For as long as I can remember I have been using heating pads, Advil and chamomile tea to manage stomach pain. When I was in high school, my doctor recommended trying to cut out gluten to manage this unexplainable stomach pain that seemed to be linked to food sensitivity. At first cutting out gluten seemed impossible. ESPECIALLY BREAD! I am half Irish and half Italian, eating bread is practically in my DNA. I was used to having cereal for breakfast, sandwiches every day and bread with dinner.
The first year was the hardest, trying to avoid all these things I didn’t even know contained gluten. Grocery shopping turned into a read-a-thon! This was before gluten-free was well known when very few things were labeled as gluten-free and you had to rummage through every aisle. The first year consisted of researching and a lot of trial and error (emphasis on error). I made pancakes that tasted like cardboard and muffins that looked like cement. I quickly realized that box gluten-free mixes were my best bet for cooking and baking.
By the second year, I was a pro and had found great gluten-free substitutes for my favorite foods. Chex cereal became my staple breakfast and Schar breadsticks with salami became my favorite lunch. My mom and I even altered family recipes in order to make them gluten-free. Thinking outside the box was key in discovering how to enjoy food while being gluten-free.
After being gluten-free for four years I had decided it was finally time to go to the gastro doctor to check for food allergies, crones and colitis. I had been to other doctors before that had said my symptoms were a figment of my imagination; you could see why I put off going to the doctor for so long! But I wanted to know once and for all what I have! The doctor diagnosed me with Irritable Boal Syndrome (IBS). I felt so relieved that I finally knew what was wrong with me! I have even proscribed a pill for IBS, that was considered a “magic bullet.” I could finally eat whatever I wanted without worrying about stomach pain.
My sophomore year of college I started to have intense stomach pain, turns out that “magic pill” was not magic at all. My body became immune to the pill and became even more sensitive than before (I am sure you could imagine I had a great sophomore year). I started doing research on IBS and realized it’s just an umbrella term doctors use when symptoms are undiagnosable.
Feeling helpless I decided to take matters into my own hands and monitor my symptoms myself by maintaining a food log. Yet again gluten became a common thread. This time around I made the decision for myself to cut out Gluten and stick to it!
So here we are now, going on 2 years gluten-free and still struggling to avoid carbs!
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