What happens when I have Gluten, Casein and Soy?

When I often tell people that I have an intolerance, or allergy, to gluten, casein and soy, their first question usually is: "What happens when you have it?"

Well, in my quest to be "normal" (again with that normal word), I indulged for dinner Sunday night. I pretended, after being on a gluten-, casein-, soy-free diet for 6 months that I didn't have a problem to any of these foods and went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Yes, it was tasty, but not enough for me to EVER want these foods again! The results are documented.....
 
The symptoms began within minutes of ingesting the glutinous meal of chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes (both with white gravy), fried okra, hash brown casserole and 2 biscuits. What I first noticed was that I became very itchy... my face, my arms, my scalp. The next symptom actually surprised even me, as it was a first to be correlated - my left knee started hurting badly. It felt as if someone was stabbing me with small knives right above my knee cap. I also started feeling as if I was congested, mucus built up in the back of my throat and in my nasal passages, and I started clearing it. During the ride home, my husband had to ask if I was going to get sick because I couldn't stop burping. My response "no, I'm just gassy!" By the time we got home, I had a stabbing headache, was extremely bloated (to the point where I looked and felt like I had regained all the weight I've lost in my stomach), started to get very tired and felt like crap! It was at this point that I really started to regret my decision to be "normal" for just one meal.

Note: Since I have noticed a decrease in joint pain since being on this diet, I assumed that either the gluten, casein or soy was causing an inflammation in my joints. Until I experienced this symptom within 30 minutes of eating, I hadn't been 100% convinced - I mean not every symptom I experience is related to my problems with these foods. But this one is clear.

During the night, even though I took 4 tums, I suffered from acid reflux (almost throwing up in my sleep). And vivid / terrible dreams. I also had extreme night sweats where I woke up with my hair drenched.

The next day brought on more symptoms: stomach pains, lack of energy, trips to the bathroom that almost cleared me out of the house, more headaches, loss of concentration, and just feeling like shit. What surprised me here was that I couldn't control my mood (even by working out which generally gives me a great feeling afterwards). I felt so out of control, I basically told my husband to leave me alone... I was irritated.... at him for saying "hi", at the people talking on the TV, by the way I felt. I couldn't stand it! To feel that out of control of your emotions is scary, and isn't very pleasant.

This brings me to today, two days after my gluten, casein, soy binge. I woke up feeling like I have a cold. I have an extremely sore throat, have been very lethargic all day (have taken 2 naps), have felt hot to the touch (but not feverish), feel muscle achy, and have been coughing off and on throughout the day. 

Interesting Note: A few days after I had my skin prick allergy test, which didn't show a skin reaction / anaphylaxis allergy, I came down with a sinus infection and bronchitis. Due to the way I'm feeling now, I think my assessment that my recurrent sinus infections and bronchitis were in part related to my diet is correct.

My symptoms are known to last up to a week after having any offending foods, so I am eating a very clean diet (with lots of veggies and water) trying desperately to heal the damage I just caused. I am also making sure my workouts are as intense as they can be, helping my body rid the toxins out of my body (although I didn't work out today). Here's hoping I don't have any more symptoms pop up.

But one thing is for sure. I have determined that I am normal.... even with all my food restrictions... and that I don't have to have the occasional indulgence prove this to myself any more, because the way I feel after I have these foods is NOT normal!!

20 weeks apparently is just "one of those days"

I have these types of days every so often. They are triggered by random events and by old routines.

What kind of day am I referring? Those where I just want to be "normal" again. Those where making food decisions isn't centered around what I have to avoid, but more of what I'm in the mood to enjoy.

Today seems especially rough. I think because in the past 20 weeks (to the day) I have only had 3 or 4 slip-ups. Times where I gave into my cravings, or my desire to be "normal." I always regretted my decision to veer off course - always. Enough to know that I remember the pain that I was in, or how awful I felt for a week after indulging. And, since my last "indulgence" and quest to be "normal", I decided that was my last. The pain and symptoms that I felt, far outweigh that desire.

Even though I've made that decision mentally, it still doesn't prevent me from having one of those days. After resisting all temptations a weekend, out-of-town wedding can offer (like cake), you would think I would be celebrating internally. Instead, I find myself resisting temptations to be "normal." It seems like all the commercials on TV are calling to me today... Pizza Hut pizza, Wendy's frosty, DQ's blizzard. Even the sub-par, over-cooked baked potatoes loaded with sour cream, butter, and cheese were calling my name at Sweet Tomato this afternoon during lunch.

