To think gluten free prescriptions should come back?

[Mymapuddlington]

I think I probably am but with all the panic buying people are buying gluten free stuff. I’m diagnosed coeliac and it’s hard enough finding food that isn’t ridiculously expensive never mind when you go to the single shelf in the co op to see it empty. Maybe I’m just hungry?!

Nobody needs Gluten free food. They need education on how to cook it themselves & people with the worst gluten allergies already do this. If you want ideas then Indian or South East Asian recipes are the ones to use. All of India’s native foods are gluten free & you can make a thousand varieties of millet / amaranth / potato / rice flour bread that not only is easy to make it is also tasty. But no I don’t think they should bring back prescriptions because nobody needs bread.

I live rurally too so tend to buy most of my gluten free online, check starbargains regularly they often have schar bread and I bulk buy it when they do and stick it in the freezer as they sell it far cheaper than in the supermarkets. Amazon is good for biscuits and similar.

@Mymapuddlington complete sympathy, my second pregnancy was really hard after a pretty easy first one. The sickness and general feeling horrendous was dreadful so not being able to eat the few things you can stomach must be really hard. Good luck on the hunt because I bet the idea of making it doesn’t appeal right no either. Hopefully you can track some down.

Thanks @Egii I will check that out!
@Ozanj I know but I want a piece of toast damnit 😭

Maybe if I chat tomorrow the doctor I can get the secret of where the nhs actually used to purchase the gluten a free food. I’m not adverse to paying for it, it would just be nice to think I’ve got a box of bread arriving tomorrow 😂

@Italiandreams thank you 😊

Sorry to be maybe a bit harsh but no one “ needs “ to eat wheat or wheat substitutes. You may fancy toast and it’s sad you can’t have it - but you can have a bowl of chips and that’s pretty much it ting the same carb spot.

Rice , pulses , potatoes , chickpea flour pancakes ( totally yummy , high protein ,nutritious , cheap ) all excellent , value for money fill you up foods.

You have to ask the question where does it stop.

It stops when people are able to access what they need to remain well.

NHS gf bread was really dire. If you are too rural for an online delivery then can I suggest making cheesy soda bread.

shop.juvela.co.uk/?utm_source=juvela.co.uk&utm_medium=referral juleva is used for prescriptions, you can buy a monthly box off them (I prefer schar though!)

Oh fgs. Bread is a basic staple food. Why should coeliacs be expected to avoid it. When you’re getting breakfast in the morning you hardly want to be whipping up a bloody millet pancake or whatever! It’s not unreasonable to want a piece of toast!

Ooh I didn’t know that! I’ve been diagnosed for years and didn’t know anything clearly!

I know nobody needs it but I want it, never had cravings with my first pregnancy but they’re intense this time round!

@Ellabella222 thank you so much!

@Egii thank you so much! Signing up now, I’d assume only people genuinely gluten free would order a prescription box like that so fingers crossed I wont be effected by panic buyers and I can have toast

@Comedycook

Yabvu.

There are other foods you can eat.

I don't think you quite appreciate how many foods celiacs can't eat. It almost completely wipes out the majority of supermarket foods because, even when it isn't actually essential, wheat has been added anyhow or they're produced in places where things are cross contaminated. Even the common recommended staple of porridge for breakfast and bulking out stews is off limits, either because the oats are contaminated or, assuming that gluten free oats (ie, without cross contamination throughout the growing, harvesting, storage and manufacturing process) are available and haven't been bought by somebody panic buying, because they're also sensitive to a similar protein in oats.

The attraction of prescription foods would be potentially being able to access the essential ingredients when the shelves have been emptied by people who don't actually need them.

Anyhow, we went shopping yesterday in the hope of getting some GF things. No GF flour, no GF pasta, no GF frozen foods - including chips, as for some reason, the main manufacturers have decided to add wheatflour to potatoes and vegetable oil. Could get some GF biscuits, but we were looking for main meal items and ingredients.

Maybe every person with celiac had already done their shopping at 1pm Friday afternoon, but it does feel a bit shit that you could have alternatives to bread, pasta, oats, cereals, biscuits, things with sauces, things without sauces, pies, pastry, nuggets, most fish dishes, snacks, soups, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Curries, seafood, most chicken things, sausages, burgers, etc - but the stuff just isn't there right now.

