Would anyone be up for a coeliac chat thread?

[Squirrel125]

Umm...that's it, really! I was thinking a thread for people with coeliac or a coeliac sufferer in the household where we could share recipe ideas and any other questions might be helpful. I did briefly follow something like this on FB but found it a bit intense, as FB groups tend to be!

My DD (12) has coeliac, diagnosed last year. Still getting to grips with some food alternatives but we have quickly found specific favourites (all in different supermarkets, of course!)

So my first question is...any ideas to make GF couscous a bit more flavoursome?!?

Can I just have a little whinge about how much less enjoyable holidays are when eating out requires a tonne of research first. Day to day I don't really feel like I'm missing out but holidays are nowhere near as much fun as they used to be.

@atlaz I tend to eat a lot of Greek yoghurt, cheese and olives and risottos and fish with salad - although recently I went to one they did fantastic quality GF spaghetti which I had with prawns and garlic- I never go AI though or HB- always eat out to maximise options- apart from breakfast where I get by ok

I do find that the need to research and eat at places that can cater for me means we eat better food. Places with higher hygiene requirements, who cook from
scratch etc. We went on a uk beach holiday last year and found a fabulous independent cafe that did eggs in every way imaginable. It wasn’t even any more expensive, just very high quality.

Yes that's true @MarchHares , we've found some real gems. It's just not very relaxing having to scour Google all the time. And then there's the places that opt not to put allergen information online at all and say available on request just to make it a bit more time consuming!

We went on holiday with coeliac DS a few months ago and ended up at the buffet in the hotel most nights. The chef came out every night and talked us through what he could have and a few nights they brought out a special dessert. They also did chips for him in the dedicated frier in the kitchen rather than the one out on the floor. It worked out well as we all ended up having a good variety of food, if not location, but I know we were really lucky that the hotel were really switched on.

when we were out and about I used the Find Me Gluten free app which was really helpful as it has reviews from other ceoliac/ GF people.

I do massively sympathise with the extra work it is though. Spending twice as long in the local supermarket with google translate open isn’t my idea of a fun holiday activity either!!

I hear you about holidays! We're going to Florida this year and from research I know Disney will be fine but when I've looked into a lot of previous favourite restaurants they have disclaimers about cross contamination, cooking pizzas in the same oven, using the same surfaces etc that it means we don't feel safe eating there.
It's very frustrating!
We have found some gems in the UK though, like @MarchHares said that serve really good food and not necessarily more expensive. I love finding small independent places and supporting them so they carry on doing gluten free.
There's a new GF place not far from us which we went out of our way to go to, been sharing stuff on Facebook because I don't want it to fold

@Mar

Have I been glutened?

I’m nearly 2 months in, iron and vit d levels improved. But went out for dinner last night annd ate from the GF menu and have a crippling migraine today.

any tips on how to help this pass?

@Gruello I get this every time I've had gluten unknowingly ( the other week it was a Coleman's chilli mix I hadn't realised had wheat in it). I get back of head migraine, neck ache and a wobbly feeling right leg - it's uncanny - I don't particularly get tummy issues- always neuro type issues - lasts 2 days normally for me.

Chopped up spring onion, tomato, cucumber, balsamic?

Anyone with weight issues once going GF?

I've been very lucky to have had a steady weight all my life - hovering around 9.5 stone, average BMI. Diagnosed coeliac in December and have put on a stone since then.😫 I put that down to eating too many cereal bars etc. (Drive a lot for work and can't ever be sure I can get anything gluten free on the road).

Follow up appointment with the dietitian and she says my steady weight might have been because of absorption issues before my diagnosis. Now that my gut is no longer fighting gluten, it will be more effective at processing food.

I can't afford to buy a whole new wardrobe so I have to get this under control! Anyone else experienced this?

Could you look into fasting @Cazziebo ? I find it useful for weight loss and it might help if you are able to wait till at home to eat. There are lots of threads on here about it with some people doing up to 72 hour fasts.

I feel.your pain. I eat far too many flapjacks!

I've done Noom a couple of times and found it helpful if a bit Californian.

Thanks @MarchHares . I think I'd find fasting difficult. Sometimes I'm out the house from 6am - 8pm. My rumbling tummy would drown out any conversation!

@Cazziebo - I haven't had the same experience, I've actually found it harder to maintain weight since going gluten free but I sympathise. I was working away from home Monday to Friday shortly after being first diagnosed and eating away from home is a massive pain, especially if you need to grab something quickly. And actually ten years ago it was a bit easier, places like Costa and Starbucks did gf wraps which have fallen by the wayside with the rise of vegan products.

Please may I join the thread?
DS was diagnosed with coeliac disease 7 years ago. He's now 25 and eats a very bad diet! Which worries me as I'm quite a healthy eater ...
He seems to rely heavily on GF crisps when he's out and about.
Since his diagnosis and starting a GF diet he has not had any follow up doctors' appointments or blood tests.
Is this typical? What would you expect? Should I suggest he pushes for this?
Just to complicate matters further he's currently studying overseas ...

Someone asked up thread about marmite. DS uses Tesco's own brand Yeast Extract which is GF. He's taking a whole tray back with him. Anything to help mask the vile taste of GF bread ...

Marks and Spencer Made without Brown Bloomer slices bread is best i've found. Expensive though 2.90 for 6 (decent- sized) skices. They do an oaty loaf that's ok too

@Cazziebo similar thing happened with my DD, she lost quite a bit of weight when she was symptomatic (she had D&V for 10 days once 😧 ) and then did put on weight once she went GF. She's only young though so still growing

I got pleasantly surprised yesterday. I started a work placement a few weeks ago, mentioned I had coeliac disease (when someone brought in pizza for everyone so I explained why I had to decline), and yesterday someone brought in a cake to celebrate her birthday and it was gluten free! And delicious!

Yes this is normal. As your dietician says, your gut is now absorbing nutrients (and calories!) whereas before it wasn’t.

I gained 2 stone after diagnosis. Like everyone else I now have watch my weight. I never had to do that before.

I'm unsure if this has been mentioned yet, but pain on the left can indicate problems with the spleen. Apparently, celiacs can have a whole load of issues related to inflammation in the spleen. My young adult son, who is celiac, has had lots of issues with pain in his left that have never been resolved. He was sent for the pneumococcal vaccine, usually only given to over 65s. The doctor said it was being given to celiacs to protect against sepsis and because the spleen is so vulnerable.

@Natsku that is so lovely, I think there is much more awareness nowadays. When I host the wider family I have to do veggie, no alcohol, coeliac and low fodmap. It does start to get difficult to know what I can offer 🤣

That is quite a lot of different needs to cater for, well done you for doing it!

My DD has just started upper school, which means Home Ec lessons, and she just informed me that her Home Ec teacher has coeliac disease too so everything they make in class is gluten free (and any other allergies catered for as needed too - no one has to make something they can't eat) which is brilliant as she has coeliac disease too.

I'm travelling for work at the moment, after nearly 3 years of working from home I'd forgotten what a pain it is to try and grab stuff to eat day to day.

How do you all cope with staying in other people's homes? I'm due to spend two weeks with family overseas. Firstly, I think it's unfair to expect them to alter their routines and diets around me. Secondly, if I take gluten I'm out of action for 2 or 3 days (as in can't go more than two metres from a toilet!)

I offered to just cater for myself but they won't hear of that (in a well meaning way). I can't seem to explain effectively that it's not just what I eat, it is how it's cooked/prepared.

I really hate this aspect of coeliac disease!