Gluten-free and Mad About It

I discovered I was gluten free in November of 2024, but I've been experiencing the symptoms since 2016. This is mostly a reference for my own sake, to record information like recalls, tips and tricks, and snacks I want to try.

[youtubatu]

Its been almost 7 years since I got diagnosed with celiac disease and I lowkey forgot that gluten free food taste different. One time I offered my friend some toast when they were staying over, but I only had gluten free bread and they told me "why does it taste like that" and I just stood there like 😳. I enjoy my gluten free bread thank you very much, shout out to schar.

[celiac-soliloquy]

Fml I got glutened and I have to travel for work for the next two weeks 🤪

[crypticmaniac]

Good news guys! We might be one step closer to finding out what's wrong with me :D

Bad news, if we're right, I'll never be able to experience food on the same way again :(

Extra bad news, I'm gonna have to have another blood test :(

[celiac-soliloquy]

Don't worry, being celiac sucks but it's better now than it's ever been and its only improving. Right now there are two medications in clinical trials that could allow us to consume gluten in our lifetimes!

[fidelcostco]

ppl without meds: wow…. i can't imagine being dependent on medicine... pills every day? injecting myself every week? how tragic

ppl who need meds: holy fuck they invented the solution to my problem and i literally just need to take magic tiny rocks and inject some substance every week. oh my god. i get to feel better in literally any capacity. holy shit

[fidelcostco]

ppl who need meds but can't access them/meds for their thing don't exist yet: holy fuck I wish I had tiny magic rocks or injectable substance or cream or gel or potion or implant to take at whatever rate necessary to fix my problem. I'd kill to take that every day/week/etc forever if it would fix my thing

[celiac-soliloquy]

Trust and believe if I could take a magic rock or even have to inject myself with some mystical substance every day that allowed me to live without the fear of glutening myself I would. If I could eat anything I wanted without worrying about colon cancer or being sick for two weeks? Yeah magic rocks every day is the easiest trade in the world.

[evilwriter37]

Soooooo bothered by people thinking that celiac is merely a GI issue. Yes, it causes tons of intestinal damage and can lead to cancers, but that’s not all it is! Celiac is an autoimmune disease, not a food intolerance or allergy. I have to watch any product for gluten, not just the things I eat. That hand lotion has gluten? Can’t use it because my hands will burn. Same with things like soap and shampoo, and I’m the type also bothered by makeup. (Yes, there’s gluten in makeup.)

I am also incredibly bothered by the fact that people think it’s just wheat. It’s not. While wheat is a more commonly-used grain than barley and rye, barley and rye are still problems. They also have the gluten protein. So it’s wheat, barley, and rye, not just wheat. I have to be cautious with products that just say “wheat free” but don’t specify “gluten free.” And don’t even get me started on cross contamination. Or quinoa and buckwheat.

Anyway, yeah, some of my celiac-haver pet peeves.

[nightshadewine]

plants* as chronic illnesses;

echinacea - lupus

rowan - multiple sclerosis

willow - fibromyalgia

elder - eds

valerian - hashimoto's

yarrow - diabetes

ivy - grave's

ash - cah

hawthorn - me/cfs

comfrey - ankylosing spondylitis

silphium - endometriosis

slippery elm - crohn's

samphire - pots

arnica - arthritis

*(not intended as treatments)

[celiac-soliloquy]

• wheat - celiac

I think I'm hilarious

[certifiedceliac]

Tiktok: @glutenfreestreetgang

[skydaemon]

if you see me screaming in the gluten free aisle mind your business

[femcelfootjob]

the fact that gluten free food is so much more expensive than their otherwise identical counterparts is so evil.

Cheap processed white bread made without gluten is the same price as a fancy artisan loaf of wheat bread.

basically the only food that won't kill me that is affordable are potatoes.

[plebeiangoth]

Anyone else ever randomly think about how in Catholicism, communion wafers need to contain gluten or else it's considered invalid?

Am I allergic to Jesus?

[televisionenjoyer]

ok repeat after me: gluten free is not "diet culture". gluten free is not meant to "take the joy away from carbs". gluten free is a diet that allows people with an autoimmune disease to eat without inflicting further damage upon their bodies. we don't have to be condemned to eat the most disgusting and basic shit ever because we have celiacs. we deserve options too.

[thebibliosphere]

Whenever I post about how gluten sticks to certain types of material my notes/inbox either fills up with a bunch of people with celiac going "motherFUCKER" or a lot of non-gluten-intolerant people realizing they've been unknowingly poisioning heir friends and family members.

So, yeah, certain types of materials can harbor "hidden" gluten, especially if they are older or have scratches.

It might not be an issue for the person in your life, depending on their sensitivity, but if you want to cook or bake for someone who is gluten-free for medical reasons, it's advisable to have dedicated cookware for them that doesn't get used for anything else.

