Or at least I am taking steps in that direction.  I recently started working on a project with a woman at Pratt & Whitney and we connected right away. I am of the belief that people come into and out of our lives for a reason. Tammy has been great to work with and she has opened my eyes to what gluten does to a body. 

Over a year ago I referred my mom to my old endocrinologist when she was having trouble with her iron being extemely low and her thyroid medicine kept getting increased but she was feeling more and more exhausted. She was getting to the point where she needed to take naps. 

Tammy was telling me that she and her son were tested for celiac disease 11 years ago and were positive for it. I always thought that the reason why people go gluten free are because they get stomach aches and diarrhea from eating foods with gluten.  Little did I know that it presents in many different ways AND it is hereditary. 

We had an incredible conversation about it over lunch and I am going to do more research on it; but what my mom was experiencing with her iron and thyroid was happening because her intestines couldn’t process the medications due to the gluten in her diet. My old doctor was always current with practices and procedures and that is why I suggested my mom go to her. Since she has been gluten free her numbers became more regulated and she didn’t need such a high dose of her thyroid medication and she told me once that she felt different. She said it was hard to explain, but she felt better.

Tammy mentioned to me that when she was on the gluten free lifestyle she one day woke up and said she felt “normal” and was surprised at how crappy she had been feeling all that time before when her diet consisted of flour and wheat. 

So why does that happen?  What happens to us?  Well Tammy asked me what nationality I was. I told her I am Scottish and Irish and English or German. She explained that the Irish were brought up on mainly potatoes. And when the potato famine hit them they were brought wheat.  Once they began to eat wheat they began to get sick. I thought that was extemely interesting. What also came to mind was my husband. He has been struggling for a while now with sore joints and he had issues with his gut and had to make modifications in his diet because of some sensitivity. When Tammy explained that she was 37 in a doctor’s office barely able to walk because of her pain, a lightbulb went off. I told her there were times when I would feel pain in my fingers and elbows and I blamed it on too much sugar. I am now beginning to suspect that if we reduce the gluten in our diet perhaps some of the things we feel or battle will go away. 

It’s worth a shot. I am aware of the items my mom buys when she shops and we also try to keep gluten free options in our home for when she comes to visit but I want to take more steps to transition to that lifestyle. 

Tammy also warned me that when you are gluten free and you get “glutinated” (contaminated by gluten) your body will react to it like you had consumed a poison to your body. It may present as a headache or joint pain or a stomach ache or GI issues. But you will feel crappy for a day to 3 days or more. 

Isn’t that amazing how a food ingredient has such an affect on the body?  Since I have an autoimmune disease and my thyroid already reacted to a life change in my body after I had my second baby I may have been having symptoms of this but never saw the big picture. 

I’m definitely going to research the topic more and educate myself on how to wean off, what to expect and how to change this lifestyle. I remember in January when we were in Florida with my parents my mom ate something that may have had gluten in it (soup with flour to thicken it) and it bothered her stomach the next day. I would also like to see how I can make this subtle change for my kids also.

Have you gone gluten free?  Do you feel better or worse?  What advice do you have?