Please Allow Me To Rant...

[Pamela B.]

Yay for Labor Day picnics, right?

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Yeah; didn't think so.

I've been gluten free, minus being glutened a few times from CC, for almost 6 months now. I used to have the same mindset with gluten CC when I went out to eat with my friends that I used to have about alcohol ("Sure, I might have a hangover the next day, but the bonding with friends and good times will be worth it!"), but I've found that the gluten CC just doesn't make it worth it.

A bunch of my friends are getting together for a BBQ today. Normally I'd be excited, but now meetups that center around food like this just fill me with dread. I'm not even going to bother going. It still upsets me too much to be around all this food that I can't even eat. One person is bringing praline pecan brownies... something I'll never be able to eat unless I make them myself, and I really, really hate cooking.

Also, in a couple of weeks, my boss is taking all of his employees to Buca di Beppo. An Italian restaurant. It's a biannual thing, and this is the first outing there since finding out I'm gluten intolerant. There do have a small gluten free menu, but there's no way I'll be able to handle being around all that fettucine alfredo, spaghetti, and the absolute best cake I've ever had in my entire life. Probably won't go there, either, unless I stuff myself with food and then go at the very end.

I just feel like curling up into a ball and crying.

[zus888]

I feel your pain, Sista!! Right there with you!! I've bowed out of many a picnic and gatherings this year due to the same thing. I'll be gluten-free for 6 months in just 4 days. Nope, not counting the days over here...

[ravenwoodglass]

Sorry this is so hard for you right now. Hopefully at some point you will be able to go to functions like this and enjoy the company of your freinds or coworkers. If the restaurant has a gluten-free menu you may want to rethink going. It is hard when so many social functions involve food but you don't want to isolate yourself. Eventually the invitations will stop coming if you do.

Hang in there and cry if you need to. We're here for you.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[rosetapper23]

Ah, the bitterness of accepting the gluten-free diet. I remember it well. It took me about three years to get over the pain of watching other people enjoy foods that I used to love to eat. However, I eventually either forgot how things tasted or had come to terms with the fact that those foods were poison to me...because I no longer feel tempted by those foods. When I go to potlucks, I eat before I go, bring a nice bottle of wine and some gluten-free salad or appetizers...and simply enjoy chatting with people. It doesn't bother me any more that they're eating poison. Now that I follow the primal/paleo diet, I feel even more in control of my diet. Because followers of the primal/paleo diet are eating a certain way voluntarily, they don't seem to feel deprived. Unfortunately, when the choice is made FOR us (as with celiac), that feeling of being deprived can stay with us for a while. However, now I feel as though my diet is my choice voluntarily, and I feel much less deprived, as a result.

In a way, we're all pretty lucky that we live in a time when some restaurants actually have gluten-free menus--something that was rare even five years ago. Also, as people become more cognizant and understanding of conditions like celiac, the more educated among them tend to kindly bring gluten-free dishes to potlucks for their celiac friends. I'm always touched when this happens. At a recent high school reunion potluck, two former classmates brought gluten-free dishes because they knew I would be there and would need something to eat. What kindness!

Please know that the bitterness will probably resolve eventually...and there's always the hope that the vaccine will become available in the next few years for those of us who wish to return to eating gluten. Personally, I have no interest in returning to my former diet.

[rustycat]

I guess we all find our ways to deal with it. Some days it seems easy and other days I'd give anything to eat "normal" food.

[Monael]

I haven't been gluten free for a very long time, maybe 6 months or less? So maybe this will bother me more and more as time goes on, and also I might not be supersensitive so I don't know when I have been a victim of cc? But I have had luck so far. At a recent bbq, I just ate meat, corn on the cob, salad and fruit. I even had a hot dog without the bun.

But I think I would be pretty bummed out at Buca di Beppo's too! They have the best italian food. I wouldn't want to go either. I didn't know they had a gluten free menu.

[Gemini]

Yay for Labor Day picnics, right?

...

...

...

Yeah; didn't think so.

I've been gluten free, minus being glutened a few times from CC, for almost 6 months now. I used to have the same mindset with gluten CC when I went out to eat with my friends that I used to have about alcohol ("Sure, I might have a hangover the next day, but the bonding with friends and good times will be worth it!"), but I've found that the gluten CC just doesn't make it worth it.

A bunch of my friends are getting together for a BBQ today. Normally I'd be excited, but now meetups that center around food like this just fill me with dread. I'm not even going to bother going. It still upsets me too much to be around all this food that I can't even eat. One person is bringing praline pecan brownies... something I'll never be able to eat unless I make them myself, and I really, really hate cooking.

Also, in a couple of weeks, my boss is taking all of his employees to Buca di Beppo. An Italian restaurant. It's a biannual thing, and this is the first outing there since finding out I'm gluten intolerant. There do have a small gluten free menu, but there's no way I'll be able to handle being around all that fettucine alfredo, spaghetti, and the absolute best cake I've ever had in my entire life. Probably won't go there, either, unless I stuff myself with food and then go at the very end.

I just feel like curling up into a ball and crying.

Why wouldn't you go to Buca's? They have the gluten-free menu and the food from that menu is pretty good! I don't mind attending anything if they offer a good gluten-free menu. I have never had any trouble with their food and I am extremely sensitive to CC.

You are lucky that they chose a restaurant that has a gluten-free menu...they never accommodate me at work....ever. They always pick places where I couldn't get a safe meal, period.

Once you get into the gluten-free diet more, you won't care if everyone else is eating all that crappy pasta and cake. One thing I noticed early on in the diet is that everyone who ate like that didn't feel so great after the meal....all bloated and full. When you stick to proteins and veggies, that won't happen...you feel great after wards. I think Buca has some desserts for Celiacs but I don't know what they are because I never eat dessert. The red wine I drink has enough sugar to satisfy my cravings!

[Flasaltwater]

Why wouldn't you go to Buca's? They have the gluten-free menu and the food from that menu is pretty good! I don't mind attending anything if they offer a good gluten-free menu. I have never had any trouble with their food and I am extremely sensitive to CC.

You are lucky that they chose a restaurant that has a gluten-free menu...they never accommodate me at work....ever. They always pick places where I couldn't get a safe meal, period.

Once you get into the gluten-free diet more, you won't care if everyone else is eating all that crappy pasta and cake. One thing I noticed early on in the diet is that everyone who ate like that didn't feel so great after the meal....all bloated and full. When you stick to proteins and veggies, that won't happen...you feel great after wards. I think Buca has some desserts for Celiacs but I don't know what they are because I never eat dessert. The red wine I drink has enough sugar to satisfy my cravings!

Not to stray from the topic but which red wine do you drink that's safe for your tummy.

[Gemini]

Not to stray from the topic but which red wine do you drink that's safe for your tummy.

I drink all types of red wine....malbec, cabernet, syrah....you name it, I drink it.

I tend to buy American, Australian and South American reds and not so much European reds because I think the wines from these countries are every bit as good as their European counterparts. I could not drink alcohol at all before I was diagnosed because my stomach was too inflamed but once I healed, I found I can drink red wine without any issues.

I know there has been a lot of talk on this forum about the possibility of wine containing gluten but I have a lot trouble buying into that because I am one of those very sensitive Celiacs..I can't eat from shared lines or from non-dedicated facilites because I get sick. If there were any gluten in wine, I just would be sick because I have a glass every night with my dinner. Alcohol can be very irritating to the GI tract so that might be a problem for some.