I am not gluten free right now. I have a gastroenterologist appointment in February. If I have an actual diagnosable condition or not I am definitely going gluten free. I know I feel so much better without it. I know because I was on a ketogenic diet and when I reintroduced gluten containing food I felt like I felt for years before I went on the diet so whether there is something a doctor can find or not I know how much better I feel.

When I was on the ketogenic diet I ate at restaurants all the time and I don't remember anyone asking for details when I ordered food without bread. I usually explained I was on a specific diet. If I don't get a diagnosis and someone asks why I don't want gluten I will provably just tell them I feel a lot better without it. People are too judgmental about others lifestyle and health choices and if they want to think I am some weird fad person then they can. Probably won't be the worst thing they think about me.

Personally I can't stand the fad gfers. They make others think that they don't have to be safe with my food because they see it as a choice. Yep. A choice to not damage my body. And you can separate what from other glutens from wheat. It's barley and rye. Different. Lol

I had my blood tests/endoscope yesterday and I dreading both being told that I'm coeliac, and that I'm not

Obviously I'd prefer if it were 'just' severely gluten intolerant, any gluttonings will 'just' effect my body for a few days/a week, and not long term

But, I suspect I'll keep saying I'm coeliac to people not close to me, there's been so much crap about how NCGI doesn't exist, and having just spent the past month in pain/asleep for the gluten challenge, I know it certainly does! But that's not a fight I want to have with a random waiter/ess about how careful they have to be with cross contamination...

I hate having to deal with food outside the house as it is, without having to then argue that it really IS a medical issue :-/

Oh, my medical team aren't the ones I'm arguing with over it, you've mis-read my comment

I meant wait staff, I don't want an argument when they're in control of if my food is contaminated or not

I tend to just say I'm celiac so that I don't have to explain all the symptoms and so people will take me at my word. However, if they ask more about it I tell them I have all the symptoms of celiac, but I am not willing to go back on gluten just to get tested. I feel like nothing in my life would change if I got tested for it!

penrbrown wrote: »

I'm not celiac but I am allergic to wheat. I decided it was just easier to cut gluten out entirely (how do you separate the wheat gluten from the other sources gluten anyway???).

When I tell people I'm gluten-free they always presume I'm celiac. When I explain I'm allergic they just seem confused.

I think it's ridiculous to judge those who are gluten free by choice. I am glad that gluten-free became a fad. Because it became a fad more and more gluten-free products showed up on the market. Without them the gluten-free market would still be niche and I would still have fewer 'fast' food options. So YAY to the fadders! I appreciate you!

People make all kinds of dietary choices that maybe I wouldn't make. If I mock or sneer at them for it that would just be silly.



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The same thing happens to me! People look at me like I have three heads when I tell them I am allergic to wheat. I love that the fad has created more options for me

I personally don't think it maters if you have a wheat allergy, gluten insensitivity or have celiac disease or just want to be gluten free. Those that what to compare symptoms or judge because they have x and you only have y should just be ignored.

If only we all listened to our bodies better none of us would be My Fitness Pal members.

More people understand coeliac than wheat allergy so I always tell people I'm coeliac if I'm eating out. It reduces my options but is safer than risking being made ill.
We have a greater choice in the supermarkets for gluten free items and they are edible now (which they weren't for the longest time) and I don't care if that was brought about by 'fad dieters' because I benefit regardless.

I stopped eating wheat back in 1998, because I figured out that pizza and bagels gave me belly pain, the pregger-bloat, and a few other charming symptoms. GF and Celiac weren't really mainstream back then. I didn't get scoped until 2009 or so. One of the two blood tests came back positive, but I've heard mixed things about the accuracy of the blood tests. By the time I got scoped, I can only assume that my gut healed, which is why they didn't see anything. My two options were to continue doing what I was doing, or to eat wheat for an entire month, anger the belly gods, and get checked again. That being said, I opted not to get tested again.

When people ask me, my response depends on the setting. For some people, I just tell them I'm low-carb. For others, I pretty much repeat the above. I try not to make my dietary issues other people's issue and try to be discreet about it. If I'm going to someone's house, I'll offer to bring something (that I know I can eat) or I'll eat beforehand. I'm actually glad GF dieting has become mainstream. "Back when I first stopped eating wheat..." the options were TERRIBLE. Dry. Crumbly. Bland. Gross. Today? OMG. I cried the first time that I had a piece of birthday cake that I could actually eat.

Since awareness has grown, I've learned that around this time of year, a lot of stuff for Passover is "non-gebroktz," which often times also means gluten-free, by the very nature of it. (Not always, so check your labels...) I personally don't celebrate the holiday, but I do reap the benefits, including 7 layer cakes and cookies that I can buy in bulk and freeze. No one questions my cookies if they look like "normal" cookies.

I had the blood test but not the endoscopy. In the end I decided that just knowing that I suffer by eating gluten is enough for me.