Over these last couple of semesters, I have gradually gotten more and more gluten intolerant to the point where I can't handle it at all right now. My body just doesn't process it well and I feel horrible if I have it. This actually happened during my last semester of undergrad too, so I more or less felt like I knew what was going on. I figured I would have to go gluten-free and then maybe 6-8 months after finishing this semester, I'd be okay eating gluten again.
However, I've started developing a rash that I am pretty sure is dermatitis herpetiformis, which is linked to people who have celiac disease. For those that don't know, that's where your body starts attacking the little villi in your intestines when gluten is introduced to the system. Normally, I wouldn't share something like that on the blog (who wants their rash info all over the internet!), but since this info might help someone else, I'm putting it out there.
So as I was doing a google search on all of this, I came across a link that listed several side effects of gluten intolerance. One of them was extreme morning sickness. Ding, ding, ding! That definitely rang a bell! All of the sudden, pieces started falling into place. My gluten intolerance that I experienced under a lot of stress my last semester of undergrad may not have completely gone away...it may have still been lingering and flared up during pregnancy.
That right there made all of the stress we have gone through as a family for me to pursue my master's worth it. Had I just worked and not gone to school, I don't think the gluten intolerance would have flared up this much. I might not have noticed it all. And my next pregnancy could have been just as bad, if not worse. So now, I get a master's degree and possibly a wonderful next pregnancy. For the first time, I actually have hope!
The downside is that this may be more than a gluten intolerance that comes and goes. It could be celiac. I am scared to death that it might be because that means going gluten free for life. Forget 6-8 months. Forget a couple of years to see if it helps with future pregnancies. It means no more Annie's pretzels or Cinnabon Stix. And that's a harsh reality to deal with. I go see a GI tomorrow...hopefully he will order some tests and I will be able to find out quickly whether it is just a gluten intolerance or something more. Please say a prayer for me! I am not looking forward to this at all!
Keeping my fingers crossed for you today!!! Let us know how things go.
ReplyDeleteIf it does turn out to be celiacs, we can all get really good at various recipes using rice flour! We can find those cookbooks that give the top secret recipes of all these restraunts and just change the type of flour til we get a close version. We will make sure you can have the good stuff :)