A Weeked Long Family Vacation

[missceliac2010]

***I just realized the typo in my heading. Oops... weekend, not weeked... LOL. That's what I get for posting at 2am! Sorry!***

This past weekend, a cousin of mine got married up at Lake Tahoe. I tried to prepare as best I could for my food-challenged weekend. We started with a hotel with a full kitchen...good choice. Then we shopped before the weekend, preparing for and purchasing all of the gluten-free items I thought I might want/need. To save money, we also brought up food for the kids and my sweet boyfriend, who is so supportive. We got there, unpacked the items onto separate shelves in the pantry and fridge... gluten on the bottom, "mom food" on the top, etc...

It all sounded good. But here was the problem...I felt left out. Ok, maybe I'm whining, but I decided that I would simply eat back at the hotel before the family dinners and just enjoy an iced tea and the families' company at the restaurants. But I was asked so many questions by my family members! (There were lots of not-so-close relatives there, and my disease seemed to be the highlight of conversation, complicated by my not-eating choice being so not-normal!) Ok, so maybe restaurant paranoia was a little over the top, but I had a great dress picked out to wear, and if I "got glutened", I would have a giant pot belly, and then i wouldn't have been able to wear that little black dress I'd worked so hard to look good in the day of the wedding!

So basically, I'm early in my diagnosis, finding out that I am VERY SENSITIVE (like an unclean plate can send me into a 2-day nightmare), and scared of other people's CC! I mean...SCARED! I am terrified that a waiter will grab a bread basket before taking my possibly gluten free meal to my table and cc me! Or maybe a crumb will jump onto my food from the crunchy bread an unknowing family member sitting next to me flings at me while buttering their little piece of poison! Again, I know I'm going over the top and paranoid, but I'm really scared!

We got home from the weekend, and my boyfriend and I immediately began thinking about where we "went wrong" and how to "do it better next time." So thanks for listening to my rant, and I would love any suggestions on how to look and eat more "normal" while on vacation/eating out. At home, I am good. I got this. I have most things figured out, or am working on it. I am not getting glutened at home anymore, most of the time. Within my 4 walls of "controlled space" I have a comfort zone. This disease is really a challenge. I suppose the enormity of my diagnosis has hit me heavy all of a sudden, and I am trying to come to terms with this new chapter in my life.

In addition to my general question, here are some more specific ones...How do you all "deal" in public? How does your family support you while on vacation or eating out? What small changes can you make to have a positive experience at a restaurant? Is eating out always a roll of the dice?

Thanks all! I am off to try to sleep. I got accidentally glutened by an evil orange sherbet at my grandparents house this evening and had to take one of my anti-spasm pills my GI doctor prescribed to stop the pain. It worked, but I ended up sleeping from 8pm-1am, so here I am wide awake at 2am writing this! O the joys of Celiac disease!

[K8ling]

I was SO there in June, my husbands WHOLE family was at the beach house and there was ONE kitchen and they had NO IDEA about anything gluten-free or what Celiac even was. It was my personal hell. Horrible horrible horrible amd I was sick the entire week. What I did manage to do was learn how to make my own food stations. I used tinfoil to prep food on. I didn't share. I was still sick but I am willing to bet it would have been much worse if I hadn't at least tried to keep CC to a minimum.

When I go out with just my husband, he is fine with me doing whatever I need to do. In fact, he asks again and again, and has explained Celiac to quite a few people because I could only stare at them like "are you stupid?" when they asked if I could have noodles. We have to be persistent. It sucks, yeah, but it's key to our health. Next time I go out I am going to show them my Allergy bracelet.

I wish I could say it gets...easier...but it doesn't, you just adjust to it. Ok, so it gets easier for US not for others lol.

Hang in there, and we are there for support. Also, I totally understand the paranoia, I am STILL dealing with that!

[tarnalberry]

I'm not sure how long you've been gluten free, but I do what you do - most of the time - and just deal with being "not-normal". When the questions are too many, you simply have short, "end of conversation" answers followed by changing the subject. (And, for the clueless, a brief "I don't want this meal's conversation to be centered around my eating. What else have we got to talk about.") I find it's more about managing people, than managing food.

