My One Year Wedding and Gluten Free Anniversary Dilemma!

Our beautiful and tasty (non-gluten free)
wedding cake, Sept. 6, 2009
Some of you may know this already, but just for those who don’t....I was diagnosed Celiac just about one week before my wedding (Sept. 2009). After having my GI scope and receiving confirmation that I do in fact have Celiac disease and I am required to eat a fully gluten free diet from now on, I recall telling the GI doctor that “I am getting married in 8 days and I AM going to eat my wedding cake”. To me the wedding cake was the most important part of my wedding dinner. Who’s kidding who the cake was awesome and so super tasty. I knew this, heck we had picked the flavours  with no hesitation and no second guessing.

Now, as we approach our one year anniversary, I am planning to eat the top tier of the wedding cake as again this is a tradition that I always wanted to follow. However I am very certain that it will make me sick.  I have been beyond diligent when it comes to eating gluten free. My husband and family and friends have been super supportive and I can say with certainty that I feel a million times better than I ever have before.

Having the time of our lives with all our family!
September 6, 2009
The things that I am most unsure about are 1) how sick will it make me 2) will I get sick immediately or will it take awhile before I feel crappy 3) how sick will I feel after eating the gluten filled wedding cake and 4) am I making a huge mistake in trying to follow this particular tradition, knowing that it will likely make me feel sick.

When I was first diagnosed I read Elisabeth Hasselbecks' book “G-Free diet”, she spoke of her own experiences when she caved into her cravings and paid for it each and every time. I can honestly say that I have NEVER caved into any cravings I have had. I have followed the gluten free diet to a T. I have been even at times on the verge of obsessive when it came to the foods that I ate. And now I am torn. Do I cave into my desire to follow a tradition that I always imagined I would follow? Or do I avoid the oh so tasty wedding cake from the best day of my life and wonder what I’m missing?

I know that people are going to say I should not do this under any circumstances and that it is the worst thing I can possibly do, but to those people I want to ask; haven’t you ever felt this way before?

I had told my husband after having become gluten free that I planned on eating the top tier of our wedding cake on our one year anniversary and then staying home in my pj’s just in case the gluten takes over my body and I am left feeling like complete and total garbage. I am sure that many are laughing at this, but it is the truth.

Click here to read about what happened!

Gluten Free Edmonton - A Celiac guide and resource for gluten free information in Edmonton, Alberta

Comments

  1. Congradulations
    you are an adult if this is what you want to do and know the possible consequnces you do not have to ask permission

    the world will continue to turn the sun will continue to rise and set and you won't turn into a purple polka dotted people eater you might feel like one though Have great day

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  2. Our daughter has had at least 4 'incidents' of truly accidental ingestion of gluten since being diagnosed 7yrs ago. If anything, these incidents have made her even more committed to the diet because of how sick she gets each time. The reaction seems to get worse with each incident. Having said that, I think a small piece, not the whole tier, is a must just to satisfy you emotionally even if the physical consequences follow. You have done an amazing job of following the diet and as Linda said, it's not the end of the world! Enjoy!!!

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  3. Why not serve it to your friends and family, or have a new top tier made?

    Best of luck!

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  4. Pajama Party! I will come eat it with you if you want. We can get sick together! I know my consequences are not as serious as yours though!

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  5. It's such a tough decision, isn't it?? My weakness is my Nonna's Easter bread; I've always loved it slathered in butter, and eaten more than my share every year! Since I was diagnosed celiac, I gave in to the temptation one year and ate a whole piece. I was sick within about 1 to 2 hours, very forceful vomiting! I was very surprised, since I was willing and prepared to endure some unpleasantness out the other end, but I hate throwing up... As you can imagine, there's nothing else out there that will induce me to cheat anymore!!
    What about just getting your hubby to eat a piece in front of you?? Sometimes that "eating vicariously" thing works for me!

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  6. @seaquert I think if I ate a chunk of our wedding cake in front of Amanda it would be sort of like rubbing it in her face as if to say Na na na boo boo...and that's just not nice, especially since I'd really like to see a second wedding anniversary.

    Cheers,

    --Abisaac Saraga

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  7. I want you to make it to your 50th anniversary, so think of the damage you will do to your insides if you give in, and don't do it! Why not come up with a new, different tradition unique to you both that you can celebrate each anniversary?

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  8. Have I ever felt that way? Oh, absolutely. It took a few tries before I came to the conclusion that the suffering just is not worth the pleasure. Something I do now is smell the food instead of eating it and that gives me some, though not complete satisfaction. I can no longer eat any of our family's traditional Christmas dinner. But that's life. I agree with Anonymous' suggestion of creating a new tradition that you can happily stomach.

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  9. I caved and ate a slice of pizza after being gluten free for about six months. I was sick immediately and it lasted until three in the morning...There are lots of options out there if you still want to celebrate with the family. Ed's Gluten Free Specialty has delicious brownies that could be frosted to look like the top tier of a cake (cream cheese brownies) There is also la crema cafe in St.Albert that could probably make something up for you (carrot cake, pie, brownies, etc)

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  10. I guess you have a couple more days before the anniversary. I hope you update us with how this goes!

    I was diagnosed recently with celiac disease, but I didn't really get sick when I ate gluten (it was discovered because of anemia and some small pains). I went off gluten immediately. I really don't know if I'd have a reaction if I accidentally ingest some, since I didn't really before. I've heard that once you've "detoxed," gluten can really hit you even if it didn't before.

    If I were in your situation (my anniversary cake is 15 years in my past) I can see having a small piece. 1) you want to and 2) you'll learn something from it.

    Regardless of how it affects you this year, I think a new and wonderful tradition would be to try to recreate it as closely as possible in future years, or to come up with a totally different GF dessert that you love, like a chocolate meringue "cake" with a chocolate ganache filling or a vanilla meringue cake and raspberry filling and drizzled with chocolate.

    @mpv61

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