My time has come. I am officially 3 days away from THE best day of the year. . .WINTER BEER FESTIVAL!! I know, I know it's JUST a beer festival (if that is how you feel then we absolutely cannot be friends anymore) but very few people truly understand what this day is to me. It is my one day of the year that I get to be a normal person and eat and drink whatever the hell I want! It's my "day off of Celiacs". Now I guess I should re-phrase I don't really "get" to do this, I choose to do this. According to my doctor "it's not gonna kill ya" (I may have had selective hearing during that whole conversation) so why not! I refuse to accept the fact that I can never drink good beer again in my lifetime so this is my way of making a deal with the gluten free gods.. . .I get one day a year.
If you don't know me well then you probably don't know the love I used to have for micro brew beer. Not only did I love the beer (mmm Vanilla Java Porter) but I loved the culture surrounding it. There's this whole subculture of brewers and beer lovers that was just completely me. And then one day I was told I have this dumb ass disease and my world fell to pieces. OK, that might be slightly dramatic but I did cry. It's one thing to go on a diet or to choose to become a vegetarian but to be told you can never have certain things for the rest of your life and you have no choice just plan sucks. I know it could be a hell of a lot worse. . .if this is my ailment in life then I am damn lucky, but it still sucks. People just don't quite get it. It's so much more then just not being able to eat certain things but I don't need to get into all that now. I'm excited about my 1 day and I don't care about the ramifications. Truthfully I have no idea how I am going to feel. Last year I had only been gluten free for a few months and it didn't affect me that much so we'll see what happens!
I think you should all take a cue from me and take a day to do whatever the heck is is you want to do. People are so freakin uptight now a days with not allowing themselves to eat this or do that or "I really shouldn't. . . ". You would be surprised how great it feels to take a day and just say "Fuck it! I'm doing what I want!" In my case it probably won't feel so great the next day but that makes it even more important that I enjoy every last second.
My official list of gluten filled foods to eat on Saturday: a jelly filled doughnut, Pizza Hut bread sticks, an original chicken sandwich from Burger King (forgoing the chicken nuggets this year), and a Twix.
Showing posts with label Celiac Disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celiac Disease. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22
Monday, June 13
What is Celiac Disease? An Educational Posting
This has the potential to be a very long post (don't say I didn't warn ya), but I wanted to take a minute to educate my readers (who are mostly my friends) about Celiac Disease. I sometimes forget that not everyone knows about the disease and I get really sick of always having to explain it so hopefully this is helpful for anyone interested. My disclaimer: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you think you may be gluten intolerant please see your doctor. This is meant to help educate my friends and family, and not to be taken as medical advice.
Gluten Sensitivity:
There is a very wide range of gluten sensitivity. You can have Celiac Disease, you can be gluten intolerant, you can simply get a bit of an upset stomach when you eat gluten, or you can be anywhere in between. The hard part in diagnosing any of it is that the symptoms can be all over the board. Some one with gluten intolerance can be far more physically ill than some one with Celiac Disease, you can have Celiac Disease but show no symptoms, or, again, you can be anywhere in between. As if that's not confusing enough, the symptoms themselves are all over the board. There are over 300 different symptoms associated with gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease. The most common ones revolve around stomach and intestinal "issues" but can include anything from skin rashes to neurological conditions and depression. From there, the neurological symptoms can be anything from a "brain fog" to symptoms associated with autism and MS. Obviously, this is far more complicated than "just an allergy" as I've heard it referred to.
Celiac Disease vs. Gluten Intolerance:
The difference between Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance is a little more straight forward. If you have Celiac Disease, any time you ingest gluten it is actually damaging your intestine. Gluten intolerance can cause you to be super sick but does not damage your intestine. This damage makes it difficult, or if its been damaged long enough, impossible for you to absorb nutrients and, if not taken care of, can lead to a million and one other problems including infertility and some cancers. The amazing part of all of this is that once you stop eating gluten your intestine is able to completely heal itself. Depending on how long the damage has been taking place, it can take a few years to fully heal. Now I've had people ask me, "Do you actually have Celiac Disease or just an intolerance?" To me that is an absolutely absurd question. Either way, if you can't eat gluten, you can't eat gluten. There are plenty of people with "just an intolerance" who get way sicker (is sicker a word?) than I do from eating gluten.
