Anyone else with coeliac felt it was depressing?

Hello, I have Coeliac disease and I cried when I got the news. That was about 8 years ago.
I think, one has to not look back and move forward and learn to enjoy foods that do not contain gluten.
Embrace this - this is the new you,
you’re now living with this so make the most of it.
There is a whole world out there of amazing gluten free foods.
It’s in Instagram and it’s delicious. In my house, I’m the cook with a party of 5 and they all eat gluten free now - GF bread, homemade bagels, lettuce wrap burgers (yum) GF pasta, lasagna- chicken noodle soup with rice noodles and at first they complained but now they enjoy and my daughter is GF by choice now.
I am so sorry you’re having a hard time, it’s a tough adjustment but you’ll get there because unfortunately you can’t change it.

@karmgreen. I’m so sorry that you’ve been depressed over your diagnosis of celiac disease. I now have 2 autoimmune diseases and both have some diet restrictions along with other things. After a few weeks of being crabby about everything, I decided that I Could Do This! So many challenges in my life and this was just one more. You may need a little help like I did. I’m thinking therapist, or support group, or a good dietician. Someone who could just listen. I’m sure that your doctor’s office has some recommendations. Ask them and then try! You have nothing to lose except depression!

Hi, @karmgreen - I think it's very understandable that with the restrictions of celiac disease, you might feel depressed and experience quite a bit of loss. And avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) would make eating even more challenging.

Glad you've connected with @becsbuddy and @ers12345. I'm also tagging fellow Connect members @kayabbott @ado79 @joy4trees @catstx so they can share their experiences with celiac and how they dealt with feeling more restricted and/or depressed regarding all the changes.

Are there other foods in addition to the Maggi 2 Minute Chicken Noodles that you've missed a lot so far?

Yep, I was diagnosed around 2001. Everyone kept asking me where I made up this disease. Because so many people thought gluten free was a "weight loss" diet, I get dirty looks. However, when my hubby gives them the look back and tells them it's not a "food allergy," they back off.

@karmgreen I have had celiac for 16 years; it is a disease of diet restrictions and also of social isolation. People don't understand how the disease affects us. We are hit with friends excluding us because it is uncomfortable for them. I cook a lot, and there are many GF options for cookbooks and online now, such as The Loopy Whisk. Apps such as Findmeglutenfree give safe restaurant options. Reading every ingredient on labels is a pain, but necessary. Hemp noodles are closest to wheat that I have found, even cooking at high elevations. They are a bit hard to find online, but scrolling down lists suppliers. At least that could give you the wheat feel of the chicken noodles. I've even found a company that bakes sourdough bread that is like real bread. There are online celiac groups that are useful for information and gatherings. If you live near Denver, the Celiac Collective of Denver Metro has a gluten free farmers market the second Saturday of every month from June to Oct. We bought frozen Bhutan dumplings that were excellent, and other things that most people never try. If you lose something that you were close to there is a grieving process. It is useful to replace that loss with something else, a hobby, new food, new activities or friends.

@karmgreen , it is really tricky, isn't it? My daughter (who is nine) and I were diagnosed with Celiac about 2 1/2 years ago. My sister and her daughter were also confirmed Celiac after our diagnosis. It has been challenging. I do enjoy cooking, which makes it easier for me but it is not so easy for my sister, who does not enjoy preparing meals as much.

I also miss the food! I have Celiac but also have many other dietary restrictions that keep my body working so that I can enjoy life, and I am so grateful to have my life back that it makes the dietary restrictions more tolerable. Still, it is so hard to learn how to eat to live rather than live to eat. 90% of what I cook for my family I cannot eat... But I am the cook, so I keep cooking and am learning to taste through my nose! Lol It is strange.

Celiac is a disease that I feel many people really do not understand, in part because of the "gluten free" at restaurants, and availability, etc has made it so "easy". Most people do not understand the cross-contact aspect of this at all, and wonder why/how it could possibly be so difficult. It is the constant preparing of food in my kitchen and the on-edge, uneasy feeling of eating somewhere outside of our gluten free home that is so tricky for me. (I called over thirty restaurants last week to see who could host us in a 2 hour radius of our home to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday... I finally found a place that seemed to know about how wheat flour acts like glitter in a kitchen.)

I think the social aspect of this is hardest for our family (and we have each other). Although we are bummed that we have this, we're very grateful that we have each other in this. It is helpful to commiserate and pick each other back up again when we need a reminder that we can keep going and not let Celiac get the better of us. We can keep going and live our lives productively! This is just a part of us and something that we can help each other through.

One thing I that I am noticing with my nine year old, is that she does not have any friends who have Celiac, and I think it is sometimes hard for her... Birthday parties, not being able to go out for ice cream, etc. She handles it well but am wondering about anxiety with her... I think it would be nice for her to be able to spend some time with kids her age who have food allergies. I made an appointment with her dietician and explained our situation. Her dietician (who really does understand Celiac-- I know that not all do!) is planning on creating a "class" for anyone in our (ruralish) area, really for the purpose of learning about cooking with Celiac and presenting gluten free options, in hopes that we might meet others in our area with this disease. I have also signed my little girl up for counseling... Celiac and dietary restrictions and that "on-edge" feeling are not good feelings to constantly live with.

Do you have anyone in your area that you can talk with about having this? I think it must be so much more challenging when you don't have someone "with you" through it, even if they themselves don't have Celiac, but someone who can listen and understand. Maybe speaking to a dietician about what possibilities they might be able to offer in terms of meeting others? Seeing a therapist to let it out? Working through those "stuck" feelings can be so helpful, I think. Letting them out and learning to work through them... and learning to let them "sit on a shelf" while you live so they don't feel so big and take over. You (and all of us on this thread!) are so much more than Celiac Disease. I have to keep that in the forefront of my mind. Keep moving, keep living.

Just know that there are others who do really get it. We understand and we're with you, even though we may not live in your area... And we're rooting for you! (Keep rooting for us too!) We can do this!! 🙂

Yes, it's a life change, to be sure.
I suddenly became very sick and was in the hospital for 10 days before it was diagnosed as celiac. During that time, I could hardly walk, my legs and feet were so swollen, plus many other issues. If it wasn't for the anesthesiologists and pediatric nurses who could find my veins and give me fluids I would not have lived. So, understanding it was gluten, meant I could live again. I miss some foods but am so grateful for knowing I'm fine as long as I eat gluten free. Nothing compares to what those four weeks were like.