To think she doesn't *really* have coeliac disease?

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Coeliac disease - I understand from other friends who have been diagnosed with this that it's tricky but OK to deal with being gluten-free forever. My MIL has been diagnosed with this a year or so ago. Out of the blue she just announced she cannot have gluten any longer, and has Coeliac disease.
Just a bit of history - my opinion is that she seeks attention in all situations. My husband and my wedding - she demanded my private list of 'to-do' items including such things as 'wax bikini line', and when I did not give it to her she threatened not to come to the wedding until I apologised. Now, she may have CD and we always get in lots of gluten-free foods when they visit. She always asks in restaurants for the GF options. (and bemoans how poor they are). But most times we see her she will eat something containing gluten, like a regular biscuit or a bit of batter off fish and chips my FIL is eating. Can you just have a minor allergy to gluten? But she does insist it's Coeliac disease.

What did she say when you wouldn't apologise or give her your personal to do list?

What does she say when you point out the biscuit is not GF?

No, I don't think you can be mildly coeliac so if your post is the truth then she's lying, or she gets very ill after seeing you!

YANBU. She doesn’t have CD. At most she may have a sensitivity to gluten.

She sounds batshit. Can you leave all the hosting and shopping to DP when she visits?

It's possible to have gluten intolerance which means gluten makes you uncomfortable and a bit ill, but you can handle it.

Coeliac disease means that you can't process gluten at all , the gut wall is physically different in people with the disease. Someone with Coeliac disease would be horribly ill, possibly for days, if they eat a gluten biscuit or bread by mistake.

For example, even fish being tossed in normal flour before being fried would make them ill

Lots of people are intolerant of gluten without actually having Coeliac disease. They might "just" get cramps or pain or diarrhoea if they eat gluten and some might decide that these symptoms are worth it for a treat.
Actual coeliac disease causes damage to the gut lining not just the runs.

YANBU. I have coeliac disease and accidentally ate a gluten containing item this morning - I was violently sick several times and then had to sleep it off for a few hours. Will be a couple of days before I feel completely 100% again.

Has she had it diagnosed through a biopsy? If not, she's bullshitting.

She may have a gluten intolerance - but that's not coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition, and a speck of gluten on a worksurface / a knife previously used to cut ordinary bread, would literally poison her. She'd be very ill for days.

Coeliac isn’t an allergy. Some people knowingly decide a small amount of gluten is worth the consequences but for most people with the disease, once you cut out gluten altogether it’s horrendous to have even a small amount in your diet.

I've definitely known of people with CD who still eat the odd bit of toast or whatever. They might be able to do that and just deal with low level gastric symptoms it causes - like a runny poo, feeling sick etc. However CD is not just an allergy or intolerance - it's an autoimmune disease. So if she's a true coeliac, she'll continue damaging her small intestine for as long as she continues eating any gluten. This can have longer term consequences for her health than a bit of acute diarrhoea. The persistent damage to small bowel can increase risk of cancer.

I was diagnosed with CD in 2008 and have been GF since then. All these years of being GF mean that now if I'm accidentally exposed to gluten, I have a much more severe reaction than when I gave it up (violent vomiting within 2 hours of consumption followed by diarrhoea - both lasting around 6 hours).

So I guess it's possible she's a coeliac and eating gluten but ultimately if that's the case, it's her own health that will suffer if she keeps doing that.

I have coeliac disease, if I have gluten I come out in a severe rash,blisters, feel/can be sick, literally feel awful.
My friend has gluten intolerance, she is to have no or low levels of gluten as advised by Dr, she becomes bloated, constipated, feels nauseous, but will on occasion have a some gluten ,if she feels its worth the risk, doesn't get a reaction with small amounts really.
So there are wide and varied reactions to gluten.

Its not important whether she has it - the issue is that shes a crappy bossy friend and you dont really like her?

She might have coeliac disease. Some people are asymptomatic. She absolutely shouldn’t be eating gluten but some people can get away with small amounts. (I also projectile vomit with any accidental ingestion more than a crumb) Has she had biopsies/blood tests?

Some people with coeliac don't adapt too well and occasionally can't resist a taste of the things they're missing, even though it has consequences you won't be there to witness. This is even more common with what's called silent Coeliac, where there's no direct observable impact from eating something, as all the damage is happening inside.

I worked with somebody like that - very occasionally, she'd have an I HATE THIS DISEASE moment and eat a packet of Mini Cheddars. I don't, because although it's a bastard of a disease, I have symptoms following cross contamination far too frequently to deliberately do that to myself.

I have non coeliac gluten allergy. I can get away with eating a couple of chips that have been fried in oil and with malt vinegar on them but a biscuit would have me breaking out in hives with skin swelling and joints swelling, along with a digestive system that slows to a crawl. The last time I had gluten I also had a sense of impending doom and panic.

what I’d give to be able to enjoy a Chinese takeaway.

CD is tested for in a lab. They send your poo away I think and then have to try and culture it over several weeks to see if you have CD. I was tested and didn't have it.

I do however sympathise - a lot of wheat containing foods are highly processed e.g. British bread (its an embarrassment compared to other cultures). Gluten free bread simply contains other highly processed ingredients. Whereas sourdough is usually just wheat and flour. However these options are more expensive.

I've flip flopped into telling people I'm gluten free in the past but now I just buy the more expensive breads like sourdough and Crosta Mollica. Its helped my gut health a lot such that I don't have to super strict at all times as the bulk of my diet is free of ultra processed ingredients.

In short diet is confusing about what we should be eating and it takes a while to figure out what works for you and it may change over a lifetime.

one of my DSis has gluten intolerance, the other has CD. Very different! The Sis with coeliac has to be super careful.

Forget the coeliac disease: what on earth did she want with your wedding To Do list??? I can’t think of a single reason a MIL would want that!

Just 'it's fine' to the biscuits... and the apology, of course she came anyway to the wedding.

Coeliacs cannot just eat a biscuit. They would be very ill.

It’s called ‘being glutened’ and is unpleasant.

If she was celiac eating a biscuit or fish batter would make her incredibly unwell. No celiac would ever choose to do that.
She could have a wheat or gluten intolerance. That means you get varying degrees of bloating/discomfort but often can tolerate small amounts, like maybe one biscuit.
Id take her word for it she feels gluten doesn't agree with her, and politely serve non gluten food if she does eat at yours.
But she sounds awful tbh. Food habits non withstanding. I'd just keep minimal contact bc she's an arse, rather than worry about the sensitivity of her bowel. Haha.

Coeliac disease is a serious bowel condition where gluten damages the bowel. Even a molecule of gluten causes damage.

If she says she had it, believe her. If she's stupid enough to continue to consume gluten, that's on her. The point is, it's her choice to do so and to live with the resulting consequences and even if you see her snaffle an entire pack of hobnobs it's not ok to give her something containing gluten.

She's probably finding it difficult to make the dietary switch, some people do.

She should also have completely different cooking implements, pans and preparation area which never come into contact with gluten (since molecules can stick into miniscule scratches for a long time).

As someone who has a different condition resulting in a severely restricted diet, its bloody hard, especially when out at restaurants or other peoples home. I can understand why she might sometimes think its easier to put up with pain than make a fuss

Testing for CD doesn't include poo samples being tested.
They do blood tests, a Coeliac panel. Then if that shows positive an endoscopy to get biopsies from the stomach lining.
My CD didn't cause any of the usual gastric symptoms. After years of being GF I now get stomach ache when glutened.

To be honest I wouldn’t give it head space.