2 + 2 = Celiac?

[Nantzie]

I was thinking about this today. What odd things make sense now that you know you've have (or may have always had) celiac. Just those odd things that aren't necessarily symptoms, but that now make you think, A-HA!!! So that's what that was!!!

For me it's:

- Almost passing out when I tried wheatgrass as part of one of my New Year's Resolution Health Kicks. I had a 2.5yo and a 1yo at the time and I was home alone. Scary!

- At different times either gaining 25 pounds for no reason (low fat = high carb = high gluten diet) in a matter of weeks, or LOSING 25 pounds for no reason within a few weeks. Okay..., that was a symptom. But tell that to a 25yo who doesn't know any better that now that she fits into a size 6 she should go to the doctor. "She " just thanked her lucky stars and went shopping... I didn't know any better than to wonder if my digestive problems had anything to do with it.

So what are your 20/20 hindsight realizations?

Nancy

[Kaycee]

Realising that coeliac was the reason I was always hungry, I am the opposite now.

Feeling the weight of the world on my shoulder, but now it has lightened.

Feeling that my brain power was slipping away, thinking it was an age thing, and not diet related.

Just an unhappy person, wondering what there was to live for. But I think meeting my future husband during one of my sad times, helped me through that and gave me a reason to smile. But I don't doubt that coeliac helped me get so low.

Cathy

[Guest ~jules~]

Hmmm.....going from a size 10 to a 4 in 3 months or less, depression battles since age 16, nausea, bloating, gas, the big D all the time, irritablitly all the time, headaches, eyeball aches. The ones that are really making me go "ooohhh I get it now" are the horrible leg cramps at night, sleeplessness, mouth sores, hair loss. Most of those were after my "trigger" which was 2-21/2 years ago, but the depresssion and stomach problems have been constant since I can remember, and aside from having my kids, I have always been too thin....

[Guest nini]

I think the biggest one is the depression/anxiety that I suffered through for so many years. The ADD symptoms where I couldn't concentrate on anything, and the fact that despite how little I actuallyate, that I couldn't lose weight.

[elye]

I have always had much better blood sugar control when my grain intake stays low...and I'm sure now that many of the past sudden spikes in my BS, "for no good reason", were caused by a gluten-filled meal. Brown rice and gluten-free pasta have never caused these fluctuations like a slice of rye toast did. Amazing how illuminating hindsight can be!...

[kbtoyssni]

The depression going away was something that surprised me when I went gluten-free. And how much energy I have now. I knew gluten made me fatigued, but I didn't realize it was that bad!

[lonewolf]

Now I know that having 12 cavities at one visit (about age 9) to the dentist REALLY wasn't my fault. And now I know why I started having stomach aches so frequently in high school and college - I learned to bake delicious yeast bread and baked often for family and friends and always some for me too.

[TriticusToxicum]

Lots of things seem to makes sense now that I've "seen the light".

I was anemic as a child - no chronic D or other syptoms at the time...just sickly

I could clear the upstairs of my frat house just by using the bathroom (There's a feather in my cap!)

The awful three day "hangovers" after a night at the bar (not binging mind you).

The many mornings of discomfort, after my wife suggested I increase my fiber intake - "...boy does that stuff really work! It cleans you right out!" I think I actually said that...

[ÆON]

I haven't had this for too long (about 6 months) but the one thing that becomes clear now is why I was in the hospital for a couple of days.

The doctors thought is was gallstones but my having mono stopped them from operating.

After that I figured out a low fat diet wasn't doing anything to help with the painful attacks.

This is a bad thing to have but it's better to know what to do about it. This forum is a great place too, reading it has helped me cope.

[cgilsing]

I now know why I was always sick the nights I worked at my first job (at Jimmy Johns), and now I know why I never could gain weight, and why I always hated the way bran muffins made me feel

[munchkinette]

Beer has made me sick for about 15 years, long before I ever had grain problems. Even about half a beer made me feel sick. Less than one shot of vodka in a mixed drink did the same thing. I started drinking cider, wine, and tequila drinks just because they didn't make me feel like barfing.

I was really skinny (for my frame) for the past couple years. I had to eat a ton of junk food for a few months in a row before I'd gain weight. Little did I realize that it was passing right through me and I was malnourished.

I also had some major problems with the big "C" for the last 10 years. Now I know why.

I asked my mom a bunch of questions about family medical history while I was reading some of the celiac books. We both had a lot of "Aha!" moments about my grandmother, great aunt, and their mother. In particular, there's this running joke in our family about how my gran always asked us about our "BMs". Well, now I know that she had grain problems.

[emcmaster]

A lot of things have made sense:

- looking back over the past 5 years, I realized that the only times I felt good (before I was diagnosed) was when I was on a low-carb diet that allowed only sweet potatoes and brown rice for carbs... I was still getting gluten in small ways, but not eating it made a big difference

- lower back pain - it flares up badly when I get glutened, but I never connected it to gluten before

- big "C" which still hasn't cleared up, but I think I might be chronically constipated...

[ianm]

Basically it explained why the first 36 years of my life were a disaster. Now almost 3 years later it could not be better. It is better than I ever could have imagined.

[Nantzie]

Here's another one from me.

I had to have my appendix out several years ago. For the first few days afterward, before they let me eat anything and I was just on an IV, I remember thinking that it would be so nice if I didn't have to eat anymore. Then after I started eating I was eating things like chicken noodle soup, toast, crackers, etc. I never connected it with anything specific, but just felt like no matter what I ate it made me feel gross. I just wished that I could have gone back to the IV because I felt so queasy.

