Googles

I don't know about your cat's food, but I could see it being a problem if it has gluten. The transmission would be: cat eats food, (containing gluten), cat cleans himself with his tongue (or licks you), you pet cat, you eat food. So it isn't just about getting the food on you when you put the food out. I would also suggest another elimination diet as it could be some other food that is causing your problems.

Thanks everyone for letting me vent. I do take my own food. When I was there for the interview it ended up lasting four hours. They ended up taking me to lunch, but luckily they let me decide if I wanted to eat. As there would have been no comfortable way to explain why I couldn't eat their mass produced food. I know the kitchen staff went to the dietician with the kid. But knowing my experience and the experience of others on the board, that probably wasn't too informational unless they got really lucky. I think he has the idea that if the ingredients are gluten free, that is all that matters. I haven't done it yet, but i need to stock my office at work in case I get stuck there. I'm more interested in the winter when it snows, but really I could get stuck at any time (if there is no one to relieve me). Most of my coworkers are really cool about it, and my kids are cool too. They just like to ask me what I'm eating and what I eat when I can't eat wheat etc.

Side note: I brought a green bell pepper for lunch one day and now one of my kids is eating the green peppers they have for the salad bar as his vegetable. Usually they complain about having to eat their vegetables, but then very few teenage boys don't.

I am annoyed by people who think they know more than I do about MY celiac disease than I do. I work at a place (residential facility) where I have to eat with the youth I work with. The kitchen people tried to convince me that they could provide me with gluten free food seeing as we had a youth who is gluten free. Apparently he went from gluten light to gluten free while he was here. They kept insisting that they could provide me with food. So finally I was like, okay, if they aren't making this kid sick, they may be able to provide me with food I can eat. So I tried to eat their food two different times. I ended up glutened each time. I know it came from there as there is nothing I eat besides there that doesn't come from my own gluten free kitchen. Last week the head of the kitchen tried to get me to eat more of their gluten free food. However, I stated that I wasn't going to. He kept insisting that I should eat it, and finally I told him that I had gotten glutened from the previous food prepared and so was not going to be eating it.

He got all offended and said that it must have been something else that had made me sick because they prepare gluten free food. He obviously doesn't understand CC. And that isn't surprising. But getting glutened makes me sick in a way that nothing else does (the combination of the symptoms). It was so annoying given that he kept insisting that I could eat the food they prepared. That it must be something else that made me sick. Ugh.

Thanks everyone for your advice. This is really helpful. I hope things will get a little better once I'm used to things at work. But I know some days wont be calm.

Hi Everyone.

I have started a new job with very long hours and no breaks(literally)-my state does not have a state law that requires breaks for employees. I need to find a protein powder that I can add to drinks, (preferably water, but don't know if these exist) that is relatively inexpensive and tastes good. Does anyone know of one. I would search myself by after two 10 and one 8 hour shift since Wednesday, I slept 14 hours last night and am not at my best. I don't trust my gluten screening skills right now.

A second question: how do I address my celiac with HR when there is no time during the day (while they are at work) for me to talk to them? Is a letter addressing my needs sufficient?

Thanks.

I had this discussion with someone at my new work today. They once again asked why I wasn't eating the lunch provided. I said it was because of food allergies. He asked what foods. I listed them. One co-worker put it together and said "gluten?" I said yes. He had been an EMT so that might have been his background. The other individual asked me if I only couldn't have whole wheat. I said, no, I can't have any wheat. He then went on to ask me if I could eat white bread. I figured 50/50 was a pretty good response.

Hi everyone.

Thanks for your advice. On my second day of training I ended up getting sick and getting sent home early. Luckily not missing any required training. So I had a brief discussion with my boss as he was the one who sent me home. I think I will need to clarify tomorrow as I was somewhat out of it.

I think I got through: autoimmune disease, GI problems. I'm not sure that it was gluten andnot something else I ate that set me off. But without any other sick symptoms I am assuming it is something I ate.

I hope to feel better tomorrow to go back to work.

So I had my first day of training today. When I interviewed they had me sit in on a lunch because (I assumed) they wanted to meet the clients I would be working with (a residential program) and that was what they were doing when I interviewed. Well today, training started at noon and the first thing they had us do was go to lunch. When they were talking about salary my boss mentioned that one of the perks of working there was being fed for whatever meal you were there during. I assumed this was an option and not a requirement. However, this much more seems to be the expectation rather than just an option you can take advantage of. So today I avoided eating lunch and while we were supposed to be there 8 hours, they only kept us 4 and so I didn't end up eating the food I had brought.

