Day 3

I'm on day 3 of being gluten free. So far I've had the best beef stew I've ever eaten, (I'm a little biased, as I made it) lots of fruit, some tasty apple cinnamon rice snacks, some vegetable chips (TERRA exotic vegetable chips, Mediterranean flavor) which I think are my new favorite snack, some yogurt, more beef stew with a side of brown rice, and (as we like to call them around here)shish-ka-franks with  side of a great wild rice blend made with beef stock. I'm taking this whole gluten free thing as a challenge. So far, I am winning, and I like that. The next step is to come up with a grocery list (that I can eat) on a budget. I have two days to work on it, but it is going to take some time to fenagle (of course I'm sure I spelled that wrong, but oh well.)

I am very proud of myself. I am a carb-aholic and this is a very difficult task to give it up cold turkey. I stopped by GoodWill ysterday and searching long and hard through the cookbook section, I was lucky enough to find (and pruchase) the one and only gluten free cookbook they had available. I'm sure that there will be moe of these in my future, but one is fine for now, at least I have a place to start. My biggest challenge is starting my pantry storage over from scratch. There are many great alternatives to using rehular flour, but none of them are cheap, so getting a pantry of staples is going to take me a while.

Tonight, I think we are going to have baked potatoes with all kinds of toppings. I can't wait! I am so proud of myself!

EUREKA!

So the results are in! I have an auto-immune problem called CELIAC DISEASE. It is basically an allergy to gluten.

I have been doing some research on the topic, since I now need to know as much about it as possible, and have learned a few things. First off, this is how it works. When I digest gluten, my body can't process it like other people and it kind of kills the villi inside my small intestine which ae responsible for absorbing nutrients from my food. When these villi aren't working properly, I don't get the vital things I need to stay in good health including vitamin D (which mine is super low) iron (which makes me constatly anemic) and everything it takes to sustain a pregnancy.

I am thrilled to have an answer, and not just that but one answer that covers each and everyone of my ailments. I honestly can't believe that it is such a simple thing. Yes, it is simple, on paper, but it is going to be a lot more difficult than it sounds. Gluten is in so many things that a person wouldn't believe it.

Another thing I have learned is that it is genetic. So for those of you (especially those related to me) who have GI issues, it is a good idea to get tested for it. Evidently, celiac disease can cause chrone's disease, type 1 diabetes, colon cancer in some untreated cases, and many other things.

I am going to have a hard time with switchng my diet over to gluten free, but I know I can. There are many things that I already love that are gluten free such as rice and potatoes. There are of course many foods that I will no longer be able to eat such as most breads, pastas, and many sneaky things like licorice, and many others. A gluten-free diet is very healthy so I'm sure I'll benefit from that, but it will take a LOT of effort. I even have to be careful of many pharmecuticals and cosmetics because a large portion of them contain gluten as binders.

From here I have to g to a Gastroenterologist. They may or may not do a biopsy on my small intestine to 100% confirm the diagnosis. According to the rhuematologist I saw yesterday my bloodwork indicated a highly positive result so it may not even be neccessary for the biopsy. So, we'll see what they say. In the mean time I hav to stick with my regular eating habbits so that if they choose to biopsy, then they have normal results instead of recovoring ones.

I am not always the best at describing things, so here are  few websites that may better explain things.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/

http://www.bing.com/health/article/mayo-117393/Celiac-disease?q=celiac+disease

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/features/learning-to-live-with-celiac-disease

I know that ther will be many things that I am going to miss, especially pie, I love pie. I'm trying hard to look at thi whole thing as a new adventure. I get to try all kinds of new things and learn to find new favorite recipes. Wish me luck!

I've Been Steam Rolled...

Today is one of those days where I feel like I have been hit by a steam roller, backup on, and then rolled over again. I think I have a flu of sorts. I have had an earache for two days now. On top of the ear, I started getting a general feeling of "blah" and not feeling great, so I went to bed early. When I woke up this morning, every square inch of my body aches, my head is in a complete fog and it hurts to move. I know I will be resting most of today. Luckily Chris will be home for most of the day and I can actually get some sleep. I'm looking forward to feeling better.

Random Questions from a Random Website

Question #1: Have you/would you join the military?
no, but I have great respect for those who do!

