My story about finding out that I am Gluten Intolerant
Well, I have had eczema since I can remember. My allergies have gotten progressively worse. For the last 12 years my allergies were so severe my eyes would drip. It honestly looked as if I were crying all of the time. I was told 6 years ago that I had inflammation. Which basically meant my insides were swollen. My body was reacting to something but I could not figure out what it was reacting to. I told my doctor that I am always tired. I wake up tired. I always felt like I did not sleep well even if I slept for eight hours every night. My doctor said well you are close to 50 so that is why you are tired. That just didn't sound correct to me. I lost 35 pounds because I was told that it would cause the inflammation to go away but it did not. Of course, I changed my diet and began to eat healthier and that meant eating more wheat. As I ate more wheat the sicker I became. I started having digestive problems. I started having pains in my stomach through the night. Then I started to notice that when I ate pizza or any type of fast food. I would vomit. I had had enough. I made an appointment to see my doctor. My doctor was so booked up she could not see me. Infuriated, I made an appointment with the nurse practitioner. What a blessing!
The nurse practitioner said it sounds as if you have a wheat allergy. She tested me for Celiac disease. The test came back negative however by that time I had began my research. Fortunately, I found out that I was gluten intolerant.
Which means my body could no longer tolerant wheat gluten. The reaction causes my body to react as if I am have a severe allergic reaction. That is why I was diagnosed with inflammation.
It took quite a lot of reading to find this out and of course finally deciding to give up eating wheat. It wasn't easy. One day after eating a slice of pizza I had the worst stomach ache, headache, and my eyes watered all night.
After the pain subsided enough so I could stand up I walked in to the garage and looked in the recycling bin to read the pizza box. What was the first ingredient? Yes, you guessed it whole wheat. That was the clincher for me. I made a decision in July 2010 to go gluten free and keep a diary of what I felt. Each month that passed I felt better and better. The headaches went away with in one month. Month number two, I was not as tired as I had been. The third month the eczema that I have had ever since I can remember was going away. The itching had stopped. Month four my eyes completely stopped watering. My eyes watered for the last 5 years. There are other things that changed as well however some of it is quite personal. I will share those at a much later date. Of course I had to make sure it was the gluten free eating doing this.....yes I tested it. I broke down and went to the closest fast food restaurant.
No more than 20 minutes later I was doubled over in pain and I had the worse migraine ever. I vowed then that I will never going to eat gluten again. It just wasn't worth it.
I wanted to share my story because I know there are quite a few people feeling sick and the doctors are just treating the symptoms. I found out that one person in 133 has a problem with gluten.
More to come -
I will soon add information about gluten intolerance and Celiac disease. I need for others to find out how good one can feel if they are not poisoning their system.