You can, also, consider making food you can bring with you - even if it isn't pipping hot when you eat it, or even if it's substantially different from what other folks are having.

[Skylark]

I do the same thing, answering briefly about how great I feel when I eat carefully and changing the subject. Lately the BP oil spill has been a good one.

Here's another thing. Sometimes when people ask a lot of questions about your symptoms, they're wondering about their own health. I've had some really odd conversations where a friend will suddenly pepper me with questions. They finally admit they're wondering about their own health and gluten. I have two friends and a family member now who have improved their health going gluten-free because they learned about gluten intolerance from my story. Celiac is so common but so underdiagnosed that we have the ability to change lives by being relaxed and open.

[Gemini]

I think, over time, that you might be able to relax a bit and not be so anxiety filled with regards to this diet. It really is not that hard but if new to the game, re-learning some old habits is what can be frustrating. That, coupled with the vast majority of Americans being overly obsessed with food and not even understanding what is in the food they eat, can make your experience hard to deal with. I get really annoyed with people who make a big deal out of what I eat...they should concentrate on what they are putting in their mouths and not obsess over what others choose to do. I have different ways of dealing with the "problem" people....it depends on the situation.

I would imagine that California is awash with gluten-free friendly places to eat, like on the East Coast. I have been doing this for 5 years so know where I can go to get a safe meal. I am so rarely glutened when I eat out, I do not worry about it. If it happens, I deal with it and move on. I may not eat at that restaurant again or maybe I will, depending on their response to my complaint. However, I do not eat wedding food at all because I have been bagged by caterers before. Lack of confidence with that one! I also keep going out to eat down to about once a month, at most. The food I cook at home is always better.

I see from your signature that you are lactose intolerant. Sherbert is gluten free but not dairy free...there's milk in sherbert. I would imagine that's what made you crampy. I react similarly to dairy and am very dairy light as that's all I can tolerate. The hardest thing to remember is that not all stomach issues are from a glutening. It's easy to fall into that trap but important to know because you may have other food intolerances that may not be discovered if you focus too much on gluten.

You will get through this and come to not feel isolated but it takes a little time. Hang in there....you'll be fine!

[vbecton]

It all sounded good. But here was the problem...I felt left out.

So basically, I'm early in my diagnosis, finding out that I am VERY SENSITIVE (like an unclean plate can send me into a 2-day nightmare), and scared of other people's CC! I mean...SCARED! I am terrified that a waiter will grab a bread basket before taking my possibly gluten free meal to my table and cc me! Or maybe a crumb will jump onto my food from the crunchy bread an unknowing family member sitting next to me flings at me while buttering their little piece of poison! Again, I know I'm going over the top and paranoid, but I'm really scared!

Within my 4 walls of "controlled space" I have a comfort zone. I suppose the enormity of my diagnosis has hit me heavy all of a sudden, and I am trying to come to terms with this new chapter in my life.

In addition to my general question, here are some more specific ones...How do you all "deal" in public? How does your family support you while on vacation or eating out? What small changes can you make to have a positive experience at a restaurant? Is eating out always a roll of the dice?

Wow, your post really hit home for me. I just returned today from a 4 day river rafting trip with my good girlfriends that I work out with EVERYDAY. We know each other very well. They've been with me through this diagnosis, but they've never stared at it in the face as they did when we stayed in this super tiny cabin. It was a big reality check for me. It was my 1st trip out of my comfort zone and I thought I had it in check. My husband and I made all my food, pre-packaged everything neatly, labeled them with what meal and day it was to be eaten. But, the first night we got there they planned for us to eat out, but made sure I had the choice on where to eat. I called ahead, found a restaurant with a gluten free menu and a nice helpful manager, but I still got glutened. That set things off from there. I was so upset and annoyed that my trip was off to a bad note and that no matter the precautions I had taken, it was still out of my control to NOT get sick.

I did feel left out as well, but I know that is something I'll have to come to terms with soon. In fact, they kept asking if I missed eating the things they were and my response was, "I only like food if it doesn't make me sick!"

