angel42

I just realized I forgot to let everyone know how the gluten-free brownie worked out. I did not get sick and I am very sensitive. I get very sick from cross contamination so that does not appear to have been the case this time. I say this time because I do have to agree that the risk of cc is probably extremely high and although I am very excited about the gluten-free brownies I am cautious about eating them.

Maybe I am just sleep deprived. My husband and I actually refer to gluten as "poison" cuz that is how I feel when I eat gluten, like I have been poisoned.

Hi,

I was just curious. I always experience extreme gi symptoms and brain fog when glutened. I went to dinner two days ago and had terrible brain fog after and all day yesterday but no gi symptoms. I am not sure that it was gluten since I had no gi symptoms but I really feel like the brain fog was the same. Can I have still been glutened even without the gi symptoms? Are everyone's symptoms of glutening always the same? Let me know!

Ok so I just made a total scene at Starbucks. I went with a friend from work and I was standing near the baked good section (which I usually try to ignore) when I saw a sign that said "gluten free". I was so excited I grabbed my friend and yelled "OMG!! They have gluten-free brownies!!!!!!!!!!" The cashier looked at me like I was a crazy person and asked if I needed to be sedated. (he was teasing) He said "what is the world coming to with sugar free and gluten free....etc" and I said "well I have celiac so I don't have much of a choice" The only thing I am worried about is a strong risk of cross contamination with the normal baked stuff. I haven't finished the brownie yet so I can't swear that I won't get sick later but I will keep you all posted.

Hi!

Welcome to the forum! I love whole foods. I am there almost every day. I would be careful about some of their prepared food. I have gotten sick on more than one occasion from the prepared foods. One time they swore up and down that their eggplant did not have bread crumbs and after three people went to find out and they had already packaged my food they came back and told me that they had mixed up the signs and the eggplant did have breadcrumbs. They gave me a different eggplant dish which they swore up and down was fine and I still got sick. Most of their stuff is fine but don't count on the staff for help.

Hi,

Maybe someone can help. I just went off birth control three months ago. Before going on birth control my periods were extremely irregular. (6 weeks, then 2 weeks, then 3 weeks then 5 weeks etc) I was diagnosed with Celiac 6 months ago and have been gluten-free ever since. I had read that Celiac can lead to irregular periods so I was hoping that since I am gluten-free now that my periods would be normal but no such luck. It took me six weeks to get my first period after going off birth control. My next period came after 5 weeks. My husband and I want to start trying but since I am still irregular I think it will be difficult to tell when I get pregnant since I really never know when my period is coming. Will the periods become regular over time since I am off gluten or is it possible that my periods will never be regular and it's not the Celiac at all.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Hi,

Maybe someone can help me. Is there any way to tell whether you are terribly sick from gluten or if you have a stomach virus. I really never run a fever, so that would not be an indication. My stomach is KILLING ME today. There is a stomach virus going around my office but the symptoms of the virus are the same as being glutened. (terrible cramping, Big D etc) I can't think of how I may have been glutened so maybe I am actually sick or maybe I got glutened and did not know about it. I really have no idea.

Can anyone help?

I really appreciate everyone's feedback. I don't think I will trust my husband to cook for me until I see that he actually gets this. I really thought he did but I guess I was wrong. I think people in our lives sometimes resent all of the accomodations they have to make for us. I feel like my entire family seems to have completely forgotten how sick I used to be all the time which seems odd since it was only 6 months ago.

Hi,

I have really bad brain fog today so I hope this post makes sense. We have a strainer from back when we were having regular pasta. We had been using it to make rice pasta (for the past 6 months) and it seemed fine. Last week my husband made regular pasta in the strainer and even though the strainer had been through the dishwasher after I used it for my rice pasta I got very sick.

My husband refused to believe that I could have gotten sick from something that had been through the dishwasher. After we talked about it I thought I convinced him that it was possible. We even made a special trip to the store for the sole purpose of getting a non-contaminated strainer.

Last night my husband made pasta in, you guessed it, the contaminated strainer just to prove that I would not get sick. He even said "Ha! See! I don't see you running to the bathroom!" So of course I got sick and today I have terrible brain fog and motor probs (for some reason when I get glutened I have problems with my hands, typing, grasping etc)

I feel really bad that someone would go out of their way to get me sick to prove a point. This is not a game. I don't know how to explain to him that this really is serious and every time I get glutened I am injuring my body.

Has anyone been through this?

Thank you so much everyone for all of your advice! Johnsoniu I laughed when I read this since this is Friday and every Friday my boss brings in bagels for the office. The thing that kills me is that no matter how many times I have told people about the Celiac there are still people that offer me a bagel every Friday. When I remind them they so "oh yeah! I forgot! Sorry" How do you forget every week?

