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  • Dude…how do I support my best friend who was just diagnosed with celiac disease?

    Dude…how do I support my best friend who was just diagnosed with celiac disease?

    I have had celiac disease for (…counting fingers and toes…) over 17 years and the support I have received from family, friends, and of course this community has been incredible. And for that I am grateful. But after I received the following email, I realized that in that 14 years, none of MY friends or family have been diagnosed with celiac disease. And for that I am insanely jealous also grateful. Anyway, here is the email:

    Hi there. I stumbled upon your blog today while researching how to support my best friend who was just diagnosed with celiac after a pretty acute Gastro couple months and finally gave in went to the doc did the blood work and got the news this week. What support does he need from a friend?

    Now THAT is a good friend! We need more people like her in this world. My main piece of advice would just be to “be there” for him. Like any disease, getting diagnosed can be a shock to the system. And getting diagnosed with celiac, because of the overwhelming life change that must take place, can be really intense. Listen to his fears and concerns and help him off the ledge, so to speak. Like I said, it’s an overwhelming diagnosis. But it can be managed and it does get easier as time goes by. Here are some other quick tips:

    Be patient. It’s a whole new world where gluten is now his enemy. He’ll need time to mourn the loss of his old life. And time to learn all he needs to know about his new life. Don’t expect him to waltz into his gluten free world without some bumps in the road.

    Be strict. I remember the first few weeks after my diagnosis telling Mrs. Dude that I can’t make any promises that I won’t cheat. Well, she gave me the death stare and got her point across quite clearly. And I have never cheated…not even once. I’m not saying it has to fall on you to make sure your friend doesn’t cheat, but don’t make it easy either. Never give your approval. Never encourage him to just “take a bite” of your pizza. And if you’ve got a death stare, now is the right time to bring it out.

    Be educated. As your friend is trying to digest the celiac diagnosis, it may be too much for him to learn all he needs to know. Read, read and read some more about celiac disease and gluten. There is a wealth of information out there. Know as much as you can possibly know. Knowledge is power.

    Be there. He will need you now more than ever.

    What about you folks? What advice would you offer?

  • Stop blaming others for your lack of preparation

    Stop blaming others for your lack of preparation

    Hey everyone…it’s me…Gluten Dude. Can’t see me? I’m up here…on my pedestal. There you go!

    Look…being a celiac can seriously suck sometimes. No need to sugarcoat it. And we’ve all had those “Crap…I didn’t pack any/enough food for the day!” moments. But when that happens, let’s lay the blame where it belongs. On us. Why am I bringing this up today? Good question. Let me explain.

    I spent last week in Hong Kong visiting a friend. I know…interesting timing…but it was planned long ago. Great trip. Anyway, it was a 15 hour flight each way. When I booked the seats, I requested a gluten-free meal and let them know I had celiac disease. The flight took off at 1:00AM so dinner was served pretty quickly. Before it was served, a stewardess came over to me just to confirm that I requested a gluten-free meal. (Nice touch Cathay Pacific!)

    So the food came and without even thinking about it, I ate the entire meal.

    Just kidding.

    The meal was labeled “Gluten Intolerant”. Good start. I know “Gluten Free” would have been better but semantics. Anyway, I tentatively opened it and it was empty inside. Kidding again. It was chicken, brown rice and veggies. Basic stuff…in a good way. Was it safe? Probably…though it did look like there MAY have been a sauce on it. So I sat there staring at my food for a few minutes. The woman next to me most likely thought I was saying a silent prayer. Instead, what I was doing was measuring the pros and cons. Well, measuring the cons anyway.

    “Dude…get to the point! Did you eat it??”

    I did not. I spent the next 14 hours drowning my sorrows and my hunger in red wine.

    Yes I’m kidding once again. I was fine because I packed enough food in my carry-on to feed the entire airplane…and yes, that includes the pilots thanks for asking.

    I am now 320 words into this post and I haven’t gotten to the point. Here it is:

    There was this dude with celiac disease had a 10 hour flight, upgraded to a premium seat (I’m not sure why this is relevant, but it’s mentioned multiple times in the article) and requested a gluten-free meal. When he got on the flight, they had no record of his request. So they served him the only safe food they could muster up…popcorn and crisps. He got hangry. And he went on social media and bitched about it. And it was all over the news when it happened.

    Look…is it a bummer? Sure it is. Do mistakes happen? Yep they do. Whose fault was it that he had nothing to eat? His. All his. You got a 10 hour flight and you’ve got celiac disease? You pack some dang food in your bag.