I don't want to miss out on these fun adventures, but I feel like there will always be a risk. My friends bought me an economy box of matches for the bathroom and told me to "have at it." Aren't they sweet But, I did feel like a pesky, sick, annoying hypochondriac. We are both new to this, so social situations will just take more getting used to. My biggest complaint right now is having a balance of explaining the severity of my intolerance and the person on the other end "getting it" without dismissing me, or me having to sound like a raving lunatic

The fun part about the trip was everytime something went wrong, or somebody did something silly we would all say "they must have Celiac Disease." We got a few laughs out of that!

[Tina B]

***I just realized the typo in my heading. Oops... weekend, not weeked... LOL. That's what I get for posting at 2am! Sorry!***

This past weekend, a cousin of mine got married up at Lake Tahoe. I tried to prepare as best I could for my food-challenged weekend. We started with a hotel with a full kitchen...good choice. Then we shopped before the weekend, preparing for and purchasing all of the gluten-free items I thought I might want/need. To save money, we also brought up food for the kids and my sweet boyfriend, who is so supportive. We got there, unpacked the items onto separate shelves in the pantry and fridge... gluten on the bottom, "mom food" on the top, etc...

It all sounded good. But here was the problem...I felt left out. Ok, maybe I'm whining, but I decided that I would simply eat back at the hotel before the family dinners and just enjoy an iced tea and the families' company at the restaurants. But I was asked so many questions by my family members! (There were lots of not-so-close relatives there, and my disease seemed to be the highlight of conversation, complicated by my not-eating choice being so not-normal!) Ok, so maybe restaurant paranoia was a little over the top, but I had a great dress picked out to wear, and if I "got glutened", I would have a giant pot belly, and then i wouldn't have been able to wear that little black dress I'd worked so hard to look good in the day of the wedding!

So basically, I'm early in my diagnosis, finding out that I am VERY SENSITIVE (like an unclean plate can send me into a 2-day nightmare), and scared of other people's CC! I mean...SCARED! I am terrified that a waiter will grab a bread basket before taking my possibly gluten free meal to my table and cc me! Or maybe a crumb will jump onto my food from the crunchy bread an unknowing family member sitting next to me flings at me while buttering their little piece of poison! Again, I know I'm going over the top and paranoid, but I'm really scared!

We got home from the weekend, and my boyfriend and I immediately began thinking about where we "went wrong" and how to "do it better next time." So thanks for listening to my rant, and I would love any suggestions on how to look and eat more "normal" while on vacation/eating out. At home, I am good. I got this. I have most things figured out, or am working on it. I am not getting glutened at home anymore, most of the time. Within my 4 walls of "controlled space" I have a comfort zone. This disease is really a challenge. I suppose the enormity of my diagnosis has hit me heavy all of a sudden, and I am trying to come to terms with this new chapter in my life.

In addition to my general question, here are some more specific ones...How do you all "deal" in public? How does your family support you while on vacation or eating out? What small changes can you make to have a positive experience at a restaurant? Is eating out always a roll of the dice?

Thanks all! I am off to try to sleep. I got accidentally glutened by an evil orange sherbet at my grandparents house this evening and had to take one of my anti-spasm pills my GI doctor prescribed to stop the pain. It worked, but I ended up sleeping from 8pm-1am, so here I am wide awake at 2am writing this! O the joys of Celiac disease!

Skied at Lake Tahoe for a whole week. Ate at the ski lodges for lunch every day. No problem, there was always yogurts, fruit, french fries, salads,candy bars. Cooked in the condo twice, same meal for everyone, ribs, baked potatoes, salad etc. Another night made a spinach portobello risotto. Ate in restaurants several times, steaks, shrimp cocktail, potatoes, salads, grilled fish (no crumb topping) clams, mussels, scallops with bacon, cocktails (vodka martinis, with potato vodka) but then again I've been doing this for 20 years.

[missceliac2010]

What I did manage to do was learn how to make my own food stations. I used tinfoil to prep food on. I didn't share. I was still sick but I am willing to bet it would have been much worse if I hadn't at least tried to keep CC to a minimum.

Hang in there, and we are there for support. Also, I totally understand the paranoia, I am STILL dealing with that!

Thanks so much for the been there, done that support! I love the idea of aluminum foil! I think I'll put a roll of foil in my car to have at a moments notice! (I have family local, so it's not unusual to be going over there last minute for a meal.)

