Gluten free advice , HELP :(

[sweetbear]

 My questions are how do others that can't eat gluten deal with communion for a church and other church events, like morning tea and church lunches?

We have just started looking for a new church and dont really know how others deal with  explaining the whole cross containmation thing?

would love some ideas of how to bring it up and tips on what others do in these situations? 

and 

How do others deal with family members and friends that dont understand your needs and will think you crazy and off with the pixies even though you have to be gluten free for health reasons?

I have family ( inlaws)  in the past that are not very understanding of my diet and keep offereing gluten foods. 

(I am gluten intolerant and have been for the last 4 years and just had my youngest child who is 11 years old  diagnosed with celiac disease, my mother also has celiac dissease) 

I am in desperate need of prayer and advice on these things, As I don't want to come acoss as being over the top or rude with dealing with it. 

 

 

[AnOrangeCat]

Sometimes you've just got to draw a line and accept whatever criticism you get. There's enough research around to prove that gluten allergies are real. Just be direct about it and accept that the ball is in their court after you bring it up.

[ladypeartree]

As a fellow coeliac I can sympathise and tell you it is a LOT better now than it was about 20 or even 30 years ago  when it was nicer to eat the cardboard the bread came in and there was nothing else available . Now we have a huge variety PRAISE GOD 

Maybe you can print out or request leaflets from the coeliac society ( I assume they have a branch in Australia  but I am from the UK ) then give them to people who need to know such as the minister at your church or whoever is responsible for the communion bread/wafers.  If your church uses real bread then either you do not participate and just have the blessing ( after explaining the problem to the pastor ) If however they use wafers then ask for the ingredients as most are actually gluten free.  When my sister and I attended the same church the problem was solved by supplying a loaf of bread ourselves .. no one else objected to eating a tiny amount of home made bread especially when it was warm from the oven .    Morning tea, just don't eat you can still enjoy a cup of coffee or tea or take a packet of gf biscuits with you to share ( again these days most are tasty and people tend not to notice or make some cakes to take ) For the church lunches I assume people take dishes and share if so make enough of your dish to share but stick to that and any fresh fruit or veg available 

Your in laws are a bit harder as they may not actually understand how serious it is so try with the leaflets ( ask your hubby to show them as it may come better from him and not sound so much like a criticism )  They also need to understand how easily your food and your daughters can be contaminated and how ill it makes you but that is NOT easy as even my own mother who was a late diagnosed coeliac gets it wrong as often as she gets it right and she had 3 daughters and 4 grandchildren with the disease It is often just lack of understanding not malice that causes the problems ( if you were vegetarian they would know and SEE meat products but you cannot see gluten and it is in so many foods and drinks ) If you are going for a meal again take a dish with you or even change to vegetarian meals as then you know you are not eating something contaminated ( normally ) as it is the stuff like sauces that cause the problems If that doesn't work you will just have to not go for meals and invite them to your home instead 

If you need and recipes feel free to pm me and believe me life with coeliac disease is a LOT better now than when I was diagnosed 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by ladypeartree

[BeauJangles]

2 hours ago, sweetbear said:

I have family ( inlaws)  in the past that are not very understanding of my diet and keep offereing gluten foods. 

(I am gluten intolerant and have been for the last 4 years and just had my youngest child who is 11 years old  diagnosed with celiac disease, my mother also has celiac dissease)

Apparently they just need a gentle reminder when items you can't digest are presented to you. 

18 minutes ago, ladypeartree said:

Maybe you can print out or request leaflets from the coeliac society

This is a great idea. Most people do have some literacy skills. 

[sweetbear]

20 hours ago, ladypeartree said:

As a fellow coeliac I can sympathise and tell you it is a LOT better now than it was about 20 or even 30 years ago  when it was nicer to eat the cardboard the bread came in and there was nothing else available . Now we have a huge variety PRAISE GOD 

Maybe you can print out or request leaflets from the coeliac society ( I assume they have a branch in Australia  but I am from the UK ) then give them to people who need to know such as the minister at your church or whoever is responsible for the communion bread/wafers.  If your church uses real bread then either you do not participate and just have the blessing ( after explaining the problem to the pastor ) If however they use wafers then ask for the ingredients as most are actually gluten free.  When my sister and I attended the same church the problem was solved by supplying a loaf of bread ourselves .. no one else objected to eating a tiny amount of home made bread especially when it was warm from the oven .    Morning tea, just don't eat you can still enjoy a cup of coffee or tea or take a packet of gf biscuits with you to share ( again these days most are tasty and people tend not to notice or make some cakes to take ) For the church lunches I assume people take dishes and share if so make enough of your dish to share but stick to that and any fresh fruit or veg available 

Your in laws are a bit harder as they may not actually understand how serious it is so try with the leaflets ( ask your hubby to show them as it may come better from him and not sound so much like a criticism )  They also need to understand how easily your food and your daughters can be contaminated and how ill it makes you but that is NOT easy as even my own mother who was a late diagnosed coeliac gets it wrong as often as she gets it right and she had 3 daughters and 4 grandchildren with the disease It is often just lack of understanding not malice that causes the problems ( if you were vegetarian they would know and SEE meat products but you cannot see gluten and it is in so many foods and drinks ) If you are going for a meal again take a dish with you or even change to vegetarian meals as then you know you are not eating something contaminated ( normally ) as it is the stuff like sauces that cause the problems If that doesn't work you will just have to not go for meals and invite them to your home instead 

