I wish there was a gluten free fad 19 years ago because
maybe I would have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease earlier than a year and a
half ago. When I was 8, I was extremely anemic. I went to several doctors and
under went a variety of tests, but they couldn’t figure out why my iron levels
were so low. They wondered if I was bleeding from somewhere, but with a lack of
awareness about the disease I was never diagnosed. I had to mix liquid iron with
orange juice twice a day. To this day I cringe when I drink orange juice
because all I can think about is that filmy, pungent taste. Years went by as I
suffered with fatigue and began to accept that I would have to take iron pills
daily for the rest of my life (and I would also have to deal with the
constipation, brought on from taking such pills.)
Fast-forward almost 20 years, and I have the military to
thank for my diagnosis. I married, moved across the country with my Air Force
husband and began my first year of teaching. Can you say stress? Stress
triggers the symptoms of celiac disease, which brought on a range of symptoms.
I would be constipated one day and have diarrhea the next. Am I grossing you
out yet? I hope I am because this was a daily fight. Not to mention, my gas was
extremely volatile and constant. Most nights I would go to bed with rumblings
and was constantly asked if I was pregnant because my stomach was so bloated.
Yes, my husband loved our first year of marriage!
During my first year of teaching, I remember sitting on my
chair and gripping it so tightly because I was in extreme pain and couldn’t go
to the bathroom. You can’t leave a room of fourth graders unattended while you
run to the bathroom every 30 minutes. I didn’t understand why I was always
getting so sick and thought it was “normal.”
Thankfully I went to the doctor’s for a refill on allergy
and iron pills and the doctor decided to run a blood test. I thought, here goes
another military doctor (because you never have the same physician) freaking
out because I’m anemic. Well my hemoglobin level was extremely low. It was so
low that she decided to give me an iron infusion, but also said that we had to
figure out why I was anemic. I began to have a flashback to my childhood, and I
was sure that they wouldn’t figure anything out. Eventually I was referred to a
GI doctor where he performed a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. With a scraping of
my small intestine I was finally diagnosed with celiac disease. But I was not
out of the water yet; I had to get my iron infusion, which I had a reaction to
and began to have difficulty breathing, became extremely sweaty and had instant
cramping. I probably could have died if they didn’t do the test dose first.
My small intestine was so damaged that I wasn’t absorbing
minerals and nutrients that I needed, hence the anemia. That is what happens
when I eat wheat, barley, or rye; my small intestine gets damaged. You’re right
I won’t keel over from one crumb like a person who has a peanut allergy. See,
celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder.
The only cure is a gluten free lifestyle. Some people’s small intestine
is so damaged that it can’t heal. Now a crumb won’t kill me today, it may just
send me to the bathroom, but it can lead to cancer or infertility.
I wish I could go to any restaurant and eat anything off the
menu, but I can’t. I’m glad there is more awareness, because it offers me choices. I’m sorry you’re so annoyed that it is everywhere. I wish I didn’t
have to make a special trip across town to Whole Foods to pay three times what
others pay on groceries. Have you ever looked at the prices of all those gluten
free things; they are outrageous.
I have to pay nearly $6 for a loaf of bread half the size of a regular
loaf.
As a teacher, I couldn’t let this go and felt the need to
educate you a little on the topic. By the time I arrived home from work, I
noticed that there were already 245 comments on your Facebook page. I
contemplated not writing anything, but the longer I sat at home I couldn’t let
the feeling sit. I don’t complain much about the gluten free lifestyle that I
live, but I felt the need to make my point. For some of us, it is not a choice.
With one final jab, my husband is currently deployed in Afghanistan; I can only
imagine what symptoms my current stress level would bring. Luckily since I am
following a strict gluten free diet, I don’t get sick and can healthily wait
for his safe return.
You may not even ever see this, but now I feel a sense of
peace.
Sincerely,
Karen
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