I never would have thought that I would be saying no thank you to gluten foods. I mean I am Italian … pasta, meatballs, bread, pizza, cookies, etc.
Well, I have now been gluten free for going on 9+ years and to be honest I have been super strict for the last 6+ years. It is interesting, but if anyone has to go gluten free, I feel we live in denial for quite awhile. I know I sure did … I tried anything and everything to eat gluten. I use to say, “maybe if I eat it once a week, it won’t build up? After all I am not diagnosed “Celiac?” Then I would try to take a gluten cutter, so I was able to eat a slice of pizza or a cheesesteak.
I slowly realized, there’s no playing around with a gluten intolerance.
I will give you a little background on why I am now gluten free. After I had babies, my body changed. Which, is the case for many, but this was different. My tongue was always sore. I also always had mouth ulcers and canker sores. My joints were always in pain, to the point where I was certain I had rheumatoid arthritis or maybe even fibromyalgia? I had an ongoing numbness and tingling sensation down my legs. My GI was an absolute mess, (sorry tmi) I’d be constipated one minute, then diarrhea the next and at times bloating and gas.
I knew something was up and after hearing hormones were to blame. I got to a point where I believed it had to be something else? I mean literally, I always felt sick! 😦
One day, I put a pizza in the oven because we needed a quick dinner before running out. I had a slice and my tongue blew up within minutes and I was in a crazy amount of pain. After hearing from many over the years, you most likely have celiac disease, you are for sure gluten intolerant and so forth. I decided, that’s it, I am going gluten free!!!
Well, it took months, but what do you know? My symptoms all began to ease up and some actually completely went away.
Here’s just “some” of the symptoms I had throughout the years …
BEFORE BABIES
- GI Issues – was told I had IBS
- Night Vision Issues
- Irregular Periods
- Fatigue
- Numbness and tingling off and on in legs and feet
- Anemic @ times
- Anxiety
- Back in HS (was diagnosed) with Interstitial Cystitis
AFTER BABIES
- GI Issues – constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating
- Irregular Periods
- Fatigue
- Numbness and tingling (legs and feet)
- Joint Pain – ankles, knees, hips, hands
- Arms felt sore
- Feet were always sore
- Vitamin Deficiencies
- Anxiety (postpartum depression too)
- KP Rash – Keratosis Pilaris on arms
- Geographic Tongue Inflammation
- Mouth Ulcers/Canker Sores (lip and tongue)
~ Wanted to give an update on this page, after being gluten free for 10+ years now and more strictly gluten free for 8+ years. As of “this” Summer of 2024, it looks like blood work is pointing in the direction of Celiac Disease. I even have the Celiac Disease Gene. Which, to be honest, I kind of had a feeling all along, but nothing was giving a confirmation. Autoimmune Diseases are super confusing I am learning, but since I found out. I am super careful more so now and it has helped tremendously with my symptoms.
Cozy Styling 