(Us minutes after being married!)
I am creating this blog as an outlet for my recent (as in the other day) confirmation of Celiac's disease. A little about the disease for anyone who doesn't know- basically it is an autoimmune disease in which my body reacts negatively to the protein gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye. Aka most of my current diet. Consuming gluten damages and inflames the lining of my intestinal wall and prevents it from absorbing necessary nutrients. This causes weight loss, bloating, and other unhappy symptoms. There is currently no cure. One of the biggest misconceptions of Celiac disease is that it is simply a food allergy, but being that it is an autoimmune disease it can impact neurological functions as well as having a connection to lymphoma (a type of cancer) if not properly treated. So needless to say this pasta lover needs to get over it and find some alternatives to successfully conquer and come up with a major overhaul of my diet.
This diagnosis has been about a year long journey in the making. I went to my gastroenterologist a little over a year ago because I had lost about 20 pounds over the course of a few months and anyone who knows me knows my small frame cannot handle that much weight loss. My BMI was and still is at a 17, which is 1.5 points underweight. I haven't been able to do much about this despite the amount of food I eat but I now know this is one of the biggest symptoms of Celiac's. But it sure was fun having a doctor mimick sticking a finger down his throat and ask "if I ever did a little of that." So professional! I was sent for blood work to rule out a whole list of diseases including Crohn's disease, and IBS. Last October I was sent to the ER following what I thought to be a stomach virus but upon arriving at urgent care the physician said she thought I was having issues with my gallbladder and would need an ultrasound at the hospital to confirm. The ultrasound showed my gallbladder was normal and the doctor diagnosed me with gastritis, or inflammation of the stomach lining. However this needed to be followed up with an endoscopy, which I had this past March.
The "esaphagogastroduodenoscopy" as it was officially termed showed I have a hiatal hernia (my stomach pushes through my diaphragm), gastritis (as suspected by the ER doctor) and lymphocytic duodenitis (inflammation of the duodenum-part of the intestines). The duodenitis was the main indicator of Celiac disease but my bloodwork was negative for it, which can happen. The hiatal hernia causes indigestion because of the pushing upward of my stomach that causes acids from food to come back up so I have to avoid spicy and acidic foods and take Pepcid AC twice daily. So yesterday I had my final confirmation that everything else is normal and the doctor believes I do have Celiac disease-so here I am left to figure out what I can and cannot eat until I meet with a nutritionist who will help me further.
So to sum it all up the idea of this blog is a place for me to document recipes and foods that I will be trying to see what works and tastes good. Obviously it would be a pain for me to have to cook two different dinners every night for both me and my husband so this journey will also include him!
The first night after my appointment I went through my cabinets and fridge and looked for things we already had that I could eat. To my surprise and delight, brown rice is gluten free! I thought for sure it would be made with wheat hence the brown color, but no-yay! This is great news as I am a HUGE pasta lover and brown rice is a great side that can be played up with veggies, cheese or beans. I chose to cook it up with some Aidell's all natural Italian style sausage we had in the fridge, which is also gluten free. This took less than 15 minutes and resulted in an easy, delicious dinner!
For those who have read this far, yay! Hopefully my research and experiments can influence others who need a gluten free diet. All I know is having a place to put all this info will be a great way to help me keep my sanity so I remember what works best for me and my husband. Celiac disease IS genetic so hopefully when we have children none of them will have to deal with this but if they do, it's a good thing I'm getting all my knowledge in now. My next post will include my new grocery list which is in the works and hopefully a trip to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, two grocery stores I don't have nearby that make eating gluten free a lot easier!
No comments:
Post a Comment