A teenager perspective on Coeliac Disease

Hello, me again, and this time on the subject of coeliac disease.

Have you ever eaten a meal in a restaurant and about an hour later been unable to move due to fatigue, stomach cramps and/or nausea? …No?
Then you are one of the lucky people who don’t have this condition.

I can say with 100% confidence that I have had nightmares about being force fed bread and sponge cake.

But on a serious note coeliac disease is one of, if not the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with in my anywhere between 12-20 years of living.
To be honest, if I could be rid of my coeliac or my diabetes I wouldn’t even have to think about it.

If you have never heard of coeliac disease then first of all how did you end up on this website and secondly I shall explain it to the best of my abilities.
It is a disease in which the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to difficulty in digesting food.
Wheat, gluten and barley products cause severe damage to the digestive system which can lead to the following symptoms:

Diarrhoea
Bloating
Fatigue
Weight loss
Iron deficiency/ anaemia
Constipation
Depression

etc…

I have experienced all of these symptoms more than once and they all suck especially the anaemia and fatigue.

Eating Out Gluten Free

In my opinion, the worst part of coeliac disease is going out to restaurants or any form of eating out. I always try to avoid it.

The reason for this is that it is pure torture to watch my family enjoy their meals while I’m subjected to the infamous jacket potato and brownie combination every time.

It honestly baffles me that these establishments haven’t worked out how much business a few GF and vegan options can bring.

Admittedly I am a picky eater, as anyone I live with will tell you; I don’t eat food that looks like its name is more than four syllables.
However that doesn’t matter when there are literally no other options to be fussy about. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve eaten a main course of potatoes and the only desert option has been ice-cream.

But my biggest pet hate is contamination.

Whilst I and my family were in Turkey I lived off of buttered rice and crème caramels because their “gluten free” options almost killed me.

We asked for gluten free bread so that I could eat breakfast and the bread, although gluten free was prepared in the same area as all other breads and therefore was just as bad as gluten bread.
(I will admit to having eaten it regardless because I was hungry)

Pavilion in the Park - Bedford Park, great for gluten free and vegan food and drink

There are places, such as the Bedford Park Pavilion, Coffee with Art, and Pizza Express (to name a few) where the gluten free menu is always welcome, though I have encountered numerous occasions where I have had next to no options aside from a salad.

This is normally where the author gives some form of sage advice, but I’ve got nothing so all I’ll say is, for those of you who have this condition I feel for you immensely and wish you luck because you’d be surprised what they put gluten in nowadays.

Coffee with Art - Bedford High Street, great for gluten free and vegan food and drink

Glutarama has an array of recipes and ideas for those of you who are coeliac or simply cutting gluten out of your diet so if you haven’t already go check those out because I’ve been forced to taste most of the finished products and they are so good I’ve been told you can’t tell the difference.

Other posts from my side of the website that you may find useful include; Coeliac Disease and links to Secondary Lactose Intolerance, 10 reasons I know my daughter has Coeliac Disease, Autoimmune, Intolerance or Allergy – What is the difference?