Anyway, I think I have the birthday thing straightened out. My husband made reservations at Bistango which I found on the boards here. It's an Italian place and someone said they can adapt most of the menu to be gluten-free, so that's all set.

As for work I spoke to my closest friend at work who seems to be the only one who actually gets the whole Celiac thing. (I have another good friend at work who is constantly comparing my Celiac to her lactose intolerance as if it is the same thing. Last time I checked there was no "Glutenaid" pill we could take) He seemed to be on board with the whole sundae party idea. I think most ice cream is supposed to be gluten-free unless it has something obviously gluten-y like cookies or brownies, is that right?

Sorry you're feeling down. I do like the idea about ice cream instead.

But, I don't understand why your "friends" at work won't make a gluten-free cake for you? They're not THAT much more expensive. Just goes to reinforce my theory that for the first few weeks after our Dx we are a novelty item, then we gradually become a nuisance and eventually bothersome to "their" precious lifestyle.

Just yesterday we had bagels at work for a meeting (God forbid we have a meeting without food) and I spent the rest of the day kicking people out of my office when they tried to come in while stuffing left-overs in their mouths.

I think I'll go get some chewing tobacco and walk around the office spitting in a cup and see how they like it

Vent over, hope you have a happy ice cream-filled birthday.

Hi,

My birthday is on Monday. I was diagnosed in October so this is my first gluten-free birthday. I usually make a big deal out of my birthday and start planning something a month in advance but this year I can't get into it. My friends at work already told me they are not getting me a gluten-free cake (they get cakes for everyone's birthday) since it would be too expensive and I'm not bringing my own birthday cake that's just too sad. I usually spend weeks picking the perfect birthday restaurant but I am so sensitive to gluten that my choices are pretty limited. I just don't have the energy to go somewhere on my birthday and spend the entire meal worrying about getting sick and explaining things to waiters.

I actually have a twin sister who fortunately for her is not Celiac. She just told me that for our birthday her husband sent her this huge bakery delivery from what she says is the "best bakery ever". She didn't want to send me the link since she said it would just make me feel bad.

Did anyone else go through this on their first gluten-free birthday?

Hi,

We have a few boxes of regular pasta left over and my husband made some for himself a few days ago. We put the strainer through the dishwasher and when I took it out it seemed clean. I made some rice pasta for myself yesterday and today I feel awful. I keep thinking it must be my imagination since we did put the strainer through the dishwasher. There were no strands of pasta or anything like that left on the strainer. Is gluten that resiliant?

Diagnosed about two months ago. I think I'm getting better but I am not sure. I have recovered mu energy but the brain fog is still there making it rather difficult to teach a classroom full of kids. Why does it take so long for this brain thing to clear. I mean what exactly is the process? Am I slowly clearing out my system or what? Two more questions: Can I eat corned beef out of a can and is there any fast food that I can eat - not that I want to - it's just that the whole Coeliac thing can be tricky in airports.

Hi Moscow,

I would try to make absolutely sure you were not accidentally still eating foods containing gluten or are getting the brain fog from cross-contamination. It took me a few months to really understand what I could and could not eat. There is a great book called "The Gluten Free Bible" which goes into great detail regarding what you can eat at fast food restaurants as well as providing lots of helpful insight into Celiac disease in general.

Hope that helps!

When you say that you get lunch at Whole Foods, I'm assuming you get salads from the food bar? There is always the possibility of cross-contamination or even though they list ingredients, is it possible that one of the ingredients has hidden gluten in it? Maybe it didn't before but now it does? I used to get salads there but always feel like I'm taking a risk. They use good ingredients but don't promise that they're free of allergens. Also I've noticed that some of the salads are made from leftover veggies from the glass case the day before, like roasted sqashes. This would add to the possibility of cross-contamination because those ingredients are next to breaded items.

I guess it could be cross contamination and I could stop buying lunch entirely and always bring my lunch. I am already at the point where I virtually never go out to eat I don't want to get to the point where I never eat food prepared by anyone else for fear of cross contamination. I honestly don't know what to do.

Hi,

I am hoping someone can help. I am generally extremely careful about what I eat. I am probably a little overly cautious about being glutened. I never go out to eat anymore unless it's a gluten free restaurant or a restaurant with a gluten free menu. (I have had too many bad experiences with too many clueless waiters) I either prepare my own food or get lunch at whole foods.

In spite of all of this I seem to be getting sick again. I have not changed my diet at all or eaten anything new but it's unmistakeable, the brain fog, running to the bathroom every ten minutes etc. I have been so careful it really doesn't feel fair. It's not like I went out and had a big plate of pasta. I really don't know what to do. I have such a limited diet to begin with I really don't want to restrict it any more.

Has this happened to anyone? Can anyone help?

Hi,

Maybe it's just me. I have never been great at swallowing pills but all of these pills seem gigantic. Has anyone found one that is either easy to swallow or chewable?

