How I Became Gluten Free

I decided to start my blog about my adventures with gluten free living because I wanted to share what I've learned about some of my favorite products, restaurants and recipes. I spent most of my adult life suffering from rashes, stomach aches, severe migraines, joint pain, vertigo, bronchitis, etc. I just thought it was something I had to accept, until I realized that I could change the way I was feeling, just by what I ate. I had always believed that I was eating healthy. It was always whole wheat pasta, whole grain breads, cereals, low fat ice creams, etc. I was forever suffering from horrible and sometimes debilitating dermatitis, and it never occurred to me that all the healthy foods that I loved to eat, could be making me sick. Last summer I experienced the worst bout with dermatitis which turned into infections. I could not go out in the sun at all and had to spend our entire vacation in sweltering heat covered up. It was so bad, and the fatigue was unbearable, that I had to be tested for lupus. Thankfully, the tests did not show lupus.  After a friend suggested I remove gluten, my symptoms finally stopped.  After accidently ingesting gluten, I suffered a severe aura migraine and vertigo.  I could not function at all and my migraine and vertigo was so severe, that I thought I was having a stroke.  This is something I never want to experience again. 

Finally, at my most recent doctor's appointment, I was diagnosed as Celiac after years of being misdiagnosed.  I also found out I was borderline pre-diabetic with a severe Vitamin D & B12 deficiency.  After years of frustrating symptoms, skin disease, sun allergy, maybe it's lupus, maybe it's fibromyalgia, maybe CFS, IBS, ulcerative colitis, maybe? To finally get a diagnosis on my record at least makes me feel better.  I was honestly getting tired of every doctor being completely stumped by all of my symptoms.  Removing gluten and then dairy from your life is very difficult, but the rewards are well worth the frustrations! 

Please keep coming back and I will be reviewing some of my favorite products, as well as my daily struggles in staying gluten and also dairy free.