Celiac Doesn't Take a Holiday

celiac-holiday

One night.

That’s all I ask for.

Just…one…night.

One night where I can celebrate the holidays like everybody else does without feeling like shit.

One night where I can imbibe in the pleasures of life a bit without paying the consequences.

One night where I can go to bed pain free.

One night where I can connect with Mrs. Dude instead of shying away from her because of how I feel.

One night.

Honestly…that’s all I ask for over the holiday season.

Just…one…night.

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78 thoughts on “Celiac Doesn't Take a Holiday”

  1. this was my first holiday and I got gluttened! now I feel horrible. Note to self and others pack my own food and take it with me no matter how embarassing it seems! So very hard having CD at the holidays gluten is just everywhere and it all smells so dang good:) OK enough ranting. Overall Christmas was wonderful tamily and laughter and all the good stuff:) Hope you all had a wonderful day and a bright and happy New Year:)

  2. Yep, made the mistake of not taking my own food at the first family get-together…everything I ate was supposed to be safe…but it evidently wasn’t 🙁

    1. I didn’t get glutened. Just a few drinks here and there and maybe a little more food than I would normally eat. Frustrating.

  3. Sorry Dude, I feel the same way. There are many nights I go to bed in pain and just want to be left alone. My hubby understands but yes, one night once in awhile to be free of it all would be glorious!

  4. So sorry Dude! I had a rough night over the holidays as well, and I even made most of the food… I knew I shouldn’t eat the apps that others brought, but it is really hard turn everything else down all the time. I hope that you are feeling better!

  5. oh no! I am sorry to see this post today, GD 🙁

    And I am sorry anyone “gets hit” over the holidays. You guys may have to say “no, thanks” to people’s invitations to eat at their homes sometimes, if you cannot be sure they “get” cross contamination.
    And YES! You always have to bring food with you. Sorry, but that’s the reality of living with CD.

    Dude,
    What do you think could be causing this daily discomfort? Are you eating out? eating anything new? did you eat something at someone’s home? Stop the whole 30 and incorporate grains, etc. back in again? Any of these things could be sparking this flare up.

    There has to be an explanation.
    You were feeling pretty good for a while there! 🙂

    I wish I could help you figure out what the hell keeps getting in your way to having more good days strung together. Makes me sad you are feeling so lousy. 🙁

    I do not have 100% remission of symptoms either, but I am not in constant distress in the gut anymore.

    There could be many reasons why. I live in a totally GF home. I also make all my own baked goods and I invite people to my home instead of trusting others to prepare food for me. When I do enjoy a meal at another’s home, I watch (and participate in) the prep –so there can be no mistakes. (Or I just bring my own food and they do not mind one bit. ) I do not eat any packaged products unless they come from a totally dedicated facility. I only eat at a totally GF place near me OR I choose places to eat out where I know they are preparing food from scratch and more likely to take care of my requests. I conduct the Spanish Inquisition before I take a single bite. 🙂
    These are just my own rules for staying safe, but this allows me the benefit of having total control of what goes into my mouth. I have to do this or suffer drastic consequences. (do I still get hit? hell yes, I’m afraid so, but it is not often)

    I know some readers today will not like to hear this, but I do not believe we have to be held hostage by this disease. Time to stop the insanity. We can actually eat anything we want (most anything can be converted to GF) , but we have to be willing to cook it. We have to firm and offer no apologies for refusing to eat at people’s homes if they do not understand that even though they are using “no gluten ingredients”, the CC factor of their gluteny home renders it all poisonous to us. It just is what it is.

    I am sorry you guys are feeling yucky….and I hope you all feel better soon!!!

    1. Totally agree and I adopt the same set of rules. As a result I am told I am difficult and that I haven’t “dealt with the disease and should see a therapist”. I ignore those people and embrace the people who want me to help with meal prep and who want me to bring food that is safe for everyone. Only we know how difficult the consequences of CD are and we are the only ones who will suffer therefore, we are the only ones who are going to protect us.

      1. Amen sister!

        Anne, I do not know what pompous asshat told you this:
        ” I am difficult and that I haven’t “dealt with the disease and should see a therapist”. ,,,

        but they are full of malarkey.

