Embracing Celiac

About 6 months ago I found out that I have Celiac disease.  1 in 133 people in the US have it (about 1%), but only about 1 in 3,000 are properly diagnosed.  All through my childhood and teenage years I remember my mom being in pain.  She said it started with stomach pain but then turned into joint and muscle pain.  For 20 years she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and given prescription medicine that never helped her.  It wasn't until 2 years ago that a doctor thought to do an endoscopy and check her stomach.  She wad diagnosed with Celiac and told that the only way to get her free from pain was to go on a gluten free diet.  After trial and error with testing different foods she finally felt back to normal.  It is crazy to me that doctors were prescribing all sorts of medication for her to put in her body when really all she had to do was stop putting gluten in her body.  I guess for those who have gluten intolerance or Celiac, when gluten has been in your system so long the damage to your stomach then expands throughout your whole body.

Soon after that my brother was having similar symptoms and after getting tested was diagnosed as well.  Seeing the drastic change my mom and brother had to make with their new diet I felt blessed that I didn't have to make that change.  I never really had any symptoms that they had so I didn't think anything of it.  Then I had Payton.  I don't know why but I guess a lot of women don't have symptoms of Celiac until after going through some sort of traumatic event in their life like going through child birth.  I started having extreme stomach pain after every meal I ate.  For a while I just ignored it because honestly I didn't want to find out if I had celiac or not.  I figured I did because it is genetic, but I just didn't want it to be reality.  So for about a year I just ignored it.  Then I finally got tested and sure enough I had celiac.

*Just as a warning, the next few paragraphs are pretty negative.  If you don't want to hear me complain about all my frustrations with having Celiac then I would stop reading.  I just wanted to get them all out in writing hoping to have a new perspective this coming year.

The process of getting gluten out of your diet is a lot harder then I thought.  Gluten is hidden in so many ingredients.  Luckily I had my mom close by to help me become an expert on what to look for on ingredient labels of food.  At first grocery shopping took me twice as long because I had to read the label of every food item before I put it in my cart.   I learned the hard way that just because an item is labeled Gluten Free doesn't necessarily mean it is safe to eat.   

Grocery shopping is now a lot easier after just 6 months of my diet, but the hardest adjustment by far has been social events.  Going to any gathering where food is served I have to ask the person who made the food to tell me exactly what ingredients are in the food and if there is gluten anywhere I have to make sure that the food I eat hasn't been touched by any crumbs from bread/crackers/utensils/cutting boards/etc.  For me that is hard to do.  I feel really stupid and high maintenance asking people all those questions so I just generally eat before or after I go.  Then I feel stupid because people start to notice that I'm the girl that never eats anything.  

In our neighborhood we have play groups every week.  Once a month they do a pot luck and one time I brought pineapple.   There was TONS of good food there and I was the girl that had only pineapple on my plate.  No one said anything because I don't really publicly announce that I can't eat gluten, but I felt really stupid. 

Going out to eat is pretty rare these days.  And if we do go out to eat I have to be the girl who badgers  the waiter about what ingredients are in the foods and how they prepare it in the kitchen.  Luckily gluten intolerance is becoming more common so there are some restaurants I have found that are pretty accommodating.     

If you can't tell I have been very negative about it and just really feeling sorry for myself.  I have never heard my mom complain about having to change her diet and I felt really guilty for being so negative.  Then I think about people who have diabetes, chron's disease, or any other day to day physical struggle people go through and I feel horrible for thinking that I have it bad.  Especially because some people I know that have other diseases are so positive about it.  And having to change my diet a little is nothing compared to what I could be going through.

The other evening a came across this blog post by a guy that calls himself the GLUTEN DUDE. Some things he said really helped me put everything in perspective.

He said,

"When I was first diagnosed five years ago, I remember telling Mrs. Dude that I can’t make any promises I won’t cheat. It just seemed so overwhelming. And permanent. And not knowing too much about the disease, I figured the occasional slice of pizza couldn’t possibly harm me. Thankfully, I educated myself, I never caved and this has allowed me to heal.

But I know not everyone’s will-power may be up to the challenge. Take my advice. Give yourself time.

You’re pissed…and rightfully so. It’s ok to be angry. It’s ok to mourn the loss of your old life. It’s ok to long for the care-free days when food and spontaneity could be used in the same sentence. Be angry. Be sad.

But then move on. Look forward and not back. You have to or you’ll lead a miserable, bitter life. You can’t have gluten. Oh well. Face it…there are worse things in life. Much worse.

You have to rise to the mental challenge or you will never succeed in going gluten free. A friend of mine recently stated over dinner that my disease must be great for my will-power. It is indeed. Once you get it through your head that you CAN do this, it really gives a jolt to your self-confidence that you can carry over to all aspects of your life.

Face it. You’ve most likely been living the same life, making the same decisions and eating the same foods for your entire life. If you think about it, it’s kinda boring. You’ve got an opportunity to completely change how you live. I think that’s pretty cool.

Want it. Accept it. Embrace it.

And pretty soon, you’ll love it."

So I have decided that one of my main goals this year is to be more POSITIVE about my Celiac issue and embrace it.

So here is my list of good things that have come from this:

1. No more migraines or stomach pain

2. It is a lot easier to stay in shape because I am forced to eat healthy

3. My daughter eats a lot healthier then most kids because I can't really have many processed foods in my house

4. We save money by not going out to eat a lot

5. I feel healthier

6.  I didn't have to go through what my mom did (20 + years of pain not knowing that she had it)

7. I have developed a strong sense of discipline in terms of diet which has transferred into many aspects of my life

8. I have been able to curb my sugar addiction

9.  I have found some amazing healthy recipes that taste even better then the recipes I cooked before

10.  I have learned a lot about what they put in processed food and how to keep my body free of all the chemicals they sneak in food

All in all I feel very blessed to be one of the people that was able to be properly diagnosed and eliminate what was causing me pain early on in my life.  I know that this is a life long change and I vow to be more positive through it all.