When the questions are too many, you simply have short, "end of conversation" answers followed by changing the subject.

Great idea again! I am not good at ending conversations in general, and I find myself defending lots of things that other people will later say "why did you even answer that rude question?" I think to myself, "yeah, why did I even entertain that question, it was none of their business!" I will make an effort to get better at politely dodging questions and changing the subject!

Here's another thing. Sometimes when people ask a lot of questions about your symptoms, they're wondering about their own health.

Hmm, I had never thought of it that way. I suppose you could be right. I did have my boyfriend's sister start asking me about specifics, but she told me from the beginning that she was curious if perhaps she was suffering from the disease as well. She did not make me wonder, she just told me. But not all people are that forward I suppose, and can use a back door method of getting information. Thanks!

I think, over time, that you might be able to relax a bit and not be so anxiety filled with regards to this diet. It really is not that hard but if new to the game, re-learning some old habits is what can be frustrating. That, coupled with the vast majority of Americans being overly obsessed with food and not even understanding what is in the food they eat, can make your experience hard to deal with. I get really annoyed with people who make a big deal out of what I eat...they should concentrate on what they are putting in their mouths and not obsess over what others choose to do.

I would imagine that California is awash with gluten-free friendly places to eat, like on the East Coast. I have been doing this for 5 years so know where I can go to get a safe meal. I am so rarely glutened when I eat out, I do not worry about it. If it happens, I deal with it and move on. I may not eat at that restaurant again or maybe I will, depending on their response to my complaint. However, I do not eat wedding food at all because I have been bagged by caterers before. Lack of confidence with that one! I also keep going out to eat down to about once a month, at most. The food I cook at home is always better.

I see from your signature that you are lactose intolerant. Sherbert is gluten free but not dairy free...there's milk in sherbert. I would imagine that's what made you crampy. I react similarly to dairy and am very dairy light as that's all I can tolerate. The hardest thing to remember is that not all stomach issues are from a glutening. It's easy to fall into that trap but important to know because you may have other food intolerances that may not be discovered if you focus too much on gluten.

You will get through this and come to not feel isolated but it takes a little time. Hang in there....you'll be fine!

I agree that over time I will have less anxiety surrounding the gluten-free diet. Thanks for the encouraging words! When you said "hang in there", I pictured that poster you see in offices often of a kitty hanging onto a tree branch with that quote on it! It made me giggle, thanks!

Love what you said about other people obsessing about what I put into my mouth. Why do people feel they can be so judgmental at the dinner table? I don't ask my grandma why she is putting 2 pats of butter on her toast despite the fact that she has had 2 heart attacks. Or question my diabetic friend when she chooses to eat cake and just take more insulin later. So leave me alone! Great suggestion!

The sherbet was a dumb idea all around. I took 2 "Lactaid" pills before I ate it, but they must not have worked. Or perhaps it was a small combination of a little gluten and a little lactose. Who knows. I just know I won't be eating sherbet anymore! Also, I had gastric bypass surgery 3 years ago, so I don't do well with a lot of sugar either. The different combination of why's and how's are mind boggling, but today I feel better...phew!

Wow, your post really hit home for me. I just returned today from a 4 day river rafting trip with my good girlfriends that I work out with EVERYDAY. We know each other very well. They've been with me through this diagnosis, but they've never stared at it in the face as they did when we stayed in this super tiny cabin. It was a big reality check for me. It was my 1st trip out of my comfort zone and I thought I had it in check. My husband and I made all my food, pre-packaged everything neatly, labeled them with what meal and day it was to be eaten. But, the first night we got there they planned for us to eat out, but made sure I had the choice on where to eat. I called ahead, found a restaurant with a gluten free menu and a nice helpful manager, but I still got glutened. That set things off from there. I was so upset and annoyed that my trip was off to a bad note and that no matter the precautions I had taken, it was still out of my control to NOT get sick.

I did feel left out as well, but I know that is something I'll have to come to terms with soon. In fact, they kept asking if I missed eating the things they were and my response was, "I only like food if it doesn't make me sick!"

