I started the year being poisoned, and it’s pretty much continued that way.
All of 2008 was good; I don’t think I was glutenated even once that year. I was rarely sick at all. January of 2009 I did start some new supplements — an omega 3, I do believe.
This taught me the lesson: “Don’t buy cheap supplements from LocalMart.” The bottle was on sale… woe betide me for looking to save a few bucks. I thought it was serendipity but my little voice inside was trying to warn me. It didn’t say whether or not the pills themselves have gluten in them on the bottle. The manufacturer’s website didn’t have this specific type of product on it. Not to mention the website itself looked kinda sketchy.
The skin pain, the ongoing cold that never quits, the deep pain in my upper arm muscles and the bones/tendons of my hands, the tenderpoints — and the moods. FUN!
February and March of 2009, I caught the stomach flu on the beginning and the end of its cycle through my office. Let me tell you, that was HILARIOUS.
From April through August, because my immune system was so buggered, I had a bacterial sinus infection. My genprac said “Oh, we usually only see those in people with very compromised immune systems, like AIDS patients or people undergoing chemo.” Yeah, really? I said. I don’t have AIDS (I promise), I don’t have cancer (that I’m aware of) — but I do have Fibromyalgia, most likely caused by celiac/gluten intolerance.
And then, I discovered (from Friday’s excitement) that one of my new meds was glutenating me. I quit that yesterday, and woke up feeling better than I had since… since, well, Thursday.
And I promptly went to the RealJob(TM), all prim and proper.
And while there, I ate a cup of yogurt. It said “May Contain Traces”.
What do you know, it sure did!
Yah, I’d been a bit foolish in thinking that a “trace” of gluten would be okay, and that I could gamble with it. Vox is occasionally an ignorant and naive Vox.
Gods, I came home and it was awful. A short list of my symptoms today, thirty minutes after THE GLUTENING:
- hot and cold flashes
acid stomach
bile/mucus in throat
IBS
back pain
sinuses running
headache, mini-migraine size
face numbness
“Fibro-fog”
gas (burping)
depression and irritation
light and sound sensitivity
eyebrow hairs falling out easily
But, the gods of luck had glanced in my direction — for, as the husband and I were returning from the clinic ($20 and some runaround but finally convinced the nurse on duty that YES, I am experiencing this, YES, I do know what it is, NO, I am not going to break out in hives/swell up and suffocate/burst into flames, etc), we find a box containing Glutenease in our mail.
Now, I’m not going to say that this little bottle will enable me to eat at Long John Silvers (my secret unreachable food lust is a 3 chicken plank dinner with fries and crumblies, yumm), but it did deal with about half the symptoms of the glutening. So I’m not going to start eating regular toast and pizza, but at least I’ll have something to help when the awful thing happens.
So that’s where I am right now; still feeling like microwaved poo, laying on the couch under a blanket and two cats. Maybe I can work on some stuff for Finished Object Friday. Here’s to trying, even when laboring under what is *still* a mostly invisible disease.