    And yes…it really is that simple.

    (Stepping off my pedestal now…using the emergency ramp.)

  • Can We Just Stop the Food Bullying?!

    Can We Just Stop the Food Bullying?!

    When I was in grade school, I was a prime target for bullies. I was small. I was extremely introverted. I had some nervous tics. And I had long hair. Like longer than every other boy in my school. So grade school was hell for me. My “best friend” would be nice to me when it was just the two of us. But once we got into school, he would join the others in making fun of me. Mike Perry…I wish I could have a few words with you now!

    I remember in fifth grade, some sixth graders stole my bag as I was walking home from school. I foolishly chased them around trying to get the bag back, just what they wanted. When I got home, I told my mom and without delay she got in the car, sped off and I never saw her again.

    Just kidding.

    She tracked the boys down and got my bag back. I’d like to think she gave them a good beat down but I’m sure she at least said her piece.

    Thankfully…in middle school, I found my groove, found some confidence, found true friends and MOST of the bullying stopped. But truthfully, those early days scarred me for life and I still carry it with me.

    So bullying sucks. And it can be deadly as well. Bullying victims are between 2 and 9 times more likely to commit suicide than non-victims. A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying.

    You may be asking yourself how bullying relates to be being gluten-free. Well…sadly…food bullying is prevalent. About one-third of kids with food allergies report they have been bullied because of their allergies. Just a wonderful society we live in, isn’t it? And it begs the question I’d like to ask all food bullies: WHY DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE EAT? WHAT SINGLE EFFECT DOES IT HAVE ON YOUR LIFE? (Dude note: Yes, I’m screaming.)

    I get emails all the time from parents who have young children with celiac disease. They pour out their souls out to me, telling me what a hard time their kids are having at school just trying to fit in while being gluten free.

    They tell me how other kids put bread and other gluten filled items on their plate because they think it’s funny. They tell me how the school will not help protect their children during lunch hours. They tell me how their children come home from school crying. These are children we are talking about.

    And why does this happen? Let’s talk about two big incidents that occurred within our amazing gluten-free community.

    1. The Disney Channel

    Back in 2013, the Disney Channel had a show called Jessie. It was your basic “nothing is funny but if we add a laugh track, maybe nobody will notice” TV show. I mean…it was just awful. In this one episode, which was online first and set to air on TV in three days, there was one character, a young boy, who was your standard Disney show nerd that they typecast: thin, wears a bowtie, has glasses, etc. Anyway…when the butler (because of course) went to serve him pancakes, he asked if they were gluten-free, which of course they were not? And naturally, hilarity ensued as they made him out to be a weak character. Then another character, a young girl, threw the pancakes at him as he yelled “Gluten. Gluten.” So having him whine about it makes her look like a bully and him look like a total wimp. Why is this is funny?

    Here is one parent’s email to me:

    For my kids, this is real. They have had friends make fun of their food, been disinvited to parties because of their diet. They have been made to sit alone, have had waitstaff roll their eyes and snidely comment about their requests to make their food safe for them to eat. They have watched others, sometimes strangers and sometimes not, act as if their requests are somehow just a trend, just a request of an overanxious parent or a spoiled and coddled child.

    Their condition is real, and their feelings are real. They are ostracized for a condition for which they did not ask, and because of which they will spend their entire lives having to make exceptions and special requests, all to keep them healthy and safe. They will often feel excluded or different, because they have to be to avoid serious illness.

    Yet Disney gave children permission, and an example, to further isolate my children and others like them because of their medical conditions.

    So I wrote a blog post about it and started a petition on Change.org. Within 24 hours, it garnered over 10,000 signatures, the story was picked up by all of the major media outlets and Disney pulled the episode before it aired. It was a true victory for our community. Of course, not everyone was pleased. For the next week, I got brutally slammed by hundreds of people over all my social media channels. And I guarantee you, the people who slammed me? Those are the bullies.

    2. Party City

    Party City ran an ad yeaars to promote one of their products, though you would never know it. Here’s how the commercial went down:

    – Person 1 walks in and comments to person 2 what an amazing spread of food she has.

    – Person 1 points to a small dish of unappetizing crackers on the side and asks what they are.

    – Person 2 says “those are some gluten-free options.”

    – Person 1 asks “Do we even know people that are like that?”

    – Person 2 answers with “Tina?!”.

