learning the ropes

I recently discovered that the past 6yrs I have probably had problems with gluten.  After the birth of my 2nd son I developed severe lactose intolerance, and now discovered I am gluten intolerant as well.  I have been overweight for most of my life and am working hard to change that now.  Adding the milk/gluten free to the diet is getting complicated.  I am finding it hard to eat out as most places dont have a clue what is in the food they are serving.  Just looking to chat with people also living this crazy dream and wanting company for the ride. lol

Outback Steakhouse has a gluten free menu.

I find that fresh is best.  Fruits and vegetables when out and in doubt.  Salads without dressing or croutons.  I pack lemon juice packets with me and that works for a great salad spritzer.

My mom has a gluten-free card she hands the waitress, but I'm never found it anything more than confusing. 

Baked potatoes are another common option.  My kids favorite restaurant is where they can get one with Broccoli on it. 

If it helps, once the gluten intollerance is undercontrol, you may be able to reintro the dairy.  It's a common secondary effect.  When my oldest was diagnosed he had to avoid gluten, corn, eggs and dairy.  Those have gotten remarkedly better with gluten free, which he has been for 7 years now.  

My youngest is a self proclaimed vegeterian, so we have battles when out too with making sure he can find a meat free option. 

Hello, I have had problems with gluten for a while but finally live in a country where I have the health insurance to get the tests done.  So I have 3 days until I know the results but when I ate gluten after having fasted for the tests I threw up almost immediately so I have no doubt gluten is not coming back into my life!  Because there were other concerns I had multiple tests done and in the two weeks between the test and my results my Dr told me to stay away from dairy.  I am not exactly sure why, but I know its a common secondary issue with people who are gluten free.  The one thing I have discovered over the past few weeks is that caffiene has become a problem for me!  When I switched from coffee to caffiene free tea I felt so much better.  I am wondering if this is like the dairy and once my stomach is healed I will be able to add back slowly.  Has anyone else had this problem?  I am trying decaf for the first time today because I like the taste of coffee, but as a grad student I am missing the caffiene.  I am also about 40 pounds overweight so I am really looking forward to taking this opportunity to get healthy.  It helps that I live in South Africa where there is not as much specialty gf products.  So I am really working on the fresh veggies.  I was also didn't eat meat before this, but right now I am finding it too hard, so I am adding little bits of meat back, but Im not sure how well it will work!  I found out the hard way that some South African products say they are gluten free on the packageing but they are not!  Always read the ingredients!  I am glad to see others asking the same questions as me!  Thanks for the support!

Lactose intolerance happens to gluten-intolerant people when they are still eating gluten. The demands on the system to deal with the gluten cause the body to produce far less lactase (what is needed to digest dairy).

97% of people of northern european descent have the genetic mutation so they produce lactase their entire lives. Most other areas of the world, the majority stop producing lactase as soon as they are weaned (i.e. they are lactose intolerant from from childhood).

The most common misdiagnosis that a celiac patient gets in North America is lactose intolerance. So, once you are gluten-free (assuming your genetic origins are northern european), your body will begin to produce lactase again which should allow you to have dairy. This certainly was the case for me. Also, while you are getting off gluten, cheeses and yogurts are fine as they contain little to no lactose.

Celiac disease (gluten-intolerance) has genetic origins, although recent studies in Spain indicate that all people are challenged when digesting wheat and studies in Finland show that many seniors develop gluten-intolerance in later life whether they have the markers for celiac disease or not.

You can be born expressing the genes (i.e. gluten-intolerant from birth), you can have the genes and never express any gluten intolerance your whole life (called silent celiac disease), or you can have the genes and they can be triggered at some point in your life.

The most common triggers? Intestinal illness (stomach bugs) and hormonal changes: pregnancy.

I have just recently decided not to eat out at all. I had one accidental gluten poisoning from a restaurant and this after carefully confirming everything with the server etc. Took me two weeks to get back to zero. So, I'm now doing coffees out, bringing snacks and having people over instead. But that's me.

When I began this process almost two years ago, I was told it takes a celiac about two years to get good at keeping gluten out of the diet -- it's in everything.

Restaurants are the toughest because you have to depend on the chef knowing. The most accurate and skilled ones for intolerances and allergies tend to be part of hotels. The worst are restaurant chains because their food can be pre-packaged frozen and often doesn't have ingredient lists for the chef to look over -- notable exception to that was surprisingly the Spaghetti Factory (both in the US and Canada).

I was about 20 lbs heavier before I was diagnosed than I am now and this is in large part due to having to stop eating processed and packaged food and start cooking! 

To kayseericksen -- when you have the blood work done to check for gluten-intolerance you have to load up on gluten, which (if you are gluten-intolerant) definitely damages the gut. So I have no doubt that coffee and dairy will initially be irritants. However, this should calm down for you in 4 to 6 weeks.

Also, if your blood work comes back negative for gluten-intolerance be cautious about trusting that. Both the blood work and the biopsies are known to be hit and miss. At the moment, the best determinant of gluten-intolerance is if your symptoms markedly improve and/or disappear on a gluten-free diet.

Most physicians and celiac associations will insist on biopsy-confirmation, however there is not actually solid science behind the process and it has more to do with the belief that a biopsy confirmation somehow ensures that the patient will more strictly adhere to the gluten-free diet. A relative of mine had severe complications with the biopsy (which confirmed celiac disease) and so the others in our family with the condition have opted not to have the biopsy (with doctor approval).

This is a good and detailed article on the challenges of diagnosis:  http://www.celiac.com/articles/759/1/Early-Di agnosis-of-Gluten-Sensitivity-Before-the-Vill i-are-Gone-by-By-Kenneth-Fine-MD/Page1.html

Sorry for the super-long post.