Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Opinions, anyone?

I know that not many people read my blog, but hopefully as I follow more people and post more people will catch on a bit. I am in need of some guidance. I'm hoping to talk to a couple people who have gone through the diagnosis of gluten allergy and/or Celiac disease. One doctor says I should wait and see how I react to gluten in a year after being on the gluten free diet. Then if I have a reaction, I should get tested for Celiac. My other doctor says no get tested right now. He has a good point because if I get tested now I don't have to wait and then eat gluten for anywhere from 1 to 3 months for it to show up on the test.
I've already gone gluten free, do I really want to go back?
No.

But I will for the sake of knowing whether I have an allergy or a debilitating disease. I went through at least a year of excruciating stomach problems (plus a plethora of others) for a doctor to have the sense to test me for food allergies. Am I going to have to wade through the crap again? Is it going to take a long time for me to know exactly what's wrong with me? I'm allergic to all forms of gluten, there's no doubt about that. I feel a million times better now that I've cut it out from my diet.
I'm also struggling because I've heard from reputable doctors that the Celiac test isn't always reliable. The blood test isn't a big deal but I don't want to go through a biopsy and have no idea whether or not the verdict they give me is correct. It's like flipping a coin for my health. And that's not something I mess around with.
I'm confused right now so I'm going to bide my time and ask people with experience what their opinion is. I like getting lots of opinions and then deciding based off of the experiences of others and what is in my best interest.
I'll appreciate the feedback, no matter what the opinion is!

Oh my busy life...

I've been super busy not to mention very ill for months. I finally found a doctor (who is also a holistic practitioner) who was able to figure out what's wrong with me. I am allergic to gluten (which was in half the food I was eating) and I have to be tested for celiac disease. I also have candida and had to go on the detox to get rid of it. No fruit or grains killed me! I was very tired the whole time I was on the detox. I am now off of it thankfully! I was dying for a smoothie =]
I also (obviously) had to start being on a gluten free diet. I'm crushed because I'm a bread and pasta lover. The gf diet is hard enough but when you add being vegan on top of that combined with where I live (WV which might as well be called the hunting state), you get something that seems nearly impossible. Unless you like living on only veggies and, quite frankly, I don't. Don't get me wrong, I eat tons of fruit and veggies every day but I also like other things too. After grieving over my loss of wheat breads and pastas, I got over it and realized this was not only going to cure my stomach ills but also make me healthier! I'm not as disappointed anymore.
I'm going to Cleveland, OH this weekend and I'm going to go to my first ever raw restaurant! I will definitely post pictures and talk about the restaurant when I get back. I'm going for a mewithoutYou show but the Whole Foods Market and raw restaurant are definitely pluses! There isn't a single Whole Foods or Trader Joe's in WV. We are a truly deprived state.