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Realization About My Celiac

Lindsay630

By Lindsay630
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Lindsay630 Rookie
Lindsay630
Posted

So after being gluten free for 3 and a half months, I have come to the point of realization that my husband needs to go gluten free. I feel better than I use to but still feel sick a lot! I just cannot handle having gluten in the house. I feel guilty making him stop but I'm miserable. Are any of your spouses gluten free because of your celiac. Any suggestions so he doesn't feel deprived?

Thanks

Lindsay

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kenlove Rising Star
kenlove
Posted

My wife does not eat gluten free but she does not make anything with flour in the house ( she goes to her friends if she wants to make something with flour) and we have many separate utensils and pans. As a former chef, I dont want anyone using a lot of my kitchen tools anyway.

She has started to used gluten-free flours for somethings and if she does something that gets me sick she feels pretty bad but that does not happen that much now as its been almost 6 years. We've almost always made our own meals anyway. It takes time to work it out and keep bread and such out of the house but its worth it.

So after being gluten free for 3 and a half months, I have come to the point of realization that my husband needs to go gluten free. I feel better than I use to but still feel sick a lot! I just cannot handle having gluten in the house. I feel guilty making him stop but I'm miserable. Are any of your spouses gluten free because of your celiac. Any suggestions so he doesn't feel deprived?

Thanks

Lindsay

SGWhiskers Collaborator
SGWhiskers
Posted

I asked my husband for a 2 month trial of a gluten-free house. I found I could isolate my accidental cross contamination better that way. It also greatly reduced my anxiety levels. Then after about 3 months, I started letting him buy his own bread. I taught him about cross contamination, but he still did things accidentally that made me anxious. I don't think he ever got me sick, but watching him touch the refrigerator after his bread made me insane. We slowly added cereal back along with a few other items he would cook for himself. My anxiety and nagging went through the roof. We've been a gluten free house for the past 6 months again while I'm pregnant, and it feels SO good not to have to remind him to wash his hands and don't use that sponge and wash out that cereal bowl better. I'm dreading adding gluten back into our lives after baby is born.

He travels for work and eats out a lot, so he gets his gluten there. He does not whine about the house being gluten free, but I know he feels deprived. Finding Udi's bread has made a world of difference for him because he has sandwiches back again. We have very little prepared food in the house and he finds it hard to figure out what to eat since I usually only cook 1 meal a day. I think just having something prepared to eat is what he misses the most. Not the gluten. Oh, how I wish he could see that 3 items and 5 minutes of microwave time makes a great lunch, but he is blind to anything that isn't ready to eat right out of the package.

The gluten free house greatly improves my sanity and I believe at least a few months trial was a necessary part of the learning curve for both of us. I think you should give it a try and stock up on Udi's.

tea-and-crumpets Explorer
tea-and-crumpets
Posted

My husband agreed to go gluten-free at home with me. It is so much easier for me not to worry about cross contamination, especially after getting new pots and pans, etc. He's free to eat gluten out in the world and I'm not worried as long as he brushes his teeth before he gets home :) In fact, that's how we greet one another now. "Did you brush?"

At first, we were almost completely gluten-free, except for the dark beer that he likes to drink a couple of times a month. Lo and behold, though, he forgot to brush, smooched me, and I got glutened :( Now beer is off-limits, too, which I feel really bad about! He's such a good guy, though. Told me he'd been meaning to explore the world of cocktail mixing anyway, so why not start now?

Cypressmyst Explorer
Cypressmyst
Posted

My husband went gluten-free at the same time as me. Initially it was to be supportive and because he had the same back rash I did.

Lo and behold 3 months in his heartburn of 20 years went away. And the back rash is still working its way out (His was really really bad).

If he hadn't gone gluten-free with me he would have as soon as I started learning how horrible it is for everyone.

Now his story just confirms my suspicion that everyone could benefit from gluten-free. His only symptoms were back rash and heartburn. Not a single intestinal complaint.

