It happened suddenly. Jeff was co-oping in Birmingham for the summer, and we went to eat at Pizza Hut. On the way to his apartment, I was suddenly and violently ill. And then all kinds of things started making me instantly sick––oatmeal, tomatoes, coffee, corn, carrots, spaghetti––things that apparently have nothing in common. I tracked every single thing I ate from December 2007 to August 2008 (if that kind of tedium doesn't show a commitment to figuring out what's wrong so it can be fixed, I don't know what would). There weren't really any patterns, though. Some things that always made me sick would suddenly not make me sick anymore.
Armed with all this info, I thought I'd be able to show a doctor that there was definitely a problem. The first one I saw didn't listen to the info, wouldn't refer me to a specialist, and wrote me a prescription for some sort of extra-strength Imodium. (Which I didn't take. It seems like a terrible idea to blindly treat the symptoms in this case.) I barely remember the next doctor's visit, though I think he or she said it was "probably just stress." Finally, in Huntsville, I saw a gastroenterologist, who did a colonoscopy and pretty much pronounced, "There's nothing wrong with you! Eat more fiber!"
But, of course, there is something wrong. It goes in cycles where I'll feel fine for a while and then I'll be really really sick almost every day for a while. I felt like I was cured when I went to the chiropractor regularly, though he said adjustments weren't likely to affect my digestion. (I saw a very strong correlation, though. I'm guessing he's just not allowed to make claims like that.) And during pregnancy, I felt like a normal person, my stomach barely ever hurting.
Every time I'm in the part of the cycle where I feel more sick than not, I think, "Man, there has got to be something I can do." Someone mentioned quitting wheat products and anything containing gluten, and I considered it for a while, maybe a month. I kept thinking in circles about it. Plus with the broken ankle and not being able to do the grocery shopping, it kind of seemed impossible.
I had a lot of uncertainty about it. I kept thinking:
- It's going to be too difficult.
- It's really easy to be lazy. And that means making all the same things we've always eaten.
- I don't want to be "that person" who needs to not eat certain things.
- It's difficult already! It's hard to be so worried all the time about not being able to go places if I don't know the locations of bathrooms. I almost never will ride in a car with someone other than Jeff or immediate family.
- I don't love any of the things we've always eaten. I could easily give up pretty much any supper we eat (breakfast and lunch foods seem easy still––eggs, salad, tuna).
- I don't want to be "that person" who doesn't do things because I'm nervous.
I read something online that said, "If you're sick but you get used to living with it, are you still sick?" I thought yes. And it said, "If you don't know you're sick, would you seek a cure?" I thought I would like to seek a cure for better health even if I'm not sick so much as used to a lifestyle that includes sickness.
It also drives me crazy when people complain about some problem in their lives, usually physical, to which there is a clear solution, like, you know, eating healthier and exercising more to lose weight, or exercising regularly to improve symptoms of arthritis, or sleeping/resting more to not be constantly tired. After reading about people who've seen dramatic improvements in digestive health after quitting gluten, I realized that for me, not at least giving it a try would be doing the same thing––talk, talk, talking about it but not taking action.
Though as a side note, I have to say that eating less and exercising more has not been the key to weight loss for me this year. I eat a reasonable amount and was working out at least 5 days a week for months, minus the hernia and ankle surgery repair time periods, and I've still got about 10 pounds to lose.
The other thing is that I actually know people who haven't eaten anything with gluten in it for years, and they say they feel great. It's convincing to know it's not just a fad––it's an easily sustainable menu of foods. Finally, and most convincing to me, is that people who haven't eaten gluten in a while and then do eat it, even a little, say they get really sick from it. I can't help but think how unnatural and scary that is––what IS it, that it can make people so sick in small doses after they've "recovered" from it? What else would do that?
Of course, there's no guarantee that quitting gluten-containing foods will help my particular stomach problem. I'll give it three months and then decide. But there's still that chance!
After three days, I've been able to eat salad and raw carrots without incident, which is kind of a big deal. I love carrots so very much and haven't been able to eat them in years. If quitting traditional bread products is the trade-off for being able to eat delicious raw vegetables again, that's no hardship at all.
What are your experiences with not eating gluten? What are your delicious recipes? (We've had a rice-and-vegetable casserole, pot roast, and spaghetti squash (which tastes uncannily like noodles) so far.) What's your encouragement so I can read it when I'm really craving Little Debbie snack cakes?
