pipermarau

i am 25 years old and i just began treatment for celiac's. this isn't easy for me to grasp because i have been sick for a long time. my problems started when i was around 16 with nausea, the start of a serious insomnia problem, lactose intolerance, and "lady troubles" that resulted in a hysterectomy at age 23. after the endometriosis i thought my health would improve. i had gone from a healthy 115 on the pill to struggling to hold on to 100lbs. i was the macaroni and cheese ideal fan, too. most of my life i have lived on pasta, except around my grandfather who had celiac's disease. it never occurred to me the disease might be genetic and that i was the next family member to have it. as a teenager i was active and spent all of my spare time on a bicycle. naturally thin and very energetic. after school i began working with children and using my feet to get around in a mountain town because i spent a year not owning a car. after that i spent up to 14 hours a day dancing, still not getting enough. by 21 i was losing steam and 22 had to give up all physical activity. my doctors thought i had an eating disorder and didn't talk to me about food, they gave me antacids for my stomach problems and told me to see a shrink. i got married at 24 and my husband didn't think anything was wrong with me, that i was lazy and pushed me away instead of helping me find out why i had no energy and felt sick all of the time. by then the shakes had started. i was itchy, my muscles would twitch and shake and my eyesight was getting bad. now i cannot drive at night and tunnel vision is always a danger even in the day time. i was standing in the ER weighing in at 84lbs when the shock set in that i was not just losing weight, i was slowly dying. i thought hard about anyone in my family that lost weight like that. my grandfather came to mind, and then i remembered people on his side of the family had died not getting diagnosed, but they were all much older than i am now. i decided to take a chance and cut out gluten while i waited for my next test results. i rationalized that it won't kill me to remove a food from my diet but it is killing me to do nothing when i finally have a clue as to what has been wrong with me. no one talked to me in the family about celiac's, my step mother said you crap yourself to death if you eat wheat products and that was all i knew. so on a hunch i gave up gluten. that eliminated 95% of my food but fresh fruits and vegetables have always been tasty to me so i have not had a problem in the produce section. my local grocery store has their own brand of gluten free food as well as brands from gluten free companies making it easier to eat. it has been almost three weeks and i am finally seeing some improvement in my eating. before i would take three bites of food and feel instantly full. then i would feel sick and have to wait until i was hungry again to eat. if i didn't eat right then i would start to hurt and any food i tried to take would try to come back up and my mouth would go dry. i am happy to say i have made it through every meal but 1 with no problems. the one problem i had was a case of cross contamination or i mislead a label as a newbie. whatever happened it hit me fast and hard and i knew right then i took in something with gluten. i felt suddenly like i had before and i never want to feel that again. i still battle a family that does not take this seriously. grandpa could take trace amounts and feel ok but each person is an individual and in my case any small amount is loudly noticed. i can't trust the food in this house and have to take special measures to separate my groceries in the fridge, even buy two sets of vegetables. but i hope soon i will finally be healthy enough to support myself again. i am finally on the road to recovery and as i heal i will get energy back and i'll be able to spend an entire day working without blackouts, aches, tiredness, and anxiety from weakness. i miss who i was before this started. i have gone so many years in the dark taking vitamins and juices and trying to eat extra healthy and nothing worked. i honestly don't know how i survived and if it wasn't for the friends around me i would have listened to my husband and given up on trying to find an answer. i may not have the strength to yet but i am ready to conquer the world!