        YOU ARE DEALING with this disease, hon!. 🙂
        You put it into remission by controlling the exposure to gluten.

        To explain it simply to dense types, I say

        OK, just as a diabetic needs insulin
        and a heart patient needs coumadin,
        here is what I need:
        I need NO GLUTEN to stay alive.

        Gluten will kill me.
        Get it?
        Good.

    2. Thanks Irish. I don’t think my body has recovered from vacation yet. As awesome as it was, it wasn’t exactly Whole 30 so I think my body is in a bit of rebellion mode still.

      I agree with everything you said and I’m as careful as they get. I’m just a tad frustrated today that I can’t let loose just a bit without paying the price.

      I’ll be cool…just needed to vent today.

      1. I am glad it was not a glutening ( because I know you are very careful ) I was just spitballin with you to see what may be provoking it.
        Maybe you’re right and your gut is still a bit inflamed?

        I am going back on Whole 30 again on January 1st (I have lived it up mightily since Thnx and frankly, I think I do better off booze and grains) Plus, I have the okay to try going back to the gym! slowly… yaay!

        I hear you. I get frustrated sometimes, too (at the inconvenience factor and the unpredictability of it all )—and of course you should vent!!. It’s why you invented this “safe place” after all. 🙂
        Take it easy for a few days and see if you can right the ship.

        To those among us who say “I just want to be like everyone else”…all I can say is:

        Well, sorry, sweet things, but we’re not.

        We’re special. 🙂

  6. This was our second Christmas as Celiacs and I thought it would be easier but instead, it was harder. A second Christmas that we were alone due to crappy immune systems. We don’t get invited to neighborhood gatherings anymore. I thought my bitterness would be gone by now but I’m just pissed. I want to go out with my husband. I want to be with my family in the midwest. I want to eat the Christmas cookies that we used to make. My girls handle this far better than I ever could and I put on a brave face but I just want to pitch a fit. I’ll get over it in a few days and hope that next year will be better. My positive attitude will reemerge once again. But for today, I have to allow myself to feel it, all of it.

    1. We’ve all been there Rachael and it’s where I am today too. But you’re right…a positive attitude will again emerge. It has to.

  7. Sorry to hear that you are feeling crappy GD. When I’m invited out I always eat at home and stick to food I know is safe or just stick to wine or water. I’d rather be safe and know I can enjoy the evening. I guess I’m lucky that I only got pneumonia, but not glutened, they have drugs for pneumonia! LOL The only party I went to, I gave. Christmas eve was at my son;s house and everything for me was made seperately. Christmas morning was brunch at home. It’s a lot more work, but I don’t feel alone or angry about missing out on parties or celebrations. I hope as we move into 2013 we all live healthier which will make us all happier.

    1. “I hope as we move into 2013 we all live healthier which will make us all happier.”

      Yes…yes…a thousand times…yes!

  8. Ahh GD, you are not alone. This is my first year celiac so i ate before i went to a family gathering. Wheeee, i am set. Roll forward to the day after Christmas. Dropped the little one off at the neighbors to head to funtown USA (work, a.k.a. Trenton). GAH! the pit of misery and pain exploded in the lower regions. What the bleep? I had wine. That must have been it somehow. handing me a glass after taking the biscuits out of the oven. Something. Pillsbury dough man is now on my gluten hit list….

    and then i found this.

    Pillsbury Doughboy
    ( wdell.com/humor/doughboy )

    I am sad to report another loss:
    A Pillsbury spokesman said The Pillsbury Doughboy, died yesterday of severe yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes to the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was buried in one of the largest funeral ceremonies in recent years. Dozens of celebrities turned out, including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker and the Hostess Twinkies.

    The graveside was piled high with flours as longtime friend, Aunt Jemima, delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business but his later life was filled with many turnovers.

    He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Still, even as a crusty old man, he was a roll model for millions. Doughboy is survived by his second wife, Play Dough. They have two children and one in the oven.

    The funeral was held at 350 for about 20 minutes.

    Damn. Someone beat me to it.

