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A Celiac Friendly Wedding

By on Jun 20, 2016 in Celiac Disease, Dining Out, Gluten Free, Travel | 0 comments

We had the pleasure of attending a Celiac friendly wedding over the weekend. This was the first of it’s kind we’ve ever seen. The assortment of treats was great for a wedding – chocolate covered pretzels, nuts, gluten free cookies and cupcakes. The best part about it was that the gluten free table was on the far side of the hall, kept far away from the alternative gluten-laced treats. On top of that, they also had place cards with a gluten free designation for the Celiac guests. Our First Celiac Friendly Wedding Although we have only been to a handful of weddings since Julie’s Celiac diagnosis, we have yet to come across a party that actually caters to Celiac sufferers. It helped that a number of people on the groom’s side have Celiac Disease, so that certainly encouraged the hosts to provide something they could eat. The caterers seemed to understand the...

How Your Spouse is Affected by Celiac Disease

By on Jun 11, 2016 in Celiac Disease, Gluten Free, Health, Relationships | 0 comments

I waited some time to write an article about the Celiac sufferer’s spouse, mainly because I wanted more time to reflect on what to say after covering observations of others and the effects of Celiac on the body. Talking about Celiac Disease and how it affects your spouse is a delicate subject, and comes with a broad spectrum of emotion. From being overly protective of my wife to watching others around her like a hawk, Celiac changed the way I live with my spouse. I try to keep an eye on everyone and everything gluten, making sure that what she’s eating and what she’s near won’t make her sick. I get anxious, demanding and exhausted with others. I do everything I can to brighten her mood. But altogether, I am forever changed. Understanding Celiac Disease When we first learned of Celiac Disease, I admit, I was slow to realize the extent of the danger that...

How Celiac Disease Affects Your Friendships

By on Jun 6, 2016 in Advice, Celiac Disease, Relationships | 0 comments

Celiac Disease can have a serious impact on relationships in your life.  Friendships are the most strained, since friends are often met at different times in your life under different circumstances. Your family will tell you things like, “we’ll always be there for you,” or “call me anytime you need to talk.” This is great for some people, but many need the connection with friends in their life to help them feel secure. Maintaining friendships after Celiac diagnosis is one of the more difficult challenges. Initially, your friends may say that they support you. They may tell you that others in their family or friends circle experience other auto-immune disorders, or even serious diseases like cancer. They may try to push you to do things that may seem dangerous to a Celiac sufferer, like attending a cookout or join them for a dinner out. Again, these may be...

Life Before and After Celiac Diagnosis

By on May 25, 2016 in Advice, Celiac Disease, Health, Relationships | 0 comments

Life before being diagnosed with Celiac Disease is vastly different than life afterward. Beforehand, you are more carefree and willing to take risks. Vacations are easy to plan, spontaneity is second-nature, and the prospect of exploring the world is just a car ride or plane ticket away. After Celiac diagnosis, you realize that there are many more things in the world that can harm you than not. Curiosity turns to fear as you realize that very few truly understand the seriousness of Celiac Disease. Gluten free becomes a phrase that courses through your veins every time someone mocks it or dismisses it as a fad. It’s like being ridiculed for having an O negative blood type. We’ve always considered ourselves an adventurous couple. Early on we would take day trips to different places, like malls or parks in the area. As we ran out of local places, we started taking long...

How Celiac Disease Affects Confidence

By on May 24, 2016 in Advice, Celiac Disease, Health, Relationships | 0 comments

The way that Celiac Disease affects confidence is similar to the way a scar on your face might affect your confidence. If it has been there your whole life, it might not have the same effect as if it were to happen a month ago, or a few years ago. When you live for thirty-some years in seemingly good health, with no indication that something underlying is terribly wrong, the Celiac diagnosis cuts you like a knife and your confidence with it. When Julie was diagnosed, she was experiencing a full plate of Celiac symptoms and we thought it might be diet related. The trial and error of testing different foods, including going vegetarian and cutting out different fruits, vegetables, dairy and nuts was making us crazy. People in the family never knew what to expect when it came to her diet trends, but nothing was working. Going vegetarian only made her physically tired. Cutting out specific...

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