LG John

The old ball n' chain looks very likely to have Celiac Disease - she is just awaiting final confirmation. Just wondering if anyone has the disease or experience with it. It seems from reading on the net that people with it have no choice but to lead gluten free diets for the rest of their life. How restrictive is that? Looks like breads/pasta's/etc are out which must make it very difficult to find suitable meals and even more difficult to eat out.

Does anyone know if having the disease defo requires a gluten free diet or is there medication that can be taken?

Jonnip74

No medication sorry Saxo Boy... My daugher (5) has had it since she was 2. And to be fair, it's a nightmare....

Separate toasters, deep fat friers, chopping boards. Basically one half of the kitchen NEVER has any sort of gluten products in it. It does get easier over time, but eating out can be awkward.

If you sign up with the Gluten Free Association, you get a handy little book that tells you what foods for sale in supermarkets etc. can be eaten. Takes a while to get used to it, but once you get over the first few weeks, it's plain sailing. You've just got to be so careful. Even one crumb of bread is enough to start my daughter off with stomach cramps, diaoreha (sp?) and vomiting. Not pleasant...

Register with these lot for loads of Gluten Free freebies and the book I was talking about earlier....

Coeliac UK - The Charity for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis

Cheers.

Jon.

Clarebabes

My best friend at work's husband has it. Has to be very careful what he eats otherwise he gets very ill. They get flour and bread on prescription for him as he obviously can't eat normal bread. There are lots of products now that don't contain gluten. Best way to get round it is to make meals from scratch so you know what's in it.

TopBanana

SB, my step son is a coeliac.

You need to stick to a gluten free diet. There is currently no medication or cure. Eating out isn't so bad.. Italian is a problem though.

LG John

Typical, italian is our favourite!

Wow, never realized it was quite so severe with regards to how much you have to avoid the stuff (i.e a little cross contamination being a problem). I don't think it's fully occurred to her just how badly this is going to impact on our lives (initially, until we get used to it).

She doesn't have as severe a reaction as some of you guys are suggesting. She says she feels tired a lot, doesn't feel 'right', has some hair loss and sometimes has 'runny' movements. She basically reeled off the entire symptom list and the blood test she took last week flashed up two 'problems' that the doc said is nearly always the disease. I think she gets a few more tests to confirm it. Is it likely her symptoms will never get worse or is she now on the path to instant ***** n' spews if she so much as looks at gluten?

SiPie

This is the most important bit :

Forget the other issues

PS On a more serious note, drop me a line if she needs the name of a very good nutritionist that Heather has used in the past....

mamoon2

My mum has this and as the guys above say get in touch with the associations listed as they are very helpful.

Sainsburys do a very good gluten free range and others are catching on fast.

Eating out is a problem as most chefs have no idea about the disease and will tell you something is gluten free but you will soon find out its not.

On a brighter note: what could be more healthier than eating fresh veg and meats?? Nothing, so on a plus side she will be eating a healthy diet which will keep her in shape.... Always a plus for women to hear this!!

Its all about adjusting your lifestyle, after a while it will just become the norm for her.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Bloody hell it sounds harsh! Big change to eating habits reading this thread. On the plus side sounds like she'll never be a fatty!

pwhittle

it's a total PITA avoiding bread though. I've tried most of the gluten free type, they're usually about £4 and totally inedible.
gluten free pasta isn't too bad as long as you cook it for exactly the right time.

TopBanana

You can still eat chips!!

SiPie

Yup...... 10 seconds too long and it's mush

LG John

Does heather or you suffer this si?

Thanks for the posts guys - seems it's quite serious but one of those thing you get used to in time.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

She'll still be able to enjoy a Glasgow salad then

SiPie

No, Heather went to see the nutrionist to see if she could help with hre occasional bouts of acne...

The result was basically a wheat, dairy, gluten, caffeine, alcohol free diet that was ultra strict for the first month.

Easily manageable and the reult is that we both look and feel 100% better than ever.

It also helped regulate my blood sugar levels thus totally helping with anxiety/depressive issues.