I don't want to miss out on these fun adventures, but I feel like there will always be a risk. My friends bought me an economy box of matches for the bathroom and told me to "have at it." Aren't they sweet But, I did feel like a pesky, sick, annoying hypochondriac. We are both new to this, so social situations will just take more getting used to. My biggest complaint right now is having a balance of explaining the severity of my intolerance and the person on the other end "getting it" without dismissing me, or me having to sound like a raving lunatic

The fun part about the trip was everytime something went wrong, or somebody did something silly we would all say "they must have Celiac Disease." We got a few laughs out of that!

You are a lucky woman to have such good girlfriends! However, having your new diagnosis on the table for discussion at every meal time must have gotten a little annoying! I know I got annoyed! But friends, like family, I suppose are asking and curious because they care. At least that's what I try to remind myself. A box of matches! LOL! I also bought 2 boxes of matches a few months ago when my belly just 'wasn't right'! One box for my house, one for my boyfriends! Both places only have 1 potty, so it's mutually understood that I take precedent if more than 1 person has "got to go..."

Today my sister said something that was a little hurtful. After I had to leave the dinner party last night early because of my sherbet incident, she said this morning "well, I think some of it is psychosomatic." She continued to explain that she thinks when I convince myself that I have been glutened, that I in turn, feel bad. Yeah, um, thanks sis, but that's not true! I felt terrible! I might not have gotten my personal diagnosis 100% correct about the gluten, and it might well have been the lactose, or the high sugar content...whatever... but my symptoms were very real, I assure you! Ugghh! I wanted to strangle her! And this from a woman with severe Chrones Disease! I wonder if she wanted to undercut me to show the family that she still had the worst diagnosis of the family, and that she is the sickest. LOL! I don't contend with the fact that her life is hell. and she can keep the pity prize! Chrones is a terrible disease, and I often remind myself that at least it's just Celiac and it's not something worse!

I've been doing this for 20 years.

Ahhh Tina, someday I will learn your ways. I am just a young pad-wan, you are a jedi master! LOL!

Thanks all!

[julandjo]

***I just realized the typo in my heading. Oops... weekend, not weeked... LOL. That's what I get for posting at 2am! Sorry!***

This past weekend, a cousin of mine got married up at Lake Tahoe. I tried to prepare as best I could for my food-challenged weekend. We started with a hotel with a full kitchen...good choice. Then we shopped before the weekend, preparing for and purchasing all of the gluten-free items I thought I might want/need. To save money, we also brought up food for the kids and my sweet boyfriend, who is so supportive. We got there, unpacked the items onto separate shelves in the pantry and fridge... gluten on the bottom, "mom food" on the top, etc...

It all sounded good. But here was the problem...I felt left out. Ok, maybe I'm whining, but I decided that I would simply eat back at the hotel before the family dinners and just enjoy an iced tea and the families' company at the restaurants. But I was asked so many questions by my family members! (There were lots of not-so-close relatives there, and my disease seemed to be the highlight of conversation, complicated by my not-eating choice being so not-normal!) Ok, so maybe restaurant paranoia was a little over the top, but I had a great dress picked out to wear, and if I "got glutened", I would have a giant pot belly, and then i wouldn't have been able to wear that little black dress I'd worked so hard to look good in the day of the wedding!

So basically, I'm early in my diagnosis, finding out that I am VERY SENSITIVE (like an unclean plate can send me into a 2-day nightmare), and scared of other people's CC! I mean...SCARED! I am terrified that a waiter will grab a bread basket before taking my possibly gluten free meal to my table and cc me! Or maybe a crumb will jump onto my food from the crunchy bread an unknowing family member sitting next to me flings at me while buttering their little piece of poison! Again, I know I'm going over the top and paranoid, but I'm really scared!

We got home from the weekend, and my boyfriend and I immediately began thinking about where we "went wrong" and how to "do it better next time." So thanks for listening to my rant, and I would love any suggestions on how to look and eat more "normal" while on vacation/eating out. At home, I am good. I got this. I have most things figured out, or am working on it. I am not getting glutened at home anymore, most of the time. Within my 4 walls of "controlled space" I have a comfort zone. This disease is really a challenge. I suppose the enormity of my diagnosis has hit me heavy all of a sudden, and I am trying to come to terms with this new chapter in my life.