If your husband loves you he will go gluten-free, at least in the house. Anything less is poisoning you daily. How would he feel if you rubbed raw chicken all over everything in the house and then expected him to go about his business.

Gluten CC is the same way.

Marz Enthusiast
Marz
Posted

I'd say definitely have him go gluten-free for a few weeks, even if he's just gluten-free at home (and in the car!), and washes his hands (and brushes teeth :) ) when he gets home if he's eaten outside the house. You'll at least be able to see if it makes a difference, and be able to confirm what's gluten-ing you

I guess it depends on your situation. My hubby is not gluten free - I even cook certain gluten-filled foods that I can't replace easily with gluten-free stuff. However...

1) I'm a bit obsessive about cleaning my hands and keeping the foods separate - I prepare my own food first and put it away before touching anything with gluten. If I have to swap between dishes I wash and dry my hands thoroughly. I throw the hand towel in the wash every day or so. Bread and rolls are kept in a specific spot on the counter away from normal preparation area, and I have a specific cutting board that I put the gluten stuff on. I have a tiny kitchen and I can still keep it separate :) I have separate pans and utensils for his gluten stuff.

2) Most of the time, I make gluten-free food for both of us - he can't even tell the difference.

3) I usually cook everything in the house, my hubby just doesn't know how to cook :) But that works for me since I can be obsessive about the food, and ensure everything is gluten-free going into my food.

4) We don't have kids, I think this helps a lot - not having kids running around with food and crumbs. When my hubby and I eat something, we'll eat it at the table or at our own computer, and finish it. Generally he doesn't walk around the house spilling crumbs everywhere.

5) Oh, and I keep a separate plate and knife/fork for myself that is never used for his food, and I wash it first (No dishwasher, booo). That way I don't have to obsessively clean the plates all the time...

I haven't been glutened by my husband touching the fridge after his food. But then see point 1 - I'm obsessive about washing hands before eating too :)

The biggest difference for me was cutting down hectically on eating out, and not eating food from work. Now that I'm eating my own food I finally feel "well" again - and it's mostly unprocessed food that I cook from scratch, with a few trusted spices and mixes. Yes it's bland, but I know I'm safe :)

Kay DH Apprentice
Kay DH
Posted

Our house is gluten-free, except for hubby's beer and flour tortillas. I found a good recipe for amaranth tortillas, so the wheat ones may go away. There are also a lot of good gluten-free beers. In the absence of other food allergies/intolerances, there really isn't much difference between gluten-free and gluten-full food (at least with time the gluten-free breads and other items are getting better). If you can replace his gluten items with equivalent gluten-free, then it would be easier for him. Hubby sees how sick I get when I get glutened, and he will eat almost anything, so those help. :)

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cap6 Enthusiast
cap6
Posted

Our home is gluten-free. My partner & son have a box of cereal and some soup in a separate cupboard and a loaf of bread in the bottom drawer of the refrig. Nothing else. I got rid of everything else that has gluten but no one minds. I do the cooking and they are just grateful they don't have to do it. lol Once in awhile they might bring home a burger but are very careful to clean the counter after eating. So far so good and it's been 8 months.

i-geek Rookie
i-geek
Posted

We don't cook gluten in our kitchen. My husband can brew his beer (he has his own pans and utensils for that), drink beer, and bring in gluten-y carryout food provided he is very careful and washes his hands before touching handles and whatnot. We found that I healed a lot faster once we stopped trying to keep gluten foods around and prepare them in the kitchen.

Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

Mine is gluten free at home, but will eat anything he wants for lunch out at work. Sometimes at restaurants if we eat out, he gets the regular food.

This way keeps it out of the house but doesn't deprive him, it's a win - win situation for us. He just changed breakfast cereals over to gluten free, and dinner is the same as before.

rainer83 Newbie
rainer83
Posted

Going gluten free for someone who doesn't need to be actually isn't a good idea.

