Fess Up Friday

I have an intolerance to dairy and wheat.  This means I rarely get to eat what I love, specifically Italian and Mexican food.  I also cannot eat pizza.  It sucks so much.

When I was young I had chronic colds.  Sore throat, plugged nose, ear aches and laryngitis.  I missed some school, but mostly learned to tolerate it.  By the time I was a sophomore in high school I was missing more school than I could afford so my doctor sent me to a ear, nose and throat doctor.  That doctor did a bunch of allergy tests.  Besides getting all the skin tests the doctor decided to also test food allergies.  He started with wheat and moved to dairy.  When they test for food allergies you cannot eat that food for 6 weeks and see if you still have the symptoms.  I started with wheat and still had the symptoms.  After about 3 weeks off the dairy I started to feel so much better.  My nose was no longer plugged and my throat was no longer raw.  It felt great to have those annoyances gone.

Fast forward to a couple years ago when I was seeing a Naturopath.  After checking me over and asking me a lot of questions she said that I should not eat wheat.  I was appalled and stubborn.  In my head I was thinking there is NO WAY I can give up wheat.  Do you know what that means?!  No bread, pasta, pizza crust, bread crumbs, etc, etc.  I gave an half assed effort to give those things up, but I didn't take it seriously.

The spring of 08 I started feeling seriously crappy.  Tired all the time, headaches, joint pain, mood swings, sneezing, heart palpitations.  The last one was the scariest.  Being that I'm a computer addict I googled my symptoms thinking maybe it was menopause and what I got was wheat allergy.

It was pretty devastating to read that.  Even though I heard it before from the Naturopath I knew I had to give up my beloved wheat.  At first it was really hard.  If you read labels you will find out many things you would never suspect have wheat.

After a couple weeks of being wheat free almost all my symptoms were gone.  I felt amazing, better than I had in years.  I even went on a trip to Boston and stayed wheat free!  I found out that after you cleanse the wheat for a few months you can introduce small amounts into your diet without it being bothersome.  The challenge is to stop once you start.  Then the holidays came and it's been a slippery slope back to eating wheat since.

I've decided that wheat is like heroin to me.  I really cannot have it.

On Monday I gave up wheat again.  It sucks so much.

Comments

[The Incredible Woody]

OMG - I cannot imagine not being able to eat wheat or dairy!! I used to babysit a boy that had food allergies. That poor kid couldn't eat anything. He was allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, tomatoes,.....

[Asthmagirl]

I hate that you can't eat wheat. And dairy. If someone said my asthma would go away if I gave those up.... well, I have to think things over!

[Meg]

Oh wow. That's terrible! Too bad for you. Good luck getting back on track!

[noble pig]

Oh geez that would be so, so hard. But there is nothing like feeling good!

[JWinters]

I've wondered for years if I'd feel better w/no wheat but it seems so daunting to try it, not even sure what I'd eat. When we go on our wine weekend we'll have to make sure there are a lot of wheat-free options.

[deb]

OK, I have all of those symptoms you just noted. I can't be in menepause because I have been female plumbing for almost 20 years...I am in denial about the allergies to dairy and wheat...but deep down inside, I know it to be true.
Hmmm...I never felt better (or looked better) when I was on the Atkins diet.

[Jenn @ Juggling Life]

I don't think I'm allergic to wheat, but I definitely feel better when I limit my consumption. Have you tried Ezekiel 4:9 bread? It's all sprouted grains, but not wheat. Pretty cardboardy, but okay as toast or with a lot of mustard.