In addition to my general question, here are some more specific ones...How do you all "deal" in public? How does your family support you while on vacation or eating out? What small changes can you make to have a positive experience at a restaurant? Is eating out always a roll of the dice?

Thanks all! I am off to try to sleep. I got accidentally glutened by an evil orange sherbet at my grandparents house this evening and had to take one of my anti-spasm pills my GI doctor prescribed to stop the pain. It worked, but I ended up sleeping from 8pm-1am, so here I am wide awake at 2am writing this! O the joys of Celiac disease!

Ugh, I'm dreading travel. We're going to an out-of-state wedding in September. My MIL graciously is covering our hotel stay. The other day she asked me what I plan to do about food for that weekend. I said that I hope the hotel room has a fridge and microwave, but if not we'll bring a cooler and I'll get by eating cold stuff all weekend. She is highly dubious of my "disorder" and considers me a hypochondriac in general... but her response to me really bothered me. She put her hands on her hips and said "Julie, have you ever thought of just joining the rest of us for the meal at the wedding, and having restaurant food for the weekend? Can't you just suck it up and deal with a tummy ache for a few hours?" while she rolled her eyes. I'm not even kidding. I stayed calm and said "It's not like that; it's not a "tummy ache"; it's 3 to 5 days of pretty much wanting to die from the pain." She rolled her eyes again. She has no time or patience to be educated on what Celiac really is. I wish my husband had been there at the time because he's getting really good about stepping in and putting people in their place.

Anyway, I too am very much struggling with the social aspect of Celiac. I'm not comfortable joining people and not eating. It's very awkward for me still. I love hearing other people's experiences and suggestions!

[Tina B]

Ahhh Tina, someday I will learn your ways. I am just a young pad-wan, you are a jedi master! LOL!

Thanks all!

[missceliac2010]

Hi Tina!

I understand what u are saying about having to just know ingredients and ask lots of questions. I am not a cook, so I am not familiar with ingredients in even the simplest things like you spoke of. Perhaps 20 years out you are not as sensitive anymore? I know my dad has celiac and was dx'd in his 30's. He was very sick and had to be very careful. Now, 20 years later he is so healed that he can enjoy a beer or two! A beer!! Not gluten free beer! Right now, even a gluten item touching my food can send me into a bad poisoning. I hope that someday I will heal more and get more cozy with the diet and familiar with foods that are ok, usually... Until then I'll remain vigilant and a little fearful of eating out. Thanks for the advise! I took notes! Honest!

Ahhh Tina, someday I will learn your ways. I am just a young pad-wan, you are a jedi master! LOL!

Thanks all!

20 years ago there were no special "gluten free menus in restaurants." We had to learn to ask questions. Any American restaurant has things like steak, steamed lobsters, (here is RI), clams mussels, salads, hold the croutons. If you cook you knew not to order anything with sauces or things like veal cutlets that would have obviously been breaded or floured first. I just stayed with grilled veal,fish, beef, pork, baked or mashed potatoes, veges. If you've ever seen recipes for things like chocolate mousse, or creme brulee you'd know they have no flour. Even 20 years ago the waiters and waitresses were more than happy to go ask the chef about specific ingredients. I never even call ahead or look for restaurants with special menus because I just have learned what to look for. You almost always can find a few choices on any menu. I guess I'm just less anxious than some of the newly diagnosed folks now. I never hesitated to eat out right from the beginning. Even packaged items: now many are labeled gluten free so more peole now just look for that when I had to learn to recognize derivatives of wheat, barley and rye. 20 years age was also before they knew more about oats.

I went ot Budpest, Vienna and Prague for 2 weeks last year and had no problems. My only requirement was that we find restaurants with english menus. These days in any major city in the world the restaurants have english menus and in most the menu was printed in at least 4 languages. didn't even call ahead for the plane, just brought enough snacks in my carry on to tide me over.

Have I ever had a problem eating out? Yes, and it was my own fault for not asking. 1. don't assume coconut shrimp only has coconut on it :-)

2. At a fondue restaurant in Banff Canada, thought 2 bites of the bread in cheese course would be OK, NOT!!! However, the meat part and the fruit dipped in chocolate courses were excellent. 3. Only once in Vienna the menu said the side was rissotto but turned out to be orzo when I got it so just didn't eat that part.

