Before I provide insight on how I was diagnosed, I want to discuss the two biggest things that I have learned about living a gluten free lifestyle. The first revolves around people who do not suffer from Celiac Disease but rather choose to live a gluten free lifestyle. They have been tremendously helpful in making gluten free options readily available at the grocery stores and restaurants. The downside is they can order a dish and if there is cross-contamination it will not have the same devastating effects as to someone who has Celiac Disease. The issue is that some restaurants and their staff treat a gluten free request as trivial or in fashion and thus the chance of gluten contamination can be rather large. I have been told by a bartender that they have gluten free beer only to find it is gluten reduced beer which I cannot enjoy.
In May of 2018, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Prior to an office visit in April I had never heard of Celiac Disease. As such, the last several years have been an educational process for me as I work to understand what Celiac Disease is, how gluten has and continues to affect me, and how to lead a gluten free life. The goal of this blog is to share the steps I have taken, the resources I found valuable, and to let people know that this is a journey and taking it one step at a time is okay.
The second thing I have learned is that the Internet is your best friend and worst enemy. People are often posting what is or is not gluten at a restaurant or if a particular food is gluten free. The problem I have found is that these posts or sites often are not dated and thus the information can be outdated. The people who choose to live a gluten free lifestyle have made products and restaurants more gluten friendly, especially over the last five years. The problem comes when you search for a particular product a post from 15 years ago may pop up before the relevant post from this year. The lesson is to be observant to what you are seeing on the Internet.
Through this blog I want to let provide you with the resources that I have found helpful in hopes that it will help you!
theglutenguy.blog 