So, I Can’t Have Wheat…

… or dairy, for that matter. But that latter part was a more recent discovery.

But, the wheat thing? It’s unfortunately true. In fact, I was never supposed to be eating it. As an infant I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, but my mother thought that was too much trouble to deal with. So, when the family doctor took one look at me and said “Bah, she’s just a tall, skinny kid.’’ That’s what she ran with.

Celiac is an autoimmune disease. My immune system is a fool and when gluten of any kind gets into my system, it attacks the visili in my stomach. Destroying my ability to gain any nutrients from the food I’d eaten.

How did I live like this, you ask? It was hard. All I knew was I was always tired, my stomach always hurt, my muscles always hurt and pooping was a nightmare every single time. In my teens I was devastatingly thin and very sickly looking, I was accused of being anorexic all the time. I suppose I was, but inadvertently. I didn’t realize my body was starving me to death because I ate all the time.

At 43, I thought I was dying. My stomach was a knot all of the time, there was blood in my stool every time I went and I was sooo tired, but couldn’t sleep. Before accepting my fate that I probably had some kind of cancer, I looked up the symptoms I was having. Because, why the hell not? I was already terrified.

Celiac disease was the first thing that popped up. Interestingly, I didn’t know what Celiac disease was at the time. Only that my mother was told, ages ago, I might have it. She said it was some kind of potassium deficiency. Like the bonehead daughter I am, I just believed her.

As I read the symptoms, including several I hadn’t even realized were symptoms, I realized… this is the thing I have. I know it. Over time symptoms change because your body starts to break down from lack of nutrition. Here were all my symptoms

• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Weight loss
• Bloating and gas
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Itchy, blistery skin rash (dermatitis herpetiformis)
• Mouth ulcers
• Nervous system injury, including numbness and tingling in the feet and hands, possible problems with balance, and cognitive impairment
• Joint pain
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Difficulty swallowing due to full throat

It was that last one that caught my attention. I’d been dealing with that for a couple of years and figured it was allergies or something. In that moment I decided to cut all gluten from my diet. Which was WAY more difficult than I had anticipated. Most everything has gluten or has been contaminated by gluten. Even the tiniest bit of gluten based grain can set off a terrible response in my body.

So, I told my husband my plans and he was very supportive. He basically went gluten free with me. I was afraid to go to the doctor, I admit it. So, I gave myself 30 days to go gluten free and decide then, what to do.

Within three days, I had my very first day, all day, without a stomach ache. Then the next day and the next and the next.

I was GIDDY. No tummy pains!? WOW!! In 2 weeks, all the sores and pimples on my face began fade away. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?? My hair became ridiculously healthier after three weeks. My skin, which used to have a strange odour and greasy consistency, began to change. No smell, my pores became smaller, the over all texture of my skin had vastly improved. I could also wear foundation!

(The oils in my skin would break down the chemistry of the foundation and get all blotchy and screwed up on my face. Now? Smooth as butter.)

After a month, I realized I wasn’t depressed. I no longer felt this hopeless despair sitting on my shoulder telling me nothing mattered. It was just… gone.

No blood! WOOO!!

A formal diagnosis was just to be extra cautious, because I knew what the results were going to be. And voila.

The damage to my intestines was severe, but not irreversible. Yay! I should be able to achieve about 85% or higher functionality in a few years.

It’s been three so far and I feel better than I ever have in my entire life.

If anyone had told me back in my teens “hey, if you stop eating wheat, you’ll change your life.” I’d never have believed them. I loved bread, barley stew, pasta and pastries. The idea of giving them up back then wasn’t even an idea. I believed because I never gained weight, I could eat whatever I wanted.

So wrong. So, so, so, so, so wrong. Oh, and on a side note, my husband not only feels better too, he’s stopped destroying the bathroom every time he went in there. A fact we are both VERY pleased with.

I don’t know what your life is like, but if you feel depressed, sickly, stomach aches or anything like that, I 1000% percent recommend trying a gluten free diet for 30 days at least. STRICT gluten free. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it’s worth it.

A few things didn’t change though. I still have anxiety during the night. I still get big break outs on my face. I suspect dairy is the culprit. I’ve long suspected my love affair with cheese, cream and all things dairy would end. I’ve been off dairy for 3 weeks and the improvement has been noticeable. Do I sound sad as I write this? Because I feel a bit sad. But my face has never been clearer.

We spend so much of our lives using food to comfort us and every single one of my comfort foods will contribute to killing me. I’ve had to rethink who I was and where my comfort needs to come from. I chose new comfort foods. Blueberries, raspberries with dark chocolate chips is a new favourite. Just last night I managed to make a dairy, gluten free mac and cheese that was delicious.

There is life after food intolerances. I decided who I was inside was worth more than what I could stuff into my mouth. I now have the energy to even exercise, which leads to more healthiness.

If you recognize yourself in any of this story, and think you’re lazy, you probably aren’t. If that’s how you’re feeling. You’re probably ingesting something that is changing your chemistry for the worst. My husband cut caffeine from his diet and hasn’t been anxious since. He’s completely mind blown… even though he knew caffeine caused anxiety, he never really “got it”.

I think all of us are like that to some degree. We get used to things and don’t even consider whether or not it’s affecting who we are. It’s just what’s there. What do you eat or drink every day that you assume is fine, but could actually be the reason you can’t sleep at night? Or your anxiety is through the roof or why your skin breaks out?

I took the plunge and I’ll never regret it. I’m not saying it’s for everyone, but it’s certainly for some of us.