My Celiac Story...

I first discovered my gluten sensitivity in the early months of 2009.  Strange fatigue, bloating, muscle aches, headaches and more. I had even noticed that the whites of my eyes were tinged brown. My hair was thinning  and my skin looked so old suddenly. I had just turned 30...was it possible to age this fast? I had felt off balance for a while even before I noticed the physical changes. I was like a loaded spring, ready to snap at any minute--as my family could attest. A chemical imbalance was a very big possibility. Not to mention I had been avoiding society for several months prior for no comprehensible reason whatsoever.

I kept a close watch on how I felt and what I ate. That's how I linked my fatigue and cloudy headed feelings with eating processed grains. I decided to stop eating anything made from processed flours and almost immediately felt better. After five weeks I knew I was onto something big. I looked 10 pounds thinner, despite the fact that my weight was exacltly the same! Not only that, but my life-long intestinal problems were resolved as well. I have always suffered from irritable bowel-like problems--as far back as preschool age, I recall frequent painful, trips to the bathroom through the scary dark hallway in the middle of the night. (These gut wrenching spasms have followed me all of my life until I went gluten free).

I visited my doctor and had a simple blood test which came back negative for Celiac's disease. My doctor recommended a GI-introscopy and a few more run-arounds, but this all required that I eat a normal wheat diet. I decided that my own personal results were too strong to ignore. Re-introducing wheat puts me right back where I started, without fail--friends whispering, "she looks pregnant again!", midnight cargo dumps and all. I don't want to live that way and don't feel I need a proper diagnosis to keep myself on track.

**With my new knowledge of Celiac's Disease, it's genetic inclination and many peculiar manifestations, I've come to believe that a gluten-free diet is what my children need, as well. I've made the switch for all of us and strive to keep gluten off of my shelves in all of its many hidden forms.

I hope that this blog will help and support you. Feeling good again is worth the effort! Don't give up.

Wondering if you might have it too? Check out these helpful links:
Symptoms of Celiac's Disease
Celiac Central's symptoms checklist

**edited June 2012--keeping my entire family gluten free has proven to be a monumental task.  Potlucks, visits to friends or grandparents, Sunday School snack time, etc... all conspire to make it nearly impossible.  And the worst part of all is the naysayers who think you're insane for being concerned about your family's health.