If you need and recipes feel free to pm me and believe me life with coeliac disease is a LOT better now than when I was diagnosed 

thank you for the advice, We do have a ceoliac society here and I am a member cos of my daughter. I have IBS and have had alot of issues with food over the years and have flare us from time to time, somthing alot dont get. It has been hard to deal with but am actually glad I have it strange I know but  it has helped me to better understand my daughter and her tummy pain. and in the process a new world of gluten free foods. I know when my mum was diagnosed her bread looked like a sponge with holes all in it and tasted like cardboard, it was pretty yuck. But i have eated gluten free foods and tried things out i can know share with my daughter some things she has liked some not. but i am glad my mum has been able to help me with my own issues as she has ibs as well as celiac disease and other issues, but i think it brings us a bit closer cos we understand all the tummy issues and food issues. it is hard with food at times cos your body acts strangely to food you would think shouldnt be a issue but it is. 

wow you do have alot in your family with coeliac disease, my mum thinks her father had it also but more in the form of the rash and bloating were the only things she can rememeber he was never diagnosed though. In all honest i do think i might have coeliac disease i had the blood test before i went gluten free and it was negative but it can come up at any age. i never had a endoscopy cos they wont do it unless its postive . i am at a high risk anyway cos of my mum and daughter, so to me i am a moving target. But i decided when my daughter was diagnosed to just treat myself like i am a ceoliac for my health. my husband and oldest has gone gluten free also to support her in this diagnoses and for her safety so no cross containmation at home. 

i have had gastro 4 times in my life and 3 out 4 times i was in hospital it was that bad. first time i had gastro i nearly died at the age of 4, but God kept me alive. last time i had it about a year before i was diagnosed with ibs i had 7 bags of fluid and thought i was on deaths door, they didnt even know what caused it as i couldnt keep anything down. it was the worst i had in years. 

so I Have had a senstive stomach for awhile my doctor told me to look up the low fod map diet on gooogle that was the only help i got. the low fod diet is a process of elimation to see what affects you and gluten was one of them. but had to research it all myself. not long after my mum was diagnosed with ibs also. basically means alot of foods can trigger pain so i have to balance my food out so i dont get pain. 

My daughter has had the blood test and endoscpy and been confirmed officaly. 

its always great to talk to others that understand though. 

20 hours ago, ladypeartree said:

 

 

[sweetbear]

20 hours ago, BeauJangles said:

Apparently they just need a gentle reminder when items you can't digest are presented to you. 

This is a great idea. Most people do have some literacy skills. 

lol, you would think some people can read, can't make them read  though or understand it, but we can try. I guess sometimes you have a laugh it off 

[ladypeartree]

Oh and in case you didn't know be careful of TOOTHPASTE !!! Yes mad as that sounds if a food or anything classed as something you can injest (such as toothpaste or meds ) has less that 0.002 % gluten then they don't have to put it on the ingredients label ..one of the worse attacks I had came from toothpaste as it had bits in it that were supposed to help keep your teeth extra clean ( yeah all hype I know ) but since it was such a low contamination it took weeks before I had a full blown attack and ended up in hospital after weeks of feeling "off " 

[sweetbear]

6 minutes ago, ladypeartree said:

Oh and in case you didn't know be careful of TOOTHPASTE !!! Yes mad as that sounds if a food or anything classed as something you can injest (such as toothpaste or meds ) has less that 0.002 % gluten then they don't have to put it on the ingredients label ..one of the worse attacks I had came from toothpaste as it had bits in it that were supposed to help keep your teeth extra clean ( yeah all hype I know ) but since it was such a low contamination it took weeks before I had a full blown attack and ended up in hospital after weeks of feeling "off " 

yes i did check the toothpaste and even contacted them to ask. its crazy what you find with gluten in it.

[Deborah_]

On 10/16/2019 at 11:06 AM, sweetbear said:

My questions are how do others that can't eat gluten deal with communion for a church and other church events, like morning tea and church lunches?

We have just started looking for a new church and dont really know how others deal with  explaining the whole cross containmation thing?

I'm not gluten-intolerant myself, but in the UK most churches are very accommodating. You just need to let the leadership know that they need to provide gluten-free bread or wafers at communion. (Again, in the UK most churches have gluten-free available at every communion service, because intolerance is so common).

It's the same with church lunches - any decent church should be aware of common dietary problems. It's not difficult to ensure that there's at least one gluten-free dessert on offer, just like offering vegetarian options.

[Neighbor]

On 10/16/2019 at 6:06 AM, sweetbear said:

 My questions are how do others that can't eat gluten deal with communion for a church and other church events, like morning tea and church lunches?

We have just started looking for a new church and dont really know how others deal with  explaining the whole cross containmation thing?

would love some ideas of how to bring it up and tips on what others do in these situations? 

and 

How do others deal with family members and friends that dont understand your needs and will think you crazy and off with the pixies even though you have to be gluten free for health reasons?

I have family ( inlaws)  in the past that are not very understanding of my diet and keep offereing gluten foods. 

(I am gluten intolerant and have been for the last 4 years and just had my youngest child who is 11 years old  diagnosed with celiac disease, my mother also has celiac dissease) 

I am in desperate need of prayer and advice on these things, As I don't want to come acoss as being over the top or rude with dealing with it. 

 

 

Hi, Is there any reason you cannot bring your own elements for Lord's supper/communion? Same for morning tea. Same for any gathering, bring some non-gluten items for yourself and for others in general.

One thing that is a bit of a turn off for me is to see those signs at a gathering that states "Gluten free, do not take any unless Gluten intolerant". Reads to me like we don't share with you, but you still need share with us that grand tasting salad and roast beef. Gets rather strange almost cultic instead of medical, but hey most of that gluten free stuff tastes like cardboard and sawdust so maybe the little signs on the tables are good warning after all.

Anyway, why not bring your own elements?