My Gluten Challenge

I realize this is primarily a food-allergy blog, but being that Celiac disease symptoms and the strict avoidance of gluten is very akin to the strict avoidance of foods we're allergic to, I am including this experience on this site. If you feel this does not concern or interest you, I apologize and you may skip this post and move on to the next or past ones.

Pretty close picture to what it looks like when we are 'glutened.'

So for the past week, I've been trying to follow a gluten-free diet, based on the severe stomach and body-ache symptoms I've been experiencing for the past six weeks. Trying is the keyword, since I found out that even a tiny bit of gluten/wheat has affected me with several days of suffering; I now realize why people with Celiac disease are just as neurotic about what they ingest as people with food allergies. Cross contamination of even a crumb of gluten can set off severe symptoms for days or even weeks.





The symptoms for me were so bad that some days I laid in bed wanting to die from the flu-like pain (in head, neck, arms, back, legs), nausea and severe cramping. Not to mention the fun stomach problems that make your stomach look like you're having twins.