A Big Moment

Yes...that's right. I'm blogging. I know, I know; I'm only a few years behind, but cut me some slack! I've been busy....

Ok, kids. So I've decided to blog about my experience with my lovely gluten allergy. To clarify, Celiac Disease is, apparently, NOT the same as gluten intollerance/allergy. I'm not going to go into the details surrounding this, because it honestly doesn't matter to me, but I don't have real bona fide Celiac because I have not tested positive for it, despite having the symptoms.

Symptoms, for me, have included a constant, nagging upset stomach, irritated skin (rashes that have set up camp on my legs since I was knee-high to a grasshopper), inability to lose weight (despite eating a healthy diet and exercising), fatigue, and a plethera of otherwise unexplained complaints. Since going off of gluten in August, 2009, I have seen marked improvement of almost all of these symptoms, and a severe backlash whenever an accidental exposure occurs.

Basically, if I'm not super-duper careful, I will get dreadfully ill from a tiny bit of gluten, and I'll be whining and crying for a few days, itching as I go. Therefore, I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to food. To be completely honest, it's worth it to me NOT to eat than to risk being sick, so...sometimes....I choose not to eat if there's nothing I know is gluten-free available. Yeah...gluten-intolerance-induced anorexia. Awesome, I know.

So what I'd like to do with this is document my experience being one of a growing population of gluten-free eaters. I want to go over what I eat from day-to-day, how I'm feeling physically, and how things are going mentally. Not that I'm a basket case or anything, but it's a little stressful to think about food quite this much. I have no choice, though! The effects of prolonged exposure can be horrible! And, honestly, who would give up feeling better for a sandwich with Wonder bread? Now that's crazy...

Oh, and hopefully I'll manage to be a little entertaining as well. *jazz hands*