After a while, only having potatoes or rice can get a trifle (but trifle's off limits along with the dessert section as a whole) boring.

@NeverDropYourMooncup when I was first diagnosed it was horrible, why do they add wheat and barley to everything. I can’t risk may contains either.
I know there’s fruit, veg, rice, potatoes etc but I’m sure nobody actually lives like that? Even chocolate and sweets have gluten in, most sauces do. It would be so nice to just buy what you fancy or order takeaway or even just grab pizza and chips to throw in the oven though.

I sympathise but the NHS has cut so much this is not something that should be on prescription

@Dddccc

Nope unfortunately gf food is available in every supermarket, number one thing that should be free on prescription is asthma inhalers

You have to pay for asthma inhalers?! I'm honestly shocked, didn't realise this.

Feel your pain as we’re a family of 3 coeliacs, I’m afraid I now freeze sliced bread to keep it in stock as during the first lockdown it took 3 months to get any of any make

If you have a little co-op near by try there, all our local ones stock sliced and also Warburtons fresh unsliced.

It’s £3.70 a loaf so not cheap but definitely the best around and people often forget they stock it so even when stocks are low you can generally still get it

@INeedNewShoes

Muggles At best you're making a prat of yourself; at worst you're being unnecessarily divisive!

Muggles... ffs. You're not that special you know!

I take it from this you aren’t a Coeliac then. It’s just an in joke from the fantastic Becky Excell. Yes we ARE special. Try imagining what it is like to be Coeliac. So much of socialising is around food. My daughter can’t go to parties or play dates due to the risk of cross-contamination. She can’t go to fast food places with her friends when she is a teenager or have fish and chips on the beach. I can’t have cakes at work when it’s someone’s birthday. University was a nightmare due to cross contamination with shared fridges and kitchens. Being a Coeliac is a really difficult thing. We are at high risk from bowel cancer, lymphoma and osteoporosis. We usually struggle with illness for years before diagnosis. My daughters iron levels were 10% of normal on diagnosis. She couldn’t walk more than 100 yards. She suffered years of ill health and her growth has been permanently affected. So what if we choose to have a few in jokes about muggles. Yes we are special - we have gone through a lot and will have it hard for the rest of our lives.

I got a schar panettone in my local Tesco today! Overjoyed.

@Mymapuddlington did you miss my Warburtons link upthread? Their delivery is super quick.

I've only been gluten free for a few months (gluten/wheat allergy not coeliac) and I had absolutely no idea how hard it can be to source GF products.

Thanks @Brusca

When you Google it appears to.be available eg in stock at Asia
groceries.asda.com/product/wholemeal-bread/warburtons-gluten-free-multiseed-loaf/1000017270363

The NHS is under immense financial strain, gluten free products cost the NHS a lot of money. No one needs them, it is perfectly possible to eat a healthy diet without products containing gluten.
I don’t think they should be available on prescription. Sorry.

For those who don’t know Coeliac disease is not an allergy or an intolerance. It is an auto immune disease which affects all parts of the body not just the gut.
Coeliacs can never have even the smallest crumb of gluten ever. There can never be a cheat day. They need separate chopping boards. Many supermarket foods contain gluten, not just the obvious ones. Even things like stock cubes.
Most Coeliacs are ill for years before diagnosis. I am as so anaemic as had lost lots of hair. I have had 3 fractures as a result of thin bones.
If I am glutened I will be ill for 7 days and incapacitated for 4. Imagine the worst nori virus symptoms combined with the worst migraine and stomach pain so bad you can’t think of anything else. Everyone is different though and even if someone is a silent Coeliac they will be damaging their gut if they eat gluten and putting themselves at high risk of bowel cancer and lymphoma.
Like many Coeliacs I am also lactose intolerant and cannot tolerate oats.
I have had years of feeling left out of society. Going away is difficult. Hong round anyone’s house for a meal doesn’t happen due to the risk from cross contamination. Meals put with colleagues are difficult if they don’t choose a suitable place. BBQs mean I have to take my own food in a packed lunch box.
It’s very isolating and depressing.