It is just me and the cat. Apparently we are a quiet sort of people.
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| He's one quiet kitty. |
If you are wondering what the two of us did this week, I can share that we had a pretty uneventful week.
We worked on our landscaping.
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| After the million stumps were removed. I think it looks like Attack of the Gophers! |
We ate chips 'n salsa and enjoyed a cold beverage. That's him dipping into the mango salsa. Just kidding. Cats do not have thumbs. He took the picture!
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| Our first night of relaxing and this was the dinner that we chose. |
We watched some movies and most of all,
We slept.
A lot.
I think I caught up on 7 years of middle of the night blood sugar checks (yes, we STILL do that) and of missing sleep, even while I was in bed.
Ever have those nights where even though you CAN sleep, you really CAN'T? Yes, I have that problem too. I think I count blood sugar numbers like most people count sheep.
It was nice to catch up on that sleep debt. I think I repaid one or two years.
I did do one teeny-weeny little thing while the girls were gone. It was a little personal science experiment on myself.
For the week, I went entirely Gluten-Free. I wanted to see how I felt without Gluten clogging up my body and to see if it helped with the frequent headaches, bloating and general aches and pains that I have been having. Since turning 40, this old girl just isn't the way she used to be.
And guess what? I think I do feel better. My allergies were a ton better, even though I worked outside in the garden daily. I also feel more fit with less stomach bloating. Not that I lost any weight, but my tummy feels better. I had no headaches and felt more energy than I have in months.
Now what to do with this information? I am not sure. I may continue this route for a while longer. There is a Naturally Sweet Sister that I have been concerned about too. Since her test results have appeared normal over the years, I am not sure what to make of it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject of Gluten Free and testing. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.
But for now, one more day without those girls, so I am putting on a second set of garden gloves to resume my yard work.
And then, I am taking a nap!
I have Celiac, and have been gluten free for about 2.5 years. My best advice to you and the girls is to keep eating gluten and make a beeline for the doctors office. Even being off gluten for a week can reverse a lot of the damage that docs look for when trying to make a diagnosis. Also, probably more for the girls since they already have T1D (making them more prone to Celiac) if the blood test comes back negative but you feel confident gluten may be a problem, do a biopsy anyways. The blood test has been notoriously faulted over the years, with many people given both false negatives and positives that can only be truly confirmed/denied through a biopsy. Good luck to you all...it's a tough road, but worth it in the end when you feel better!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Kelly S and was going to post something very similar. As the daughter and sister of a celiac, I have been around it for over 10 years. The problem with going gluten free is that you will skew your test results to not be correct as you have eliminated what you are testing for (make sense). Also the blood test is a good starting point but the biopsy is still considered the gold standard. Also, you have to remember that, should you have CD, if you go gluten free without knowing whether that is really the issue and then add gluten back in (either intentionally or unintentionally) at a later time you will react 10 times worse than if you had never eliminated it in the first place. Just ask my Mom who lost 2 days of a vacation to be unintentionally "glutened". Your best bet is to keep things status quo then work with your Dr. to determine the exact cause of your issues and get the exact data rather than just anecdotal evidence.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kelly and Karen! Very true and respectable advice. The girls are staying on Gluten until we can get another look at blood tests. Scheduling an appointment for myself as well. Anecdotal evidence is exactly what is getting me concerned enough to do this!!!!
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