I have celiac disease. Regular beer would probably hospitalize me on earth, but in pastafarian heaven, do I get my own mini gluten-free beer volcano, or will I be cured of celiac?
I need to know very badly.
Long story short(er):
I've not had a fun life. Neither have the cockatiels my mom hoarded. I'm autistic and lived with the consequences of not having a household that supported autistic tendencies, but one that supported hoarding growing up. It was tough. My brother and I always did what we could for them. I'm not perfect. She was, though. My baby girl. She came into my life when I was about 12, and I'm now in my late 20s. She was such a sweet bird.
At the beginning of 2026, I finally met a standard of care so much above what my mom was giving them that she told me I could take her. There were 15 of them seven years ago, and I loved them all. When I drove up to get her, my mom said there were 3. They were all on the older side. When I got there, the oldest was at the bottom of the cage, gone. After a few days of discussion, she let me take the other two, and my amazing partner, who had only wanted us to take my baby girl, was completely on board with taking both of them home.
My baby girl screamed the whole way home. Literally every 30-120 seconds, a flock call. Pacing the whole way there. I held her older sister the whole 5 hour drive because she has dwarfism and kept falling off the perch because my girl was so nervous pacing.
I gave her a few months to acclimate, saying I'd take her to the vet, but I got so busy that it took a bit longer. When she started having siezures, I called them immediately and got the quickest appointment I could. She was in end stage heart disease. The vet gave me some meds and some advice on caring for her, and she took all of it like a champ.
The main things that concerned me were how to keep her comfortable and how long she had left. When I went to get her, she was an extremely nervous animal, but the personality I had known growing up was under there. The siezure meds worked on both her siezures and her anxiety. I was so pleased to see more of her come out of her shell, and I am so happy that she got to be more comfortable in her last days.
Tonight, I smoked a cigarette (outside) for the first time in over a year. I came inside to see her and let her on what was supposed to be a very short flight to my partner 10 feet away, but she decided to fly around the house a few times. She was riled up, so I put her away to calm down, but she kept heaving. As soon as she fell forward, I said, "This is it." I just held her until she was gone, and then for about an hour after that just sobbing into hee beautiful little feathers.
I couldn't tell her it was okay. I couldn't be super comforting, but my partner was. They told her it was okay and she went limp in my hands. I talked to her and told her how much she meant to me after she was gone. I had certainly told her so while she was alive, but I kept telling her.
My partner wrapped her in some nice fabric. I stroked her head and told her how much I loved her. I showed her sister, but I'm not sure she entirely understood, as she flock called for a few hours afterwards, and has never been quite mentally the same as other cockatiels?
I threw up. I might again. She taught me so much about myself, and I tried to be the best person I could be for her. I'm so worried that the smell of cigarettes set her off. I'm so worried that the residue on my hands got to her. Maybe things would have been different if I had washed them. I canr help but blame myself. I watched my baby girl have what I assume was a heart attack, and she passed in my arms. I just held her for about an hour and cried harder than I have in a long time
I took her sister to the vet right after her to get her health issues figured out, and she's doing well. It was something my parents never allowed for. She isn't terminal, but she's hurting. She has gout. She's taking all the vet's recommendations well at 16 years old. I'm going to call tomorrow to let the vet know and thank her, as well as try to get some pain and inflammation relief for my other girl.
I will immortalize my little queen forever with a monument my partner made of some feathers she dropped earlier this month. She loved going after my nose ring, so I will bury it with her. I'm going to put it in her mouth. She finally got it, and she can have it forever.
I will always miss her.
I will be real with you this bird already belonged on this page before the diagnosis. She has certainly always been different. Just grabbed her and her sister out of a rough situation.
I just made another post about my other cockatiel here, and hopefully, this one is a lot less sad, but again, so my family doesn't find my reddit account, I won't put many details. Largely seed diet but lots of people food her whole life and the person who did it certainly looked into how safe it was for her... but maybe not on what portion sizes were good. Has been very loved and spoiled in her younger years, but not as much as she has gotten older.
She has some physical abnormalities that the vet agreed might be mild dwarfism or an issue stemming from not getting proper nutrition/being taken away from parents too early. Tiny feet, short face, difficulty growing a tail, short stature (but not too abnormal). Difficulty with mobility because of those things.
Anyway, I got these ladies out of a less than ideal situation recently, and while waiting for them to calm down and get comfortable where they are, her sister started having siezures. Long story short: took sister to vet. Vet was actually good and not terrifying, like some of the stories I've seen. This bird I'm talking about (gout baby) looks very concerning at first glance, but I did bring her as support for her sister because I was super concerned about her.
Anyway, I ended up making her an appointment and getting bloodwork.
Gout.
I'm starting to think she's proper nobility.
Anyway, does anyone else have a bird with gout? Any tips? Vet told me to change her diet and keep her hydrated. Got recs for vitamins, too. Lmk if you guys have any tips on making her feel comfortable and caring for her. She's an incredible baby.
I'm not looking for medical advice as much as I'm looking for advice to keep my bird comfortable. I've typed out a few times where she came from, and honestly, it makes it too easy for my family to find my reddit account, which I don't want.