    XO,
    Jersey Girl

  9. Hey Dude, sorry you feel rough.

    Well, I survived my 1st celiac Christmas. How? Total control freak. I wonder if that is the hard bit for you some days? You know I find the loss of spontanaity the tough bit. And giving up alcohol 7 years ago was a tough call. But, bottom line it made me ill.

    So, I had everyone to me, and only let them bring drinks. We had fantastic food and good company. There is an odd kind of freedom I got from making my environment safe. It kind of lets me do the spontaneous bit in other parts of life. We managed to randomly arrange to meet 2 different sets of friends tomorrow. Yeay!

    I hope you find a bit more of what you need Dude 🙂

    Smiles and hugs to you and yours
    Mw x

  10. This is my 3rd Christmas gf. I’m also free of nuts, soy and tomato. I did a lot to try to have a pain free day. It took me over a year and going soy free. Going through all that pain made me not want to eat and it began changing me.

    I think it has taken all this time to grieve and be mad! I also think it’s ok when those familiar feelings rise above the surface again for us. My daughter had a really difficult time this year with some traditions changing. In explaining how life changes and we make new ones, it made me think of being Celiac and what has changed in my life.

    I still have bad days and get into something, Those days suck! However, I keep thinking on those days, perhaps I’ll have a good day soon. I rarely eat out, but when I do, have 2 places I feel safe at. I also know even there, I’m taking a chance. I also know that unless you have Celiac, you’ll never understand that fear. I hate that feeling….

    I consider it a good day if I can eat lunch and not start to hurt or bloat after it!

    I do miss things and get sad. I hate when I sit and am bloated so bad with my guts cramping. No fun and mostly holidays sucked until this one. The first Christmas gf, I was also grain free, my family changed the normal meal to a pasta feast!

    I’m happy this year that I made a small meal for me and the kids that was yummy! I found an awesome cookie mix that does not bother me..yea and some new gf bread! I went over to my fams with my gf cheese spread, crackers that night, but really didn’t feel like eating and it was okay with me.

    I don’t know about you guys, but who else would do a happy dance in a grocery store in finding your favorite gf item or see the words gf on a package 😉

    I’m more compassionate than ever and I appreciate so much more in life. The moment you realize,”hey,I think this is going to be a good day” I am so thankful for that!

    Are there some days having Celiac suck, you betcha, you all know that. However, I can now understand what my sister who has lupus goes through.

    I also know in life, I cannot rant or bitch about having Celiac without someone telling me to suck it up and deal. Only a fellow Celiac will understands…on that note

    I hope you all are feeling better soon!!!

    IrishHeart great advice.

    Sorry to ramble GD, I understand

  11. My first GF holiday was in 1977, and my late grandmother was a bit dense about my CD, wondering why a little bit of pecan pie she made would be bad. I finally had to go into detail about how I have a real honest to goodness DISEASE that will never, ever, go away. And if I ate just a little bit of pie then just a little bit of small bowel would die.

    I hadn’t been out of the hospital that long, and I was still in pretty bad shape. My mom was way overprotective and made a big show out making my ‘special plate’ of allegedly GF food. Cross contamination had not been invented yet, however, and I got glutenated anyway. It was one of the worst holidays ever. My relatives tried my special mail order frozen since the turn of the century bread. My brother spit his out, my crusty WWII Navy vet grandpa cried, actually cried when he tasted it and said he felt sorry for me since that was worse than what he ate on Iwo Jima when his landing craft got hit.

    Yeah, I love me some holidays.

    1. David,
      hahahaha!
      You slay me …….”worse than what he ate on Iwo Jima…..”

      My first “celiac holiday” was a disaster.

      I was awash in a sea of gluten hell (because I did not know enough about CC yet and neither did my family ) and I vowed never to put myself in that position ever again.

  12. Thank goodness the holidays are over. It feels like the season to survive through sometimes. But I must say that reading what you, my fellow and sister Celiacs, have to say makes me feel better…..less isolated and frustrated. The support on this page is so good for me, thank you all so much. Feel better GD.

  13. David’s story about “trying just a little” and the sometimes horrid GF bread out there for sale reminded me of this………Maybe it will perk some of you up 🙂 hugs, IH

    YOU KNOW you’re a celiac if…

    …your bread looks like a moon rock and doubles as a door stop
    …your bread weighs more than any moon rock could possibly weigh.

