My stomach troubles started about 5 years ago. I was overweight (as I have been most of my life) and became close with a friend who's mother worked at Weight Watchers. For the summer, I decided to join the program and within 3 months, I lost about 36 pounds. I gave up sugar (including my beloved soda), and most fats. The only fats I consumed were within a small portion range and were considered "treats". I lost a lot of weight and I felt good. I was getting a lot of attention because my body was changing, and I won't lie and say I didn't use the attention as fuel to lose more. I also started taking birth control for the first time and talked to the doctor about the risks of gaining weight. My gynecologist suggested for me to try a new product, "YAZ" which was an adaptation of Yasmin with different hormones. Normally, I'm not okay with being the guinea pig for medications (or pretty much anything) but I was sold on the fact that YAZ functioned as a diuretic. A diuretic forces you to pee out all the water your body may be retaining because of birth control. Perfect, I thought.
At the end of the 3 month diet, I woke up one Sunday morning in excruciating pain in my abdominal area. I was dizzy, disoriented, and in extreme discomfort. It was hard to breathe because when I did, the pain radiated through my back. I woke up my parents and they immediately took me to the emergency room. The ER visit turned into 5 day stay in the hospital as I was put on IV's and medication to eliminate the infection (as they called it) in my tummy. All blood tests pointed to the gallbladder. I had elevated liver enzymes which indicates there is an infection somewhere in the body. We were just missing the one final criterion that would approve me for gallbladder surgery. However, I did not have this and the insurance company did not aprove me for surgery. My diagnosis was wishy-washy and I was eventually sent home with a prescription for Protonix (an anti-acid drug).
However, another complication arose while I was in the hospital. Throughout my visit, the anti nausea medication the nurses administered by IV was causing great discomfort. I complained about this and the nurses assured me that I was "fine" and that my arms were just "sensitive" to the medication.The first night I was home, my right arm was SO swollen that you couldn't see my knuckles and my left arm was quickly on it's way to match. The incorrect placement of the IV caused flabitious in my arms, which is a violent infection. My mom called our PCP immediately (as he was also a family friend) and he prescribed one of the harshest antibiotics known. The antibiotics knocked the infection out of my system, but had several side affects. Abdominal discomfort was one of them and I couldn't keep anything down for a week. I finished all medications and although weak, I went back to school (several states away) for the year.
I am not telling you this to be TMI or gross you out, but because these traumatic events were the beginning of 5 years of gastrointestinal issues. In the book I am reading by Elizabeth Hasselback called, "The G Free Diet: A Gluten Free Survival Guide," she writes that it is common for Celiacs disease and gluten sensitivities to appear in early adulthood. Those who have the gene that carries Celiacs can go through their whole life without having any symptoms. Some of them don't ever experience any discomfort; however, a huge amount of us do and it's usually caused by a traumatic event. That summer, I started a new extreme diet, birth control (foreign substance into my body), became sick, and had to take extreme measures to keep my arms from being amputated (which is what would have happened if I did not take the harsh antibiotic). I forgot to mention, in the very beginning of that summer, I was also in a car accident. All of these events could have triggered the gastrointestinal complications that I experienced from then on.
Fast forwarding about 2 years and many hospital visits later (for the same extreme discomfort), I suffered a massive gallbladder attack and was rushed to the ER by my partner, Daniel. I was lethargic, disoriented, in pain, and yellow. I arrived at the ER and the doctor actually yelled at me for not coming in sooner and that I have a gallstone. I was too sick to say, 'Well, can you blame me? How many times have I come here and been sent home with a bottle of vicodin and anti-acids?' I would need 2 surgeries that week. One to remove my gallstone which was blocking my liver from functioning (also causing the jaundice), and the second was to remove my gallbladder. Although these are two invasive surgeries, I was relieved. I couldn't wait to have my gallbladder removed because was in pain for far too long and it's impossible to feel that kind of pain without a gallbladder, right? Wrong.
The surgeries went smoothly and I was out of the hospital after 6 days. For a long time, I felt great. Then, after a couple months and returning to my normal college diet (macaroni and cheese, pasta, pasta, pasta), I started getting sick again. Fast forward another year and I'm back in the ER confused that I have more abdominal pain. I felt sick and embarrassed. I was done. Clearly, I didn't get any answers from the doctors who were just as confused as I was. Finally, one ER doctor suggested that I get tested for food allergies. During the same time, my Uncle was discussing all of his food allergies with my mom and I got into contact with him. His struggles were very similar to mine and his answer was eliminating all gluten, wheat, dairy, and processed foods from his diet. 10 years later and he was feeling great. I felt inspired to move towards this dramatic lifestyle change.
I begin to thoroughly research food allergies and the one that popped up the most next to dairy, nuts etc...was gluten. I thought to myself, 'what in the heck is gluten?' After reading about it, I was convinced I had either Celiacs Disease or sensitivity to gluten. My suspicion was confirmed the first time I cut it out. I felt great! I was losing weight, energized, and most importantly I had no stomach issues.
So, the last two years have been filled with ups and downs, success, trial and error, and failure too. I couldn't help diving into that large bowl of pasta (the ultimate comfort food for me) at the end of a long day. However, I am realizing that I COULD help it and I WILL help it! After talking to my family and friends about the lifestyle changes I need to make to completely eliminate gluten from my diet, I have the support and community to encourage me to be successful this time around. I know I can do this and I have been sick for too long. I am beyond ready for food to be my friend again.
I created this blog as testimony to my transformation and process. So far, I have been officially gluten-free for 6 days. It was a difficult transition, but I woke this morning feeling energized and excited to dive into all my gluten-free cookbooks.
I created this blog as testimony to my transformation and process. So far, I have been officially gluten-free for 6 days. It was a difficult transition, but I woke this morning feeling energized and excited to dive into all my gluten-free cookbooks.
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