and he was retrained so he could work again. There may be some medications which you can use to limit the damage while you are still working with all that wheat around, I have read that some people use benedryl or antihistamines so talk to your Dr. And not everybody is so sensitive that they react to small amounts of gluten in the air or on counters, or so they wrote but the danger is that you could be reacting and not show symptoms. One woman wrote in who had been gluten-free for 10 years but was cooking regular food for her family. Her Dr decided to do the tests and they were positive. One guy was able to work in a restaurant with gluten foods if he wore gloves. It is a little expensive but you might want to do the blood tests at regular intervals to keep track of any reactions. Good Luck!

[RiceGuy]

  On 6/19/2010 at 4:00 PM, ravenwoodglass said:

Great idea but wouldn't having the wheat flour in the dedicated room be a better way? If they cook gluten free stuff and then walk it through the area where the wheat flour is floating around then folks would still be breathing in the wheat flour particles and it would be drifting down onto the gluten-free food also. I cooked at a restaurant a long time ago where they made their own bread and there was a little room where all the baking stuff and these huge mixers were kept. It had glass walls so the customers could watch the homemade bread being made while they ate their individual loaves. I always felt a bit like a zoo exhibit when the regular baker was off and I had to do it.

Very good point. The first image which comes into my mind is a wall right down the center of the building, and both halves have an entrance. Traditional on one side, and gluten-free on the other. OK, that's just too idealistic, but one can dream.

  On 6/20/2010 at 1:51 AM, hazeleyez682 said:

Well this puts me in a bind as i dont believe they will do anything like seperating stuff for me, it's tough as EVERYTHING on thier menu is not celiac friendly at all. And the kitchen space is limited to one large room so seperating these items would be impossible...I'm in trouble ;-(

I have little doubt that you are correct in that they won't want to change anything. However, if it were me, I wouldn't go to the management as if to say "do all this just for me". I'd present the idea as a forward-thinking profit-motivated venture. Just think of all the additional customers they could have if they did it! Maybe start a petition or something. Post a notice in the local health food stores, with a web address for people to go and sign a list. Of course, that takes time, of which you really don't have much. I don't know what sort of disability options there may be if any, but you need something right away. As many philosophy-oriented people might say, turn what could be misfortune into opportunity. You already know how to work with food. So you're that much closer to being adept at doing it gluten-free. That is, if you aim to stay in your current line of work. I wonder if any vocational schools have a gluten-free cooking class. If not, they should, and that means they'd need teachers. I don't know, just a few thoughts. I'm sure others will have some ideas for you.

[gf-soph]

That is such a hard situation for you!

Honestly, if it were me, there is no way I would ever work in an environment where they make products using loose flour. I don't even go inside bakeries if I can help it, and I walk past them quickly when I don't have a choice.

While you can wash your hands and clothes, the main issue is that you are breathing in the flour. Some of it gets trapped in the mucous in your nose and throat, and from there some of that gets into your digestive tract. If it was a restaurant where there wasn't loose flour I would still be concerned, but loose flour is a big concern.

I used to work in a bakery (prior to going gluten-free), and I used to come home covered in a greasy film of flour. Think of that all through your nose and mouth. You can't know at this point how sensitive you are, or how much gluten you will ingest through the air, not to mention the contamination through your hands and clothes.

It's a big issue, and you have to make the decision that is best for you. However, if you continue working there you should at least get your blood antibodies checked out occasionally to see if they are falling. If they dont, or if you are still sick, then I would seriously consider whether the job is damaging your health.

[hazeleyez682]

  On 6/21/2010 at 9:13 AM, gf_soph said:

That is such a hard situation for you!

Honestly, if it were me, there is no way I would ever work in an environment where they make products using loose flour. I don't even go inside bakeries if I can help it, and I walk past them quickly when I don't have a choice.

While you can wash your hands and clothes, the main issue is that you are breathing in the flour. Some of it gets trapped in the mucous in your nose and throat, and from there some of that gets into your digestive tract. If it was a restaurant where there wasn't loose flour I would still be concerned, but loose flour is a big concern.

I used to work in a bakery (prior to going gluten-free), and I used to come home covered in a greasy film of flour. Think of that all through your nose and mouth. You can't know at this point how sensitive you are, or how much gluten you will ingest through the air, not to mention the contamination through your hands and clothes.

It's a big issue, and you have to make the decision that is best for you. However, if you continue working there you should at least get your blood antibodies checked out occasionally to see if they are falling. If they dont, or if you are still sick, then I would seriously consider whether the job is damaging your health.

Truth is i dont LOVE the buissness. I have a BA in education and was teaching until laid off, that's when i took this job as a server. And it has proved to be very lucrative making 100 a night mostly. But i dont want to make myself sick. My last pre-diagnosis TTG was 88! I have been so sick for so long i just want to feel better. I have lost 40lbs and have dirreah nasuea, stomach pain daily. Perhaps a nice quiet office job LOL? The resturant buisness is high stress i often work 8-10 hr days on my feet...i read stress isnt good for celiacs and can create symptoms. Maybe a job change isnt a bad idea. Thanks for all this information. I have some job hunting to do...not an easy task in this economy especially in RI smallest state fewer jobs :-/