    …your family thinks you’re crazy for not tasting their new chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe, because surely a little nibble couldn’t hurt right?

    …you’ve ever had to give a doctor a crash course in Celiac 101.
    …you weep at picnics, parties, receptions and fast food joints.
    …you weep at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
    …you’ve ever “brown bagged it” to an elegant dinner engagement.
    …on a bad gut day, a 7 Course Meal is a 1 Course Meal for you. Lettuce.
    …you’ve installed floor-to-ceiling bookcases in your bathroom.
    …you’ve ever driven more than 40 miles to buy flour or a cookie.
    …it takes you 4 hours to grocery shop and your eyesight is
    ruined.
    …you hyperventilate when passing by the bakery counter.
    …you’ve ever deliberately rammed your cart into a Shredded Wheat
    display in a fit of rage.
    …you’ve ever had to take out a loan to pay the grocery bill.
    …you’d gladly pay any price for a pretzel that doesn’t taste like
    sawdust, or bread that doesn’t taste like an old shoe.
    …the centerpiece on your dining room table is a bread machine with memorial candles.

    …one of your primary goals in life is to create “Fake Oreo
    Cookies”.
    …you’ve disinherited your father for putting his knife in your
    mayo.
    …you’ve brought a suitcase full of food with you on a cruise.
    ………You pace and circle the store three or four times when deciding on a new product, pick it up look at the ingredients, each time, only to leave without it, figuring why bother?.

    …….your financial portfolio consists of stock in two major toilet paper companies.
    …….you are up late at night trying to develop a recipe for pizza without flour, cheese, yeast, tomatoes, beef, garlic and oregano.
    …….you can spell transglutaminase and dermatitis herpetiformis.
    ……you just discovered how to make flour out of turnips.
    …….you show up at the annual church pancake breakfast with a mask and sardine lettuce rollups
    ….having solid poop is the highlight of your day.
    ….you have actually doodled a new cartoon dog on your notes named “Sprue”
    …..you have a sign in your kitchen saying “Gluten free environment”
    …..you have actually used a gluten-free bagel for a hockey puck

    …you’ve mastered saying “I actually enjoy MY food” … without your face twitching
    …you know all about xanthan gum and its uses.

    … you hide the gluten-free cookies when guests come over, so they don’t eat them.
    …you read the ingredient label on green tea – plain green tea.

    …..you pay relatives exorbitant shipping rates to send you a $12 six pack of Gluten-free beer.
    …you cried when you saw your usually careful husband brushing the crumbs off his hands (from making a gluten-containing sandwich) RIGHT OVER the open utensil drawer
    ….there is a separate cabinet in your kitchen dedicated solely to all your supplements (vitamins, BCQ, digestive enzymes, etc.)
    …you hear of a new health food store opening in a city close by and get ridiculously excited only to drive there, spend 2 hours walking around the place, reading labels, only to leave empty handed
    ….you talk about your disease (not the unpleasant parts) so much to your friends and acquaintances that your husband tells you you need to get another hobby
    …you take a list of safe drinks to the bar with you. And actually consult it before you order a drink.
    …you see someone buying rice flour and you just have to ask them if they are gluten intolerant too!
    …it drives you crazy when someone says they completely understand your diet because they “did Atkins.”
    ….people roll their eyes at you when you say “no thank you” to someone’s gluten filled dessert
    ….. You’ve refused things as “simple” as gum or sucking candies because you don’t know if they’re safe.
    ….. You talk about endoscopies and colonoscopies like these are normal everyday occurrences that everyone gets nearly every year.
    …You’ve ever watched your own -scopy, and asked the doc to point out anything cool.
    ….. Your friend invites you over for your birthday and wants to make you a gluten free birthday cake but you plead with them not to, because although you’re trying to seem like you don’t want to put them through the hassle, you’re secretly terrified there will be cross contamination ad you’re gonna pay for it for days.
    …you hugged a chef for making you special meals every time you walk in.

    …you go to a potluck at a friend’s place and your dish is gluten-free. You dive into it first so that you get something to eat before others contaminate it.
    ..your ‘favorites’ sites…….. are mostly celiac/GF sites.
    .

