Adventures in Celiac Disease

You can live your entire life with celiac disease and never know it. All my life I’ve had “irritable bowel syndrome” or a sensitive stomach. I’ve been called a picky eater and other things. Some foods bothered me more than others, especially pizza, and I tended to stay away from those foods, but I got along all right eating sandwiches and pasta, you get the idea.

And you don’t have to look like a starving model to have celiac disease, either. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Some foods bothered me more than others, especially pizza, and I tended to stay away from those foods, but I got along all right eating sandwiches, pasta, and pita chips- you get the idea.

About six years ago, pretty well-known gastroenterologist told me he thought I had celiac disease and recommended I get a blood test to confirm it.  I had no idea what celiac disease was, and looked it up as soon as I got home on the all-knowing internet where, you know, everything is true (wink).

Whoa – I was going to have to give up bread?  We’re not talking Wonder Bread, folks.  How could I live without wonderful, crusty baguettes?  No bruschetta, no pasta, no bagels! Oh man, I wasn’t sure about this.

The next day I left work early to go to the lab for the blood test, but I think I was already in denial.  The woman drawing my blood couldn’t find a vein after two sticks, so I left.  I went back a couple other times to find the lab closed.  I didn’t try any more.

Fast forward to now.  Another doctor said she thought I had celiac disease and recommended a book. I started reading it and realized that I had all of the symptoms of celiac disease and it scared me.

Immediately I gave up anything with gluten in it.  I went and spent more than half of my grocery budget on gluten-free foods, bread mixes and flours.  I was not impressed with the first bread mix.  The second one wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t quite “bready”.  I searched for scratch recipes and found one that worked pretty well.

After a week and a half, I felt immensely better.  I lost a couple of inches in my abdomen from no bloating (I hadn’t lost any weight at that point).  My mind was less fuzzy.  I felt better.

I stayed gluten-free for a month before I started feeling deprived.  The following weekend I went gluten crazy. I had dinner with a friend and ordered a small pizza – it was delicious.  The next evening I had dinner with another friend at great Italian restaurant and had pasta – to die for!

The next day my body rebelled.  My intestines were at war with me and nothing worked to soothe them.  Talk about a burning ring of fire, and we ain’t talking about hillbilly love here.  It took a week for my body to recover. I felt like dreck, I was worn out, and couldn’t sit down without wincing.  I even missed a day from work.

I have celiac disease.  I can’t have any more gluten.  I’ve learned that even a “taste” of a brownie or crostini affects me. When your body finally clears the gluten out of the system and the inflammation begins to heal, if you eat gluten it’s like you’ve poisoned yourself.  The body’s reaction is much worse than it was while you were eating gluten foods all along.

Next week is Thanksgiving.  My family usually gets a catered meal and we fix extra stuffing and side dishes to round it out.  A couple of weeks ago, I told them I’d buy the turkey and fix the stuffing and pies.  Tomorrow I am baking three loaves of gluten-free bread. 

On Thanksgiving morning I will cut up the gf bread and toast it, chop the onions and celery, add the seasonings, mix it all up, and stuff the bird.  No one will be the wiser.  I will be thankful for a happy gut and being with those I love.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.