Thinking of going Gluten Free?

I thought it was a craze or a fad and didn't pay much attention to going Gluten Free. 
I knew I wasn't Celiac.

However, the past few years I've been diagnosed with 3 "very rare" skin diseases. 
I couldn't even tell you their names now. 
But it made no sense…..why am I getting all these skin problems?

My doctor just kept throwing drugs at me. Finally one day just as I was leaving his office he said, 
"Some patients get better going gluten free. So you might want to try that."

That's all I had to hear. From that moment on, gluten was history. 
Not an easy thing to do to suddenly get rid of all wheat and most other grains. 
It was surprising how gluten is in so many of our foods. I was hungry most of the time for the next 
several weeks, until I found foods to replace all those I took away. And I did continually lose weight. 
A few months ago I finally stopped doing that, and have held steady at 12 lbs gone. 
I'd like to have 10 of those lbs back, just because I like to have a cushion, 
but I'm not going to gluten again.

So here I am 14 months later, and I am much better now. 
My skin has not totally cleared up but I'd say I'm 80% better. 
And surprisingly my allergies are LOTS better, my shoulder doesn't hurt as much, 
and I can eat beef again for the first time in my adult life with out it hurting my stomach. Who knew.

I don't like talking about my health on here. But if this will help someone, it's worth it. 
I wish someone had told me that gluten could be the cause of my skin problems. 
Many people I know have horrible headaches. And most people I know are tired. 
I believe now that gluten can cause a host of problems.

Last week Dr Oz had a small segment about the havoc gluten can cause.
Take a look.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good post.
I've been off gluten for almost 2 years now. Lost 25 pounds. Lost my stomach aches. Felt great! Basically I ditched all grains. Don't miss them a bit.
darlene

grandmapeg said...

I'm glad your skin diseases are better. My daughter-in-law's brother suffered with headaches and got diagnosed with Celiac's Disease so he had to go gluten free. I think he is a lot better. I wonder if going gluten free would help rid me of my headaches?

Peggy Parker said...

I'm not sure I got connected to your blog but your name Grandma Honey drew me in. I enjoy reading about your family and your faith. If I may recommend a blog that I have come to read...http://www.thepaleomom.com...it is about a woman's journey to eat a paleo diet. She has done extensive research and has shared how it had helped with many medical problems like skin conditions (which is why I'm writing). I don't follow a paleo lifestyle but rather no flour/no sugar---in any case I have learned a lot from her blog. I appreciate you writing about your diet because cutting back on anything can be a struggle and leave you feeling overwhelmed trying to figure out what to substitute in place of the bad stuff. I think it's important to help each other with these things---easier to tackle with support.
Peggy Parker burkhma@yahho.com

Grandma Honey said...

Peggy Parker…Thank you for your very nice comment. Also, I appreciate the Paleo link and I will go to that next!

Grandmapeg…If I suffered with headaches like you have, I would DEFINITELY go gluten free. You might be amazed. But it does take a few weeks to see if it will help. Although my SIL started feeling better just 3 days after going gluten free.

Richard said...

I've got your cushion.

Lisa said...

Who knew you were struggling? One would never know unless you said something!

Funny you should mention this. Clay said Monica has a heck of a time gaining weight because she's on a gluten free diet.

Sorry you have to deal with every issue under the sun, but you are wonderful to share! XOXO

Grandma Honey said...

This is a drop in the bucket compared to other things. But when I saw this segment on Dr Oz I thought…okay, it's not just me…we need to tell people about this!

Cracks me up how much you know about Clay and Monica.

Karen Mortensen said...

Good information.

Yolanda said...

Ron was diagnosed with Celiac back in 2000 after suffering with things like canker sores in his mouth, fatigue, etc. He also found out he had osteoporosis because of poor vitamin absorption. This is suppose to be hereditary but we could not find anyone else in the family who suffered from this!

Yolanda said...

Ron was diagnosed back in 2000. This is suppose to be hereditary?? We could never find anyone in the family with this. I see that our cousin Kathy's grandson is also Celiac.

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