Going Gluten Free - Chantal

Going gluten free: Take one.

     The day after my 19th birthday I wound up going to the hospital because I had so much stomach pain, I couldn't even comfortably sit at my desk job. I wrote down absolutely EVERY symptom I had and took it to the doctor. My regular doctor was out of town, I settled with a fill in, so I was already not a happy camper when I got there. Then when I actually got to see him he didn't even look like he cared about my pain, but he ordered some tests anyway. Do keep in mind, I was 19, had never gone to the doctor alone, and had no clue what I was looking for or even what tests I should be asking about.

     Moving on. The day I got the results back I was bed ridden, my boss was being a jerk, I was in an overly bad mood and I get this call from the doctor saying I can no longer eat gluten. Uh, ok, what's gluten?! After my long talk with him I hung up the phone and cried. I could no longer indulge in my favorite comfort foods! After very little research I determined that he was wrong. How could he be right? So I booked the biopsy for a month later. In that month I lived off of puffed rice and rice crispy cake. BIG mistake. You DO NOT go gluten free before testing for celiac's. I go in for the biopsy expecting to be put under, as I am terrified of the procedure, and they lay me down, spray my throat and put the tube in. I was in and out before my grandma could get through the line up at Tim Horton's. As you can already tell, I went down to get my results and he's confused at why I'm even there. So I made my way home, happier than heck and ate EVERYTHING gluten in sight.

Take two.

For the three years in between, they called it a lactose intolerance, gastrointestinal problems etc. Not one doctor seemed to care or want to look into it. But after I eventually stopped sleeping, I decided it was time to get serious about my health. I went from doctor to doctor trying to find one that didn't just brush it off as my paranoia. I got tested for allergies, sleep apnea, diabetes, and pretty much anything you can think of. I'm sure my teacher thought all the "doctors appointments" were just me skipping class. At my last resort I went to yet another doctor and while I was waiting, there it was  on his desk; pamphlets on celiac's disease. It caught my attention. I remembered that I was tested before so I grabbed every one I could, went home and did some real research. Every chance I got I bugged my classmate, Natasha for information on how she found out she had it. The next week I went back and told him to test me. While I was at it I got about 30 things checked (I am not exaggerating, I counted). In the mean time I went on a soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, low fat, low acid diet. Now I bet your wondering what I ate, a lot of rice and chicken. Then my results come back and wouldn't you know it, I'm allergic to gluten.
   
     As for my sleeping problem, that's more the end result of my stomach not absorbing vitamins properly. I was low on my ferritin iron and vitamin B12, and trust me your B12 makes a HUGE difference! The second they put me on the B12 shot my sleeping became normal, I wasn't drowsy all day or up all night. Yes I take a million different vitamins to get my levels back up, but I feel a million times better.

     My curiosity got the best of me, I booked a second biopsy even though my doctor said I was wasting my time. I had one whole week of gluten. In the end it was a total of two weeks (strep throat is a horrible thing). And you can imagine what I ate! I went to my Mother's house and ate all homemade bread, chocolate cake, and basically anything you can think of. It was the best/worst two weeks of my life. By the second day I was seriously ready to give up on the whole biopsy idea, but I persevered. The second time around they sedated me for the whole procedure. I got told I wouldn't remember it at all, it would be more comfortable, I would have strange conversations with people and then wouldn't remember them, and that I would sleep all day after. The truth is, none of that happened to me. I did sleep, but that was from me up worrying about it all night. So which would I do if i had to do it again? Honestly, without sedation was way faster, and less hassle. Some people might not be able to handle it, therefore they go the other way.

     I'm still waiting on the results back, but no matter what I will never go back to gluten. Being gluten free is the best thing I've done for myself, health wise. I make way better food choices now and my body is rewarding me for that, I no longer feel like a big blob of crap. Yes being gluten free is sometimes a pain in the butt (I personally hate eating out when I have to draw attention to myself and ask "are these fries coated?"). I've seen the consequences and am not willing to deal with it again.

-Chantal