Dear Gluten Dude

Today we are discussing gluten paranoia and how afraid of gluten do we really need to be when newly diagnosed. Here is the email I received:

Hey Gluten Dude. I'm so glad I found your site! I'm having a mental issue that I'm sure is not unique, so I hoped you could help. I feel like I'm slipping into "crazy" territory with the level of concern I have about gluten. I'm recently diagnosed and still getting the hang of it, but I find myself freaking out (on the inside) when my daughter puts her lunchbox on the kitchen counter...wasn't it also on the school lunch counter? And on the kitchen counter at her dad's (non GF) house?

But what about her blankie? It was at her dad's house! And her grandma's house! I cannot wash it every time she's at my house, but then it gets on the couch, and then I sit on the couch, and then I eat a snack OMG GLUTEN AHHHH! Or her clothes when I give her a hug. Or...or...or...

This is a constant brain cycle. Besides washing my hands before I eat, washing the counter before I prepare food, and keeping a GF kitchen/house (which I am), I'm doing what I can, right? Are there any good resources about chilling the fuck out for the anxious among us?

Tune in for the answer.

Today we’re talking about getting conflicting information from various doctors and who to trust and who to listen to when you are newly diagnosed with celiac disease. Here is the email I  received:

"Hey Gluten Dude. I have just been diagnosed with Celiac disease at the Cleveland Clinic. They told me to have a local physician take care of the endoscopy and then gave me web sites and information; they were very thorough and very informative.
 
When I got back home, the local doctor told me this disease was not that bad and many overrated its effect on the body.
 
Cleveland clinic told me there was no cure, I just had to get checked and follow the diet. The new doctor told me Steroids would fix this just fine. I was warned by the clinic that steroids were only used if the villi was very inflamed and only for about a week and should be gluten free.
 
Clinic doctors told me that with my family history of cancer and heart disease I would need to be followed up on with a colonoscopy and endoscopy every one to two years. The new doctor says five to ten. Who is right here. Two conflicting things that are very different and no where to go. Thanks."

Today we're talking gluten-free pizza and whether wheat starch in items labeled gluten-free can really be trusted. Here is the email I received:

Dear Gluten Dude: My daughter is 18 and has celiac disease. She has had an accidental exposure recently to Digiorno Gluten Free pizza. She had such a violent reaction to it where she ruptured a vessel in her stomach and vomited blood. They are not certified gluten free and use the gluten removed wheat (wheat starch). How is this possible and how is it even legal???