I need advice on how to deal with this. I was going to deal with any accommodation needs through HR discretely. However, this doesn't seem that that is going to work as I will be expected to eat in this group setting. I know they are going to expect me to eat lunch with them. I'm not sure how to bring this issue up with my boss, especially once I am expected to start eating with the residents who will have no option but to eat what is provided for them by the facility.

While I am not embarrassed about my Celiac, this situation makes it very hard to keep my medical information private when the expectation is that we eat what food is provided.

Has anyone ever been in a similar situation? Advice?

I'm glad to hear that camp went so well!

And even when they have a dedicated fryer as advertised by fries on their gluten free menu. You should still check and make sure. I went to one restaurant (can't remember which right now) and I found that when they get busy they start putting everything in all the friers so after that the french fries are no longer gluten free. I was glad I asked and had the waitress check (she was a little confused about all the gluten free stuff).

I haven't heard yet. But I am waiting to hear: "I got that gluten free pizza from Domino's for you so you can eat with us."

My dad is trying to convince me that my new work which makes food for a residential program will be able to feed me gluten free without making me sick. After I let him know that my boss stated that one of the benefits of working there was getting a free meal every day. Apparently I haven't clearly explained how easily cc can happen. Bah on gluten.

A friend of mine posted the link to this on their facebook page. I went to read the article and it didn't seem to make sense that because this wheat is really old, it would be able to be eaten by people with celiac disease. However, since you are the smart people who know more about all this than I do. I figured I would post this here and get an educated opinion.

The other thing that bothered me about this article is that the person who is writing it doesn't seem to know what they are talking about in regards to Celiac itself. At one point they say "gluten sensitive celiacs" as if there is some other type of Celiac Disease. Okay, end of rant about stupid comments in articles.

Do Heritage Grains Hold Promise for Gluten Sensitive?

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"You have celiac disease. Don't eat gluten." And then they send you on your way.

This is exactly what my Dr. said when I was diagnosed. And it was over the phone no less. Then she was like, we'll send you to a nutritionist. Who was only able to give me list of foods (an outdated list) and said there was nothing else she could do for me. I left that appointment and cried before I had to go back to work. (When there really wasn't a break as I worked at the same hospital that my Dr. was at.) This site saved my sanity when I felt like there was no way I was going to understand what this all meant.

Thanks both of you.

I found out that Advil is okay.

I think part of the benefit too was him seeing how hard it can be to find out this information as we checked another med first and couldn't find anything on their website about it one way or the other (can't remember which one).

My dad was so wonderful today. I played kickball last week, tripped on a base, and felt a little sore afterwards and by Monday was fine. Then went again today and my legs were in severe pain feeling like my muscles were tearing and I needed NSAIDS to deal with the swelling. So I had to stop by the drug store on my way home as I didn't think I would be able to get back out to the store after I got home. I haven't taken any NSAIDS since diagnosis because up until this last year I was on medication that wouldn't let me take any, so I hadn't looked to find out which ones were gluten free. But today I needed one of them but it was after 5pm and the pharmacist couldn't help me even to tell me if the store brand had gluten. So I walked away from them crying because I was in so much pain. I called my dad and luckily he was able to get on a computer (I don't have internet on my phone) and check and find out what I could take. I talked him through how to check and see if a med was gluten free. It probably took us 15 minutes to get the search done and get an answer I was comfortable with. As I sat on the floor of the drug store. He is so wonderful to help me! I love my Dad! Happy Father's Day!

Are you drinking lots of fluids (water and other clear liquids)? Are you eating lots of foods with fiber? Removing other foods that you might be reacting to and going to very basic foods might help too. I hope you get this figured out.

I am going to be looking for a new pharmacy. I have graduated from school so I wont keep using my school pharmacy (which has be so awesome) when I move. I have heard horror stories on here from people having trouble with pharmacies that aren't helpful or are down right disrespectful. How have people found good pharmacies that they trust? I don't have internet on my phone (a monetary decision that I can't change right now) so checking on line for information isn't going to be an option. So how do you find pharmacies you trust? Are there questions that you have asked that have helped you decide?

Thanks.

I can't stand swallowing pills if I don't have to, so I take chewables (I didn't even know they made chewable vitamins for adults before I found these). I take vitafusion vitamins, they have multivitamins and specific vitamins by themselves. You can buy them on line. The only ones that I have found that taste bad are the fish oil. But for some reason I've picked up the impression that most (if not all) fish oil meds taste bad.

