Let me start by saying that I do not have Celiacs Disease. Nor have I ever been diagnosed with a gluten intolerance or allergy. However, for the past 8 years I have suffered from a random myriad of symptoms that have no common etiology except for gluten intolerance. These symptoms would be anything from migraines, joint pain, stomach cramping, nausea, constipation, etc.
I was in the hospital a few times from 2007 – 2012. Most of these visits were brief and generic, and after some medication and fluids I was sent on my way. Last year, things changed in more ways than one. My husband and I had officially relocated to Jacksonville, FL where I was to begin my first career as a medical technologist at the Mayo Clinic. Sounds pretty exciting, huh? I was excited. And then I got sick. This time it was bad. It happened on my second day of orientation at work. This time the meds and fluids didn’t help. Between February and April of that year I spent approximately 2 weeks in the hospital with 5 days being my longest consecutive stay. But that’s not the worst part. The worst part is having almost every GI lab, scan and procedure performed and they find nothing. They diagnosed me with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS), put me on an anti-depressant as well as an arsenal of pain and nausea meds, ‘should my symptoms reoccur’, and sent me on my way.
I was in the hospital a few times from 2007 – 2012. Most of these visits were brief and generic, and after some medication and fluids I was sent on my way. Last year, things changed in more ways than one. My husband and I had officially relocated to Jacksonville, FL where I was to begin my first career as a medical technologist at the Mayo Clinic. Sounds pretty exciting, huh? I was excited. And then I got sick. This time it was bad. It happened on my second day of orientation at work. This time the meds and fluids didn’t help. Between February and April of that year I spent approximately 2 weeks in the hospital with 5 days being my longest consecutive stay. But that’s not the worst part. The worst part is having almost every GI lab, scan and procedure performed and they find nothing. They diagnosed me with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS), put me on an anti-depressant as well as an arsenal of pain and nausea meds, ‘should my symptoms reoccur’, and sent me on my way.
I don’t take ‘last resort’ for an answer. It’s a cheap way of saying ‘we don’t know what’s wrong with you’ and ‘we’re sick of guessing.’ I looked up CVS. Did my research. Spoke with people who’ve had it themselves or knew people with it. They, as well as I, don’t believe this is what I have. For some reason gluten intolerance was still nagging at the back of my mind. I felt like I saw articles, recipes and products for it everywhere. So, just like I did with CVS, I did research, talked with people who had it and all of a sudden I had a light bulb moment. (You know, that moment where the light bulb goes off, everything is suddenly clear and makes sense?) I knew it wasn’t Celiacs Disease, they tested for that. But then I saw Gluten Intolerance. There is no test for a Gluten Intolerance. The only way to know if you have an intolerance is to give up gluten products for 3 weeks and see how you feel…
Well, I’ve been gluten free since January 2014. Yep, a little over a month. And I feel GREAT!!! So here I plan to share with you my likes, don’t likes, things I think are amazing, and those I think are a drag, ups as well as downs as I navigate this very exciting yet, most of the time, frustrating world of being Gluten Free.
xoxo,
Mary
Wow, I didn't know this about you Mary. Great job taking charge and taking your health into your own hands. Glad to see that things are improving and that you're feeling better.
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Thanks, Amanda! It was definitely a hard battle as well as difficult process with coming to the understanding that my doctors didn't know what was wrong with me and didn't care to find out. I had a recent appointment with my doctor where I told her how i've been feeling better with the gluten free diet. Her response, "Oh, that's nice." Cue the eye roll!
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