Against the Grain (Part 1)

I just want to be honest. This post has ZERO to do with teaching or my classroom. If you want to stop reading right here, I totally understand.

I thought I would give you a look into my gluten free lifestyle. It can be tricky thing to understand and a lot of people are throwing around the phrase "gluten free" these days but what does that really mean? Here is the beginning of my journey, the process of being diagnosed with a "gluten allergy."

During my first year of teaching  I started experiencing a lot of symptoms that I just attributed to working in a high energy, (and high stress at times) environment for the first time. I experienced weight gain, abdominal cramps, major nausea, lack of energy, and migraines. I remember being very careful about what I ate and I even though I wasn't "working out," I was being way more active just being with 22 eight year olds all day. I bought new jeans for the school year and by Christmas they wouldn't button anymore. I was gaining weight like crazy and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. There were many mornings that I got ready for school in tears because I couldn't fit into clothes that I had just bought.

   

On top of all of those symptoms I listed above, I started to have terrible anxiety. I felt nauseous after almost every meal and so I started not wanting to eat anywhere but home. I would get very anxious if we were eating out with friends or family because I was worried I was going to be sick somewhere besides our house. I didn't even want to get in the car for extended periods because I would worry there wouldn't be somewhere to pull over if I needed to be sick. These may seem like silly reasons to worry but to someone with anxiety, they were very real worries. I was so miserable, I felt like a shell of myself.

Last summer, after I finished my first year, Hubs and I decided I should talk to a doctor. Fast forward to several appointments, tests, and weeks later I still wasn't feeling any better. My primary doctor suggested that I visit a local Gastroenterologist for a second opinion. He felt that after hearing about my symptoms that I should have an upper GI scope done. (TMI, I know! Sorry!) He was testing me for an autoimmune disorder called Celiac disease. Results came back negative for Celiac which was good news but he did notice some inflammation in my small intestine that looked a lot like Celiac. When he called to tell me the results he said, "I know this isn't the answer we were looking for, but I want you to just try avoiding gluten for two weeks and see how you feel." He felt like it most likely an allergy to gluten.

It was like a gift sent from heaven. After avoiding gluten for just TWO DAYS I felt better. After TWO WEEKS of not feeling sick and being headache and anxiety free, my doctor called to check on me and after I told him how amazing I felt, he was felt sure enough to diagnose me with a gluten allergy.

Whew! That was a long process! So that was the first part of my journey to becoming gluten free. As of August 18, 2014, I am living a gluten free lifestyle--and loving it! I knew they first thing I had to do was to educate myself on exactly what that meant. So I bought several books and joined some online blogs dedicated to being gluten free. In my next post (Against the Grain, Part 2) I will share some of what I have learned in the past 11 months and some of my favorite things to eat since becoming gluten free. I promise, being gluten free doesn't mean being taste free! Stay tuned!

P.S. Just because you may have some of the same symptoms that I had, doesn't mean you are allergic to gluten. Please don't worry. But if you aren't feeling well, please go see your doctor.