    Dude note: By the tone of her voice, they are inferring that Tina is annoying and high-demand. No disease or anything. Just annoying because she eats gluten-free.

    – Person 2 responds “Oh gross…yeah.”

    Again…our community went into overdrive and the ad was pulled.

    But the question remains. Why are we a target of food bullying? I mean The Today Show called celiac the “trendy new disease”. Jimmy Fallon portrayed us as losers. Joy Behar said we were irritating. Hoda Kotb called us picky eaters.

    We eat gluten-free because we HAVE to. It is our medical treatment. Yet it continues to be a running joke in the media. And that trickles down to people who are consuming the media and the bullying proceeds.

    So what’s the answer? I wish I knew. It seems our country has broken down into two sectors: those who have true empathy and those who think we should all just suck it up. And that divide seems to be getting stronger and stronger.

    While I may not have an answer, I do have a piece of advice for those who are on the “suck it up” side:

    I know you really don’t care about anybody but yourself. And I know you like to belittle people who you feel are beneath you. Maybe you were bullied as a child and the cycle is hard to break. Or maybe you’re just a contemptible wanker who gets his/her kicks out of making others feel bad. Whatever the reason, please understand that we what eat has NOTHING to do with you. Take that negative energy that is consuming you and put it toward something good. The world is a mess. Let’s work on being part of the solution and not part of the problem. Let’s make this a better place to live.

  • Dear Dude: How do I convince my son to take his celiac disease seriously?

    Dear Dude: How do I convince my son to take his celiac disease seriously?

    I had an interesting relationship with my dad. He was my little league coach. He was my golfing partner. He called me his little buddy. He was all around just a great, great guy. I was the fourth out of 4 boys and as I look back, by the time my parents got to me (pleading for a girl I’m sure), I feel they checked out of the “parenting” department a bit.

    As I got older (I was going to say ‘as I matured’, but who am I kidding?), I realized he had his demons, just as we all do, and he did his absolute best with what he had. Sadly those demons took him away from us when he was only 68.

    So cheers to my dad and all the dads out there who are simply doing their best!

    Which leads me to an email I received yesterday from a father whose son has had celiac disease since a young age and is now in his 20’s but refuses to take his celiac disease seriously and is paying the price for it. He is asking me for advice. And I am asking you to share yours as well. Here is his email:

    Dear Gluten Dude,

    I am a father of a 25 year old son who has had a celiac disease diagnosis since he was six. From puberty onwards he has more or less neglected his gluten-free diet and has had problems ever since with his education, having had mental problems like depressed feelings, anxiety, concentration problems and probably brain fog, of which I thought that at least there was a (big) chance that they (and so his complete life) could be positively influenced by him accepting his celiac disease and sticking to a gluten free diet.

    In the continuing process of wanting to help him, I have given him your book some years ago because I think it has the exact right tone for people like him and so it might convince him. He didn’t read it though, which I regret very much.

    He is not easy in discussions but in the latest serious discussion, he used the argument of getting more abdominal problems while sticking to a diet (he has tried it for some months a couple of years ago) and therefore the strange idea that he might not have celiac disease. I have to say here that at 6 he had both positive serology and a complete villous atrophy. So of course I have try to convince him that it is just a fact. He has celiac disease and it is not going away.

    As parents we are quite desperate and even his friends see him in a position now where he makes life very hard for himself and they start to worry about his situation living on its own after a relationship breakup.

    It is hard to help someone who sort of refuses it and denies his situation.

    Do you have any advice which could make a breakthrough?

    There’s an old proverb that says “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” In human terms, this means you’ve presented all of the facts to him, but now it’s in his hands whether he wants to take action to save himself.

    I cannot imagine what his body is going through: physically and mentally. Celiac affects all parts of the body and the more he eats gluten and the more damage is done to his intestines, his condition will only worsen. I cannot fully explain why he had stomach discomfort while eating gluten-free. It could be his body adapting. It could be that he wasn’t really eating 100% gluten-free.

    But it will take more than a few months eating GF for him to begin to heal. It took me years and it was only when I really changed my way of eating did I begin the healing process.

    You are seriously a good man and your son is lucky. If he keeps eating gluten though, his luck may run out.

    If anyone out there in celiac land has some input/advice, please share. Thank you.

    Dude Note: If you’ve never heard the song Father and Son by Cat Stevens, give it a listen. I used to listen to this song over and over again when I was a kid. For some reason, it just struck a chord with me. And it still does.

