GP rang earlier to say daughter has Coeliacs. Tell me it's not the end of the world.

[WorriedMumUpset]

GP rang tonight 11 year old daughter blood test came back strongly strongly positive (normal level less than 19, hers over 10 thousand) for Coeliacs. She is being referred to consultant. I am feeling shocked and worried for her.
Please tell me it's ok (no negative stories PLEASE)
My immediate worries are some serious some that might seem trivial like how serious is it? Can she still bake cakes - something she really loves? Is the food horrible? Will she like the food? Can she have pizza like her friends (silly I know but means a lot to her for various reasons) Is it expensive? What are the consequences?
I haven't dared to brave the internet yet for fear of seeing negativity. Thought I would ask for some support here. I guess we will have to wait a while to see the consultant so I didn't feel like looking on official sites. GP said we must carry on with normal diet until we see consultant and I understand it's essential to confirm diagnosis whilst she is still on normal diet but otherwise I don't know much.
I am feeling really upset so please nothing negative.

I’m not coeliac but my mum is. It’s so not the end of the world. It’s a pain in the bum, she’s got to be a bit vigilant and food is more expensive but it really is ok.

She can still bake using gluten free flour. There’s loads more options now that are gluten free so she shouldn’t find it too hard.

My mum used to cheat a few times a year and have real bread or cake. She can’t do that anymore. If she accidently eats wheat now she throws up 10 minutes later. It’s a pain cause they sneak wheat into allsorts of food (eg ice cream & pregrated cheese).

There’s a coeliac society that’s really useful for information. Sorry about your daughters diagnosis. It’s a bit shit but it’s really not the end of the world

Hi there. I am a coeliac and have been for 12 years now. Thank goodness for American fad diets as it means that now gluten free is so well known. You can walk into a restaurant or supermarket and there is always gluten free things and substitutes. People know what it means now being gluten free and it's easy to cater. Even when I go to my DD birthday parties, friends put out a gluten free cupcake because it's just so easy to provide. Your daughter will still be able to bake and eat pizza, it's just that she will use a different flour and a different product. Even if she doesn't like the taste to begin with, persist. Sometimes I try something and say to my husband oh my word try this bread it's amazing and tastes so real... he will often say er no it doesn't but my point is that you forget what gluten foods taste like and just enjoy the food you eat as normal. Yes there are times that you may get contamination and you are poorly and that's what you will need to manage as a family to prevent that. In my house we have a separate toaster and separate butters for example because a crumb really can make a difference. This period will be tough while she is getting diagnosed because it's not nice having to eating food that makes you feel poorly but I promise there is a silver lining and she will get used to it. Feel free to ask any question xx

I'm coeliac. I had pizza for tea this evening I'm an avid baker. It's very easy to avoid gluten these days. All food packaging states whether the item does or may contain gluten. Restaurants often and ever more frequently indicate gf options, even pizzas in many chain places now.

She will be fine. It's not the end of the world.

It's a thousand times better than when was diagnosed 30 years ago. Firstly a bit of negativity (sorry) the bread is crap, learn to love toast 😉. But if you have a bread maker there are some mixes that are ok (lauck from Lakeland) Gf cakes are quite nice, but trickier to make. Yes, stuff is more expensive, but you're only buying for her. Last week in holiday I had fish and chips and pizza-all gf and nice. Restaurants usually have a menu setting out food intolerences.
The consequences of not following it--well I'm sure you've had experience of the short term effects, let the consultant explain further. Honestly, there are millions of coeliacs and we cope fine, sure your dd will too.

Its not the end of the world - there are so soooooo many products out there now that mean home cooking is a doddle and eating out is okay.
Because GF food has become so popular with people on fad diets there is actually so much more choice around - however this also comes at a cost for someone who is a real Coeliac as opposed to someone who has just given it up for dietary reasons mean a lot of places don’t really understand how serious it actually is.
Bread is a bit boring but gf cake are usually delicious and moist because other things are added to create texture. But you say she enjoys baking so she can create her own perfect cakes and loaves!
There are tonnes of pasta options, sweet and savoury biscuits etc honestly from a food point of view it really isn’t that bad!

Even Domino's do a gluten free pizza. If you cook from scratch it's easy, and supermarkets have a fabulous free-from range these days for snacks etc. I've seen GF fish fingers and all sorts, sausages, etc.

My son is 21 and has coeliac — the usual way of referring to it, btw. 🙂

He was diagnosed when he had just left home for university. It was a hard and fast adaptation for a. 18-year-old to make.

Frankly there are worse things to have, though. No drugs, with side effects. It explained a lot about his mood swings and occasional lack of focus.

And she is lucky to be diagnosed young, wish my son had been. She will be fine.

It’s a whole lot better than it was 10 years ago. I’m sure pops have said this but Coeliac Society is your friend here.
It’s a LOT of change and info, and a lot to get used to, but many many kids and adults cope well with being gluten free.
Best of luck.