Gluten Free Food:
Gluten is found in wheat, barely, and rye. Most people know the obvious, but wheat can be found in almost anything processed or frozen, and often hiding in things you would never expect. Basically eating gluten free means eating a very natural diet (which I think everyone should eat regardless).. .veggies, fruit, meat, potatoes, rice, dairy, etc. There are also a ton of gluten free options to replace your bread, pasta, etc. Doesn't sound so hard does it??? Well, it gets tricky. . . .
Cross Contamination:
A HUGE thing I have to worry about is cross contamination. In theory, oats are gluten free. BUT if they have been harvested, processed, or packaged on the same machinery as wheat they are NOT gluten free. This is the case for A LOT of food. Items labeled as gluten free are often processed in a completely separate facility to insure no cross contamination. Most of that info can be found near the ingredient list on a package. This is part of why eating a natural diet is far easier then trying to navigate packaged food. This whole cross contamination things gets even trickier when you go out to eat. The best way to explain it is to give an example. . . There are a lot of places that now offer gluten free pizza. The problem is, if they make that gluten free pizza and, for example, have some flour on their apron from a regular pizza and a fleck of the flour falls on my gluten free pizza, it's been contaminated. That can be enough to make a person sick for days. Personally, I can tell if I ingested it, it won't make me violently ill, but even that speck is damaging my intestine. It's easy to think, well I'm not super sick so no big deal, but it is still damaging my insides even if I'm not physically ill. Make sense?? Just because a restaurant has a gluten free menu doesn't mean it's safe. Unfortunately, you really have to talk with managers, cooks, etc if you want to be sure. This also makes it difficult to eat in others homes. You can have the best of intentions making me something gluten free but if it was mixed with the same spoon or in the same pan as something else, I just can't eat it. Plus, gluten is found in so many places that you don't even think to look if you aren't used to it including spices, non-organic meat, sauces, dressings, beverages, etc.
How to treat a Celiac:
If you work in a restaurant. . don't be an asshole. I am not "doing that gluten free thing" to lose weight, you telling me "I'm sure you'll be fine" is not encouraging, and telling me "there are no substitutions" before you even hear my request just pisses me off. If you don't have, can't make, or just don't know about anything gluten free, that's ok. Just tell me. I'm not going to get mad, I am not going to demand you make something special, I just need to know so I don't eat something and get sick. I try my best to research and contact places before going out to eat and usually just have a few questions when we get to a restaurant. Just be nice and be HONEST about your food.
If you are a friend or family member. . .my not being able to eat certain things bothers YOU a whole hell of a lot more than it bothers me. I am perfectly content with a drink and a salad if there's nothing else I can eat. I don't care that I can't eat the cookies and if you want to go out to a certain restaurant than by all means lets go! Let me worry about me. If I have a special request I will let you know. And PLEASE do not be offended if you make something and I don't eat it, or if I ask to see the package something came out of. It's nothing to do with you or your cooking. Finally, do NOT feel guilty eating something in front of me. Yes, there are foods I miss, but its ok. Don't not eat something because of me, that just makes me feel bad. It has been a huge mental and emotional journey through this process that I never expected. I have been so grateful for my friends and family who have embraced learning about the disease and who have even experimented with making me special foods. I appreciate all that more than you know, but most of all I just want to be able to enjoy my time with you without the constant focus being on food. And one final note, Celiac Disease is forever. I will never be done with this and odds are, if Dan and I ever have children, they will have it too. So my one last request is, please, please don't ask me if I'm done with that "diet thing".
