My story

May is Celiac Awareness month. 

It's believed that 1 in 133 people in this country have Celiac disease

and 18 million have gluten sensitivity.

That makes me 1 in 18 million. 

My problems started 2 years ago. It was my mom's birthday and I didn't go to her party because I was sure I had the flu. I was lethargic and had stomach pains. I was getting this weird feeling in my chest that felt like my heart was beating irregularly. I went to the doctor and she was concerned about my heart and ordered a whole bunch of tests. I was so nervous waiting for the results. When everything come back normal, she told me that the esophagus runs right behind the heart and when it contracts it feels like your heart is wigging out. Oh, great, that was a lot of expensive tests to find out nothing. I went on Prilosec to calm down my stomach. It didn't do much of anything. 

I then turned to another doctor to try and find some answers. He decided it was my gall bladder and ordered more tests. Meanwhile, months were going by. I was so worn out that I could barely take care of the kids. My stomach felt like it was on fire 24 hours a day. I was depressed and anxious. When the doc told me that my gall bladder was working fine, I made a comment about people telling me I should go off gluten. I didn't even know what gluten was much less why I should go off of it. I was expecting him to say that was unnecessary. He didn't. He thought I should try it. 

So, I went for it. It didn't take long to find out that I had found the magic bullet. I felt so good. All of my symptoms were melting away. I was happy again. That was huge. I was scheduled for an EGD to test for celiac. I was very confused when it came back negative. I felt so good. My doctor told me that it wasn't the gluten and that I should still have my gall bladder out. But, all of my symptoms were gone. Why would I want to have surgery? I just stuck with the diet.

Now, almost 2 years later I still feel great. I have what's called gluten sensitivity. When I accidentally do eat gluten the first symptom that comes roaring back is the depression/anxiety. I have been researching this lately. Depression is one of the most common symptoms of gluten intolerance. One theory is that it affects tryptophan levels. Tryptophan is turned into serotonin in the brain. Serotonin makes ya happy. 

Click on photo for recipe.

Being gluten free makes me happy. That's makes it worth it for me. I still have times when I'm mad at the world and it's delicious pastries. I want Twizzlers and Druber's donuts and I can't. Ever. But, there are millions of things that I can eat. When I focus on saying yes, life is much better.