I agree with the previous poster. You don't want to depend on the the camp to be able to keep his food gluten free if he is eating what they are serving. Having been a camp counselor (before diagnosis), there are so many ways that things can go wrong. I would suggest that you send all food for meals and snacks (we had the opportunity for children to buy snacks from the camp store daily) that you want him to eat with him. We have chefs who can't keep food gluten free when in a restaurant (even though they try). I would not trust a mass food making process for a summer camp to be able to do it. Camp for a child would be miserable if he started having problems. I don't know if he has digestive issues when glutened, but often at camps (depending on the camp) bathrooms are not right there. And things like hikes and such can take children away from main camp to other activities where there may not be a bathroom available nearby. So the more careful you are the better. There are too many steps where it comes to children and food and summer camp. Just like I wouldn't have a child eat school lunch, I don't think it would be good to have your son eat food prepared by the camp. If you can talk to his actual camp counselor who will be with him when he eats (his cabin counselor or another counselor), I think this is a good idea. Otherwise information they are getting will be like the game of telephone, and we all know how bad that is. Also LABEL, LABEL, LABEL! Good luck.

One other thing: You will want to figure out who is going to be giving him access to his food. I know when I was a camp counselor, meds were given out at meals (along with other times as needed). This means the camp nurse or doctor may be dealing with his food since it is a medical issue. I'm sure you have already thought of this and talked to the camp, but just wanted to add it on. Meals are always chaotic (at all camps I've been to) because both the campers and the staff are hungry and so everyone wants food.

I hadn't thought of another intolerance. However, it does seem to have the same gluten symptoms, but sometimes one or so different and in different orders. For example last Fridady I was really really depressed, but I didn't have GI issues (and they were very mild) until Monday. That left me thinking I was entering a really bad depressive episode really quickly (which with gluten brain I wasn't able to think logically and realize this is not how I enter true depressive episodes). Would other intolerances react my neurological functioning the way that gluten does? I guess I assumed they wouldn't (but don't really know) so I assumed it was all gluten. I really hope it is gluten for the reason I don't want to deal with having to figure out what else I can't eat.

On another topic. I had an ah-ha moment the other day. I was only diagnosed a few years ago. I went to Honduras as a teenager. When I was there I was pretty much gluten free since everything we ate was corn based. I remember feeling so much better on that trip than I had at pretty much any other time. But I didn't think about that the two could be connected until now. I can track back symptoms I've had of celiac since I was a kid, but nothing was investigated at the time.

I am sorry you are having such a hard time. I went through this when I was first diagnosed. I was so angry and felt like my body betrayed me. It does take time to adjust. Realize that in getting this diagnosis you go through a period of grief. Anger is one of the parts of grief. You will find foods that you enjoy cooking and like. I thought I would never find anything I ever wanted to eat that wasn't bland. But I have. It takes time to learn how to cook gluten free. Give yourself time to grieve. It is a major loss. Then work on finding things that you can create that you love.

Googles, the Hershey's site says all the Reese's PB cups are gluten free except the seasonal shaped items.

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company info. updated march 29,2012

That is good to know. The last time I checked the minis included gluten. Another peanut butter treat I can eat.

The mini Reeses peanut butter cups contain gluten. So watch out for those (the regular size does not). My new favorite ice cream is moose tracks.

I have two questions in relation to reactions. 1) It seems like my reaction to gluten is changing every time I get glutened. This makes it very hard to figure out when I am glutened until I get enough different symptoms to put 2 and 2 together. The reaction time also seems to vary. I was wondering if this happens to anyone else. I have not knowingly eaten any food that includes gluten since going gluten free (or any foods with gluten ingredients at later inspection after getting glutened and rechecking). Because of this I assume that the gluten is coming from cc and some foods at the beginning that were cc'ed and I have sense removed from my diet. I am trying to tack down the cause of the cc. I have a few places it could be happening (home (my roommate eats gluten), or at babysitting- just being around kids who are eating gluten.) However, the changes in reactions makes me think that the reaction times might also be changes. I have had no chance to specifically track back to any gluten exposure. I figure if I could figure out where the cc is coming from, I would be able to stay healthier as I would know where i needed to be more careful. Any ideas?

Thanks.

Gluten is not alive so using a Clorox wipe versus a towel wouldn't change the cleaning in the sense of killing bacteria/viruses. However, if the towel may not have picked up all the gluten depending on how well your sister cleaned. It may be that because you are the one with the Celiac, you are more careful about cleaning than she is to make sure you get all the gluten off. My suggestion would be for you to clean the counter tops off each time before you cook to make sure there isn't any gluten hanging around.