  • Let’s Talk About Poop

    Let’s Talk About Poop

    Dude Note: I wrote this back in 2015 when I was struggling with…well…um…er…just read the dang post. 🙂

    Today’s topic of discussion
    Is simple and clear
    We’re talking about our bodies
    And the stuff that comes out of our rear

    I know it’s not easy
    And it may make you feel a bit loopy
    But what is more natural
    Than taking a little poopie?

    No need to be squeamish
    It’s not something to miss
    As we converse about what happens
    When I squeeze a Hershey’s Kiss

    You see ever since celiac
    My deuces have been runny
    For all of you in the same boat
    You know that this ain’t funny

    It’s been awful, it’s been messy
    When I go in the dumpy
    There is just nothing fun
    When I push out a grumpy

    Celiac does a number
    On my intestinal tract
    Out of nowhere I get that feeling
    “OMG…I’ve got to take a crap!”

    I run to the bathroom
    Or you can call it the pooper
    But no matter what you call it
    I drop a nasty state trooper

    So six years and running
    I’ve taken my lumps
    But now things have brightened
    When I take my dumps

    They’re solid, they’re clean
    Like god meant them to be
    Now it’s not so bad
    Going to the crap factory

    So what have I changed?
    What have I done?
    Why is going number two
    Now as easy as going number one?

    Let me explain
    I’ll lay it all out on the table
    Why not it’s not so unpleasant now
    When I lay some cable

    Five months ago
    I listened to a voice
    That said feeling so crappy
    Doesn’t need to be a choice

    I’d already given up dairy
    Along with soy and corn
    But I needed to do more
    And take the bull by the horn

    So I hit the pharmacy
    CVS to be exact
    To purchase some vitamins
    That perhaps my body lacked

    I brought a Probiotic
    Nature’s Bounty is the brand
    And Vitamin B-complex
    To help me in the can

    I took them every morning
    I didn’t miss a day
    I wished and prayed and hoped
    That my loose doodies would go away

    And boy oh boy wouldn’t you know it
    Within a week I said “See ya”
    To all those chocolate squirts
    And nasty diarrhea

    Now I’m in and out
    I don’t make a gigantic fuss
    Dare I say it’s almost enjoyable now
    Riding the porcelain bus?

    So if you’ve got some issues
    When you’re in the loo
    Try to do as I did
    And see if it helps your poo

    Again…that’s Probiotics and B-complex
    This is my big scoop
    I really hope it helps
    Next time you take a poop

  • Dear Dude: I don’t have celiac disease anymore

    Dear Dude: I don’t have celiac disease anymore

    Soooooooooooooooooooo, I was diagnosed with celiac in late October 2016. I spent the next 6 months receiving treatment from a naturopath. I went and had my colonoscopy/endoscopy and the internist didn’t think I had celiac. But I continued to do as I was instructed and did a complete cleanse then started adding foods to see what was causing the symptoms of a histamine disorder. Doing well. Then I check in with my GP and he tested me again to later tell me that I don’t have celiac and all my labs came back great! Wow, so happy to hear that! I was so exasperated in spending $$$$$ on supplements, spending hours in the grocery store reading every label, the Drs visits buying every book on celiac & autoimmune diseases that when the GP said I didn’t have celiac I went back to my old way of eating. Not as bad, but glutened. Now it’s been 10 months and I’m right back to where I was in October of 2016.

    So I guess my question is HOW do I stress to my husband’s family to stop trying to feed us. It’s annoying to me when I repeat myself over & over to them please don’t include us in meals for awhile until we get this figured out. These people are obsessed with food. They have to eat 3 meals a day and snack throughout the day. They’re all over weight but seem to be concerned that because I can’t keep weight on I’m failing my husband because I’m not taking care of myself. Side note, we’re 60, he just had a heart attack. His lifestyle has to change as well. I thought (even though it’s awful to have a heart attack to get your head out of your ass) we could finally do this whole new lifestyle change together. Apparently not.

    [Scratching my head trying to figure this one out. Have now drawn blood from my scalp so will stop scratching and start typing.]

    If I am reading this correctly, you were diagnosed with celiac disease. And then went to a naturopath for treatment. Then got retested and was told you do not have celiac disease. So you started eating gluten again and now feel like doo doo. Now you’d like your husband’s family to stop feeding you. Did I get that right?