So there it is, your lesson for the day! I may have made it sound horrible, but it really isn't all that bad. It's been a big adjustment but nothing I couldn't handle, and my quality of life has only gotten better since being diagnosed. I really am happy to answer any other questions you might have. While I don't like talking about it in every single social situation, I don't mind answering questions at all! It's a lot to understand and it's becoming more and more prevalent now-a-days. I am happy to do what can to help people understand it a little more!
Gluten Sensitivity:
There is a very wide range of gluten sensitivity. You can have Celiac Disease, you can be gluten intolerant, you can simply get a bit of an upset stomach when you eat gluten, or you can be anywhere in between. The hard part in diagnosing any of it is that the symptoms can be all over the board. Some one with gluten intolerance can be far more physically ill than some one with Celiac Disease, you can have Celiac Disease but show no symptoms, or, again, you can be anywhere in between. As if that's not confusing enough, the symptoms themselves are all over the board. There are over 300 different symptoms associated with gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease. The most common ones revolve around stomach and intestinal "issues" but can include anything from skin rashes to neurological conditions and depression. From there, the neurological symptoms can be anything from a "brain fog" to symptoms associated with autism and MS. Obviously, this is far more complicated than "just an allergy" as I've heard it referred to.
Celiac Disease vs. Gluten Intolerance:
The difference between Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance is a little more straight forward. If you have Celiac Disease, any time you ingest gluten it is actually damaging your intestine. Gluten intolerance can cause you to be super sick but does not damage your intestine. This damage makes it difficult, or if its been damaged long enough, impossible for you to absorb nutrients and, if not taken care of, can lead to a million and one other problems including infertility and some cancers. The amazing part of all of this is that once you stop eating gluten your intestine is able to completely heal itself. Depending on how long the damage has been taking place, it can take a few years to fully heal. Now I've had people ask me, "Do you actually have Celiac Disease or just an intolerance?" To me that is an absolutely absurd question. Either way, if you can't eat gluten, you can't eat gluten. There are plenty of people with "just an intolerance" who get way sicker (is sicker a word?) than I do from eating gluten.
Gluten Free Food:
Gluten is found in wheat, barely, and rye. Most people know the obvious, but wheat can be found in almost anything processed or frozen, and often hiding in things you would never expect. Basically eating gluten free means eating a very natural diet (which I think everyone should eat regardless).. .veggies, fruit, meat, potatoes, rice, dairy, etc. There are also a ton of gluten free options to replace your bread, pasta, etc. Doesn't sound so hard does it??? Well, it gets tricky. . . .
Cross Contamination:
A HUGE thing I have to worry about is cross contamination. In theory, oats are gluten free. BUT if they have been harvested, processed, or packaged on the same machinery as wheat they are NOT gluten free. This is the case for A LOT of food. Items labeled as gluten free are often processed in a completely separate facility to insure no cross contamination. Most of that info can be found near the ingredient list on a package. This is part of why eating a natural diet is far easier then trying to navigate packaged food. This whole cross contamination things gets even trickier when you go out to eat. The best way to explain it is to give an example. . . There are a lot of places that now offer gluten free pizza. The problem is, if they make that gluten free pizza and, for example, have some flour on their apron from a regular pizza and a fleck of the flour falls on my gluten free pizza, it's been contaminated. That can be enough to make a person sick for days. Personally, I can tell if I ingested it, it won't make me violently ill, but even that speck is damaging my intestine. It's easy to think, well I'm not super sick so no big deal, but it is still damaging my insides even if I'm not physically ill. Make sense?? Just because a restaurant has a gluten free menu doesn't mean it's safe. Unfortunately, you really have to talk with managers, cooks, etc if you want to be sure. This also makes it difficult to eat in others homes. You can have the best of intentions making me something gluten free but if it was mixed with the same spoon or in the same pan as something else, I just can't eat it. Plus, gluten is found in so many places that you don't even think to look if you aren't used to it including spices, non-organic meat, sauces, dressings, beverages, etc.
