Shopping for 1st time since DX
 

Ok so yesterday after over 24 years of symptoms that were"all in my head" my newish Primary care finally figgured out that I had Celiac(ALL tests for Celiac positive) Of course all he did was print something out saying what I had and to go gluten free. Yey easier said than done.(At some point they are supposed to be schedualing a visit with a nutritionist but are waiting for some sort of paperwork to do it). Of course I have to eat in the meantime and well I don't want to go to the store and buy a whole ton of stuff I can't eat. Is there any quick refrence guide for grocery shopping?? Like a book that lists safe brands? It could take hours to read all the lables for everything one would buy in a single shopping trip....Im in Montana and have limeted options for stores so I need to know what mainstreem foods are safe. Im of course not feeling well seeing as I have not fixed my diet so I dont have the energy to even research all this. Any suggestions?

Thanks

There are some food lists available online. They are a starting point, and you still need to read the labels because ingredients can and do sometimes change... but in the beginning, using a list can shorten your grocery shopping time in half.

Food
http://homepage.mac.com/sholland/celiac/GFfoodlist.pdf

Medications
http://homepage.mac.com/sholland/celiac/GFmedlist.pdf
http://www.glutenfreedrugs.com/


You can also find a safe food list maintained by the Delphi Celiac forum, but I dont' think I can list the website here. If you send me a pm with your email addy I could forward a PDF file of their list.

Clan Thompon's Celiac Site also maintains a Smartlist you can download to a Blackberry, but you have to pay.

In the beginning, it is easiest to concentrate on "whole foods" like plain meats, vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts, eggs, rice and potato. That just makes shopping easier, eliminates the problem of trying to figure out what is safe and what is not, and probably the best for you while in the healing stages. Then... you can scan the lists for favorite foods or acceptable foods, and slowly begin to add them back in.

Before long, you will be back to a regular shopping list... it will have just morphed a little bit. About half of those with celiac disease also have problems with cow's milk... so keep that in mind... especially if symptoms continue.

I'm sorry it took so long for you to get a diagnosis. That seems to be a repeating theme :(. Hopefully you will begin to feel better soon. Some people notice improvement within weeks, for others, it can take much longer... up to a year. If your doctor hasn't tested you for nutritional deficiency, you should try to get that done. You are probably lacking in many.

Good luck!

Cara

Hi littletsunshine...... welcome to NeuroTalk. :)

Cara has given you some excellent advice and although I don't personally follow this diet, I was once told that anything you could grow on a farm would fit into the gluten free category.

That classification includes everything natural....... fruits and nuts, vegetables, fish, meat and dairy products.

On the other hand, if there was a food that I couldn't produce on my farm and had to go to the store to buy it, then there was a good chance that it might contain gluten, and it was best to steer clear of it.

I daresay that grains would be the exception to the home grown rule here, but maybe some-one else can tell you more.

I hope the change to your diet happens smoothly, and don't forget that there's always some-one here to listen if you have any problems.

:) thanks
 

thanks for the sites, they will come in handy(will pm with addy too)

I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance many years back so have already gotten used to that (thanks for the suggestion though cause Im sure it will play a role in feeling better).

Im just really hoping this whole thing finally makes me feel better. I can finally see some hope in feeling better :)

Thanks again