    First…sorry about hour hubby. Hope he is on the mend. Second…once a celiac, always a celiac. You cannot get rid of the disease. Three…while I am all for natural treatment over medication when possible, the only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet, so I’m not sure what the naturopath was trying to offer/sell to you. Fourth…I won’t comment on the issue of your husband’s family feeding you. I will just assume there’s more to the story than I’m getting out of it. Can you not feed yourselves? I just don’t get it.

  • Ever have one of those weeks?

    Ever have one of those weeks?

    Celiac is a funny disease.

    No…not in the ha ha sense.

    But in the “why the f**k am I so tired this week” sense?

    It doesn’t have to be tiredness. It could be any random symptom.

    But that’s me this week. I simply have no energy.

    I’m setting a Guinness record for most yawns in a day. I’m in bed before the sun goes down. And getting up in the morning is like lifting a 300lb weight.

    But I know this will pass.

    And all the sudden, I’ll feel…normal.

    Until I don’t again.

    Like I said…celiac is a funny disease.

  • Is a second celiac test necessary?

    Is a second celiac test necessary?

    Two years after my initial celiac diagnosis, I was still feeling like poop. My gastro ran a few extra tests and found nothing else wrong. Then he decided to re-scope me. Not to confirm that I actually had celiac disease. I did. But to see how my intestines were healing.

    But what if you go to a new doc and he insists on re-testing you for celiac disease because he doubts the first tests were accurate.

    We’ve all sadly had our share of doctor horror stories. Here’s another one to add to the list from a fellow celiac.

    Hi Gluten Dude. I needed to share a recent doctor visit with you.

    I am still having issues after being diagnosed with celiac disease two years ago and going gluten free. I know that it can take longer to get better and decided to see another gastroenterologist for a second opinion. I left the Doctors office with my head spinning. I brought all of my blood test results for the last year so he could see all my levels. He walked in the room and asked why I was there.

    [Dude note: This drives me batty. In what other industry is this accepted? Can you imagine walking into a client’s office without first knowing why you are there?]

    I told him because of my celiac and he said that my antibodies were perfect so I must be gluten free. I said yes and was ready to talk about everything. He never asked me my history or how I was currently feeling. The first thing he decided to do was another scope. I tried to show him the pictures of my first scope showing the damage to my intestines but he didn’t want to see it. I told him the the biopsies showed celiac and I had a genetic test that showed I have the gene. He told me he wanted to redo the gene test since I had it done two years ago. ???? I know that your genes don’t change. The tests costs $650 and he asked if I would pay for it. My insurance paid for it the first time.

    I didn’t have a copy of the gene results and he wanted to see it. The office contacted my doctor and they sent a copy. He called me in his office and said that I only had a 2 for the gene and only had a moderate chance of developing the disease. He only sees people with a 7 or 8 (high chance of developing celiac). Since I had biopsies come back positive then I probably had celiac. ????

    He then told me to “gluten up” for a week before my scope so they could send the samples to a different lab. I told him that gluten makes me sick. He told me to think about it. ????????

    I left there and contacted a celiac dietitian that I see and she was floored by what he said and how he acted. He made me feel like it was all in my head. I went through years of being sick and told it was all in my head. I was relieved when I was diagnosed because I could finally let everyone know I wasn’t making it up.

    The next day I called the office and cancelled everything and told them I won’t be back. They asked why and I told them at I won’t make myself sick for him and damage my intestines so he could be convinced. My husband called our insurance company to make sure they didn’t approve anything from his office and filed a complaint. The person that he talked to has a daughter with celiac and she couldn’t believe it.

    In a way I am glad that I saw Dr. Nightmare because I will never let a doctor convince me it is all in my head.

    Thanks for listening.

    “It’s all in your head” is a phrase I have heard over and over again from my fellow celiacs. Makes me sad.

    Look…there are tons of great docs out there. But there are also those with the god complex; who make you feel like they’re doing you a favor by seeing them; and “how dare you question my decisions?”

    When I was a lad and dealt with a bit of acne (good times), I had a dermatologist who insisted on doing an injection in each pimple to get rid of them (at $10/injection). I said that I didn’t care about the ones I already had, I want to prevent future ones. He said he would no longer treat me then. Nice.

    So if a doc wants to do a second endoscopy to see how you are healing, and you trust his/her instincts, I’m down with that. But when he’s convinced you may not have celiac, even though you’ve already been diagnosed, and he starts suggesting more test, you may want to que$tion where his motivation$ lie.

