Everyone has a 'story' about why they are the way they are. I have curly hair because of my dad, I have shortness from my mom, I have the worst digestive system ever because of fate, karma, and good old fashioned luck. And in March 2006, we started narrowing down what exactly was wrong with it. It took another seven years to get to the point I am at now, but in 2006, my entire world changed. Some would say for the worse, but I definitely think for the better.
When I was in my first year of grad school at Boston University, I went to the health center with a list of all the foods that made me sick. The doctor took one look at the list and said he wanted me to research gluten intolerance and celiac disease and to try gluten free for a couple of weeks to see how I feel. He also made an appointment for me with a GI specialist at a very well known and respected Boston hospital. Because the hospital is so well known and respected, the earliest appointment I could make was six weeks away.
After three days gluten free I felt like a completely different person. It was kind of insane. I ate a meal and wasn't sick afterward. And after a week, I knew that this was the way I wanted to live. The problem was that by the time I actually got in to see the specialist (who was actually not a GI specialist I found out), when they gave me the blood test, I tested negative. When I told me regular doctor what the specialist had said, he told me to continue being gluten free, because I knew what made me feel better and what didn't. Symptoms that I had no idea were related disappeared, for example, my super dry skin. Amazing!
When I found this article, and read through it, I figured it was a good way to share my story. And since last August, when the low-FODMAP lifestyle was also made a part of my life, new discoveries happened. For example, did you know that normal people wake up hungry in the morning? Never knew! This was a new discovery and WOW was it weird at first. Also, my stomach literally deflated. I wasn't overweight, but I always had a bit of a distended belly. It was like a balloon deflating.
Ok, back to the article: Celiac Myths That Need to Be Retired for Good!
Here are the myths without their commentary...because this is my blog, so I'm going to add my own!
1. You're overweight, so you can't have celiac disease
Here's what I'll say about this. I found a gluten free pancake restaurant when I moved to the Twin Cities...I am shocked that I didn't become overweight after I found OPH :)
2. Your mom/brother/cousin/etc has celiac, but you don't need to worry. You don't have tummy troubles
I'm the only one who has been "diagnosed", but there are definite possibilities that I may have inherited some of my issues from my Dad's side of the family...
3. You're too old to have celiac disease
My parents first asked the pediatricians about my problems when I was pretty little. They told my parents that I was just "stressed" and had a "nervous stomach". When I finally got diagnosed, my mom was PISSED that I went twenty years being "stressed" with a "nervous stomach". I was four in a functional family, what was there to be stressed about? Although it does all make sense now why they kept telling me to relax when I didn't feel good. Because that works....never.
4. Ethnic people (African American, Hispanic, etc) don't get celiac
I'm as non-ethnic as they come. If you look up the term WASP in the dictionary, my family is the picture. We can actually trace our family back to the Mayflower. My great-aunt was a card carrying member of Daughters of the Mayflower and my sister could be if she wanted to. So this one doesn't apply. But if you want to hear how my family came to be, read this fairly short poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about my ancestors...you may have heard of them...John Alden and Priscilla Mullins.
5. "Listen up, celiacs! Grains are all the same. All of them have gluten and they're all poison"
Guess what's delicious? Quinoa! Guess what isn't totally delicious? Brown rice pasta...
6. Just go gluten-free. If you feel better, we'll run the celiac tests
This one. This one both saved me and has bitten me in the ass. Since I'm not "officially" diagnosed, I always feel like I'm lying a little bit. My mom has repeatedly asked me to get the biopsy (it sounds terrifying and painful) but I brought it up to my new GI specialist here in Iowa and he said they're not definitive and again, I know me more than any doctor. He also put me on the low-FODMAP lifestyle, so there's kind of a love-hate relationship with him :) He took Dairy Queen out of my life. :(
7. "Your intestines looked fine so you didn't need a biopsy" or "We'll take one (or two) biopsies to diagnose"
I'm okay with this one...they SCRAPE THE INSIDE OF YOUR SMALL INTESTINE. No Thank You.
8. I went on a special diet/took special supplements/had a special treatment and my is now healed, so I can safely eat gluten now
I have been asked by several people if I wished there was a pill to fix this. Not really...I suck at taking pills. Every few months I try to take vitamins, but I forget and go for days without taking it. Also, I'd much rather medical researchers spent their time and money on important cures, like cancer or HIV. Celiac isn't going to kill me, it just makes me read every ingredient list. No big deal.
9. You need to go gluten-free, but it's okay to have a cheat day every now and then.
"Cheat" is a weird word here. It's not a "diet". Do you "cheat" with diabetes? If I eat something with gluten accidentally, I know immediately and it is not good. And since I haven't had it in my system for so long, if I do get something, my reaction is about ten times worse than it was before 2006. Not worth it.
This was a lot of text, so I'm going to include a picture of #EvilTheo, who has built a nest for himself in a dress I have hanging in the back of my closet.
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