Living with coeliac disease
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi all. My other half has had a blood test saying he may have coeliac disease, he has had the biopsy last Saturday and waiting for a confirmation but I am and so is he concerned about it. He's 28yrs old and could have had it for several yes, even from a child. The thing we are most concerned about is going out to eat or even at home and something like a bread crumbs accidentally ends up on his food, what then? Will he become seriously ill or just a belly ache? Any information to help us would truly be greatful
0 likes, 2 replies
FA54321 Midg8290
Posted
I think the first port of call should be with Coeliac UK if you live in the UK they will help you, as it’s always harder at the beginning. They give you free membership for the first few months to help you (at least it was when I joined, and haven’t seen anything to the contrary).
Also, until your partner gets to grips with the change in diet, I wouldn’t eat out in restaurants as it can be quite unnerving, so perhaps wait until they’ve got to grips with the diet. With regard to bread crumbs etc., at home, yes it can happen, but if you follow all the advice given by Coeliac UK, regarding not using the same toaster as someone that eats ‘normal’ bread and not to use porus chopping boards and utensils and to wipe surfaces down twice and all the other advice they offer, it’s fairly simple once you get a routine.
With regard to the symptoms, they can vary quite a lot from person to person, including some people who don’t show any outward symptoms when they’ve been contaminated with gluten - that isn’t to say that it’s not doing any inward damage though, as it does damage to the villi in the gut and if continued it can lead to other illnesses (e.g. anaemia, malnutrition (due to lack of absorption of nutrients due to damaged villi), osteoporosis, cancer and even other autoimmune diseases and it’s not worth the risk to intentionally eat gluten when diagnosed with Coeliac disease. Symptoms of cross contamination, if you do notice them, vary from headaches and joint pains,brain fog, to stomach pains, diarrhoea, vomiting etc., but as I’ve said, they can vary from person to person.
anthony10484 Midg8290
Posted
I agree with Fiona that joining Coeliac UK is a good idea. One particular advantage being able to use the Coeliac UK app which gives access to a lot of useful information including a restaurant finder, it uses the phone's GPS to show the ones near to where you are.