Allergies

[tooj]

My nephew has been suffering from sickness, stomach aches, diarrhoea and he is 1.5 stone underweight. He has been seeing his doctor regularly but without any improvements. This week he saw a different doctor who suggestedhe might have a wheat allergy and that he should go on a gluten free diet.
We brought him a small (very small) 400g gluten free loaf this afternoon and it cost £2.48 at Morrisons. This lad is paid the minimum wage at a Care Home and quite frankly we can't see how he can possibly afford to keep up a diet like this.
Has anyone else come up against this problem and managed to find another supplier who can sell tyhis type of food at a more realistic price than Morrisons?

[Tuvok]

If he is diagnosed as ceoliac, he may get loaf etc on prescription.

[Tuvok]

Asda, Aldi, Tesco all stock gf loafs

[boxtops]

My friend has a son who has multiple allergies and it costs them a fortune to buy the special foods he needs. He used to be able to get some it on prescription, but not any more - and she has to search around different stores to find the things he can eat.

[daisya]

All free-from or gluten free products are expensive in my opinion, guess it's the process of making them. As said, after people are diagnosed with coeliac disease (blood tests and biopsy usually) they can get certain foods on prescription each month. Hope that helps tooj but just to say this isn't a "cheap" health problem to have and yet there's no alternative for life unfortunately.

[Sqad]

Well...I am sure that wheat allergy is a consideration.
However if he was a relative of mine, I would like him to be seen by a Gastro-Enterologist as 2 other conditons spring to mind...a) Chrohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

[Buenchico]

A pedantic point:
Coeliac disease isn't an allergy. It's an autoimmune disorder.

As has been said, gluten-free products are available on prescription.

In the meantime, you can compare prices from the links below. (Simply click the 'x' to close the boxes inviting you to subscribe to the site).

Sainsbury's:
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/shelves/gluten_free_in_sainsburys.html

Asda:
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/shelves/gluten_free_in_asda.html

Tesco:
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/shelves/gluten_free_in_tesco.html

Waitrose:
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/shelves/gluten_free_in_waitrose.html

Holland & Barrett:
http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/categories.asp?cid=459&showAll=true

General information:
http://www.coeliac.org.uk/
(Click 'Gluten-free diet & lifestyle')

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx
(Click through 'Symptoms', 'Causes', 'Diagnosis', etc)

[queen 1954]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/diets/gluten_free

may be worth looking at this site and there are quite a few with recipies,it may or may not be cheaper to make your own but worth a look.

[Eve]

Gluten free bread isn't cheap anywhere and not very nice generally. Genius is the best I've tried though it's a little loaf with tiny slices.

Gluten free pasta and spaghetti is OK, I don't notice the difference from normal cheaper pasta and spaghetti though I'd recommend using it fresh rather than making batches of food, fridging it and reheating as it doesn't keep like that very well.

Different supermarkets have different offers on at times though I get most gluten free stuff I buy from Tesco. I tend to think of ideas which just don't include gluten products rather than buying the substitutes.

Do get used to checking labels though, partly for hidden gluten and things you might not realise contain it and for products not in the gluten free section which are still gluten free.

Have they done a test for coeliac? Seems like getting to a gastro consultant would help. If it is coeliac then there are also dietic services which could help. As, as said above, it's not just like an intolerance.

If it were me, I wouldn't be just taking a GP's opinion on something this.

[tooj]

Now I know a bit more about the subject I'll have some deep thinking to do. Thanks all for taking the time to give me some excellent advice. (My Answer Bank was taken off after I wrote my question and never put it back till today so I couldn't reply before now.)

[Tuvok]

If coeliac, then join coeliac.org.uk and you will get a food and drink directory and monthly updates online.