How to treat a Celiac:
If you work in a restaurant. . don't be an asshole. I am not "doing that gluten free thing" to lose weight, you telling me "I'm sure you'll be fine" is not encouraging, and telling me "there are no substitutions" before you even hear my request just pisses me off. If you don't have, can't make, or just don't know about anything gluten free, that's ok. Just tell me. I'm not going to get mad, I am not going to demand you make something special, I just need to know so I don't eat something and get sick. I try my best to research and contact places before going out to eat and usually just have a few questions when we get to a restaurant. Just be nice and be HONEST about your food.
If you are a friend or family member. . .my not being able to eat certain things bothers YOU a whole hell of a lot more than it bothers me. I am perfectly content with a drink and a salad if there's nothing else I can eat. I don't care that I can't eat the cookies and if you want to go out to a certain restaurant than by all means lets go! Let me worry about me. If I have a special request I will let you know. And PLEASE do not be offended if you make something and I don't eat it, or if I ask to see the package something came out of. It's nothing to do with you or your cooking. Finally, do NOT feel guilty eating something in front of me. Yes, there are foods I miss, but its ok. Don't not eat something because of me, that just makes me feel bad. It has been a huge mental and emotional journey through this process that I never expected. I have been so grateful for my friends and family who have embraced learning about the disease and who have even experimented with making me special foods. I appreciate all that more than you know, but most of all I just want to be able to enjoy my time with you without the constant focus being on food. And one final note, Celiac Disease is forever. I will never be done with this and odds are, if Dan and I ever have children, they will have it too. So my one last request is, please, please don't ask me if I'm done with that "diet thing".
So there it is, your lesson for the day! I may have made it sound horrible, but it really isn't all that bad. It's been a big adjustment but nothing I couldn't handle, and my quality of life has only gotten better since being diagnosed. I really am happy to answer any other questions you might have. While I don't like talking about it in every single social situation, I don't mind answering questions at all! It's a lot to understand and it's becoming more and more prevalent now-a-days. I am happy to do what can to help people understand it a little more!
Tuesday, April 26
Living life Gluten Free
While I'm leaving my blog open to many different "subjects", one that I will be visiting often is my gluten free lifestyle. I say lifestyle because it is so much more than just a diet. I strongly considered a blog focused strictly on this, but decided there is more to me than celiac disease so why limit myself to writing about just that. The condensed version of how I ended up gluten free. . .I spent about 3 years trying to convince my doc that something was wrong with me and basically she just thought I was fat and not living a "healthy" lifestyle (she never said that, but it was implied). After more or less demanding they figure out what was wrong with me, I had some blood drawn and they found I was "gluten intolerant" - yes, it was that easy. An appointment with a gastroenterologist (whom I refer to as the poop doctor) and about 10 gallons of blood later I was diagnosed with celiac disease. My main symptoms were excessive exhaustion, unexplained weight gain (like almost 100lbs), "stomach" issues beyond belief (you DON'T want to know the details), and an overall sense of yucky-ness which is probably medically defined as a form of depression. It was one those things where I knew something was very wrong with me but just couldn't necessarily define what. After this whole experience, I believe strongly in being your own advocate when it comes to doctors. I really do like and trust my doctor but I may have trusted her a little too much. If I had been a little more demanding with my treatment maybe I wouldn't have spent 3 years feeling like crap, and thinking it was "all in my head". The only reason I'm sharing all that with you is because I know I'm not the only one who has ever been in a situation like that. No matter what it is, you know your body and mind and you know when something is not right. If your doctor won't help then find another and another and another until you find someone who will. So, it has been a little over 6 months since all this went down and I started gluten free and I can honestly say it has changed my life. I am learning that, while the physical effects of celiacs are awful, the mental took a much bigger toll. Right now is a recovery process. I'm working to lose the weight, gain the confidence to start a new career, and simply get back to being me. It's been a pretty enlightening journey thus far so I'd say it's safe to assume I have a lot to look forward to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)