Good luck newbies! Don't let it run your life. Anxiety over this can only cause more problems.

[Tina B]

I am still sensitive. I would get symptms with a small bite of something with gluten. You just get used to doing it.

[vbecton]

I am still sensitive. I would get symptms with a small bite of something with gluten. You just get used to doing it.

I'm glad I read your post. You are a 20 year veteran and give me hope! I am happy that this adjustment period will fade and I will also become good at eating out. I desperately miss eating out on a regular basis!

Just curious. When you visit a restaurant, especially a new one, what do you say to them? Exactly what types of questions and directions should be going down?

[Tina B]

I'm glad I read your post. You are a 20 year veteran and give me hope! I am happy that this adjustment period will fade and I will also become good at eating out. I desperately miss eating out on a regular basis!

Just curious. When you visit a restaurant, especially a new one, what do you say to them? Exactly what types of questions and directions should be going down?

Well, for example if I am considering a baked fish dish and it doesn't say on the menu if it has a topping I will ask and tell them I can't have any flour or breadcrumbs. If they don't know they will ask. For example buffalo wings can sometimes be breaded and I will always ask. I don't bother with the whole celiac explanation. I just say I can't have flour, or breadcrumbs or wheat. I just let them think it is an allergy.

[vbecton]

Well, for example if I am considering a baked fish dish and it doesn't say on the menu if it has a topping I will ask and tell them I can't have any flour or breadcrumbs. If they don't know they will ask. For example buffalo wings can sometimes be breaded and I will always ask. I don't bother with the whole celiac explanation. I just say I can't have flour, or breadcrumbs or wheat. I just let them think it is an allergy.

Yeah, that seems to go over better using an allergy. Do you explain about CC? Or just roll the dice? I ordered from the gluten free menu at a restaurant 4 days ago and was sick as a dog, but I never explained about CC. I think that's where I went wrong?

[Tina B]

I'm glad I read your post. You are a 20 year veteran and give me hope! I am happy that this adjustment period will fade and I will also become good at eating out. I desperately miss eating out on a regular basis!

PS: During my first week, 20 years ago, except for fruit, veges, meats and poultry the only starch souce I ate was rice cakes until I began to find things like crackers and breads that were gluten free. Then I found Vans waffles and would just use them as toast if I had anything like eggs. I was sent to a nutritionist who could tell me what not to eat but no idea where to get it. I tried some really awful things back them. There was no

celiac .com to write and ask which is the best bread. Not all that many homes had computers yet. (OYVEY I'm dating myself) Trust me, It is soooo much better now.

[Tina B]

Yeah, that seems to go over better using an allergy. Do you explain about CC? Or just roll the dice? I ordered from the gluten free menu at a restaurant 4 days ago and was sick as a dog, but I never explained about CC. I think that's where I went wrong?

You know, I'm not so sensitive that a microscopic particle would bother me. I would never put my bread on the cutting board without washing and drying it first. I would send back a salad where they forgot to leave off the croutons rather than just take them off. I would never use a measuring cup that I had used to measure regular flour without washing and drying it first. For example my brother in law put mayo on his regular sandwich and then wiped the knife on the edge of the jar. I said, "hey! you just contaminated the mayo! I just scooped out a large area around that with a spoon and threw that part away. The people who live with me know not to do that kind of stuff. I know some folks may be that sensitive but I consider myself lucky that the common sense approach to the CC works.

[Tina B]

Yeah, that seems to go over better using an allergy. Do you explain about CC? Or just roll the dice? I ordered from the gluten free menu at a restaurant 4 days ago and was sick as a dog, but I never explained about CC. I think that's where I went wrong?

I noticed your signature and saw the soy and dairy thing. If you are sensitive to soy, things on the gluten-free menu may have had soy or dairy because that would be allowed on a standard gluten-free menu. You might be better off doing what I do and picking grilled things with side baked potatoes, steamed or sauteed side veges, salads instead of trying to pick from a gluten-free labeled menu. If you are picking things that have been done with subsitute toppings or pastas they would e gluten free but not soy or dairy free.