Quick introduction - I'm Ashley, born August 7, 1986. I live in rural Nova Scotia on the South Shore.
For the last few years (since having a breakdown at my old job and quitting) I would wake up every single day sick to my stomach. There were a lot of bouts of diarhhea and vomitting. Frequent headaches. Overall fatigue. But I blamed it all on stress. I didn't even mention anything to a doctor, I just thought I needed to destress and calm down.
It wasn't until February 8th, 2013 that I finally sought medical attention. I suddenly (literally out of nowhere!) was having heart palpitations, spikes in heartrate and blood pressure, weakness, tingling in my extremities, a foggy strange feeling in my head (brain fog), I was really anxious, my feet and hands were clammy, noticed a few swollen lymphnodes, I had no appetite or thirst, my ears would ring suddenly, I bounced back and forth from constipation to diarhhea, and I had dropped about 25 lbs without even trying... Well I just felt plain awful and since I had no family practioner, I marched myself to outpatients! I fought for weeks, going back to outpatients every few days sometimes! I got the feeling they thought I was insane. They couldn't explain any of it. Different doctors would tell me different things. I got told everything from urinary tract infection, low magnesium, dehydration, extreme exhaustion, and anxiety. I got prescription after prescription but nothing was working. I was angry and frustrated, I knew I was feeling this way so WHY couldn't they help me?! Finally, one of the doctors in outpatients referred me to an internist. Having had a slew of tests in my various trips (10 give or take at that point in a matter of about a month) to outpatients, he started by doing an upper endoscopy. After the sedative wore off, I was told it was most likely celiac!
I had my suspicions months ago that I may have celiac. It started when a new employee started at my job and she told me she had celiac and had to live a gluten free life. She seemed nice enough, and quite open about it, I asked her a lot of questions, mostly out of curiosity and to try and get to know her. At times I pitied her, bringing a spoon and a jar of peanut butter to work for her "lunch" somedays while the rest of us feasted on sandwiches, donuts and various baked goods, paninis, and various fast food items. I questioned how she felt, what her symptoms were, and what the end result was. I mulled it over in my head. Quickly dismissed it as "oh no, I've been fine all these years" and I never did pay much attention to what I ate and how I was feeling anyhow. Months passed, I really felt no worse, but I didn't feel much better either. Little had I known, my self diagnosis had been right!
It has all been a very new experience for me. I finally had an answer, but the only viable solution was to go gluten free. It has only been 2 weeks since starting my gluten free diet. I consider myself lucky, my fiancé immediately took my hand and whispered that it would all be alright and I wouldn't have to do it alone. He is on this gluten free diet with me, to show his support (and so we don't have to prepare multiple meals). I have noticed small changes even though it's only been 2 weeks. The brain fog is gone, the headaches have lessened, my blood pressure and heartrate are not as erratic if I am stationary (though still go crazy if I am up and moving), the tingling in my extremities has vanished, my appetite and thirst are slowly returning, and my bowels seem to be a bit more "regular" now. Unfortunately, I don't have much energy and find it hard to be upright and moving for extended periods (plus the heartrate jumps too much), I am exhausted but cannot sleep for all my efforts, and I am still a bit anxious. For now my internist has me off work until May 1st.
That being said, I still have to have a CT scan and a few more tests done to rule out lymphoma and bowel/intestinal cancer. That prospect terrifies me, but I am trying to be optimistic and not worry until I hear the actual yay or nay.
Celiac is a DIET CHANGER, not necessarily a LIFE CHANGER. Or, at least that's how I see it. I take it as a challenge. I love to cook, so it is just a new skillset to master with new ingredients and recipes to try. Not to mention it is forcing me to cut out the fast food and over processed things that I had been eating for years and years. I do miss those things, don't get me wrong, but I am finding tasty alternatives that are gluten free. I rejoice when I see a "gluten free" label and triple check the ingredients AND google the product just to be safe. I actually like rice noodles more than the ones containing gluten!
I am looking for other gluten free/celiac friends, I have found a very helpful (semi-local) blog, and my friend at work, whom have been a big help to me thus far. My family and friends have been very supportive through this whole ordeal and I couldn't be more thankful. You don't have to do this alone folks. There are thousands of resources out there, you just have to be willing to look. I have subscribed to RSS feeds of my favorite gluten free blogs and have a Pinterest board dedicated to gluten free. I will share those links at a later time however. If you've read this far, thanks for your patience!
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