I have been waiting for two and half weeks for my blood results to come back. Only one is back which is the ttg which was 3. This sounds good I think but am I right in thinking that all are needed for a better veiw.

I have been reading posts for weeks now and finally thought I would post. I cannot believe how brave everybody sounds about giving up gluten. I know I have been ill for five years and desperately want an answer but the thought of not having gluten again I find very scary.

Im three days in and feeling better so I know this should make me feel good but I keep thinking about the things im not eating, Will this get better?

I must sound like a wimp to alot out there but I had an eating disorder until five years ago and have just taught myself to love food again. ( I think the two might be realted) I sort of feel like this is my punishment for starting to eat properly again.

Any hints on how to cope would be really appriciated

Thanksxx

TJ,
Hey welcome,you found the best site around for going gluten free,there is a wealth of info here on the site. There are some others too.
Yes it is hard giving up gluten,but does the trade off seem worth it to you? You say you are feeling better already. It's worth it to me. I felt I was close to death by the time I was diagnosed. I had to have a blood transfusion. I feel so much better! It is hard but it is also doable.
There are many more people being diagnosed everyday and it is getting more well known,and they are a lot of great folks trying to develope products for celiacs. My hat's off to them. There are many great products out already. Give some a try,it takes some getting used to but hang in there. It Will get better. Good luck! Hang in there TJ....Celiac is not any kind of punishment for anything you may have done,so don't beat yourself up for it......it's just we can't eat it. There are lots of people here who will be happy to help you!
Mike

Hi and welcome.

Yes, it is hard especially at first but it gets easier and feeling better is so worth it.

I've also had to give up dairy, grains, nightshades, soy and a few other things and the truth is I don't often miss them. If I am thinking about a rice tortilla wrap for a few weeks I will even have one and right away I know my body doesn't like it but because I only do this once every few months I don't really suffer for it. I would NEVER do this with gluten though.

My life has taken a whole new turn because of the change in my diet. I've invented a new gluten and dairy free frozen treat that I am in the process of bringing to the marketplace. This would never have occured if I hadn't gotten ill.

You can find a whole new life for yourself too.

I don't have Celiac but my daughter does. She didn't understand, but I cried for her because of some of the foods she couldn't have anymore. She cried because I cried.

It's depressing at first, and overwhelming, and you may go into mourning over foods you can't have. And then you get down to business, you do your research, and you try some different foods, and you try some recipes. And then it gets a lot better. So many foods that you use are already gluten-free, you just have to check/verify. Some, you just may need to buy a different brand (Betty Crocker's au gratin potatoes are NOT gluten-free, but the Great Value brand is). And there are a lot of good substitutes (as I'm sure you've read - Tinkyada pasta is outstanding). My new gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe tastes just as good as my old one. I made a completely gluten-free fried chicken, mashed potatoes w/gravey dinner a couple of nights ago that the whole family loved (not healthy - just gluten-free ).

You'll find your way. There are lots of people to help. Here's a suggestion for you though. Trial and Error is expensive in the gluten-free world. If you've got a craving for something and can't find a gluten-free version, post it here. There are over 15,000 members, somebody will have a product, recipe or experience to share that will save you time and money.

I agree with those above: when you feel better, it gets easier. Trust me, I craved brownies, fried chicken, and most of all, pizza. The gluten-free versions are just not the same. Now that I have been gluten-free for about 2 months, I feel much better and the cravings go away.

Focus on what you can have, not what you can't. For instance, I can't have buffalo wings because they are fried in the same oil as chicken fingers at any restaurant I go to, but I can have chicken and I can have buffalo sauce, so I through chicken in the hot sauce and it tastes the same.

Also, when you mess up (and you will), you will regret it from anywhere from days to weeks. My small bite of fried chicken made me sick for 2 weeks. Now I don't want it any more.

Finally, find people who will support you and make your life easier. My boyfriend knows better than to try to kiss me after eating pizza with his friends (both cross contamination issues and the fact that if I taste it, I will want it) and his parents have started buying the gluten free versions of their staple ingredients so I can keep coming over. I spend as little time as possible with people who always want to go out to get pizza and tell me that I can just get a salad or that try to deny how serious this is, or my favorite, talk about how good their dinner of pizza/pasta/brownies was.

When people are "forgetful" (read: stupid) remind them of how sick you were and that this is like a peanut allergy. Even a tiny bit will send you over the edge. Also, always pack a snack. People in this universe are funny, even if they invited you along knowing about your gluten issues, they expect that if you can't eat what they have planned (even if it is an italian buffet or something else clearly not okay), that you would bring your own. They also expect you to be understanding if they tried and got it wrong (like my mom buying me the whole wheat rolls instead of the white because they didn't have any gluten free ones at the store and she thought the healthier the better ) I just smile and be nice about it.

You will get over the cravings and start feeling much better. Then it will just be fun to watch how awesome some people are and how clueless other people are.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for your kind words and advice. I am feeling a bit stronger today and am determined to give this a proper try.

Thanks again TJ

You don't sound like a wimp at all. You're going through the process of grieving something you've lost, and that is perfectly normal. I've been gluten free since April, and I am still experiencing those moments when I go to a restaurant for the first time since being gluten free and am faced with a menu full of foods I used to love and can no longer eat.

Although I am considered thin by most standards, I have always joked that I "live to eat," not "eat to live." Eating out has always been a major pasttime for my husband, son, and me. On our trips to New York City, we tried to hit as many different kinds of restaurants as possible that had vegetarian options (husband and I are vegetarians). It was positively wonderful, to say the least. We had dim sum in Chinatown, pasta in Little Italy, gourmet vegetarian foods all over the city, felafel sandwiches in Brooklyn, etc.

I still get mad and sad about the whole gluten situation, some days more than others. Truthfully, although I really enjoy some of the gluten free foods and dishes at home, most of my restaurant experiences are now rather bland. (Eating fruit salads can get old pretty fast.) I encourage my son and husband to go out to eat on their own sometimes to restaurants that really don't offer anything for me. It's less frustrating that way. There are a couple of restaurants where I can still fiind yummy entrees, so I will go there with them. I don't feel that I can expect them to give up certain restaurants just because I can't go there.

During the past thirty years I have seen the menu options for vegetarians increase exponentially. In the beginning, we often had to eat cottage cheese and iceberg lettuce at salad bars. The only good food we normally got was at home. In 2007, a vegetarian can find delicious foods almost anywhere except a steakhouse or seafood restaurant. I believe that in the not too distant future, the same thing will happen for those of us who are gluten free. Most things like this start small and grow with time. Businesses respond to the marketplace, and as awareness of celiac disease grows, so too will our options.

Try to hang in there. Find some new interests (we just got a puppy), and avoid situations and people that make you feel badly. Things will start to get better, and you will slowly begin to accept the "new normal." When you're feeling down, just stop by the message boards and vent with all of us.