  14. …..
    If you can find “hidden gluten” in food labels in the blink of an eye
    If your family couldn’t find them if they had a magnifying glass, a dictionary, and a Ph.D.
    If you’ve actually suggested cardboard for dinner.
    If you’ve actually eaten cardboard for dinner.
    If you wept the first time you tried to make gluten free sugar cookies
    If you accept that fact that cardboard probably taste better than gluten free sugar cookies anyway.
    If you have ever made a list of everything you would eat if a magic genie could cure you.
    If you keep this list with you at all times just in case you should come across a magical genie.
    If you have searched for a magical genie.
    If you now have a large collection of old lamps that you rubbed insanely.

  15. last one…

    … You’ve washed your telephone after someone answered it while eating.
    … You’ve checked all the cups in a coffee shop for crumb residue.
    … You can say Kinnikinnick 10 times fast.
    … Someone complains of IBS, and you tell them to quit eating gluten, for pete’s sake.
    …At least once a day you fake a smile and say, “Sorry, I can’t have that.”
    …You call a dream about eating pizza and chocolate cake a NIGHTMARE!!

    …You bring your own GF soy-sauce to the sushi restaurant.

    ….You think the words “Are you sure it’s not all in your head?” are grounds for justifiable homicide. (Especially when they come from your doctor)

    and finally….

    ,,,People come to you with a list of symptoms and think that they automatically have CD, but they just have the flu…and they say “oh gawd, this is horrible, now I know how you must feel.!!” ..(um, no, no you don’t….)

  16. We were invited to a friends house, we cooked the turkey, heated up costco’s kirkland brand spiral ham, we made the dressing, (bread cubes from Kinnikinnck), whipped the heavy cream, made the gravy used better batter all purpose flour. Deviled eggs. Made choc. chip cookies with almond flour, xanthum gum, sorghum flour.

    We were in the kitchen all day, It took us many trips back and forth from the car, but it was definitely worth it, and not 14 people to entertain at our house.

    I have two commandments: #1 Thou shall not let anyone cook for me. #2 Thou shall not eat out at a restaurant.

    I’m sure these commandments will accumulate. Sadly I feel it will be necessary to nix the dairy, no cheese, stopped the coffee and half n half, now drinking decaf tea, plus eliminating all alcohol. Just put me in a nunnery and lock the door. With all that said, my husband got me a punching bag for Christmas. Yes, a punching bag! I love it, I am going to beat up celiac disease!

    Also like IH, I am way better not having any grain whatsoever, that will be #3 probably. Has anyone ever tried making choc. chip cookies with just potato starch and baking soda? Just one big glop of a mess sitting in a bowl on my kitchen counter as I type this, but they taste ok. started over and added those other ingredients I mentioned, and I got cookies,they taste yummy, but does my gut think so. NOT, butter, I love butter Why? Why? Why? This awful f***ing disease.

    FYI, Tazo tea has 4 flavors that are NOT GF: green ginger, Tazo honey bush, lemon ginger, and tea lemonade. I think starbucks serves the tea lemonade.

    Happy New Year, be safe and just take one day at a time, that is all we can do.

    Aloha

      1. me too GD, I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t found you, I have laughed, learned allot about this horrible disease, met IH too, and hopefully have given some good advice a long the way. or comforted someone out there.

        Thank you!

  17. This is my first holiday with CD. It didn’t go too well. All I can do is try to make it through until I’m feeling better and hopefully next year will go better.
    I’m glad it’s over,
    I hope you feel better GD!

  18. This was my 7th holiday GF and I just wanted you all to know that it does get much, much better and you can and will enjoy holidays once again. Really…no BS here!

    I stopped worrying about what others will think or do or how they react after about the second year GF. Seeing as most of America are dumber than dirt when it comes to diet and what’s in the food they eat, I have given up trying to educate people unless they ask and really want to learn without making snarky comments. I do whatever is necessary to make sure I do not sustain a holiday hit and to hell with everyone else. However, this year I did notice that the GF broccoli, chicken and pasta dish I brought was devoured by those without Celiac. Ditto for the GF mac n cheese that my niece brought. She’s smart and understands cc so I trust her.