It’s no biggie nowadays, you can get gf literally everywhere. Gf versions of gluteny foods are expensive but it’s easy to keep the cost down by choosing mainly foods that are naturally gf. You just have to learn to read labels and choose your restaurants carefully. You can eat out and have pizza, burgers in buns, cake, fish and chips etc - perhaps not as easy because only certain restaurants will offer them gf, but you just figure out the best places to go. If anything it’s good to be gf because you can’t stuff yourself with cheap and easily available crap. If I ate gluten I’d probably be huge!

My DD is gf. It was an epic pain to begin with, but we are now completely in the swing of things.

I tend not to buy many of the products that try to replicate gluten-containing foods, as by and large I don't think they do a very good job of passing (but as a pp says, likely you would get used to them).

However, there are loads of alternatives that are naturally gf and delicious. Nigella's chocolate olive oil cake is amazing, and is naturally gf and also dairy free (and no way do you miss either). Breakfast pancakes made with banana, egg and baking powder are really yummy (with a light sprinkle of sugar on, they taste like a cross between proper pancakes and French toast).

Gf pastas are usually not bad at all. We like the Waitrose one, which is made with corn and rice. M&S are starting to do quite a lot of gf foods. Their gf breadcrumbed chicken and fish are good, so are Waitrose.

The main problem comes with lunch. We get through a lot of corn cracker and oat cakes, but neither have the weight of real bread, so we tend to bulk out calories with other stuff.

Eating out is becoming easier and easier. Some dishes are naturally gluten free, but nearly everywhere does gf options now.

I know the diagnosis is a shock, but you and she will quickly adjust.

And o gel the need tomop back and tell you that all coop own sausages, and all m&s sausages are now gluten free.
Chain restaurants are particularly good in their gluten free policies.

DD2 was ill for years with all sorts of odd symptoms - kidney pain, gynae issues, headaches, painful joints, bad skin.

She was diagnosed with coeliac disease at 23 and the difference has been amazing. She looks fantastic, she feels great - the diagnosis and new diet has really changed her life. And as everyone has said, it's not that difficult now to find gluten free food. (She is a bit annoyed gluten free beer is hard to find...)

Honestly it will be fine. You can do this and your life won’t change that much. She will adjust and she won’t miss out that much at all.

The bread is cardboard or just crumbles. But they do gf pizza in tesco, coco pops, waffles, pasta etc
You get used to it very quickly, and the change in them is instant. My daughter used to lay on the bathroom floor vomiting bile and was covered in psoriasis, had no enamel on her teeth left.
Her whole personality is calmer now shes well, she sleeps better and everything.

Its just so expensive is all

Gosh thank you everyone. So many replies that make me feel a bit better. I am off to bed now. Might try looking in those website mentioned tomorrow and google flours and food and restaurants etc
Thank you so much everyone x

It's really not the end of the world, don't worry.
There is loads of gluten-free replacement stuff like bread, pasta, cereal, cakes, biscuits in any large supermarket (and some small ones).
Dominos, Pizza Hut etc do gluten-free pizzas, and again they are also available in supermarkets.
It's not horrible. Not the same as the usual stuff and I do miss real pizza, pastries etc but I don't miss bloating, stomach cramps etc.
Yes she can bake, just substitute gluten-free flour.
Glutafin sent me a pack of some free samples and a recipe book, don't know if they still do it but worth a look: www.glutafin.co.uk/

As everyone has said, NOT the end of the world with the added bonus that your DD will feel 100% better within a couple of weeks.

As a chef, I can tell you that catering for coeliacs has become a large part of my job. I work in a place that has residential activity weeks for children and I am always able to provide them with a GF equivalent of the same meal their peers have. There are so many GF products available now and great recipe books. Ingredients are much easier and cheaper to buy and lots of restaurants are now offering a really good range of GF food too.

She will be fine, honestly.

For those saying the bread is rubiisg, give the new warburtons range a try. It is really really good. The crumpets are great too.

Rubbish.. not whatever word my phone decided on 😂

My Ds (15) was confirmed by the consultant on Friday past so we have literally started with his gf diet this week. So far so good and it's been interesting seeing what is available. Just had the sample hamper come through from Glutafin with bread and flour in it and the membership pack arrived today from coeliac uk which has been interesting to read - they send you a book when you join which lists pretty much everything the supermarkets stock which is safe and I must say I've been surprised how much of what we normally buy is ok!

Agree with not starting a gf diet until you've seen the consultant as they may want to do a gut biopsy - our consultant said there was no need for one with Ds as his blood reading was so high and he ticked pretty much every other box. They have taken blood to check for a genetic marker and depending on that result we may have to have my other dc tested as well.

Good luck

Waitrose has a good few gluten free beers by the way.

Even Lidl have just brought out a new “free from” section and their cereal is half the price of most other places.