Gluten Free Living: All About Me
- Beth Seaman
- Sep 4, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 8, 2020
When I was first diagnosed with coeliac disease at the age of 19, just over 4 years ago, my life pretty much collapsed around me. Straightaway, I was overwhelmed by the reality that I was going to have to deal with a chronic disease that would have to be controlled for a lifetime...
A few weeks before I was diagnosed, I had recently moved away to university, to start my first year as a fresher! To start with I was really anxious and had such a nervous tummy, or at least I thought I did. These tummy pains continued for weeks and I didn’t actually make it to any fresher events (sad I know). As these pains continued, I knew something wasn't right...
So, I decided to go and see a doctor, who at first, thought I had gastroenteritis (an illness I have previously experienced). Due to this, I was told to eat plain foods such as bread, crackers and pasta. Unfortunately, this made me feel even worse and I was put on such strong antibiotics that I had to go back home.
A few weeks later, although I still felt really poorly, I returned back to university. The doctor was soon to get back in touch...turns out I had coeliac disease. No wonder the doctor looked so guilty…he'd told me to eat everything that a coeliac shouldn't. Not long after, I had my endoscopy to get fully diagnosed. Although a very uncomfortable experience, I was just so relieved to get properly diagnosed so I could get on with my life. So there you have it, that's how I found out that I was a coeliac!
It was really tough to adapt to the new gluten free diet over the first few weeks. I started shopping at Asda to get specific gluten free foods, which ended up costing a fortune…who knew bread could be so expensive? So, I decided to go and see a dietician and get advice on the foods I could eat...and who knew most foods are naturally gluten free!
At the start of my new gluten free diet, I was very strict with the foods I could eat because I was so scared of experiencing those tummy pains again. Unfortunately, even though I was really careful, I was ‘glutened’ several times, which was the worst thing EVER! For those of you who don't know, 'glutened' is the unfortunate event of eating gluten by mistake and becoming very poorly.
The first 6 months to a year were definitely the hardest by far. Well, that was until I discovered the endless amounts of gluten free communities on Instagram and Facebook. I wanted to be apart of the community, so I decided to create a new account on Instagram. At first it was called ‘@TheCoeliacStudent’, which has recently been changed to ‘@glutenfreebetthh_’, as I am no longer a student! I started following other accounts to find out useful tips and advice.
Later on, I discovered Facebook groups called ‘Coeliacs in the UK’ and ‘The Gluten Free Blogger Group’. There are so many coeliacs posting on these community groups giving advice to others, such as:
· New restaurants to eat at in the UK and abroad
· New gluten free products
· Reviews on gluten free products
Seeing all of this made me so happy, as I never would have thought I would be able to eat out!
I used Instagram as my main platform to find new recipes and new places to eat. My first few follows were @BeckyExcell and @glutenfreealice, who had thousands of followers and I just loved their Instagram accounts! I began to start making their recipes and even went to a few restaurants that they had recommended. Their accounts had a really big impact on me, it made me so happy that they were able to enjoy gluten free foods meaning I could too. I started to post pictures of all the foods I was eating, including both homemade and from restaurants. It was then that I started to notice that I was picking up quite a few followers on Instagram.
My love for social media has really grown since starting this account. Social media has developed so much over the years and I never thought it would be able to help me with my coeliac disease. I have received many gluten free products and gifts since being on social media from various brands, it's great knowing brands want to send me products to try. I have discovered so many brands through social media and it has been such a great experience.
To this day, I now have over 2,000 followers and I never thought that it would be ME helping my fellow coeliacs. I feel very lucky to have been diagnosed in a time where there are so many gluten free products available. Of course, I will always miss the fact I can’t order certain takeaways and have foods filled with gluten.
The fact I can go out and eat with my friends and family at restaurants, is one of the best feelings ever! There are now so many restaurants that cater for gluten free and my favourites include: Bill’s, Honest Burger and Pieminster (there are so many more!). These restaurants all have specific gluten free menus which I LOVE. I do believe that many more restaurants should now offer gluten free menus, so that we can eat out more.
One thing that I would like to advise is to always check with the restaurants that they're Coeliac UK certified or can offer gluten free food without cross contamination. I'm only saying this because occasionally, I still get stomach cramps, bloat A LOT and even get ‘glutened’. I am thankful that I discovered coeliac disease when I did, as I have now been able to learn and take the time to understand this disease fully. I now also know why I don’t have a great immune system and why I get so tired and poorly sometimes.
I do believe that the best piece of advice I can offer to those struggling with coeliac disease, is to adjust the way you think about food - gluten free food can be delicious! Go and check out my Instagram account '@glutenfreebetthh_' to see what I eat on a daily basis and to get some inspiration.
Why not also...
· Join gluten free groups on Facebook
· Make your own Instagram account
· Follow and message other coeliacs and ask for advice
· Become a member of Coeliac UK
Thanks so much for reading!
Beth xxx
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Amazing Beth! Keep it up!