    It took me 3 years to resolve all my Celiac symptoms and I am going on my 8th year GF and things are pretty damn good. I want for nothing and go to exercise class and feel good. If I can do it, you all will get there too, I promise. This from someone who quite literally nearly died from malnutrition almost 8 years ago.

    Gluten Dude…every time I go on a vacation, I always seem to feel like crap for the first day. Last 2 vacations I sustained a hit on the very first day, as crazy careful as I was. However, I have been GF a long time and I recover quicker. But vacations are risky for us and I am not going to stop going overseas just because I have Celiac. I also have found that my body just doesn’t like losing sleep or doing overnight flights anymore but I still do them from time to time because I know that by the second day, I will be better and can resume the fun. I do think the different and richer foods affect us as we tend to eat so clean. I hope you feel better ASAP and totally understand your frustration. Sometimes you just cannot figure out why you feel like crap and that’s worse than actually being glutened!

    1. “Sometimes you just cannot figure out why you feel like crap and that’s worse than actually being glutened!”

      Exactly Gemini. I know I’m not getting glutened. Ah well.

    2. Gemini, you said this much better than I could. I have been Gluten Free for 15 years and you are right that when I am glutened the problems are less severe and I recover quickly. I just recently traveled to the UK and they are so much better at the GF thing than here. I gave up on the Carribean as I don’t trust they know what it is and you are not going to be around there long enough for them to bother. Last time I was in Barbaddos every day they would change what they told me was safe to eat. I try to stick to US vacations and always try to get a condo or at least a kichenette. I also vacuum pack food in my food saver for trips. You can still enjoy life, it just takes a little more planning. And yes I do carry my if I meet a Genie list. You never know.

  19. Great IrishHeart! I’ve done a lot of those, plus put down papertowels on the Lunch table at work before I sit my lunchbox down. Plus, thinking of buying stock in foodgloves! I must look like a person with some serious OCD issues at work 😉

    1. I once handled a bag of Gold Medal flour for my hub’s aunt (we went grocery shopping) and after, I washed my hands so many times, I started quoting the demented Lady Macbeth…”Out! out! damn spot!”

      OCD? me? naw….

  20. Yep. I can relate. I poisoned my son on Christmas day. I don’t know how. I prepared everything from scratch as I usually do, no one was allowed to bring food to the house. Still he was in a haze all day on the 26th, in mild stomach discomfort, achy joints, and clearly not with it. He slept in on the 26th and went back to bed at 7pm entirely missing a party of 30 people at home for dinner on the 26th.

    The only thing I can think of is that he ate too much, or at least too much sugar? It wasn’t a whole 30 day, he had more starches than usual and some sugar.

    Today he is fine. Tomorrow we have a get together again, and this one I cannot completely control the food access. He’ll either starve, have too much sugar or eat something bad and be sick again.

  21. GEMINI ( a real veteran) said the biggest celiac truth there is:

    “Sometimes you just cannot figure out why you feel like crap and that’s worse than actually being glutened!”

    amen to that, sister.

  22. It is difficult to maintain a GF diet at this time of year. I miss the stuffing – always has been my favourite and next year I will make the gluten free version. I envy my friends and family who can eat and drink whatever they wish without giving it another thought. I should mention my husband has a severe nut allergy so he has limitations too. We make quite the pair when we eat out!!!

      1. IrishHeart, thank you for the link and this is a recipe I will definitely try. It will be a year this January I have been following GF diet and I am pretty proud of myself! It is difficult but it can be done. My family has been very supportive and my step daughter made a GF apple pie on Christmas Day. She hosted the Christmas day dinner and had a lot of work to do but took the time to think about little old me. She is a special girl.

        1. You’re welcome, Helen. I think your step-daughter is not only very sweet but she is the kind of supportive family member that many wish they had.

          I suspect it is also because she thinks you are worth it. She wants to keep you healthy! That’s a lovely bond you two have, so Lucky you & Lucky her. 🙂

          Happy New Year to you!

