I have been fairly newly diagnosed with this and was wondering if any of you on here have the same?

How do you cope going to shows and eating while you are there?

I have found Sainsbury's are doing hot pots and soup in pouches that can be microwaved, which is great for small shows, but the bigger ones they don't always agree to microwaving it, mainly because its not bought on the premises.

Any stories, or suggestions would be great :)

I've never bought food at a show yet, so I can't see why you should have any difficulty taking your own food too. A Thermos flask is brilliant for keeping soup hot, so no problem taking your own.

Agree with JG you would need to take a thermos flask for the soup and find a food that doesn't need heating up as I can understand why some people wouldn't be happy with this.

I never ever buy food from shows, it's expensive enough, though have a mum who gets it ready for me LOL!

Liz,

Have you been diagnosed by a doctor? or by York testing etc?    

If by a doctor then you should have contact with a dietician who will help you through the early days and give you samples and cards to send off for samples (refugee packs LOL ).  Having said that it can take a while before you get to see a dietician in some areas :(   You will be able to get gluten free food on prescription, these days there are some lovely new breads and crackers etc. :-D  many are now being formulated to be eaten without first toasting at last!

If by other means then you MUST stay on wheat and gluten until you are properly tested.  DS is both gluten intolerant (coeliac) and wheat allergic (DX by Hospital ) so no chance of buying food for him at shows.   I also eat wheat/Gluten free as I couldn't get my GP to send me for tests and became so ill I gave up in the end and just went GF :(  Stupid GP was happy to dole out Pottassium Tablets as I was so low in K, but wouldn't acknowledge my problem :-D  Now can't get tested as not able to go back on wheat for long enough :(

Plenty of information at Coeliac UK

LOADS of help and advice at the coeliac and DH message board a support forum - get the latest info and opinions of gluten free food etc.

I have made potato and sausage salad (and other salads) frittata, pasties (it can be done :-D ) and Rolls and Sarnies for food at dog shows.  Also home made gluten free cakes and biscuits are lovely - better than bought ;)

Hope this helps :)

Hi Dill

I was sort of self diagnosed, and sort of not! I had the tests and came back negative, so between me and the Dr decided I was only intollerant, not actually allergic, therefore I'm not entitled to GF products on prescription, I have to buy them all myself.

I have recently signed up to coeliac uk, and planning on going to a meet in May.

I was never referred to a dietician about my intollerance, just basically told to bin all my tablets as we'd found the cause and that was kinda it

Sounds only marginally better than my old GP :(   

Have you read how to get diagnosed ?

>I was never referred to a dietician about my intollerance, just basically told to bin all my tablets as we'd found >the cause and that was kinda it

Sounds like your GP doesn't understand the reality of going gluten free :( it can be hidden in the most unlikely of foods - 100% beefburgers, Cornflakes/Rice Crispies, bags of crisps, baked beans- but not all brands, or even within a brand could be different, it's even in Morrisons fizzy drinks!  can't understand how or why they'd add it :( :(  Shopping can take forever as I have to read all the labels.

I'm in the position that DS gets a prescription, but I don't - but then I rarely eat bread, cakes etc.  My new GP has offered to test me, but I can't face being really ill again for 6 weeks :(

I'm Coeliac too.  A complete diagnosis means an endoscopy - not pleasant but at least you do get prescription flour, bread etc.  I make my own bread in a breadmaker and if I am going to a show then I make sure I have some fresh to make sandwiches. Gf bread goes stale and crumbly very quickly.  Lifestyle fresh sliced bread is a good stand by for going on holiday - that has deglutinised wheat starch (how do they do that!) and it seems to keep for ages.
One show I go to has bacon rolls and the bacon is cooked on it's own.  I always just buy the bacon and make my own buttie!  It is nearly impossible to eat gf from burger vans etc.  You end up just eating plain crisps.  I rely on bananas quite a lot for a quick fill up.  Then I am not so organised or imaginative as Dill! :-)
Being diagnosed properly also means that I have regular check ups including bone scans.  Not having been diagnosed until I was nearly 50 means that I have osteopaenia and need to take treatment to keep my bone density from getting worse. They also picked up that I had an underactive thyroid.  Worth getting checked out again - I have read that some people can have a negative blood test but still come up as Coeliac from an endoscopy.   

Pressed the wrong button there - need to turn the light on.  Coeliac disease is not an allergy - it is to do with the immune system I was going to say.

I have had the tests, both ends and both came back negative. Since stopping the gluten I feel fantastic, no way on earth would I ever go back to that! I was so ill I was on 56 tablets a day to stop the various and pretty gross symptoms I had. I would never have been able to even consider showing a dog 2 years ago.

The Dr concluded I must be only intollerant and not actually allergic

Know what you mean about the gross symptoms, there's no way I could go out for the day before I went GF, I spent most of my day in the bathroom. 

Genius bread, Brown, is lovely compared to most of the others ;) and was the first bread DS was able to have as a sandwich while we were out.  Not cheap but worth the money to be able to have a sarnie :)

Doves Farm GF flours are really good to use and not too expensive :)

I've had to be organised, DS was 2 years old when he was diagnosed.  I've had to be really inventive as he couldn't tolerate a lot of foods at first.  We still have to be really careful but the list is shorter :)  
Dogs shows aren't too bad, I just make DS' favourite foods :-D

Good standbys

Pancake Wraps - these can be savoury or sweet fillings.  Just fill and wrap and pop in a tub, they stay moist without going soggy :-D  DS favourites are smoked ham and tomato or tuna and sweetcorn, and Chocolate spread or lemon marmalade for sweet ones.

Potato salads are nicer than GF Pasta or rice, both can be quite hard and chewy when chilled.  I use salad potatoes and make them like pasta salads ;)

There are loads of recipes on the Coeliac Message board and their supplemental board.  The pastry recipe is fab :-D

I believe some major supermarkets are now doing special diet type foods - ASDA for instance, think it's called "Free From"? Probably not ideal for everyday, but might be a useful standby esp. for packed lunches etc.

All the supermarkets do a free from range, but there are loads of foods that are naturally free of gluten and don't cost the earth - who wants to pay £2 for 8 half-sized biscuits that are so sweet they hurt your teeth?   Not all Free From foods are suitable for a GF diet so you have to check ;)

Free From loaf of bread in a supermarket costs £2 +  for a tiny loaf Apart from one brand you wouldn't feed it to the ducks - they won't eat it :(

You could try taking a gluten free cup a soup and ask for boiling water in a cup if really stucK??