For the last 8-10 years I have been suffering from intestinal problems that were progressively getting worse. In 2007, my illness reached an all time low. I was bloated non-stop, nauseous regularly, and unable to eat anything for days at a time. I was constantly off on sick leave with flu-like symptoms and when I was working, I could barely think straight and had no energy. I finally went to my doctor. He sent me for blood tests to see if I had Celiac Disease, something that he had originally suggested to me a few years earlier. The tests came back negative, but because I was so ill, and really could not wait to get in with gastro, he told me to go gluten free and see what happened.
I didn’t go 100% gluten free, but I did stop buying any gluten or wheat bread and muffins. But I was still eating scones or other pastries at coffee shops, or having soy sauce in sushi restaurants, croutons on my salads, etc… for a few months. It was in June that I all of a sudden realized what I was doing. I was waiting for my latte to be made at Starbucks one morning, munching on a pumpkin scone, when it just clicked. I threw my scone away, half eaten, and haven’t intentionally ingested gluten or wheat ever since.
The change in how I felt was immediate. Simply by removing whole wheat bread from my diet and only having pastries in the coffee shops for the first couple of months allowed me to actually function within society. When I finally removed ALL wheat and gluten from my diet, the nausea and foggy head were gone by the end of the week. It has now been almost 9 months since that lovely morning in June 2007, and I can honestly say that I feel wonderful.
Prior to my diagnosis, I was also suffering from severe anemia – iron deficient. My red blood cells were practically non-existent, my hemoglobin was low and continuing to drop, and my iron barely made it on the board. I am proud to say, that I finally received the news this past week (in February) that all of my levels (except for my iron) are in range. Granted, they are on the low side, but they are within the normal limits. The joy that I feel knowing that I don’t have to be stuck with a needle yet again next month is amazing. I now get a bit of a break from needles and doctors for couple of months at time.
