Celiac Disease Diagnosis: Adjusting to Gluten-Free Life

How We Got Here, What We’ve Learned, and Why the Kitchen Looks Different Now

Over the past few months, most of my time and energy has gone into something I never expected to become an expert on: celiac disease. Specifically, my daughter’s recent diagnosis—and everything that’s followed.

It started with something relatively ordinary. We thought she might have an iron deficiency, and we were right—but it turned out to be a symptom, not the cause. After several weeks of blood tests, doctor visits, and a few rounds of “maybe it’s just…” we finally landed on the real issue: celiac.
If you’re unfamiliar, celiac disease isn’t an allergy. It’s an autoimmune condition where even small traces of gluten—found in wheat, barley, and rye—trigger the immune system to attack the lining of the small intestine. That leads to inflammation, nutrient malabsorption, and in the long term, some genuinely serious health risks. Think: anemia, fatigue, bone loss, and yes, even increased cancer risk.

The kicker? Even 20 parts per million of gluten is enough to set things off. That’s less than a crumb. That’s “buy a new toaster” territory. And so we did—decluttered the pantry, replaced kitchen gear, retired cutting boards, scrubbed everything that could be scrubbed. We’ve basically rebuilt the kitchen from the inside out.

Ironically, she’s been eating lactose-free for years already. We thought that was its own thing, but it turns out that lactose intolerance is often just a side effect of celiac—when your small intestine gets damaged, it stops producing lactase, the enzyme that digests dairy. So now we know. Now we’re here.

We even managed a family vacation recently—our first gluten-free trip, to London. It’s actually a great city for that kind of thing, but still: building an entire travel plan around safe meals and emergency snacks is a special kind of logistical puzzle. You start viewing restaurants like potential minefields, and grocery stores like gold mines if they stock the right kind of cookies. 

(Highly recommended:  https://duckandwaffle.com/london/)

There’s no cure for celiac. The treatment is strict, lifelong avoidance of gluten—not “cutting back,” not “a little won’t hurt.” It’s an all-or-nothing deal. Which means that for the foreseeable future, my priority isn’t just being a good parent, but also being a full-time label reader, kitchen patrol, travel planner, and accidental food systems analyst.
We’re adapting. My daughter’s handling it like a champ, which makes it easier to follow her lead. But yeah, this blog (and most other things) have taken a bit of a backseat while we’ve restructured life.

I’ll be back soon with something completely unrelated. Probably about cables or bad software tools. But for now, we’re figuring out gluten-free living. One very clean cutting board at a time.

Resources (for anyone else suddenly Googling everything):

In the U.S., the Celiac Disease Foundation is a solid starting point: celiac.org. They’ve got food lists, cross-contact tips, and doctor directories.

In Germany, Deutsche Zöliakie-Gesellschaft (DZG) does the same: dzg-online.de. They offer translated product lists, travel info, and access to gluten-free community networks across Europe.

Also worth checking: the Schaer brand site (schaer.com) has surprisingly detailed guides by region—and their product search actually works.