My Celiac Story - GLUTEN FREE IS THE WAY TO BE

So....I am BACK! With an all new and improved, extremely amateur blog. Thanks to all who inspired me to start this back up. My whole goal with this is to help other people dealing with any of my same problems. We need to reach out to each other and spread love.

So, my CELIAC STORY. Starts from birth. And I will make this short because since birth is a LONG story and who has time for that...

As a kid I always remember my "belly" hurting. I was having lots of issues trying to do #2 (sorry if TMI...maybe don't read the rest if that was TMI for you). I had bad heartburn and acid reflux. I remember after lunch in elementary school I would have the worst chest pains and nausea. I would go to the nurse probably 3 times a week complaining that I was sick and wanted to go home. She began to think I had psychological issues and my chart was written with a note that said I was always "homesick." No lady, I was freaking really sick. But as a kid it is hard to express how you feel, especially when you have no idea why. But I will never forget that feeling.

In middle school I had the same issues but it got a bit better, or maybe I just don't remember the severe pain. I mostly remember puberty, which was awkward enough.

High school. This is when things got bad. It seems like my stomach was always hurting. My symptoms were constipation (severe, like 2 weeks without #2'ing), nausea, major stomach bloating and pain, dizziness, skin irritation and breakouts, fatigue. My junior year I discovered the Atkins diet. If you are not familiar with this diet, it is low carb. So I stopped eating bread and pasta. Guess what? I started feeling so much better. I attributed it to the diet and not eating carbs. I lost about 20 pounds and felt fantastic. But I was on and off this diet because it is hard to stick to - especially in school. My senior year I had a full colonoscopy. My doctor lady was like, "Your intestines look like an 80 year old woman's on the inside," and I was all like, "OMG what does that mean???" Her answer: IBS. "Go on a high fiber diet," she said. "Don't ever eat cheese or dairy again," she said. I DID what she said and went on a high fiber diet for about two years. Guess what? Teshia felt sick :(

I went on to college and nothing changed except for I learned more about food and exercise and calorie counting thanks to the "Freshman 15" which was more like the Freshman 30 for me. I ate Hamburger Helper like it was no one's business but my own, fools. And Doritos dipped in Doritos. But I was on and off of the Atkins diet a lot. Also, I was a vegetarian for a period of 3 months. Things continued to be bad for me though when it came to food. I became lactose intolerant AND had an egg allergy. I had trouble finding things to eat and still was having trouble going to the bathroom.

Years passed and I just dealt with it until about March of 2012. I started to hear more about Celiac disease and a few of my friends had been diagnosed. I was curious because their symptoms sounded like mine. So I did my research and found out shocking things. Like all of my symptoms were on the celiac list. Nausea, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, acid reflux, egg allergies, lactose intolerance, weight fluctuations, leg cramps, and even being short (I am only 5'1" and my entire family is average or tall)! I was/am also having infertility issues - like major - and also have endometriosis and guess the freak what - ALL can be caused by celiac disease.

What is celiac? Here is how I understood it, in major lamens terms people because I am no doctor. It is an auto-immune disease. Our small intestines have these little tiny fibers that are like hands that move food along, break food down (enzymes) and absorb food. Celiacs do not have these, or have very few. Over time they deteriorate and your allergy becomes worse. If you don't have these little fibers, then your body is lacking the enzymes to break down certain foods - aka GLUTEN based foods (and in some cases dairy and eggs). Gluten-based foods are not "natural" foods. They take processing to make, and therefore, take processing for our body to break them down. Celiacs can not break the food down so your body reacts by either expelling the food quickly (diarrhea) or it gets stuck there (constipation). Celiacs become malnourished and unhealthy as a result.

I called my family doctor in April of 2012 and had a blood test for gluten intolerance. It came back negative! No celiac. BUT - I was also on the Atkins diet again. In order for the blood test to work, you have to have gluten in your system. However, the blood test is still not very accurate. It is only about 30% accurate in diagnosing celiac desease. The real "test" is to have a colonoscopy and see exactly what is going on in there.

I decided - SCREW IT - and in late April of 2012 I started taking to a gluten free diet to "test" and see what would happen. I had to start from scratch and figure out what gluten was in and all of that overwhelming madness. I messed up a LOT, and felt sick sometimes. I also went through an entire two months of feeling sorry for myself and loathed with self pitty because I couldn't eat bread. I would sneak little bites every now and then thinking "it won't hurt, it's just a bite." No. It hurt.

By July of 2012 I was completely gluten free. Once I stopped feeling sorry for myself and realized that gluten is literally a poison in my body, I was fine. It takes a good month of eating gluten-free for you to notice your symptoms go completely away, but OMG was it worth it. Seriously I have never felt better. I am 6 months gluten free right now and all of my symptoms are gone. So this is what it feels like to be normal!!!!! IT. IS. GREAT. PEOPLE.

I am still learning and still growing. I don't make as many mistakes anymore. The only thing I am worried about now is the gluten in products such as laundry detergent, shampoos, toothpaste, makeup, lotions, etc. But that is another blog post soon to come.

Thanks again to all who are reading this - and hopefully I can keep up with this blog! I love y'uns.