  23. I used to eat my mother-in-law’s food until a few months ago when I got glutened really badly. After much interrogation by my husband we discovered that she hadn’t been entirely truthful the past few years about what ingredients she was using. Explains why I didn’t feel well many times after eating at her place. I tried explaining to her why things need to be gluten-free and about reading labels and about cross contamination. She wasn’t interested. My husband tried. Still didn’t work. Christmas was the first time I’ve brought my own food to her house and I still had to explain over and over why I wasn’t eating her food. Doesn’t help that my brother-in-law has food allergies but eats the food he is allergic to anyway. My mother-in-law maintains that he is okay because her love has cured him and her love will cure me too. She also maintains that because my Celiac came on so quickly it will just as quickly disappear one day. And best of all, she’s a doctor.

    Thank goodness for my own mother, who goes out of her way to keep me safe. Christmas with my family was 100% gluten-free!

      1. oh ….no. no.. no. This cannot be right.

        What KIND of doctor is she?

        “Her love will cure you”? (seriously, please check her medical credentials and tell me she is not still “practicing medicine” )

        and when was the last time she read a current medical journal article on Celiac or IgE mediated food allergies…was it in this century??

        Come on!— what freakin rock does she live under?
        Nobody is that stupid.

        1. In retrospect, perhaps I was a bit harsh there (sorry if you think so)

          but this kind of “thinking” from a “medical professional” just makes me

          crazy and she’s really doing you harm.

          1. So she’s a psychiatrist, not an internal specialist, but in my mind that doesn’t excuse her ignorance because: (a) while she may have had a 1 minute lesson, if that, in medical school on Celiac, she is a doctor and therefore should be capable of understanding medical things (and I have tried explaining things to her from a medical perspective, and a layman’s perspective, neither of which worked); (b) as a psychiatrist, she should be more than aware of the psychological impact on me of her behaviour; and (c) she doesn’t run around claiming that schizophrenia, bipolar and other psychiatric conditions can be cured with love.

            1. ‘Tis a crime then, that she has not read any recent medical journals that explain that gluten/celiac is directly linked to many psychiatric/mood disorders like schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression and behavioral disorders such as OCD, ADD,bed wetting and hair pulling and eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.

              It’s a shame. Wonder how many of her patients are just celiac/gluten intolerant. (my GI doc and I speculate half the people in mental health wards are probably just undiagnosed celiacs whose brains are affected by malabsorption)

              For the love of mike, please, direct her here:

              https://sites.google.com/site/jccglutenfree/depression%2Canxiety%2Cpanic

      1. hahahahaha

        dammit…. I spit coffee on my laptop…… again

        (I read jenny lawson’s blog in the AM too)

        mengele…..David is funny.

  24. I just want one night where I can go out to a restaurant and not have to question every item on the menu. To just pick the tastiest sounding dish and not have to explain to the waiter about cross contamination and all the ingredients I can’t have. AND to not get glutened after this entire debacle.

    I just want one night where I can feel like a human again and not have to rush to the bathroom after being glutened and feel like my insides want to explode for an entire week after.
    I just want one night where I’m not in so much pain that I cry myself to sleep and just hope tomorrow will be a better day.
    I just want one night where I don’t have to worry about the symptoms of CD.
    I just want one night where people will understand that just eating gluten free doesn’t solve all my problems. I still have to live with symptoms due to years of being undiagnosed.
    I just want one night where I don’t feel completely exhausted.

    Sorry for the depressing rant 🙁 but I got glutened yesterday while eating out and my spirits are kinda down after that. So much for a happy, healthy gluten free holiday. But reading these posts do make me feel a bit better. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone and that there are other people that are frustrated with CD and struggle with the same battles I do.

    But anyway :), thanks gluten dude for the post. Your forums have really helped me to get through a lot these last couple months and it is much appreciated. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and awesome new year :).

  25. I had one dinner on Sunday and was accidently glutened even though the entire meal was supposed to be gluten free and I’m not the only one who doesn’t eat gluten, but the only one who got sick.

    Had my cousin verbally attack me on Tuesday when I was explaining that I wasn’t feeling well because of something I had eaten at this dinner on Sunday. She is also gluten free but felt the need to ‘suggest’ that I eat nothing but vegetables for a month to get healthy again. And that maybe if I lost weight I wouldn’t be sick.

