Snooze! Need Encouragement To Feel Better!

[Guest kim07]

Hello to all Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and an up-coming New-Year!

OK-

I need some "Gentle yet, Strong, almost Beat me over the head advice on how I can dig myself out of this pity abyss that I've got myself in right now."

Over the last week I have been careless by (not reading labels, going ahead and eating something even though I knew the chance of it containing gluten we're high), as a result I feel pretty terrible. My body hurts all over (leg pain to the point I feel like I've ran a marathon, constipated, bloated, (other bathroom issues), extreme fatigue. I'm trying not to be too upset, because of all the weaknesses of Christmas and all the stresses that come with the Hollidays, but to be honest I am extremely dissapointed in myself, and the more dissapointed in myself I get, the more I feel I just don't care anymore, and the more I consume what I know are probably gluten containing foods.

Good news is I know this will change, because, I do want this to change!! I want my health to improve, I'm just at a very low point right now, and I need to pull myself up.

How can I pull my self up??? Any tips from my Celiac Forum buddies?

Kim 07

[dlp252]

I'm still new at this myself so not sure how much advice I can give, but one thing that help me is to concentrate on the things that I CAN have. I'm thinking I'll make a list of all the yummy things that are gluten-free that I LOVE. When I'm feeling sorry for myself I'll read the list and if I want, I'll have something. The other thing I do is to try to NOT beat myself up over what has happened in the past. It's history, it's gone, best to forget it. Start fresh today and just decide to not think about it anymore (sometimes easier said than done, I know). Hope that helps some!

[Guest kim07]

I'm still new at this myself so not sure how much advice I can give, but one thing that help me is to concentrate on the things that I CAN have. I'm thinking I'll make a list of all the yummy things that are gluten-free that I LOVE. When I'm feeling sorry for myself I'll read the list and if I want, I'll have something. The other thing I do is to try to NOT beat myself up over what has happened in the past. It's history, it's gone, best to forget it. Start fresh today and just decide to not think about it anymore (sometimes easier said than done, I know). Hope that helps some!

Thank you Donna,

Sometimes you fail, in life,and you have to get yourself back up and try again.

The hard part is learning not to beat yourself up.

The other hard part is the lack of energy this disease takes away from you.

But your right you have to keep going there are to many reasons to improve your health, so you can improve your life over all, and hopefully learn to live as successfully as possible with this damn disease.

Thank you, so much for responding Kim 07

[jerseyangel]

Hi Kim! Look at it this way: you can't do anything about what has happened BUT you know now how gluten is going to make you feel and its pretty lousy. Holiday or not, fair or not that's the way it is. Go easy on yourself and concentrate on the safe, simple foods that you enjoy. In a few days you will begin to feel better. You will keep it up and have far more good days than bad. We all get to that place you find yourself in now. It gets darn tireing examinating everything that goes into our mouths. You are in control here, not the disease, and you can make the choices that will be the best for you. Feel better!

[happygirl]

Girl, I hear ya! I am right there with you. I am realizing that I am more and more sensitive to tiny, tiny amounts of gluten and as a result, I am learning that cross-contamination is everywhere. I got sick yesterday at Wendys because the guy who put the shredded cheese on my potato must have had gluten-filled gloves (it was the only thing I ate and I had my normal gluten reaction). Two weeks ago I got sick at my Grandma's because we worked so hard to make a great, uncontaminated gluten-free meal....and I go and pour gluten FILLED salad dressing on my salad and eat it. I think I am so used to eating my "safe" ranch at home and had focused on everything else that it just flat out didn't occur to me. I felt so guilty because it truly was MY fault....I just didn't check it. And that is very not like me ..... so it upset me and its hard not to beat yourself up over it. I know I'm guilty of it. The lack of energy is killing me also, I'm thinking of going home today, actually.

Anytime I am glutened, I get really emotional which makes it hard to think rationally also. The only think I really can do that is practical (once I'm better) is do my best to keep my refrigerator full and MAKE the time to make all my meals. It is when I'm busy and pick something up that I have problems.....Its probably been over a year since I've been glutened in my own house.

On the other hand, it makes me feel lucky that I am not sick like this all the time. Makes me feel grateful that I have a loving and supportive husband, family, and friends (and co-workers, even better!) who are understanding when I am sick. It just gives me more resolve to buckle down EVEN more bc I have so many good things in my life! I'm sure it is the same for you!!!

