These were the words my doctor said to me when my tests confirmed that I had celiac disease. At the time, I didn’t fully understand how true that would be. If I’m going to be completely honest, I was just so happy to finally know why I hadn’t felt well for nearly 14 years, and I didn’t care about what I had to change…from my perspective, it was only going to get better. I left my appointment feeling empowered and thinking, “How hard can it be to not eat gluten?”
I soon learned that it was about much more than just not eating gluten. It was (and has continued to be) a complete and total lifestyle change. Everything from my daily routine to how I travel has completely changed. I had always prided myself on not being high-maintenance…I never cared about which restaurant I ate at…I wasn’t picky about the food choices at an event…and I never liked attention on me for any type of medical issue. After the celiac diagnosis, all that changed and not because I chose to change it. Every event that involves food inevitably results in a conversation about celiac disease and my health.
Some people truly understand because they either struggle with a food related illness or they are close to someone who is struggling. But…then you have the other group of people (often non-believers that celiac disease is even a real thing)…those who say things like, “Oh, c’mon, is a little gluten going to kill you?” Well, yes, it might…this is serious. And…other well-meaning people who want to jump on the gluten-free bandwagon because they heard going gluten-free will help them run faster or lose weight or climb Mt. Everest or fly through the sky. Well, maybe the last two examples are a bit of an exaggeration, but, truly, I have heard it all…and it used to bother me a lot. Thankfully, I have learned to not let those comments upset me anymore because I can’t control what people say or think, so I have simply learned to stop reacting to them. Nonetheless, it was difficult to hear those comments when I was struggling to get through each day of my “new” life. Read on to learn about my Road to Recovery…that lasted for a year and a half.