    I’ve got 100 pounds on this girl easy and my weight is a touchy subject (I’ve got severe depression and anxiety when I get out of my routine of diet and exercise that works for me). Also, when the heck did eating nothing but vegetables become healthy!?

    No thank you, now that the holidays are over I can just get back into my entirely gluten free kitchen and back to my exercise routine.

    I seriously hate the holidays this year.

  26. I wish for one day that I could not go through an entire roll of paper towels because I don’t know who used the dish towel last and on what… I wish I didn’t have to take my 8 and 9 year old to get a needle stuck in their arm to check for celliacs, I wish I could enjoy the holiday meal events… but I can’t because I can get sick. I wish noboday had this disease, and I wish we could all feel healthy and joyous! My magical New Years wish is that the evil gluten fairy blows up and disappears!! That should have been on the Mayan calendar! :-p

  27. I’m sorry your holiday was rough. This was my first Christmas post diagnosis. Last year I was out of the hospital on Christmas Eve post surgery and let me just say, I rather enjoyed myself! (Of course, I didn’t know I had had a biopsy or of my impending doom.) I actually “cancelled” Christmas this year. I’m the only one in my husband’s family willing to cook a large meal and be in charge of the whole family togetherness thing. Because we our house is a mixed house though, and because his family are a bunch of ingrates with no respect for my medical condition, the work that goes into a holiday dinner, or the fact that I actually enjoy leftovers, I had no desire to spend 2 days cooking and baking for someone to insist on bread, then just go get it out of the pantry and infect my whole meal with gluten so I couldn’t even have seconds. It was sort of disappointing because I absolutely love cooking for people. On the other hand, it was so stress free that I think I may just not ever take up cooking for the family again.

    Sometimes though I wish that things weren’t so damned unfair! Then I feel bad for whining like I’m five about how live isn’t fair. But come on… we can’t even order french fries like human beings. We can’t leave our houses without snacks or a plan for food, just in case we’re out longer than expected. Then everyone brings all these poisonous things to your door all December, and half of them swear up and down that just a nibble won’t hurt you. Yes, and if I bash you upside the head with that plate of cookies would that not hurt you?!? December has officially made me crazy. I’m glad it is pretty much over. I am counting the days to my date with the giraffes, which I guess is also my celebration of being officially a year gluten free. Yay! I could never have survived a day at the zoo a year ago. So no matter how unfair, or rough our Christmases are, I guess life is in fact better.

    1. First…glad you found the blog. 🙂

      Second…I mix the good with the bad of celiac. If I’m feeling like sh*t, I blog about it. This is not a “gluten free is great” blog.

      But I do try to be entertaining with most of my posts. You just caught me on a bad day 😉

    2. Hi Dvora,

      Keep reading – this is the best Celiac blog I have found… The information flow, the unbelievable support and the wonderful suggestions found here make everyday better for me. When people tell me my symptoms should be gone by now and that it is probably in my head or I am a hypochondriac and I just want to scream from frustration then this is the place I come to find joy, peace, positive thinking, sarcasm, laughter, frustration and the will to keep moving forward and to know I have another day of healing behind me.

      I hope as you keep reading you find the “spirit” of all these amazing Celiacs.

      Camille 🙂

        1. I think all of us “regulars” feel that way, kiddo. 🙂

          We must; we keep showing up. LOL

          Camille –you’re a sweetheart

          and I wish you a Happy, Healthy New Year!

  28. Dvora, we have moments where we get tired of having celiac disease, and this is a place to vent. BUT, we laugh too, and get some really good info about our disease and also comfort from this blog. So yes, we can get down, uplifted, mad, sad, glad, just about every emotion depending on what is going on in ones life dealing with celiac disease.

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Who I am. And who I'm not.

Who I am. And who I'm not.

I AM someone who's been gluten-free since 2007 due to a diagnosis of severe celiac disease. I'm someone who can steer you in the right direction when it comes to going gluten-free. And I'm someone who will always give you the naked truth about going gluten free.

I AM NOT someone who embraces this gluten-free craziness. I didn’t find freedom, a better life or any of that other crap when I got diagnosed. With all due respect to Hunter S. Thompson, I found fear and loathing of an unknown world. But if I can share my wisdom, tell my stories and make the transition easier on you, I’ve done my job.

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