[tarnalberry]

Good news is I know this will change, because, I do want this to change!! I want my health to improve, I'm just at a very low point right now, and I need to pull myself up.

How can I pull my self up??? Any tips from my Celiac Forum buddies?

Kim 07

I think the answer to the "how" question depends on you - some people have different methods that work for them, while some methods mail fail horribly. For me, I'd probably just think about the next week - nothing further than that. Just trying to get past the physical symptoms (which linger for me, for at least a week), and then worry about regrouping when I'm healthy. In that week, I'd focus on "only eat/do what I know is safe" - a very 'back to basics' approach. Not only that, but I'd take it simple, and easy on the stomach and brain (as in, not too complicated to cook).

It can be tough, in the long run, to TRUELY embrace the "if I'm not 100% sure, I'm not going to taste", because we're raised on "just give it a try, see if you like it". After hearing that for decades, it's hard to say "can't even give it a try", because it's SUCH a mental shift. That'd probably be the first thing I work on - label reading can wait as there are a number of foods that you can stick with for quite a while that you know to be gluten-free, but if you're finding yourself cheating, I'd work on that mental shift first. Then label reading will be more effective, as you won't even be tempted by unknowns, which should be in the same category as "no's".

[Guest kim07]

I think the answer to the "how" question depends on you - some people have different methods that work for them, while some methods mail fail horribly. For me, I'd probably just think about the next week - nothing further than that. Just trying to get past the physical symptoms (which linger for me, for at least a week), and then worry about regrouping when I'm healthy. In that week, I'd focus on "only eat/do what I know is safe" - a very 'back to basics' approach. Not only that, but I'd take it simple, and easy on the stomach and brain (as in, not too complicated to cook).

It can be tough, in the long run, to TRUELY embrace the "if I'm not 100% sure, I'm not going to taste", because we're raised on "just give it a try, see if you like it". After hearing that for decades, it's hard to say "can't even give it a try", because it's SUCH a mental shift. That'd probably be the first thing I work on - label reading can wait as there are a number of foods that you can stick with for quite a while that you know to be gluten-free, but if you're finding yourself cheating, I'd work on that mental shift first. Then label reading will be more effective, as you won't even be tempted by unknowns, which should be in the same category as "no's".

Thank you all so much (Patti, laura, Tiffany, etc),

I'm all is this teary mood lately (not on my period), I've just been really teary. So that all made me cry.

Thanks for the kind, yet wise words that I needed to hear. You're right Patti, it does get so tiresome to have to check constantly before you know something is safe enough to put in your mouth.

But I think this is a really rough patch I'm hitting right now, hopefully things will start to become a little less difficult. I know this disease will always be difficult, for anyone, but especially for someone whom suffers from clinical depression as well as the symptoms of this disease. I'm just hoping to gain more control over it.

I am lucky for my husband, my mom, so lucky. I'm also lucky for this board.

Thanks,

Kim07

[Ursa Major]

Hi Kim, I am having a rough time myself now, got somehow glutened over the holidays and don't know how. And started eating sherbet yesterday that must have contained gluten, and kept eating, even after my stomach started aching, because 'it didn't matter anyway now' (wrong, I realize today, with my horrible aches all over, it does matter).

I am also suffering from clinical depression. And it's much worse when glutened. You may want to realize that Celiac disease is likely the cause of the depression, as gluten effects the brain, and the same goes for dairy for me.

So, right, I am in a teary mood these days, too, and realize that this is the way I get (moody, irritable, depressed, crying for no reason it seems etc.) every time I get glutened. I just wished my husband wasn't so judgmental (he is truly a religious fanatic), and whenever I get this way because of being glutened, he is preaching to me about anger and bad mood and being irritable and snappy and 'unloving towards others' being a sin. And it's no use telling him to leave me alone, because I am glutened and can't help it. It's very frustrating and unhelpful.

Anyway, I agree with just going back to the very basics, as in just eating foods that are naturally gluten free is the easiest thing to do until your brain functions again, and you can deal with the extra stress of reading labels. That's what I have to do, until my husband is back at work next week, allowing me to finally think and have some peace.