Good News at the Doctor!

Yesterday was a big day for me. Josh left for work really early and came back just after lunch so that I could go to my physical and get my test results at the doctor.

I anxiously waited in the waiting room, literally sweating:

at the office

AND IT WAS GOOD NEWS.

Two ultrasounds and a bunch of blood tests later and we have found…..

I am not celiac! I do not even have a non-celiac gluten intolerance! I am only gluten sensitive.

So much relief.

She said that if I was gluten-intolerant it would show up in my lab results. My inability to absorb would cause anemia. But I don’t have that.

 

What she figures is the 9 day food poisoning that tore through my poor system caused so much damage to the villi in my intestines that it’s kind of broken for awhile. She assured me that I have a chance, however small, of eating gluten again. Maybe once a week, maybe more. Hard to tell at this point. She somehow doubts that I will feel this way forever.

I am to stay away from gluten completely for six months. After six months I can try eating a piece of bread or something with gluten and see how it goes. If it goes badly, wait an extra two months and try again. I could work up to occasionally eating some gluten again.

She basically recommended I stay on a gluten free diet as much as possible as my system is weaker now. After I asked, she did say that some people do go back to eating as they used to… eventually.

However, after referring to her notes on my overall health before the food poisoning, she suspects in my case  that I was always a bit gluten sensitive and that the food poisoning just made it prominent. Her recommendation is that I stick to gluten two to three days a week at most from here on out. “But see how it goes. If it goes well, it’s up to you”.  There was a lot of discussion. I won’t bore you with the whole thing.

It would be really cool to be allowed to have the occasional donut or cupcake or “real” beer though!!  Right now it is too painful to try. Not worth it! On top of the physical pain I feel fatigued and cranky after eating it. So definitely not worth putting that on to my family too.

This is my body, before and after eating a piece of toast. This is approximately 20 minutes later. I look pregnant and feel awful.

This is my body, before and after eating a piece of toast. This is approximately 20 minutes later. I look pregnant and feel awful.

We talked some about home and family life, and about my stress level, which is manageable. She believes mental health is just as important as physical. How we heal is dependent on both, and I agree with her.

Then the doctor asked if anything else was bothering me. I made a joke about clicking knees and getting old. The doctor didn’t laugh. She made a concerned face and had me lay down, immediately checked them out extensively. Not good. Not good at all. My working out, especially my running, is pulling my hips out of alignment and putting stress on my lower half. My left hip is a mess and my right knee is too. My left knee is not great but she is more concerned with the right one.The doctor asked if I had done any high impact sports when I was younger or lately that may have put extra stress on my knees. I mentioned that I have dabbled in gymnastics, dance, capoeira and karate and that I now focus on running and weight training. Of course she agreed that I should keep working out but that it may be the root of this problem. I have weak muscles in my knees, weak “cord strength” between my knee and hip, and I am desperately out of alignment.

She strongly recommends physiotherapy and the use of a foam roller. At least a few sessions to learn what physio stretches to do at home. So, fixable. I have to keep it up though if I want to continue training as hard as I have been. And I do.

I have a strong suspicion that the stitch in my back and the knotted muscle in my shoulder is also because of my lower half being a mess and therefore putting stress on my upper half! It all makes sense now.

So I have physio to look in to and add to my to-do list but not so terrible. I had no idea how much this whole thing was weighing on me until now. Such relief!

I will post any great gluten-free recipes I discover over the next six months that I am to be gluten-free!

Also- this is Remembrance Day in Canada. I hope you all did your moment of silence and respected all of those, such as my Grandpa, who fought in the war for our freedom.

lest-we-forget

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