I don't have celiac, but my husband and I have our own pots and pans and utensils that live on opposite sides of the kitchen because my reaction is mast cell-based and gives me anaphylaxis with enough exposure. Which is another reason to take people seriously when they say they're gluten-free.

And just to be clear, you should always take gluten-free diets seriously. I don't care if you knew someone who did it for a fad or to lose weight. People's preferences should demand respect in of themselves, but there are those of us out here for whom exposure can be lethal, either in the long term or the short term.

So, yeah. Be kind. And always ask before you touch anything in our kitchen, please. I've had expensive pans ruined for me because someone thought they were doing me a kindness by doing my dishes with a sponge they'd just used to clean a bread pan with 🫠

[pathless-stride]

adding to this with things I don't see mentioned a lot-

when you eat outside or are getting food from any restaurant for someone, foods that seem innocuous or even specifically labled gluten free might contain gluten accidentally. and it's often fried foods in commercial kitchens or any food containing oil. for example even if fries are gluten free, if they've been fried in oil that fried anything battered then that oil is contaminated. some places keep reusing oil so you have to ask specifically what oil they use. oil and butter are tricky cause they leech on pretty easily, this goes more so at home where we might not realise what we've done.

paper straws and such 'eco' utensils might use wheat paste. these are also often unabled. and since they are meant to degrade easily, sharing food with them or letting it sit will break it down and contaminate the food.

reading the labels on condiments is a must! things change from brand to brand and the same brand can even change their recipe without a warning. the most surprising for me was most soy sause having wheat.

I have an allergy so it's not just food I have to be careful with. and this I really don't see brought up a lot, it's that lot of cosmetic products use wheatgerm oil or wheat protein. wheatgerm oil is often for vitamin e, so it's in anything nourishing like creams and lotions. wheat protein is in any repairing hair products. now this won't cause problems to a lot of people(cause celiac disease doesn't react to touch, if you do then you probably want to get tested for allergies) but where you do need to be careful is that wheat germ oil is used in a fair few lip balms, so yea be aware of who you are kissing cause you could accidentally ingest it through that

[rodeoradio]

Having celiac disease is so surreal bc most people think you’re just an overdramatic liberal who can’t handle bread, best case scenario they treat you like someone who has a severe allergy but meanwhile- you have an autoimmune disease that causes you to regularly shit out your upper intestinal lining out for no observable reason, severe chronic fatigue, pre-cancerous changes in the digestive system, increased cancer risk, and literal physical brain damage.

. ^oh and every single person with celiac has a nearly identical immune reaction, but not everyone gets immediate stomach aches when exposed to gluten. If you dont experience stomach pain most people will asssume you’re faking the severity of your disease and then actively choose to increase your risk of cancer/brain damage/ crippling fatigue by pressuring you to eat at unsafe establishments/ generally not giving a shit whether or not they cause your food to be cross contaminated

[disabled-planet]

This disability pride month I’m shouting out to those with Celiac Disease and those with auto immune diseases specifically.

Why?

Because society thinks we’re a joke. We’re a mere trend for weight loss. That we can cheat a little and have a little crumb. That, even with some disability advocates, downplay us as well.

We are disabled, as people with Celiac. Socially, mentally, and physically. Yes, Celiac affects the brain too, so mentally too.

I am tired of even the disability community not seeing that some auto-immune diseases, not just Celiac, QUALIFY as a disability (and recognized in the US by the ADA!).

Celiac is WAY more than a tummy ache. It’s over 300 symptoms. Endless pain. All your favorite restaurants and foods being taken from you. Public isolation because you can only eat at such a small amount of safe restaurants. Pain mentally and pain physically.

Also- shoutout to all auto-immune diseases. We qualify as disabled. I see you, you and your goofy immune system.

[celiac-soliloquy]

I have POTS as well as celiac. For those who don't know its considered THE fainting condition (there are many more, its just the one everyone knows). However I have fainted more from the excruciating pain that accompanies consuming gluten than I have for normal POTS triggers. POTS likely plays a role in my tendancy to pass out from the pain, but this is meant to highlight how debilitating celiac can be. It literally is so painful that I passed out semi regularly from pain from the ages of 14-19. It is absolutely a disabling condition, and affects every part of my life. It has limited my ability to exist in the world without accomodations, which is literally what disabling means. The ADA definition of disability is a physical condition that substantially limits a major life activity. I'd say celiac affects more than one. I need people to start taking celiac more seriously. It's not a diet trend it's not a choice and it's not fun.

[thekamikazepigeon]

dude are you okay your last five posts have been about eating bread

It's been nearly two years but I can't seem to get over her, yet I know she shall never return to me. Our love was forbidden, and no matter how hard we tried, there were circumstances we just could not overcome. We were fated to be torn apart, yet still, I cannot help but miss her so. This is my curse. I MISS YOU BREAD :'(((

In other news, the gluten free bread seems to taste especially like cardboard right now. I'm sure these two things are unrelated

[mooninagust]

Life of a celiac.

[kitterlings]

For the Sealiac homies out there