Just Another Bump in the Road


WOW!  I haven't written on my blog in EIGHT months!  On one hand, I can't believe it. On the other, I know exactly why I haven't posted on the random happenings in my life. I have been happier than ever in this new season of my life.  My relationships with family and friends are great.  I'm still so very in love with Chris and am enjoying the life we share together.  

From a birds eye view, everything seems to be going well in my life. So, what, do you ask, is the hang up?  This, my friends, was a mystery to me as well. I have been feeling fatigue like I have never experienced in my life. I thought that perhaps my iron was low, as it had been in the past.  I also have had frequent headaches that at times would occur daily.  My stomach has been a mess for as long as I can remember but, has gotten worse over the last year.  My mind hasn't been clear as it always was, in fact, its been very foggy. My bones have ached and my body feels weak.  For months, I would get up each day with high hopes that I would feel better, like my old self again.  Rather than seeing any improvement, I kept feeling worse.  I was to the point in which, I felt I was going through the motions of my daily life.  I felt like I was existing, rather than living my life. Feeling this way was getting me down and discouraged.  

During the last several months, I have been to the doctor, had blood work done, done some of my own research and talked with people I knew. Finally, I asked to have the blood test that tested for a gluten issue.  I am no super sleuth but, my symptoms pointed directly to celiac disease.  A few days later, I received a call from my family doctor saying that my blood test showed antibodies for celiac and that they were referring me to a  gastroenterologist.  Two months later, which happened to be yesterday, I had my appointment with the specialist, only to find out that, yes, it was, without a doubt, celiac disease.  

It was such a relief to finally have an answer to the way that I had been feeling for such a long time.  I now have hope that starting a gluten-free life, will not only help to heal my body that had been suffering daily from the foods I had been eating for years, not knowing that they were literally poisoning my body but, to get my energy back and feel like the person I once knew. If any of you remember, I used to NEVER sit still.  I would ALWAYS be doing something from the moment I woke up until the moment that I dropped into bed at night.  I can't wait to be that "go,go, go" girl once again.  I can't wait to live and enjoy my life again and not just watch it pass me by from the sidelines.  I can't wait to not feel sick and lethargic.  I can hardly recall what it feels like to feel healthy!  

Today marks the beginning of my gluten-free life.  I have obviously not met with the dietitian yet, so I am trying to just figure this all out.  It is amazing how many things contain gluten!  So many of my favorites that I will never have again.  I can't focus on what I can't have again but, rather the healthy foods that will become part of my daily diet.  Just knowing that the gluten containing foods will cause my body pain and sickness, is enough for me to stay clear of any in the future.  This afternoon, I went on the local library website and reserved over a dozen books all about this new diet I'll be learning.  I want to know all of the good, bad and ugly.  I have been able to adjust my life and diet accordingly when I was diagnosed with diabetes.  This is just another bump in the road.  I know this may not always be easy, in fact, sometimes down right hard, but, I've got this.  

Although, it will take a couple of months before I begin to feel better, I hope that I have been able to give you just a look into celiac disease and what it can do to the body.  There are over 300 symptoms and everyone may experience it differently.  It is one of those diseases that goes greatly under diagnosed.  I, like many others, probably get so used to not feeling well, that it becomes normal for them.  It is NOT normal to go through life feeling like that.  I am so very glad that I didn't just decide that I was going to exist in my own life feeling horrible without figuring it out.  I have learned it time and time again….if you know something isn't quite right with your health, you are probably right that it isn't.  Every time I have felt that something was not normal with my health…I have been right.  Every. Single. Time.  

I am not at all here to  preach and tell you all to take care of yourselves.  Nor did I write this for any sympathy.  I wrote it more about awareness. If I helped only one person by writing this, it would be worth every minute I spent composing this post.  

I appreciate all of you that took the time to visit my blog again after my long absence again.  I thank you for not giving up hope that I would one day return to writing.  It is my hope that as my brain fog begins to lift, that I will be back at posting more frequently again.  

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