Those few days on the IV, I felt terrific. High energy, the whole deal. I just thought I must have been so sick from the appendix for longer that I knew that once it was out, I had kind of a rebound from it, and then after a few days I justs went back to the way I had always been. Blech.

Nancy

[KayJay]

Why I am so much smaller than everyone else in my family.

I used to have the worst stomach ache and my mom would give me dry toast and noodle soup. I would say it made me feel worse and she thought I was being difficult. Now we now why

[mellajane]

Its so funny now because I have actually been sick since I was 7. My brother and sister never got sick so you can imagine that little bit of sibling rivrarly.... My parents were always having to take me to the Dr. My momma made the sad comment one day how bad she felt because it was like I have been poisened by Dr.s all this time. Until then I had never really put much thought into it. Im also Italian which means pasta and breads and fried foods (torture now that I know the problem) so my family would see me sick at times and really think I was belimic or anorexic. It was always very sad for me to see the look in their eyes knowing food was actually a passion and luxuary for me. The releif in my heart when I finally could tell them we have found out the reason. Everything made sense once I went wheat/gluten free.

I was thinking about this today. What odd things make sense now that you know you've have (or may have always had) celiac. Just those odd things that aren't necessarily symptoms, but that now make you think, A-HA!!! So that's what that was!!!

For me it's:

- Almost passing out when I tried wheatgrass as part of one of my New Year's Resolution Health Kicks. I had a 2.5yo and a 1yo at the time and I was home alone. Scary!

- At different times either gaining 25 pounds for no reason (low fat = high carb = high gluten diet) in a matter of weeks, or LOSING 25 pounds for no reason within a few weeks. Okay..., that was a symptom. But tell that to a 25yo who doesn't know any better that now that she fits into a size 6 she should go to the doctor. "She " just thanked her lucky stars and went shopping... I didn't know any better than to wonder if my digestive problems had anything to do with it.

So what are your 20/20 hindsight realizations?

Nancy

[4getgluten]

My digestive issues started in college about 22 years ago.. I thought I had a sensitive stomach, and I had to deal with it. Looking back there were a lot of clues:

1. I gave up eating cereal for breakfast in college because it made me so sick. I thought it was too "heavy" for my system to digest, so I ate fruit instead.

2. The fact that beer was like a laxative to me... I thought it was the alcohol that gave me D.

3. I always got "food poisoning" at Italian restaurants. Every time I went out for Italian food, I got sick... hum, I should have clued in then.

4. When bagels were all the rage, I tried eating those for breakfast. I ended up with the worst "brain fog". I could hardly do my job. I had to give up bagels and go back to my fruit for breakfast. Again. I thought bagels were just too heavy for my system.

[arc]

Now I know why I could never drink beer. It would absolutely kill my stomach.

Also why I was diagnosed with ulcers (they never actually looked in my stomach) at age 12. I always have had "stomach issues". So did my mom.

The almost constant canker sores growing up.

The severe acne I've had all my life (well, since age 12 or so), even into my 40s. I go gluten free and the breakouts are instantly gone. If I accidently get glutened - breakouts for a week. I'm still pretty pissed that I have always been told that diet doesn't matter with acne by doctors.

[MallysMama]

Even though I've had Celiac all my life, I'd have to say that I was grateful to finally understand that my most embarrassing moment in my entire life was caused because of it (I never understood that growing up... it just "hit" me not too long ago). I was in 1st grade...and a very quiet/shy person (still am, I guess). I've always hated to have the attention on me....so raising my hand, interupting, to ask to use the restroom made me very uncomfortable (then and now). Well, I don't even remember needing to really "go"...but my memory is that it either happened before or shortly after I left the classroom on my way to the bathroom.... I had severe "D". And no change of clothes. Yuck!! Talk about mortifying!! But now I understand that it was probably because I was glutened...and at the time had severe symptoms that came on quickly (I don't anymore, thankfully).

I also remember a time when my parents were gone on a date and we had a babysitter over. I remember not feeling well and having BLUE bowel movements (too much info, I know, sorry!). I remember being embarrassed to tell anyone...not wanting to freak them out. (Though, thankfully, they already knew the cause...but like I said before, I hated having all the attention on me - for any reason.)

It's nice to know the symptoms we had were Normal for having Celiac (even if you didn't learn you had Celiac until later).

[happy4dolphins]

Now that I look back on things I just can't believe it makes so much sense!

-When I was in college we practically lived on noodles and poptarts. I was always ill and had marjor diareah numberous times a day.

- a bowl of cheerios would make me have diareah more times in a day then I could imagine as a teen, but it was reliable when I was constipated.

-reoccuring stomachaches,yet, I craved bread and pasta

-Had much trouble with dyslexia in school and still do on occasion. and brain fog, trouble concentrating, depression, much period trouble (also have endometrisos) but the gluten-free diet has helped a ton.

-always wondered why I felt sick 20 minutes after I ate.

-can not tolerat fast food like McDonalds. With in 40 minutes, I am in the bathroom, and continues throughout the night.

-lower left ab pain that I always thought was realated to my endometriosis. When getting in internal ultrasound I'd be in massive, jumping off of the table pain. It now clears up when on a gluten-free diet.

Nicole