But, even though I have had all these temptations dangled in my face, so close to reach within the past 3 days, I have finally done what I hoped I could do in the past but failed. I have resisted these temptations. And hopefully, I can celebrate this feat tomorrow, when I get over "one of those days."

You finally got the hint, did ya... What took you so long?

So many ways to start this post - "Don't let the door hit you on the way out!", "It's not you, it's me - really", "I've had it! Get out!", "It's Over!"

Who would realize that I'm not talking about breaking up with a boyfriend, spouse, or friend, but about my weight... more specifically, the dreaded 200's!? About 5 years ago (give or take), I went over that dreaded number on the scale. It wasn't a number I ever thought I'd see in my lifetime. And worse yet, it wasn't because I was pregnant. I had already had several "this is my highest weight ever" moments and had tried everything to drop the pounds. I have done boot camps, quick weight loss, medically supervised diets, weight watchers, south beach, Adkins, etc. I would loose a few pounds, no more than 10, and then I would get sick (literally) and I would go back to my old habits.

What I didn't realize at the time, was that even though I was on diets and exercise programs where others had great success, I was still feeding my body poison. So, I would lose a few pounds because of the shock and the calorie restriction, but then my body would revolt on me.

The only program I remember following where I felt healthy, was a program by Marilu Henner (yes the actress) - The Total Health Makeover. It wasn't a diet per-say. It was a lifestyle change. It cut out whole food groups (dairy, sugar, red meat, alcohol) and foods that were highly processed (foods that contained additives, preservatives, chemicals you couldn't pronounce, etc). Naturally, I took things to the extreme, and if an ingredient of something contained dairy I wouldn't eat it. Basically, what happened, is that I cut out all dairy, and most gluten containing products (the later without realizing). Even though I only was able to follow this strict diet for about a month, it was this diet my husband always said I looked my best on (not in terms of weight loss, but in terms of how my face cleared up, my energy levels spiked, my eyes twinkled again, etc). What I didn't realize then, was that my body was telling me how I was supposed to be eating.

Flash forward 7 years.... Because I didn't have the patience or self-motivation to follow such a strict diet, I had ended up gaining more weight, and became more sickly. Some of the diets I followed, caused me to gain weight, not lose it. And of course, all the yo-yo'ing didn't help in this area. So, finally earlier this year, my weight topped out at 214.5 pounds - that's a hell of a lot for someone who is only 5 feet tall.

However, after finally making the commitment to take gluten, casein, and soy out of my diet, as well as add in exercise, I can finally say, that I've officially broken up with the 200's!!! Whoo-hoo!!! I had to wait a few weeks before declaring that I had finally kicked the b*stard out of my life, to make sure there wasn't going to be a rebound relationship. Thankfully, he's gone! He's taken the hint (about damn time)!!

So... I can finally say, that I'm finished with that abusive relationship. I'm finally on my way to making up with that strong and fit person I used to be (back in high school). It's going to take some time to make amends, but I took the first step by kicking the 200's out of my life. What a weight that's been lifted off my shoulders!

Annual Visits...

This isn't something that I thought I would ever blog about, but since this blog is about living not only with my food intolerances, but with PCOS here goes.

I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) in October 2002. To go into more detail from my first post, PCOS is an endocrine disorder that affects several aspects of your health and has many symptoms. Although everyone is different, the symptoms of PCOS include: overweight, acne, amenorrhea or anovulation (irregular menstrual cycles), hirsutism, mood swings, insulin resistance - leading to type 2 diabetes later in life, cysts (non-cancerous) on the ovaries (imagine an inverted golf ball), and infertility.

Even though I wasn't diagnosed until I was 28, I have suffered from symptoms since I was 11. Since then my "visits" have never been regular. Never, though, in my recollection, did I have more than 6 "visits" a year (this doesn't include the few years that I was on birth control pills). To have 6 "visits" a year, would have even been a blessing, as most were less than 5. There were several years, particularly, in the past 8 years, where I had to have progesterone induced cycles - meaning I had to take progesterone in pill form in order to induce a "visit" which are performed when you go more than 3 months without having a "visit" (and you're not pregnant).

As I'm sure you know, when you don't have regular "visits", it means you aren't ovulating - although, it doesn't mean that you ovulate everytime you have a "visit". So, as you can imagine, when you aren't having regular "visits" you aren't able to predict or time potential ovulation days - making trying to conceive a very stressful, tiring, and frustrating feat.

I was reading an article on PCOS when I discovered that 85% of PCOS patients have celiac, non-celiac gluten intolerance, or a gluten allergy. This, with my discovery that I could self-induce a "visit" by completely eliminating dairy from my diet, is what made me talk with my doctors about having food issues. Which lead me to discover that I had Non-Celiac Gluten, Casein and Soy Intolerance.

This brings me to the reason for this post.....   

I had my annual GYN appointment last week. I have a wonderful OB/GYN who has one thing on his mind... for my husband and I to get pregnant. With that in mind, he was ecstatic to find that my "visits" over the past year are becoming more regular. Although, I'm still not having a "visit" on the average 28 days cycle (meaning there's 28 days between the start of my last "visit" and the current one), my average is getting better - I'm somewhere around a 56 day cycle. And since February (when I finally committed to my GFCFSF lifestyle), my "visits" have become even more regular, almost becoming a monthly occurrence.

Of course, this makes for a very happy OB/GYN, and a happy patient. It proves that you have to keep tabs on your on health - always seeking for answers and working with your doctors with what you find. And it has made the dream of becoming a biological-Mom a realistic dream once again... with the possibility of doing things naturally, and not with fertility treatments.

Final Challenge Update

On February 21st, 2010, I made a commitment to finally start living a gluten-, casein-, and soy-free lifestyle. Up until then, I had tried to come to grips with my Non-Celiac Gluten, Soy and Casein Intolerance. I had run through all 7 phases of grief (for food) many times over during the past 13 months, even questioning the validity of the test and diagnosis myself. What I didn't realize when I started this challenge, was how ready I was to be fully committed to this lifestyle, and that this was the last time I'd be on the yo-yo train. It seems I finally made it to the final destination on that line.

So here I am, 72 days later, and I am finally on the right train. I'm finally starting to feel like my body is starting to heal. Of course, during these past 72 days, I have had 2 slip-ups - once for Mexican for our dating anniversary, and another to Chili's for their Chicken Ranch Sandwich for a PMS craving. Both of those "cheats" reinforced my diagnosis as my symptoms reappeared in various forms: heartburn, headaches, body aches (almost instantly), itchy skin & nose and scalp, fatigue, restless sleep, acne, mood swings, stomach aches, diarrhea and constipation (TMI, I know).... Some of these symptoms longer than a week. What came as an epiphany, was that's how I felt for many many years after eating, and I thought it was normal!!! I thought everyone felt like that after eating a meal (how was I wrong!)

During the challenge, I have learned that....

• that there are plenty of options for meals, they are easy to prepare, and
• the food we cook at home tastes so much better than what we were getting at restaurants
• I can have cookies and desserts that taste just as good as the "poisonous" ones, without all the side effects
• I am not alone... I have found more blogs, Facebook groups, and websites that have many others in my position
• I love the way I feel when I'm not eating foods that cause me harm - I feel more energized and less "foggy"
• hope of becoming a Biological-Mom is returning

Here were my goals when I started the Challenge, and the results....

1. Kick my dependence and cravings for the offending foods - anything containing gluten, casein, and soy.  I'm almost there. I'm no longer craving the offending foods, but admit that occasionally I do crave something that's not on plan. However, I'm now either able to find a safe alternative or push through the craving all together.
2. Lose 18 pounds - which is approximately 3 pounds per week. While I didn't achieve this goal, I did lose 6 pounds during the challenge. And I'm very happy about those 6 pounds - it's the first time in the past decade where I lost consistently - a pound a week.
3. Incorporate exercise into my life once again - being able to workout 5-6 days a week. During the challenge I started working out again with fitness videos and trips to the gym. I am now 5 weeks into the P90X Lean Program and feeling great!

And my final stats....

Height: 5 foot, 1/2 inch (yes, I count this half-inch)
Starting Weight: 214.5
Current Weight: 205 (72 days after starting)
Weight Lost to Date: 9.5 pounds


So, can I say that my 6-week challenge was a success? Absolutely!!! I didn't post as much as I had committed, but the lack of posts didn't keep me from attaining my end goal of starting the healing process and finally coming to terms with my diagnosis.

I'll take feeling healthy and vibrant any day over a gluten-, casein-, soy-filled cupcake.