It's been a month. I've had the tests to conclusively confirm that I have Celiac's disease. It still sucks.
Before I had the endoscopy, my family and I traveled across the country and stayed one night with my husband's friend and his family. I didn't want to make a fuss and when pizza was the dinner plan, I just went along with it. First hard lesson learned. That's when I believed that I really was allergic to gluten but I still doubted the severity of it.
My mom was diagnosed fourteen years ago and her doctors have been very strict with her. I imagine her diet is more restrictive than most Celiac's patients simply because of what she has endured. She has fought off colon cancer, she is severely anemic, and she has had many hernias. She, and her doctors, don't want to take any risks. So some food marked certified gluten free, I'm willing to eat and see how it goes. She isn't. So I figured the taco seasoning I had in the cabinet wouldn't be too big of a deal since I was out of the special gluten free kind I can only find at Whole Foods here. Again, hard lesson learned. It isn't just bread or obvious gluten I have a problem with, it's spices too. Huh, go figure, the doctors weren't lying to me.
Now I'm assessing every bowel movement to decifer if the "certified gluten free" caramel popcorn is not gluten free or if it is the diverticulitis causing problems because I'm not supposed to have popcorn or if it is because I had too much cheese for lunch. Hmm, reading that makes me think I'm really not doing myself any favors. So, really cut back on popcorn, like close to none. The Boar's Head cheese is just so good though!
I have noticed some positives from having Celiac's. The effectiveness of food commercials has dropped way down for me. They no longer make me crave food at all. They might make me feel a little nostalgic over enjoying a carefree meal out with friends, but they don't make me hungry. I also no longer pick off of my kids plates. Eighty percent of the time, even if they only had one gluteness item between them, they manage to contaminate everything within a three foot radius so it just isn't worth the risk for a taste of whatever they might have decided to leave behind.
So, my current assessment is that having Celiac's disease, while a not all bad, still sucks. However, I am no longer angry about it. I'm just learning to live with it.
