pshaw

Hello, I have been gluten free for just over four years, but always learning something new. There's still quite a bit that I don't know. I do not have Celiac disease, but I do have the genetic markers that predispose me to to gluten sensitivity. The test I did was with Kenneth Fine (Enterolab). On the results, it reads "Specialized Laboratory Analysis for Optimum Intestinal and Overall Health." Further down, it also reads " Gluten Sensitivity Stool and Gene Panel Complete." What it tells me is that I am borderline gluten intolerant.

I bit it and went gluten-free, though I cheated a few times at the beginning. The transition was agonizing, but I was already in quite a bit of pain, at times being bedridden for a few days, with pain lingering for at least a week afterward. Eventually, most of that pain went away, as did my acid reflux, and I haven't had a single migraine since going gluten-free. After several months, I had even lost almost 60 pounds! If that's not enough to convince, what is? I am also off dairy as I also had a borderline reaction to casein in my results.

My mother had the same test done, with the same genetic results, and higher sensitivities to both gluten and casein. My grandmother had the biopsy and was diagnosed with Celiac disease. We don't know anything about her genetics to relate to our test results, so we can only guess that the sensitivity in our family just gets worse as the years go by. I don't think we can be entirely sure, since the three of us were the only ones tested and/or diagnosed with anything regarding gluten.

Otherwise, I am a cake decorator in a chain grocery store. I know I shouldn't be there because I come into contact with gluten every day, but one cannot be so picky where money is necessary, so I try to be as careful as I'm able. I have an art degree, so I really can't be picky.