Short history on my health situation:
I'm in my mid-thirties. I've had mild digestive issues since I was a child, along with migraines. I became officially lactose intolerant about 10 years ago, although for several years prior I was told my stomach cramps were caused by an ulcer and was given medications to treat it.
I have two young children (ages 2 and 4 at the moment). Both pregnancies were problematic. With the first I had toxemia and was on bed rest the 3rd trimester. My boy was born healthy, so no complaints. During my second pregnancy, my cervix hadn't recovered from the removal of pre-cancer cells the year prior, so I had a cerclage at 11 weeks. That wasn't fun, but we were already watching for toxemia again and then I developed gestational diabetes. I was diligent in my carb counts and blood-sugar leveling, so it was successfully controlled by my diet alone. My daughter was born full term, happy and healthy.
It was during the second pregnancy, that I noticed there were more and more things I couldn't eat. Acidic and fatty foods immediately caused a reaction similar to when I ate high-lactose dairy foods and didn't remember to take enough "Lactaid" pills. At the time I blamed it on the wonders of being pregnant, but they never went away. I also noticed symptoms of malabsorption, my headaches became more frequent, and I felt like I had an achy-flu bug most of the time.
I first heard of celiac disease when they were testing my daughter for it at age 1. (Similar digestive problems and "failure to thrive"... but that'll be another story.) I researched the disease and noticed I had many of the symptoms. So when I went in for a follow-up on an IBS diagnosis, I requested a celiac panel be added to the other blood tests I was having done. My doctor was skeptical, but low and behold... it came back positive on all three screening tests. My doctor prescribed a gluten-free diet and I was referred to a Gastro-specialist. It took a few months to get in to see him... I'm still in the middle of more tests. Whatever the outcome, I was told gluten will no longer be on the menu for me.
So it began, I researched and started the "diet". I found loads of websites, books, articles, groups, and honestly loads of opinions. Some are good and upbeat, and others are downright depressing. I'm still pretty new to this and its been less than 6 months... I'll admit I've had my low points and woe-is-me moments, but I can't look at it and live that way. I don't want to join the group that feels like "gluten-free is a death sentence" or "celiac equals starvation". It actually isn't bad at all, just different. Some of the tastiest foods are gluten-free and I believe it encourages variety in the best way. There are so many wonderful choices and more are showing up every day!
I should also note that when children are involved, positive is the best attitude and approach to take. We put my daughter on the diet with me for several reasons which I'll go into later, but she is doing really well! The doctor has suggested we test our son as well since he has some signature digestive problems and food sensitivites. And while, at the moment, my son and my husband still have gluten on occasion, our household is gluten-free. I chose to go cold-turkey due to contamination issues... toddlers are NOT neat eaters. After the first couple of months or so, I became very "crumb-crazy" (less than a crumb of gluten can make a celiac sick,) and snack time became a nightmare. So I called it - no more gluten in the house. (My husband has a stash of g-bread and g-cereal... but not where the kids can get to it.)
We present it like this "Gluten makes mommy and sissy's tummy sick, so we eat foods that don't have it." In our situation we have it relatively easy, the kids are still young. There are still some things on the agenda that we'll have to address in the future... and so begins this blog. It will be an adventure.
What do you really need?? Where to get it? Where to get good information? Which ones taste good?? What to do when kids want g-playdough? Kid friendly meals? Shopping help? Support groups? Restaurants? Travel? How to talk to your favorite restaurants? Meals to share? Recipes? Cookbooks? Brands?? Cookware and tools?? Parties 'GF-style' and will anyone notice? This is just a few of the adventures I plan to go on and questions I want to answer. I'll be sure to write about my findings!
Smiles and Blessings!
