yes, I have problems w/stomach pain & bloating even w/supposed to be gluten free. Ate at a restaurant yesterday, the corn chips & nachos plus meat supposed to be gluten free, I died w/pain & diahrrea 45 min. later, kept up for hrs. Carsti
The restaurant was Chilli's

I too have pains in my abdomen and intestine area. Sometimes I wake up with them, sometimes they come out of the blue. As hard as we try, cross-contamination is out there EVERY-where. Carsti - I hate to say this, but every time I go to Chili's, Houlihans, Ruby Tuesdays I always get sick, no matter how "careful" they are. Unfortunately, for the most part, unless i'm in a gf rest. I pretty much get some sort of pain, or bloating or gas when I eat out. Not fun. Welcome to Celiac-Land, right? I hope i'm not scaring you, everyone's reactions are different and I know tons of Celiacs who can eat out without a problem, but it's important to know that each of us is so different and you really have to tailor your life around your specific reactions. GOOD LUCK and hang in there. It gets easier, I promise.

ha, oh no, the same thing happened to me at Chilli's!

And Ttropin, I'm the same...

well, shall we open a celiacs restaurant then? I THINK SO!!

If you read Chili's "gluten free" menu it says they refuse to ensure there is no cross contamination in the kitchen. That basically means that they have zero gluten free offerings. This is probable why so many people get sick when they eat there.

Hi Spirit13 - ditto ditto ditto - same pains here. If you continue to have pain after you have been eating gluten free products for a couple of months, you may be suffereing from cross contamination. We celiacs cannot use utensils, cookware, teflon, etc. that have been used for other foods containing gluten. Even trace amounts can cause damage and pain. I think this is why it is so very hard for we celiacs to get get control of our disease and stay well. Good luck to you and hope to see you here again! Alice Faye

The absolutely correct name for this disease is Non Tropical Celiac Sprue. It is shortened to Celiac Disease or Celiac Sprue occasionally Sprue. I don't want anyone to be disrespectful to you for not knowing how to refer to the disease you have.

Stomach pains of all sorts are common with Celiac Disease. You could also have a hernia. I recently had to have one repaired that i ignored for years thinking it was Celiac Disease.

With this diease you have to be more knowledgable than anyone else, even doctors. The best thing you can do is read books about this disease, follow the links people have posted on this site - most of them are good. Unfortunately, being dairy and gluten free you may have problems getting enough protein trying to be vegetarian as well. THat may be your trickest problem. DO you eat chicken or fish? These are good sources or protein. Most Celiac's need lots of protein to heal the muscle damage that comes from years of malnutrition.

Most of us are anemic as well so you may have to eat foods high in iron.

Good luck. It takes time to heal so try to be patient.

I know about 20 Celiac's who have gotten ill from eating at CHili's. They clearly are mishandling our food. I just posted a discussion about this resturant. We should start one to see how many people have gotten ill eating there.