My story about being Celiac and eating Gluten Free.

My story about Celiac starts in my childhood. I was a picky eater who pulled the meat out of my sandwich to eat it, ate the toppings off the pizza and left as much crust as I could get away with, pealed the casing off of my hot dogs (pork allergy), and dreaded my mothers remedy for an upset stomach. My mother would burn toast and break it up, pour warm milk over it and make me eat it. I usually only ate about 5 bites before I was running to the bathroom. I still can't stand the texture of wet stuffing or bread pudding, even if it is gluten free. My mom would say at the entry of the bathroom, "Now don't you feel better." I had strange rashes, tonsillitis way too many times and got sick a lot as a child. I also had an auto-immune disease called chronic iritis.

During my teen years I lived with my father. His bachelor life was probably the best diet for my condition. My diet usually had only one meal a day that had gluten in it and that was the school lunch. My food choices at home were Doritos’s (bags full), baked potatoes with cheese and sometimes lunchmeat, Nachos, and sometimes mac and cheese. This was the healthiest I ever was. My iritis wasn't active during these years either.

I met my husband and got married. I learned to cook and my poor husband was so patient as this skill developed. Each year of my marriage put on 10 lbs. Luckily I stopped after 70 lbs and I started very thin to begin with. I developed many environmental allergies and later food allergies. My health was deteriating. I had arthritis in my foot, knees, back, and neck. My energy was non existent and my brain was in a fog. I was praying for Gods help everyday and for Him to heal me. By the time I was diagnosed, I had 20 different food allergies. I was watching everything I ate and rotated the foods that I could. The Celiac diagnosis was a blessing because I now had hope.

Starting the diet was a challenge, but it was very rewarding. After two weeks, I started to see slight improvements. My arthritis went away, my brain was clearer then what it was, I was starting to have some good days, and eggs were not bothering me anymore. The hardest part was understanding that this disease was not a food allergy, but something much worse. Gluten damages the lining of the small intestines. The gluten acts like battery acid and eats holes into the walls of the small intestines. Undigested food leaks into the blood stream causing food allergies. Vitamins and Minerals don't get absorbed and deficiencies and mineral imbalances are common. So, I won't ever be able to have a morsel of gluten again. But I don't care about missing gluten, because having my health restored is much better. Gluten Free products are coming out all the time, and the recipes are getting better. Many thanks to God for all that he has done for me.