All you have to know is that I had little to no say in her care until recently and have known her since she was a baby. For a long time, she was on an all seed diet, and she's quite an anxious animal.
I've been given siezure meds by the vet, and they seem to make her feel a whole lot better, both mentally and physically. I've been told she doesn't have a lot of time left, and she has been more cuddly on the meds because of how much they help with anxiety.
I got advice on her diet and supplementation. It's pretty strict. Does anyone else have any suggestions that might involve other aspects of life so she has a good quality of life while she is still living? Any tips on medicating a bird who, while she will usually take it without much fuss, does not like the flavor of her meds? They smell like artificial fruit medicine, so I can understand why she isn't a fan. It's liquid in a syringe, which I think she is beginning to understand is making her feel better. I cannot give her millet or other seed because she really isn't supposed to have it, and my other bird (from the same situation) has gout and has been explicitly forbidden from eating seed. They get really jealous of each other and will attack each other over it. Scritches too, so I have to give them to both of them at the same time. She is not a big fan of coming out of the cage unless it is about an hour after I've given her her meds when she is calmest, and I have been handling her a lot then as long as she seems comfortable.
My birds are very cuddly, and I have one specifically who is insistent on trying to get into my mouth and nose.
Obviously, this is an issue when it comes to them eating food with gluten in it.
I've already got Dr. Harvey's seed mix, and they love that, but I am also looking for a pellet that they might eat. Right now, I use zupreem, and I think I've been mildly glutened a few times.
They're older and I love them very much so I'm trying to give them as much variety in their diet as possible. One of them is pretty picky but will eat pellets, so I'm looking for something for them.
Has anyone found some that are gluten-free?
I was wondering if anyone has ever asked their surgeon if it would be possible to kinda do a tuck on the loose skin on their belly while getting top surgery so it's not so loose. I know this is a long shot but if I could get both things done at once, that would be sick. I think I've got just the right amount of loose skin where this would make a big difference for me.
Would love to hear what your surgeons have said or see photos if you are comfortable.
Before anyone freaks out, I have worked there for 5 months with no issue. Someone must have literally dropped a bag of it, or some kid ran by and smacked every bag so hard it got everywhere. Idk. Anyway, I got a big whiff of it and immediately went "*oh shit*".
You all gave me some good advice when I started this job, and I really needed it. I used to hold my breath or breathe out slowly in that aisle if I needed to grab something, but I got less cautious over time and just stayed as far away the flour as possible because my job includes grabbing and scanning things for online customers who often order a lot of different things from the aisle. I was comfortable grabbing cake mix boxes because they are sealed in a bag inside, so there is very little potential for a flour *poof* just from grabbing those.
My management is amazing and insists that I don't touch the flour. They got masks for me. After I got glutened, I asked to avoid that whole front section of the aisle, and they said it was no problem. I'm not sure whether or not they will have me document it as I mentioned it as I was leaving. We will see. For the US, this is an awesome store to work in.
I did get what I need documented, and the HR person is awesome about it, too. I have no doubt that if I told her I needed to officially change it to just avoiding that aisle, she would have no issue.
They try to keep me working away from the whole dry section of the store unless there is literally nothing else to do, and I am now banned from the flour aisle either way. A manager will literally come out and get it for me once I've gotten the rest of the order if need be.
I'm certainly tired, but I love my job, and maybe that was worth getting glutened once while figuring it out? Idk, it happens. At least my medication is working this time.
But no, fr, I kinda wanna know if someone dropped a bag or if a kid (or kid at heart) came by and smacked all the bags. I definitely did as a child, and I suppose this is karma.
I feel like a lot of people don't want to hear this one.
It's a pretty universal experience for autistic people to be misinterpreted when we try to simplify things, so many of us will try to revert back to explaining things the way we need them explained to us- via the use of very precise language with exact meaning. This also often gets us mistaken as AI, but that's a whole other topic.
I can be asked a question and elaborate on it the only way I know how and be called a condescending piece of shit. When I talk to other autistic people about this, I have found that this is not an uncommon experience.
I study autism. I am aware I cannot diagnose people. I *can* point out that people I have met in person who have been described as condescending tend to have visible autistic traits most of the time. This is, again, not equivalent to a diagnosis, but an interesting piece of the puzzle.
Does anyone have a med alert bracelet for celiac? Why or why not?
I would assume that if you've got a condition like epilepsy as well or are prone to passing out (POTS, anyone?) it might be a good idea?
I've got a ton of health issues, but so far none that would *generally* make me go unconscious.
However, I do have a ton of health issues and am prone to such extreme brain fog that I can struggle to communicate at times.
I'm also autistic and when I'm not doing well, there are times I physically cannot speak or communicate.
While those things are rare, being able to point at a bracelet is something I would absolutely be able to do in both of those situations.
However, times I've been in the ER, it's been pretty clear that a lot of doctors do not know much of anything about celiac. A doctor tried to tell me I was lying because I could eat rice once. Then again, a med bracelet might make them take me more seriously.
I'm just wondering about how you guys rationalize it being worth it or not.
I am considering getting a bracelet anyway because I have an extremely severe mold allergy (but not to any antibiotics as far as I know).
I'd love to hear your arguments for or against. Why do you wear one?