One of the best moves we've ever made

I joined Heather on the diet as I simply didn't want her to have to cook 2 seperate meals and although I didn't apply it quite as strictly as Heather, it's been a blessing.

However, giving up caffeine was nearly as hard as giving up nicotine for the first 2 weeks !!!!

Think your good lass may find out that it isn't celiac but just a milder intolerance or maybe even some stress playing havoc with her digestive system...

Here's hoping

LG John

Hopefully, although the doc was pretty certain. One of those 'oh this, that and over here [whilst pointing to print out] is nearly always celiac disease' moments.

To quote Billy Connelly, "Fvck....................................THAT! "

There is no way I could cut that lot out. I'd especially struggle without wheat and dairy. Good on you though - shows sound self-discipline.

LOL, you must be the definition of healthy now what with the amazing eating habits, no drugs, booze, cigi's and monster exercise! You don't even race around the countryside harming the environment anymore. Please don't go all green on me

john banks

Juvela do gluten free pasta and pizza bases, which can be prescribed.

SiPie

Budweiser is alcohol free though isn't it



Still firmly addicted to Dairy Milk and I choose to eat wholegrain bread as sandwiches just don't taste the same without bread

As I mentioned Heather is the one that needs to be on the diet, I just join in when it suits me

Cycling still making a huge difference though

PS Get your blog updated

Jonnip74

One of the best things we brought was a bread maker. The prescription bread, as mentioned about is baaad.... but home made bread is a lot better.


The hard thing is finding gluten free stuff on the supermarket shelves. Tesco's and Waitrose do a good choice, but the rest only seem to stock small amounts around South Wales. You get a fairly good choice through prescription though!

Gluten free home made cakes are very addictive!!

Be prepared for a possible Biopsy though . My daughters results we so high that this wasn't needed, it was obvious that it was the problem, but if they're not 100% sure, they''ll need to do a biopsy of the small intestine IIRC to prove that Coeliac is the cause.

LG John

There was talk of booking her in for that. How is 'access' made?

Jonnip74

Keyhole I believe, but I'm not 100% sure of that as luckily it wasn't needed with Holly.

TopBanana

Laparoscopy I think.

ScoTTyB

Anusintrudoctopy is the latest method I have been lead to believe.

LG John

The queens english guys

logiclee

After I suffered severe food poisoning which resulted in me having a heart attack I was obviously pumped full of drugs.

After my recovery I had severe difficulty with my stomach, I finally ended up on an exclusion diet and found I had a sensitivity to dairy, lactose and wheat products which I no longer eat. (The blood tests are not that accurate but an exclusion diet is very severe)

It's a pain and it's expensive. The good news is there's more and more stuff coming out and it's getting cheaper.
Most supermarkets have a free from sections and there are health food shops that sell a variety of foods.
A lot of the stuff I eat is gulten free and if you look around you can get replacements for most things.
Some of the food, like Swedish Glace ice cream, is better than the real thing.

Eating out is still difficult though.

Cheers
Lee

logiclee

If eating means severe stomach cramps, indigestion and heart burn you soon learn to hate it.

Cheers
Lee

ScoTTyB

My Grandad suffered from this for a number of years and although it was a pain for my nan they didn't need to seperate the kitchen into gluten and non-gluten areas and we also ate out at a fish restaurant when I saw them, so this couldn't have been a major problem. I guess there are always varying levels.

douglasb

I knew that my local chippy has a choice of gluten free batter for their fish (it's an excellent chippy btw) so I did a google for it and found this site which lists restaurants and pubs that provide gluten free meals.

(My local pub also do gluten free meals. It seems like more places are becoming aware of gluten intolerance).

TopBanana

Wow - where's that?

There's a much higher incidence of it in Ireland.

douglasb

Congleton, Cheshire. (It's the Green Island Chippy, in case anyone local wants to try it).

Lee247

My pal suffers from this. She was delighted to discover Thorntons do gluten free chocs
She went very thin before they discovered what the problem was, but has stuck to her diet and has filled back out again. She manages really well, and has found loads of restaurants are sympathetic to her need. One even makes special gravy for her, oh and if she goes for an Italian, she takes her own special pasta and they cook it for her