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Hi all,

I received  many very helpful responses to my question about the inroads
that following the GF diet can make on one's social life.(And to the
obvious frustration that I was feeling about it!) First, I want to thank
everyone.  As I read the messages, right away I could feel my mood
improving, and I also felt more confident that I could continue to cope
reasonably well. The specific practical suggestions are very helpful,
and also the spirit in which they were offered was very helpful to me.
Many said, don't get isolated- there is always a better way! Several
responders have themselves gone on cruises.

Two folks made the direct suggestion that I should check out the
possibilities of having a really bad disease; stop complaining and realize
how lucky I am. To them I would like to say-I agree, compared with a spinal
cord transection, MS, crippling arthritis, cancer, congestive heart failure,
etc.(some of which were mentioned)- this is a really light duty disease. No
problem agreeing fully with that! A few very kind people made the point that
this can-do viewpoint had helped them when they felt overwhelmed by the
complexity of the GF diet. Even so, I feel  that while things can always be
worse,  it sometimes can be OK, even desirable, to discuss the very
compelling frustrations that many of us do experience with this diet.

Now I'll try to deal with the food l suggestions that were made. Quite a few
people travel the world , both for business and for pleasure, and they feel
that they are usually able to stay GF, by being vigilant, assertive, and
prepared. Many take a stash of gf hi-protein bars. Some use nuts and dried
fruit, as a gf version of the mountaineer's gorp. On shorter trips, or
flights, pull top cans of tuna, canned salmon, and of course sardines were
mentioned. Everyone who commented on air travel said they had never seen an
eatable gf meal on a plane. One person advised against sardines and oily
fish in a dating situation.

Many people commented how important it is to be willing to take our needs as
gluten intolerant people seriously, and make it known to our server and or
the cook/chef how important it is to avoid gluten. In this regard, the
Dining Card was mentioned, as well as some modifications of the card which I
believe are improvements- they don't bother even to try to explain celiac
disease, they just say we are allergic to blah, blah, blah and blah, and if
we accidentally get even the smallest amount in our food, we could get very
sick, right there in the restaurant. It was suggested that it can be helpful
to compare to peanut allergy, which is taken seriously by almost anyone in
food service today. Some mentioned that this is usually easier in an upscale
restaurant; some also said that they had done fine in cheaper places. Oh
yes- be polite and remember to tip well!

One woman suggested some insulated food carrying bags, and chemical ice,
which allow one to carry even fairly complex dishes to a restaurant or
pot-luck or friend's house. Potlucks are the easiest- just be sure to make
plenty of something that is safe; something that you could survive on if
nothing else seemed ok. At a friends house, or churches, etc., if there is a
microwave, that gives the possibility of more variety to the gf eater.
Buffets at casinos or in hotels were mentioned as relatively easy to deal
with.

Many people eat before they go out, and then they can just have coffee, or
wine or perhaps a plain salad if everyone goes out to eat later. One man
carried that to its logical extreme, by eating his day's supply of food in
the morning before he leaves home. The he just keeps company with his
friends or business associates when they eat out.

Many times in traveling one can use a grocery store- just have a list of ok
lunch meats, and add fruit, veggies, etc as desired.

A number of people said that they just call ahead, talk to the chef, and
have usually had it work out fine. (I have worked a lot in hospitals, where
overall everyone knows how important the procedures are, yet an awful lot of
them get screwed up-so I don't have the basic trust that this approach
needs!)

Several people said that they have never had a problem, in spite of being
only somewhat careful, and some suspected that they in fact had occasional
exposures, but were not prone to having symptoms.

Some others said that in spite of being very careful, they almost always
have symptoms after a restaurant meal.( My guess is sensitivity is a big
part of this apparent contradiction) After all, some people are diagnosed
without ever having had abdominal symptoms, so clearly they can have
exposure without symptoms.

Enzymes were mentioned, as being something that might allow ingestion of
some gluten without problems. I don't know anything at all about this, but I
plan to check it out. And of course- when accidental ingestion happens, and
you are in trouble, Lomotil is a friend indeed.

I am sure I have forgotten some things, but I want to say thanks once more,
to a very helpful group of people.

Michael