Gulp! You’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease. Now what?
If you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease, the day you start on a gluten-free diet, your life starts a change for the better.
You wondered why you had gut aches, bloating and gas. Maybe you felt fatigued and weak. Or wondered about that heartburn that wouldn’t go away. So you checked in with your doctor, had blood tests, an intestinal biopsy and yes, it was confirmed you have celiac disease.
Now what?
Well, let’s start with the good news.
The day you start a gluten-free diet, the lining in your small bowel begins to heal. Of course, it will take more than a few days for your intestinal function to return to normal, but at least you’ve started the process. With the healing, comes a renewed sense of life health and normalcy.
True, once a diagnosis for celiac disease is confirmed, you’ll have to follow a strict gluten-free diet for life. You may need additional vitamin and mineral supplements to correct the malnutrition from the past gluten damage.
It’s the not knowing that frustrates us
But like any suspected medical problem that’s been nagging you for a while, once you know for sure the condition exists, then at least you can start a plan to manage it. It’s the “not knowing for sure ” that frustrates us.
Too often people with celiac disease have symptoms of fatigue, weakness, joint pain, mouth sores, migraines — symptoms typically not associated with the gut. The diagnosis is often anemia, stress, irritable bowel syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome – or a dozen other “medical conditions.” Is it any wonder that health officials estimate that 97% of those with celiac disease remain undiagnosed?
Let’s hope that statistic changes.
That’s why it so important after confirmation to sit down with your doctor or dietician and map out a strategy for your new eating habits — what’s permissible and what’s a no-no on your gluten-free diet. Yes, you’ll have to be strict — no cheating — even quaffing a cold beer can re-inflame the intestine.
Today, at least, it’s getting easier to go gluten-free with spate of new products (including gluten-free beer) in health food stores and supermarkets. That number should grow over the next few years.
So be careful. Watch labels. Try new recipes. Enjoy life.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
You mention gluten free beer. What brands? Anyone know what this kind of beer tastes like? Just been told I’m celiac..(kinda suspected it for awhile) and I think I’m going to miss my Lakeport. Or maybe I’ll suffer in silence. Ha!
October 24th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Budweiser makes Redbridge beer using sorghum instead of barley/wheat. I like it.
October 24th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
I live in Ontario, and haven’t seen the beer sold in our beer stores. If I visit Buffalo, would I be able to pick it up at any liquor/beer outlet?
October 27th, 2008 at 6:47 am
I would call ahead and check to see if they carry it. We own a bar and when I was diagnosed I surfed the net and found out Budweiser made Redbridge. I called our distributor and asked them to send us some in their next delivery. It sort of tastes like an amber beer and I prefer to drink it with a lime. Lakefront Brewery also makes a gluten free beer – New Grist. I have found both are sold in Whole Foods and one of our local grocery stores – HyVee.
October 28th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Hey Mike,
I have actually tried brewing my own gluten free beer, the market isn’t that great. You have a few choices though, including La Messengere which is available only in the LCBO. It’s brewed in Quebec using buckwheat and rice I believe, you can check out their website for more info. Roughly $17 for a 6 pack, so the price is abit of an ouch!!
You can also drink Strongbow, a cider but you will miss that traditional beer taste. And like the poster above, Redbridge is very popular in the states, even available in some Walmarts!
January 29th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
OMG!
Is this what you are all worried about? Beer? I have lived with Celiac disease 47 years Diagnosed via bowel biopsy. You should keep living your happy lives, and treating this like it is a trend rather than a disease. When you realize what you really have you may want to take as many precautionary steps for your health as possible. I have had cancer in my femur, I have chrones disease, 9 tumors removed from my stomach, I cannot have children, migraines, to say a few. ALL have been said to coincide with this disease.
February 5th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
thanks for the feedback on the name, Enjoy the site. Tricia
April 30th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I too am thinking about brewing my own beer. Anyone know where to get the ingredients in Ontario?
August 24th, 2009 at 6:21 am
Thanks for this site!
Just found out I have CD. I was a bit discourage at first because all the things I like I now can’t have. Information on CD from sites like this one has really lifted my spirits. A big THANK YOU to everyone out there for sharing your knowledge on this disease and advice on what to eat and where to find it.
My doctor wasn’t the one to find out that I had CD. It was my wife! She was watching Canada Am the morning they ran a story on Celiacs Disease. She said that I had all the symptoms for CD and should go to my doctor for the blood test. When I went to my doctor and told him my wife had sent me to him because she saw this program on Canada Am he just rolled his eyes and said “I’m pretty sure you don’t have Celiacs disease and the blood test is $60 dollars”. Good thing I insisted on the blood test. I figure I have had this disease for about 10 years, that’s when the terrible heartburn started. My doctor put me on Pantoloc to control that and I have been taken that for 10 years.
I’m a big beer and chips guy. Here in Ontario I have tried the “La Messagere”, brewed in Quebec. My local LCBO was out of this beer one day so I tried “New Grist” from Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Try “New Grist” it’s a much better beer! It tastes more like beer!
As far as chips go, after researching to see if Lay’s Potato Chips are safe to eat for Celiac suffers, I have found that although Lay’s Chips claim to be Gluten Free they produce these chips on the same manufacturing lines as products that are made with gluten. They wash down and clean the equipment before they start making a Gluten Free product on that line but can’t guaranteed that the product will be 100% Gluten Free! So I guess it’s trial and error with their products.
I sent a email to Old Dutch Foods and asked what snacks are gluten free. Here is their response. I have removed the products that were bolded so according to Old Dutch Foods, all of the following are gluten free.
Enjoy!
M&M
Hi There: from Old Dutch Foods
Thank you for the e-mail.
The following Old Dutch products do not contain wheat, including spelt and kamut, or oats, barley, rye or triticale or any part thereof and therefore are considered Gluten-Free: However, some these products (corn) are produced on the same line as products containing wheat. I have bold letters for the products that are produced on the same line as our Multi Grain Tortilla Chips that contain gluten. Complete cleaning and sanitizing are performed prior to running a non- gluten product.
Old Dutch Regular Potato Chips
Old Dutch Dutch Crunch Sea Salt & Malt Vinegar (Malt is simulated)
Old Dutch BBQ Potato Chips
Old Dutch Dutch Crunch Mesquite BBQ
Old Dutch RipL Potato Chips
Old Dutch Dutch Crunch Jalapeno and Cheddar
Old Dutch RipL Sour Cream and Green Onion
Old Dutch RipL Smokey BBQ Chips
Old Dutch Rip-L Creamy Dill
Old Dutch RipL Mexican Chili
Old Dutch Salt ‘n Vinegar Potato Chips
Old Dutch Ketchup Potato Chips
Old Dutch Sour Cream ‘n Onion Potato Chips
Old Dutch Crispy Bacon Chips
Old Dutch Onion & Garlic Potato Chips
Old Dutch All Dressed Potato Chips
Old Dutch Dill Pickle Potato Chips
Old Dutch Bac’n Puffs
Old Dutch Cheese Pleesers
Old Dutch Popcorn Twists
Old Dutch Premium Cheese Flavoured Popcorn
Old Dutch White Cheddar Popcorn
Old Dutch Nacho Crunchys
Old Dutch Popcorn Twists
Old Dutch Restaurante Salsa (Mild & Medium)
Regards,
Consumer Care Representative