<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I just got out of the hospital after being in for 66 days.  I was in 2
hospitals being transferred between one and another half way between my
total stay.

This was my first hospital experience and I did go in with trepidation with
regards to my diet after seeing so many negative experiences on this list
serve over the years.  However I was too sick to care.

From the first night in emergency to the last day I was in the hospital I
had no problems with my food - in addition to my meals I was provided with
Ener-G Food bread at the first hospital every day for breakfast and then at
night for medication.  The 2nd hospital even baked their own muffins which
were both gluten and casein free and provided either Kinnikinnick or the
local Capers bakery bread for the nurses to hold in their freezer so I could
have when I wanted it.  Having muffins freaked me out the first day and they
brought the dietician up with the recipe.  It was a banana based recipe and
they were good if you did not eat them every day.  I quizzed them on what
they used to prepare it and where it was prepared and they listed all the
correct products and understood cross contamination.  They only baked these
muffins once a week and nothing else was baked that day.

Both hospitals had a 4 day rotation diet (chicken, turkey, salmon then egg
type meals for lunch/dinner) which really got boring fast and dieticians at
both hospitals suggested a list of "other" foods I could substitute - such
as cottage cheese, fruit plate etc.   For about 50 days I had eggs and
bread/muffin for breakfast - they would not let me budge from that menu - I
tried ordering yoghurt and they said the brand was not GF and eggs and a
muffin showed up.  We settled finally on cottage cheese and fruit for
breakfast as I was desperate.  So they were watching my diet and what I
ordered.

All my foods were very plain so I did not have to worry about cross
contamination and all my meals came wrapped in plastic in both hospitals
unlike other patient meals.

As for medication, as in Canada, like the US, hospitals substitute what I
can get at the pharmacy with mass produced medication (such as T3 was a
different looking pill). For a separate reason I did bring in my own
medication that I was on for my stay and the doctor required the pharmacy to
only prescribe brand name medications.  There is a reference book called the
CPS in Canada that lists all medication ingredients.  All pharmacies have
this book (and it was at the nurses station) so it was easy to look up any
new medications and their non-medicinal ingredients.

Perhaps I was lucky, however I ran into another celiac during my stay and
she said that she has not had problems either and she is a frequent visitor
of the 2nd hospital.  So not all hospitals are a challenge....

Lynda in Vancouver, BC.

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *