I think it is time for a story, Why I removed Gluten from my life

 Good Morning All. I am trying out a new look to my page, not sure I like it yet, you?

I am really loving this Spring Break with my girls, letting them sleep in and being able to sip some hot tea, blog, and just enjoy the morning before spending the day with my two little favorite people in the world! I am not enjoying allergies! I am so ready for summer so I can stop sneezing and blowing my nose! And the itchy eyes OMG!!!!

Last night we got in a discussion about my diet and someone in my class asked, "What diet are you on?" Seems like a reasonable question. When I started explaining the guidelines, I WISH you could have seen her face! So I want to give a little background into SOME of the reasons I have made this diet change. 

*Please know I am sharing this not for sympathy but to be honest. This is my life and I don't feel like I should hide it!*

As some of you know and others may not know I was diagnosed with breast cancer last September. But I was lucky!!! ( Bet that sentence doesn't often follow the previous one!) I was able to have surgery and remove it all and am keeping a close eye on it this year, fingers crossed for 1 year clean. I find out on my birthday how crazy is that!

Icing after surgery!

So after recovering and receiving the all clear from my doctor, I was ready to get back to life! My body had different ideas. I could never fully recover it felt and get back to my normal self, instead I started passing out, A LOT. dizzy, night sweats, really fatigued, just exhausted ALL the time, and headaches ( in part I am sure from hitting my head from all the passing out! ) 

I just wasn't doing well and it was driving me CRAZY! So back to the doctors for a million and 1 test. They thought it was my thyroid. But then every time they took my blood they thought I had been fasting. To the point where I had to bring food in and eat there, sit and wait a bit then have blood drawn. My body STILL showed I was fasting... WTF?!?! for real! So then they wanted to start doing heart and brain scans cause nothing was making sense. Maybe it was the wrong call but I had had ENOUGH ( this was about the end of January so I'd been getting test after test for months by this point! ) I said NOPE I have too many medical bills already and we are getting no where! Started doing some research on my own into foods and different allergies, ect. 

Let's pause this portion of the story and jump back to earlier in the year before I was diagnosed with breast cancer...

March/April-ish ...

My whole home was a war zone it felt. Steve started going crazy, at least that's what I thought. He wasn't the person I knew. Mood swings, never wanting to do things, not sleeping, the list goes on and one! At first I thought it was me, our marriage was bad, he hated me, I had no idea! It got to the point I never wanted to come home and just felt sick to my stomach at the thought of it!

 Then he started getting violent for no reason. Punching walls mainly, I had never had a reason to be scared of him, well except that time when he had just returned from Iraq and he tried to kill me in the middle of the night with a GIANT tv. I looked at him told him to put it down and go back to bed ( I didn't know what else to do ) and he did. The next morning, he didn't even believe me it happened, until he saw the tv he had moved on the floor by the bed!  But as it progressed I was getting a little scared.

That's when I started suspecting perhaps he was having flashbacks again. It took me a while to convince him that's what was happening. So in the mean time, I spent many many nights ( think 2-3 months ) of sleeping in my girls room sitting up against the door just to make sure they stayed safe. FINALLY towards the end of July, he was ready to reach out for help and we headed into the ER at the VA hospital, which is the only way to start getting help for whatever was going on. He was diagnosed with sever PTSD and was to be placed in counseling and some sort of drug therapy. 

Knowing he wasn't crazy helped him some, and he did get 2 counseling sessions which seemed to make a difference. I was hopeful! Then they cancelled the sessions till further notice ... We are STILL waiting for that notice, even though I check in weekly to see if anything is available... nothing.....

So now back to the beginning of this year..... 

I'm sick, passing out all the freaking time, stressed beyond imagination because while we have good days the bad days are frequent enough to never fully relax. We are both frustrated with the  lack  absences of help from the VA, and other organizations we have reached out to, I feel guilty anytime I get mad at him because I know he can't control it and he is TRYING to get help, he is frustrated that he is like this and it is all one big miserable stressful mess! 

So I read everything I can find and look for any possible means of help available! 

That's when I saw an article about Gluten allergies. Symptoms for allergies to gluten include depression, mood swings, thyroid issues, digestion and nutrition absorption problems and MANY MANY more that could have been written specifically for Steve and I. 

So in February I started trying a few days without this or that in my diet. I noticed changes and I stopped passing out! That's when I said I'm jumping in with both feet! Set my start date for March 1st and am so happy I did.

Steve is still not convinced to stick with this but I am hoping at least cutting back will help. My girls seem to be doing much better without gluten and I am keeping them on it as much as possible. 

So now you know why I chose gluten free. Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear them! Another day I will tackle why I avoid soy, dairy and anything else there may be questions or curiosity about.

 As I said when I started this challenge, I don't think I have all the answers I am just trying and learning as I go. It's a journey, not always easy but I'm up for the challenge .... most days .... :)

~A