My Celiac Story: So Long Bread

Hannah Seawell | 10/12/2020

    This beach trip was right before I was diagnosed with Celiac disease. Looking back, I can see all the signs and symptoms. At the time, I was confused and not so sure what was happening. The very first experience I can recall was December of 2018. I can remember looking in the mirror and my stomach was so bloated. It looked like I was pregnant, not exaggerating. My stomach was always bloated and extended. My family and I had a joke that I had a food baby named Leonard. 

    The next thing I noticed was that I started burping, all the time. My boyfriend at the time, now husband, used to joke about my burps. I would get trapped gas and he would burp me (pat my back) to try and help release it. I started noticing this right after that December. It started to become painful. My stomach would get sharp pains. It would feel like something was stabbing my abdomen. My best friend became Gas-X. Eventually, it got to the point where even that couldn't touch it. All of this worsened and I was basically always having stomach pain. I noticed all of these things throughout the second semester of my Junior year of college. That semester ended in May of 2019. That May I went on a beach trip with my then boyfriends family. We went out to dinner one night to eat seafood and I ordered a plate of fried shrimp. I was so sick after eating this. I remember not feeling able to do much the rest of the night. 

    Around that time, I moved back home for the summer. I can remember feeling exhausted; more exhausted than I have ever felt. At first I put it off as being worn out from exam week. Eventually, we noticed the seriousness of it. My bedroom at my parents house is upstairs and it would take all of my energy to get upstairs.  I felt tired all the time. My mom took me to the doctor and I had an extreme amount of blood-work done; like 15 tubes. It took a while for all of the results to come back. When they did, we found out that I tested positive for celiac disease! This is an autoimmune disease that means I am allergic to gluten. My immune system basically attacks my own body when I consume gluten. The villi that line your intestines get damaged over time when eating gluten as a celiac. Fatigue is one of the symptoms. 

    There can be all kinds of symptoms and ranges in severity for celiac disease. I am rather lucky that mine is not on the super severe side. I do get pretty sick, but I have never been hospitalized due to my allergen. Some people become hospitalized when they ingest the smallest amount of gluten. Symptoms can range from things like skin rash to malnutrition. A person with celiac disease literally can't digest gluten. So, if a persons diet a consumed with gluten, they are likely not getting the proper nutrition. I am also rather lucky that I was able to be quickly diagnosed. Celiac can be tricky to diagnose and often people are misdiagnosed or it takes a very long time to figure out the issue.

    Since being diagnosed, I have been very strict with my diet. Gluten consists of barley, rye, and wheat. I have to check all ingredient labels. Gluten can be hidden in the labels and use other words. Just because something says gluten free, does not mean it actually is. A common issue is products that were produced in a factory that contains wheat. In these situations, there is likely cross contamination. When cooking, I have to make sure not to cross contaminate with gluten infected surfaces, as I like to call them. Toasters are a big one. Even using gluten free bread is not safe if using a toaster that has toasted regular bread. 

    Eating out can be tricky. Even if something appears to be gluten free, there may have been cross contamination in the kitchen. Chick-fil-a is always a go to for me. They make grilled chicken nuggets and fry their french fries in a separate frier. Other fast food restaurants tend to fry all of their foods in the same friers. This will make me sick too!

    My most recent gluten exposure was eating fondue. This was really my own fault and I have learned my lesson. We had one pot of fondue. My husband had gluten dippers and I had gluten free dippers. We both dipped into the same cheese. I don't really know why I forgot or how, I am usually very cautious about food. Even before we were done eating I was in pain. This lasted late into the night. I believe since I have not had any gluten in so long, just that cross contamination was enough to cause extreme pain. 

    Anyway, all this to say, I am living that gluten free life. It really isn't so bad when I put in the effort. I can make all kinds of meals and sweets that I love. Gluten free flour usually substitutes really easily and gluten free bisquick can make anything. So, if you too are diagnosed with Celiac or gluten intolerance, fear not. It will be okay! 

    I'd love to chat about Celiac or gluten free life if you want to leave a comment about it!

Love and light, 

Hannah Seawell