Gluten free and alcohol free anyone?

[SAUSAGE]

Hi
I' m not actually new to the site - achieved 8+ months AF in 2008/2009 thanks to everyone's support on here. However in late 2009 I relapsed as i had other health problems (excuses excuses I know! ) which resulted on me being put on a gluten free diet. I'm now v well on this diet although as many of you know it is quite restrictive and I just wondered if anyone else out there has to be GF and could support me / advise me how to combine the 2? I think my restricted diet was partly responsible for my relapse as I felt I just had no enjoyment in my food / drink.
Many thanks for reading
Sausage x

[Doggygirl]

Gluten free and alcohol free anyone?

Hi Sausage. For many years my husband kept consuming dairy (because he LOVES it!!) despite being alergic to it. That finally caught up with him and now, he gets emergency room level sick if he eats gluten OR dairy. He was never a big drinker, but can no longer drink beer (the only thing he ever drank) due to gluten. So he doesn't eat gluten, eat dairy, or drink any alcohol at all. He WAS very addicted to pot which he quit smoking almost 4 years ago (we have the same sobriety date.) He also quit smoking cigarettes 7 years ago so doesn't have that outlet either. He also decided he was spending way to much time on Facebook so quit that. I don't know how he is surviving with NO vices, but he seems to be doing it LOL!

So why can't I just give up the damn sugar????

Anyway....I feel your pain! And just wanted to share with you that one person I know is somehow managing to leave the vices all alone LOL!

We'll get this figured out eventually! (I hope)

DG

[SAUSAGE]

Gluten free and alcohol free anyone?

Hi DG

Thanks for your reply. Poor Mr Doggy - no dairy or gluten or alcohol or even FB to cheer himself up! That must be tough - I must stop feeling sorry for myself, how does he manage, does he ever feel down about all the dietary restrictions?

Do you eat out much - is that a problem? I used to eat out quite a bit (especially before we had kids) but now I rarely do as I can't see the point as I don't want to pay loads of money for something that wouldn't really be my first choice as most of the stuff on the menu that I want to eat, I can't! Plus I'm scared of contamination in the kitchen (with gluten).

When I was trying to give up alcohol before I was fortunate in that I could eat what I wanted (or so I thought) I was having health problems at the time which were infact due to eating gluten only I didn't know the cause then. I never realised how lucky I was to be able to eat whatever I wanted until it was too late and I don't think the majority of people who have no dietary restrictions realise how lucky they are.

I sometimes think that if only I had a free choice in eating whatever I want (ie the gluten not being an issue) then giving up alcohol would be easier as it would only be one sacrifice to make, but the rational side of me knows thats just me being silly as i still failed at going sober even when I thought I could eat exactly what I wanted. If I couldn't have dairy as well though that would be really tough. I really don't know how he manages.

I'm not remotely tempted to cheat on the gluten as if I do eat it I do pay the price and feel rough but the problem with alcohol was I used to sip wine all evening with lots of water and didn't feel that rough as a result of it although I knew long term it was doing me no good and was causing me to gain weight and become generally de motivated to do other stuff and make the most of my life.

The next few days /weeks will be tough, thanks again for your support.

[bouchard01]

Gluten free and alcohol free anyone?

Hello. I have a allergy to wheat so I have to go on a gluten free diet too. Day 6 for no alcohol for me today. I know it's hard to be gluten free but im happy that lots of the grocery stores are bringing in gluten free foods & so are many restraunts.

[Doggygirl]

Gluten free and alcohol free anyone?

Hi again Sausage (and bouchard!)

Sausage, I encourage you to really take a step back here and think about the mind game that you are possibly playing with yourself. Many, many, many people have stayed stuck in the addiction rut by saying "if only ____________ was different, then I wouldn't need to drink AL....." That is a real BS trap and staying stuck in that place will just make a person miserable!!

Often times the things that fill in that blank are not food related. As an example, I spent YEARS blaming by drinking (and inability to stop) on my boss, my marriage, my stress, etc. etc. you get the picture. That was all just BS and "stinkin' thinkin'" which kept me STUCK in AL addiction.

Of course I am not walking a mile in your shoes with food related intolerances that make me sick. But I DO know all too well the process of glamorizing/ awfulizing something as it relates to AL that is just....BS. Been there done that.

Mr. Doggy is going through a lot of frustration figuring out allergic reactions and what they might be associated with. Gluten and dairy for sure...but there seem to be other things that we are still figuring out. It's frustrating for both of us! HOWEVER....on a daily basis Mr. Doggy is grateful that overall, he feels SO MUCH BETTER now. He has more energy for his business and his hobbies. He doesn't feel like crap all the time. He is way more focused on what staying free of these foods GIVES to his life than anything he thinks he is *missing.* That is sometimes a difficult attitude to have, but it's the right attitude IMO. Just like giving up alcohol - I find it much more productive to think about what being AL free GIVES to my life than anything I am *missing*.

We mostly eat at home.

FWIW...

DG

[SAUSAGE]

Gluten free and alcohol free anyone?

Hi Bouchard - thanks for reading, sorry to hear you have to avoid wheat too. You are right, there are certainly a lot more gluten free foods in the stores now than a few years back. I was recently talking to a lady in her 70's who had been GF for over 30 yrs due to Coeliac Disease and she said it was so difficult back then there were just no GF products, nothing was labelled, you had to make everything from scratch, today is a walk in the park for someone avoiding Gluten compared to back then!

DG I always find your posts helpful. You are SO right about the mind game thing "if only ______was different" etc. Compared to a lot of problems people have, avoiding gluten is a pretty minor issue and everyone has problems in their life (one of my big faults in life is always thinking the grass is always greener elsewhere etc) and even if other people don't have to face the problem of avoiding gluten they probably face other issues eg with their job, boss, marriage, family etc. No-one knows what other issues people are going through and if someone wants to make it so, one can always make alcohol a crutch.

I once read on here around 3 yrs ago (and made a note of it as it made a big impression on me) - "alcohol doesn't provide the answer to anyone's problems, it merely makes you temporarily forget the question."

Before I found out that gluten was the problem I was really worried my health issues might be related to something more serious / sinister eg a tumour and so avoiding gluten for the rest of my life is a small price to pay compared to what problems others encounter with their health.

Like the idea about the mindset "what staying free GIVES to your life" rather than thinking it as to what you are "MISSING"

Will aim to start day 4 and a fresh week with this mindset.

Thank again - By the way, what does FWIW at the end of your post mean? I guess it's something really obvious and I'm just being really dim this time of night!!

[OdeliaP]

Gluten free and alcohol free anyone?

Hi Sausage,
I just came across this thread today. I was wondering how things were going with you? Several years ago I joined a religious community where drinking alcohol was prohibited, and then a short time after that, I found out I was gluten intolerant. To make matters more complicated, I also wanted to quit smoking. Suffice it to say, the last 5 years has seen me struggle to successfully eliminate all three from my life. I have been solidly gluten-free since the beginning of 2010, and did quit smoking for 3 years and then started again in 2010 (notice the timing?). But I have only ever abstained from all three for a period of about 6 months in all that time-and I was dating a health nut who made it easier. As of this three days ago, I am trying to do it again. But I think this time around, I want to keep connecting with others who have had similar hurdles/successes for encouragement/support....