I'm being excluded by family

[TaleTastic]

Posting as I could really do with some perspective on this as I'm feel pretty low.

I have coeliac disease, diagnosed four years ago. Since diagnosis I've been consistently left out of family celebrations - birthday meals etc. There are plenty of places I can eat but the feeling is I should go and sit there while they all eat. If I don't it's felt that I'm being difficult.

The first year I was diagnosed, I went along for my mums birthday, sat there while they all went on about how lovely the food was and what a shame I couldn't eat it. I had roaring PND at the time and was struggling with the diagnosis, I got upset and left half way through the meal. Nobody got in touch with me for weeks, general consensus was i'd ruined the meal.

The second year it happened again. I asked if they could go somewhere I could be included and got into a huge argument with my sister who said I was being selfish and it's my mums birthday and she should be able to eat where she likes. I didn't go.

This year I got a text saying 'we're going to x I know it's tricky with your diet, let me know if you can come'. I replied saying the restaurant didn't cater for me and left it at that. This was two weeks ago - not heard from them since. Dinner was last night. Lots of photos on FB today saying what a wonderful time they had.

So AIBU to be upset? The illness is for life. I can't do anything about it. I just can't imagine a scenario where I would leave DS out of a family meal because of a health condition.

Im going to have to speak with them at some point but I'm at a loss as to what to say.

I eat gluten free but don't have to worry about cross contamination with chopping boards and knifes etc. However I do know people who are very sensitive celiacs and any cross contamination (no matter how small) can make them ill for a few weeks.

I care about my family and would always make allowances for medical conditions. My family has to eat somewhere that does gluten free meals (contamination not so much an issue for us) and vegetarian meals. We don't tend to pander to fussy eaters though as they can always eat something simple anywhere.

When I have a family lunch for my birthday I choose somewhere that even my niece will find something she can eat - and she's just fussy!

Why wouldn't you want family to come celebrate your birthday and join in?

How severe your CD is is a red herring. Your family are being arses IMO.

Im with kew your family are dicks sorry! They could easy say yes we will go to x place to eat and include you but they wont, that screams alot to me that they dont really want you there :( we had this last year with in laws when they booked a meal at a place that wasnt really suitable but we went along after it caused a row the meal was shit was charged for stuff that we never got and cost us loads :(

I think there are alot of people on this thread confusing a mild gluten intolerence and being very very celiac. One is very easy to deal with on a day to day basis and can result in a little discomfort, the other takes alot of serious careful planning and can result in being ill for weeks

Your family is being a bit shit.

For my dads last birthday I baked three yummy gf free cakes, no flour had been used in the kitchen at all. My aunt, is GF (and dairy free).

Hi, im really sorry you are going through this with your family. All I can suggest is you let them know how you feel, I think the fact you have now missed a couple of events someone should suggest something you can participate in even if its just at somebodys house.

I know how it feels not very close to my family my mum, aunties and sisters are very cliquey oftren see pics of what they get upto on fb im passed bothering x

I think the main issue is getting your head around the fact your family really don't seem that bothered whether you can join in these occasions or not, or whether you will have a good time or not if you do.

At the moment it sounds like you're still trying to get something from them that they're clearly unwilling to give. And of course by any decent moral standards they should be willing to give that, as you say your attitude to your own DC is vastly different from theirs to you, but the fact is that they don't seem to care and there's nothing you can do to make them care.

You make allusions to a history of them being unsupportive as well, which isn't surprising. As for your mother determinedly feeding your gluten after your diagnosis when you were pregnant - wow. What kind of mother deliberately makes her pregnant daughter sick?

It sounds like this has been going on for long enough. It's not easy being a second class citizen in your own family. It's very painful to acknowledge that that's what's going on, to recognise the lack of power you have in this situation, but it's the only remedy ultimately.

From all you've said, I really doubt very much that anything you say to them will make them listen and care. I hope it's evident I absolutely don't think you're BU for being upset, but I don't think you're ever going to get what you want from them either.

Can you envisage starting to back away from them? Making them as low a priority in your life as you are in theirs? I know it's hard with family. But it's better than sticking with the role of the one who doesn't really matter very much, who gets treated like an attention seeking problem causer just for wanting to be treated with a basic amount of concern and love.

Like I say, you will find understanding over on the SH thread, although I'm glad to see some more supportive voices on here too. Thought I'd wandered into AIBU for a while there.

I have a relative with CD and when we go out for meals we always check whether the restaurant will cater for her because we want her to be there and enjoy a nice meal out.

I'm sorry for you OP that you family's choice of food is more important. If I were you I would arrange something where you choose the restaurant or if you can't eat there simply don't go. Do something you enjoy with people you can have fun with instead.

This was an issue for me too when I was first diagnosed, Tale and it was very hurtful. My family were skeptical about the diagnosis, refused to get tested themselves and tried to avoid the issue as much as possible. Friends were skeptical too, thought it was a fad diet and would go for lunch / dinner at places where I couldn't eat anything and roll their eyes if I sat there with nothing to eat as though I was being a drama queen. In reality i was just a bit shy about my diagnosis, not comfortable with asking for gf options and struggling to adjust. The lack of understanding really helped me sort the wheat (no pun intended!) from the chaff in my personal relationships.

Now, 15 years on, I'm more confident in asking about gf options, friends I now have only know me as my coeliac self so don't think I'm 'making it up' and of course awareness of CD has improved hugely too.

So I think YANBU to feel hurt by your family's disregard for your illness. You have to deal with skepticism and ignorance from random people, colleagues and so on every day, I'm sure, so it is not unreasonable to expect support from your family. It is hurtful, what they're doing.

It doesn't sound like they're going to change though so all you can do is change how you react to their behavior. You either stop it from getting to you and find ways to manage the situations before they arise or you just avoid eating out with then from now on. I find hunger makes everything 100 times worse by the way so maybe if you eat at home before you meet them for dinner that might reduce the impact on you.