  • Eating Out with Celiac? It’s ok NOT TO EAT. Really.

    Eating Out with Celiac? It’s ok NOT TO EAT. Really.

    This is a story from a few years ago but it’s just as pertinent today.

    I got glutened at some point over a weekend. The symptoms started Monday and did not begin to subside until Friday. My symptoms? Anxiety, the shakes, and literally crawling out of my skin.For me, it’s usually a 2-day delay so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is was. But it was a brutal week. God bless Mrs. Dude for her patience when I’m like this. It is not fun to be around.

    This past weekend, I had some family come into town to hang with us. Friday night, usually my sushi take out night, I instead ate a delicious dish that Mrs. Dude put together. Saturday night, we had reservations at a restaurant just up the block from us. I have been to this joint before and they always seemed to “get it”. Because of my long week, I was going to make it a game time decision if I was going to eat or not. If so, I was simply going to order a plain piece of grilled fish. That’s it.

    Everyone put their order in and then it was my turn. I called our server Gabby down so I didn’t have to shout my condition for the restaurant to hear. Now…Gabby was an awesome waitress so this is not a complaint. But when I said I have celiac disease and I need to be ultra careful, she had that “what the ever living hell are you talking about” look on her face.

    She basically made the decision for me. I said “nothing for me”. Then I grabbed my jacket, ran out of the restaurant and collapsed on the street in tears of anguish.

    Oh wait a minute…no I didn’t. I enjoyed my hibiscus margarita (ok fine…I enjoyed my two hibiscus margaritas), the conversation and the comfort of being with family. I didn’t feel awkward, I didn’t starve, and I woke up Sunday hungover happy with my decision of the previous night. Now it’s Monday morning and I feel like a human being again.

    I remember early in my diagnosis, I was out to eat with a few (ex) friends. For whatever reason, something just didn’t feel right so I did not order anything. One of the people I was with was incredulous and said “so you’re just going to sit there and NOT EAT?” Ummm…yep.

    The lesson here? Listen to your gut and don’t worry about what other people think about you not eating. Believe it or not…you’ll survive.

  • Not getting celiac support from your partner? Find another partner.

    Not getting celiac support from your partner? Find another partner.

    I get emails. Lots and lots of emails. And I cannot tell you how many I receive from people who do not get support from their partners when they get diagnosed with celiac disease. It drives me batty. Here are some of the complaints I hear:

    “My husband says I can have a little gluten…it’s no big deal.”

    “My husband constantly contaminates my gluten-free butter.”

    “My husband says celiac is a media created disease.”

    “My husband refuses to take any extra precautions in the house to keep me safe.”

    So two questions:

    1. Why does it always seem to be the husband who lacks the compassion? Actually, don’t answer that…or if you do, be gentle.
    2. What the #$%$%# are these people thinking??

    Do the words “in sickness and in health” ring a bell??

    When you first get the dreaded celiac diagnosis, it is absolutely overwhelming. You feel like your entire life has been overturned. And in a way, it has. Nothing will be like it once was. I still remember going grocery shopping the day after my diagnosis and all I kept thinking as I was going up and down the aisles was “I can’t have that. I can’t have that. I can’t have that. I can’t have that.” It really sux.

    But if I had to do it without Mrs. Dude’s support? I cannot even imagine. Immediately, she immersed herself in education about the disease. She went out and bought separate utensils and pots and pans. She made part of the kitchen off limits to everyone but me. She labeled all of the drawers, counters, etc. “gluten free” to remind the kids and our guests. But more than anything else, she just made me feel like I was not in this alone. And because of this, it’s 11 years later, I’m (somewhat) healthy, I’ve never cheated and living gluten free just feels “normal” now.

    But this post is not about me. It’s about YOU.

    You need this type of support. If your partner is not behind you 100%, dig deep and figure out why. It is a tough journey having celiac disease and it’s one nobody should go through alone. But to go through it while somebody in your own home is fighting it? Total BS. No, I’m not really advocating leaving your partner. Suggesting? Maybe. But advocating…no.

    But if your partner is indeed in denial, you need to find another support system. The celiac community is indeed a wonderful group of people. Immerse yourself with them and all of the sudden, you won’t feel so alone.

    Join Twitter and hashtag gluten and celiac.

    Join a celiac Facebook page.

    Connect with celiac advocates on social media.

    Find a celiac support group in your area.

    And by all means, feel free to ping me whenever you want.

    I may not be your partner, but I’m not half bad.