Open Original Shared Link

If your husband wants to, then it's up to him. Personally, I couldn't ask for it. When I was a vegetarian, I didn't expect my significant other at the time to be a vegetarian either. Some people just can't handle different diets. All our bodies need certain requirements. Gluten free clearly for celiacs, or dairy free for lactose intolerance, etc, but cutting things out may actually be dangerous for some people.

GlutenFreeManna Rising Star
GlutenFreeManna
Posted

Going gluten free for someone who doesn't need to be actually isn't a good idea.

Open Original Shared Link

If your husband wants to, then it's up to him. Personally, I couldn't ask for it. When I was a vegetarian, I didn't expect my significant other at the time to be a vegetarian either. Some people just can't handle different diets. All our bodies need certain requirements. Gluten free clearly for celiacs, or dairy free for lactose intolerance, etc, but cutting things out may actually be dangerous for some people.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the author of that article. While it's true that going gluten free may not help all people lose weight, if they limit the number of gltuen free replacement items in their diet they will probably be eating healthier than the Standard American Diet. I actually think a large portion ofthe population could stand to benefit from going gluten free even if they don't have celiac or gltuen intolerance. My husband went gltuen free with me at first. He noticed many aches and pains he thoguht were just a part of getting older went away. he also dropped 30 lbs and has kept it off even though he has gone back to eating gluten outside of the house. I didn't "make" my hubby accomodate me, he wanted to because he cares abotu my health. He has seen me at my worst and he has seen how much better I am off of gluten. Asking him to be gluten free at home is not at all the same as asking him to be vegetarian around you. It's more comparable to asking him not to comtaminate your food and kitchen surfaces with rat poisin. Some people can keep gluten in their homes and not have cc issues, but some can not. If you are supersensitive and you notice you are still getting sick with gltuen in the house I don't think it's too much to ask your spouse to try takign the home gluten free.

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Gluten free eating would only be a little hazardous for those who didn't have a clue about nutrition and how to eat a healthy, balanced diet. In other words, those people would probably not be eating a healthy diet anyway, although the government tries to make sure they do with additives to certain foods, so that they get enough Vitamin D, for example, by adding it to milk. I think you will find that most people who adopt a gluten free diet are acutely aware of nutritional issues. Those who adopt it merely as a fad or to lose weight ARE more likely to have nutritional problems in that sense, because they generally don't pay as much attention to the content of what they eat.

sb2178 Enthusiast
sb2178
Posted

Ditto Neroli. Substituting white rice and high carb/sugar gluten-free substitute products for oatmeal and whole wheat bread, not good choices. Switching to kasha, quinoa and sweet potatoes, excellent choices.

It is far, far easier to not have risky items in the kitchen. Just gives you a safe zone where you DON'T have to think about it. Which is a wonderful luxury.

Lindsay630 Rookie
Lindsay630
Posted
  • Author

Going gluten free for someone who doesn't need to be actually isn't a good idea.

Open Original Shared Link

If your husband wants to, then it's up to him. Personally, I couldn't ask for it. When I was a vegetarian, I didn't expect my significant other at the time to be a vegetarian either. Some people just can't handle different diets. All our bodies need certain requirements. Gluten free clearly for celiacs, or dairy free for lactose intolerance, etc, but cutting things out may actually be dangerous for some people.

I actually take offense to this comment. Avoiding Gluten for me is NOT the same as CHOOSING to follow a vegetarian diet (which I do btw). The cross contamination that occurs due to gluten makes me extremely ill! Constructive comments are always welcome but comments should be factual, in my opinion.

Thank you to all the others for your support! We have not had any gluten in the house since Thursday and I am already feeling better!

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

Thank you to all the others for your support! We have not had any gluten in the house since Thursday and I am already feeling better!

Good for you. My celiac son and I found that we couldn't get healthy until we got gluten out of the house too. My husband and daughter are happy to not eat gluten in the house since it makes such a difference to our health.

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