3.20.2010

who we are

Hi!

Welcome to my blog.  My new one.  My son, we will call him Cole, was diagnosed with celiac disease on the 18th of March, 2010.  To say that I am still a bit overwhelmed is an understatement!  I am truly faaaaaaaa-reaked out and wondering how on earth I can do this so we (my husband and I) can help him. 

You see, I have a family of six children full time, and a family of 8 part time.  I already deal with a daughter, we will call her Sugar, who is fructose intolerant.  My husband, Mister, is lactose intolerant and I really, really believe he has some type of wheat intolerance; maybe even celiac himself. 

Right now I/we are in a stage of what the heck are we going to do.  Do we test all the family members? Do I just put them on gluten free?  Would it be easier to just convert the whole family while still modifying Sugar's diet?  How are we going to afford the extra expense in food?  Is the bread that nasty as I have heard it can be?  basically....OMG - HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS?

If you think of gluten and wheat free - you say, but it is IN everything!  It isn't.  It is in about 99% of things...ha ha!  No, it is in a lot of stuff, but there is quite a bit that I am learning and hope to share with you in my struggles from day to day. Not that I will post daily, but I will definetly try to update when I have fantabulous info to share! 

If you are just recently diagnosed as well, I hope to at least pass on ONE helpful tip!  Ask, ask ask! friends, co-workers, familes, etc.  Ask them if they have anybody they know with this disease.  ask them to pass on any recipes or tips that will be useful!  My friends have kept me grounded and put bandages on the holes in my head so they would not start exploding with all the info I was trying to overload into my brain.  And, cry.  Cry to release your stress so that you can move onto the next day and tackle whatever comes and move successfully through every day in the future. 

Please come back and reply to comments or email me info you think I should post about.  I will post recipes that I have tried and passed the test of ALL EIGHT family members.  I just tried one today (my first) and it passed Sugar's test (who is the ultimate picky eater) and Mister! 

2 comments:

Smirking Cat said...

I have to admit I don't know what celiac means, exactly. Has the doctor been able to guide you on how to handle recipes, meals, etc?

macocha said...

Hey Smirking! Long time no "see." I hope all is well! Celiac is where you have to avoid all wheat and gluten products. So basically, wheat, barley, rye, etc. Just have to rememer it isn't an allergy like a peanut allergy, but an actual autoimmune disease that damages the intestine.

I went to a dietician with Cole and got some handouts, but some of the GF products are nasty, but so far I have hit gold with two recipes. One is choc chip cookies and the other is pancakes. I am trying a mac and cheese GF dinner tonight (home-made). I will admit that the products are getting better and better. We haven't knocked down a bread one yet though. I have some links on the right column that go into more detail about celiac though! Good to "see" you!!