Let me know!!!

I'm a twin too! I actually came on here to post the exact same question! Must be a twin thing I have been gluten-free since October and I feel great but I was also not sure if it was too soon. Good luck!!!!

Hi,

I always have a very strong intestinal reaction to glutening but I have started to notice that I am in a total haze after eating gluten. I have also noticed that I am having problems with my hands. I was glutened yesterday and in addition to having an awful stomach ache, I feel very foggy and I keep dropping things. It was very difficult trying to write a check this morning. Is this my imagination? Does this happen to people?

Hi,

I would like to go to Newport, RI for my anniversary but I didn't know if there was anywhere that would be better to stay (gluten-free b and b?) or to go and eat. We have not taken a vacation since I have been diagnosed a few months ago since I tend to get glutened pretty easily.

Let me know!

It's almost Valentine's Day and my husband used to get me Godiva chocolate for Valentine's Day but I have been afraid to eat it ever since I was diagnosed in October. Is any of it gluten-free?

Hi,

I am hoping someone can help me out. I know when you have Celiac your stomach can have trouble absorbing nutrients because of the damage caused by Celiac. Is it important that I supplement my diet to make up for any vitamin/nutrient defiencies caused by Celiac? I posted this before but I didn't hear from anyone so I wanted to try again.

Can anyone help?

Hi,

This weekend I went to a local store that specializes in gluten-free products. They had a vitamin salesperson on staff who pretty much scared me to death about Celiac related disorders. He pretty much made it sound like I was virtually guaranteed to get all sorts of awful disorders if I did not take a slew of vitamins and supplements. Is there any truth in this? Should I be taking certain supplements on account of my Celiac? Has anyone found any supplement that helps with digestion?

I sympathize on the pizza and chinese food. Yesterday my mom invited me out to, get this, The international house of PANCAKES. PANCAKES! Then proceeded to be completely offended when I would not go. Then my dad calls me up and tells me they feel I am being overly restrictive and is all this really necessary. I asked him if he does not remember how sick I used to be and he was all "yeah, but" I get the feeling all of the people in my life just want me to be "normal" and knock off this whole gluten-free thing because it's too much of a disruption to their life. My parents don't like having a Celiac daughter and my friends don't like that I never come out to dinner anymore.

I tried to get people from work to go to a gluten-free place in Manhattan (rissoteria, supposed to be v good) You can imagine the deafening silence I am getting as a reply. This is annoying since they invite me out to eat at least once a week and then act all offended when I can't go, insisting there has to be something I can eat, even at italian places where it's all pasta and breading and gluteny sauces. I am so sick of feeling like I am blowing people off cuz I don't really feel like getting violently ill. I will try and tell people how sick I got but I know it will not end well. Wish me luck.

You guys have all made wonderful suggestions. Pot Luck Update:

I have been looking on Epicurious.com for flourless recipes since ever since I went gluten-free my mother in law gives me grief about dessert every time I see her (I used to bake constantly and she refuses to eat modified recipes) I found a recipe for Flourless Chocolate cake and I guess I was talking about making it and people overheard. So they all signed me up to bring, you guessed it, the flourless chocolate cake. I am trying to figure out a way to bypass lunch entirely and go straight to my dessert. I think that AmyBeth is right about the danger of telling lie upon lie. I am very grateful that my coworkers care enough about me to attempt to bring things I can actually eat. I don't blame them. I really think if you are not Celiac you really just don't get it. It's not their fault. I think it's kind of sad that these people take more trouble to make things I can actually eat than my own mother in law who acts like I have taken up some fad diet.

We work in NYC and it's now restaurant week in Manhattan. Everyone from work is going to several different restaurants and of course I had to say that I wasn't going. It's just so hard to keep saying no to everything all the time. I honestly think that although people understand what Celiac is they don't understand why eating out is not fun for me. I just want to put up a sign on my cube saying "Please don't take this personally but stop constantly inviting me to restaurants" I don't think that would go over well.

Hi,

I don't know if this has ever happened to anyone else. We had a pot luck at work. My friends at work were incredibly nice about my Celiac and one of the girls even used gluten-free pasta for her mac and cheese. In spite of all this I got very sick from lunch. Since people had gone to so much trouble not to gluten me, I didn't want to make people feel bad but since I was quite obviously very sick I told them I must be getting the stomach bug that was going around. The people at work are very nice but I know that if I told people they would all get extremely defensive and insist it certainly was not THEM who glutened me since noone wants to admit they got someone so sick. So I was sick for a few days and now I feel better.

So I get back to my cube after lunch yesterday and they say "Guess what! Since the last pot luck went so well we are having ANOTHER ONE!" I'm sure I dug my own grave on this one but even so, I really don't want to get sick again.

Any advice?

Thanks!!