Question #2: do you drink too much coffee?
nope

Question #3: do you have any extra digits?
lol! no

Question #4: have you ever eaten dog food/biscuits
not that remember, but probably when I was little

Question #5: who is your favorite sesame street character?
Grover

Question #6: did you think bert and ernie were gay?
not as a kid, but as an adult it did cross my mind

Question #7: what is your favorite vegetable?
raw sugar snap peas

Question #8: if you were a dinosaur, what kind of dinosaur would you be?
I don't have a clue

Question #9: chevy or ford?
Chevy

Question #10: mac or pc?
PC

Question #11: do you own an ipod and is it full?
yes, and yes

Question #12: do you consider yourself a revolutionary?
depends on who you ask

Question #13: is yes, what have you done that is revolutionary?
IDK--I can't think clearly today

Question #14: what is the last song you listened to?
Um....???

Question #15: top three favorite movies
can't choose 3, I love comedies mostly, but there are too many I like

Question #16: do you eat excessive amounts of ketchup?
no

Question #17: do you believe that corporations should have the right to act as a person in court?
corporations are groups of people, not one individual

Question #18: is there more than one way to eat a recess?
I have never eaten a recess, but I have had a Reeses and yes there is more than one way to eat a Reeses

Question #19: do you hate cats?
no, but wouldn't mind one

Question #20: do you have fillings?
yes

Question #21: do you like matt damon?
I've never met him so I don't know, but hesems nice on TV

Question #22: have you at any time in your life said i smoke too much weed?
no

Question #23: do you have any psycho ex's?
no, thank the lord, because I know people who do and I don't envy them at all

Question #24: do you have any of thier keys?
who's keys, my friend's psycho-ex's? No

Question #25: would you rather jump off a ship into the ocean or parachute out of a plane?
probably to ocean

Question #26: would you rather eat meat and starch the rest of your life, or vegetables and starch the rest of your life?
I'm not sure I could give up meat, plus some starches are veggies, so that one

Question #27: have you ever been arrested?
nope

Question #28: have you ever had your tongue pierced?
nope

Question #29: did you like th emovie labrynth?
yes

Question #30: were you one of the few people who didn't like kill bill?
no

Question #31: are you married?
yes

Question #32: would you rather be in an earthquake or hurricane?
been in earthquakes, some of them are fun, never been in hurricane, so I choose earthquake

Question #33: are both of your parents alive?
yes

Question #34: caramel or chocolate?
caramel, no question

Question #35: do you like your siblings?
most of the time. lol! no seriusly, I love them all to death

Question #36: hve you ever committed an act of espianoge?
if I answered this, wouldn't I be giving away too much info?

Question #37: can you drive stick?
no

Question #38: do you like the opposite sex?
that's a loaded question. generally speaking, yes, I do

Question #39: hav you ever googled the ingredients to anything you've eaten because you didn't know what it was?
no

Question #40: is your favorite season the one after the season you were born?
no

Question #41: Does the time you were born correlate with wether you are a night, morning or afternoon person?
IDK, I never tested it, but I don't think so

Question #42: do you think chuck palaniuk is genius or sick?
a bit of both

Question #43: does the contents of your computer reveal everything about you?
why would I answer this?

Question #44: would like like to get out of the digital age?
a lot of times, yes

Question #45: are you good at puzzles?
depends on the type of puzzle

Question #46: do you lack good customer service skills?
no, I think I am goood at it

Question #47: what are you usually doing when you are wasting time?
playing on my computer

Question #48: have you ever eaten an ant?
not that I know of

Question #49: have you ever spit tapioca pearls through the straw at people?
no, because I couldn't even get them in my mouth, can't get past the texture, eeeeewwwww!

Hoping For All to Recover

I really don't like when there is nothing I can do to help people. I got a call last night that my cousin Gary is in the hospital. I don't really know any details about it but I am really hoping he is okay. This afternoon my Grandma Nancy is having knee replacement surgery. She has needed this surgery for a while but had a spiral fracture in her leg from a fall and had to wait for it to heal.

There is also a very nice man, Sgt. Sartin, who works with Chris (technically his boss) that is in the ICU up at UW Medical Center. Last week he got a torn artery in his heart and had a stroke. He is fully sedated and when awake can't move his legs and has limited movement in one arm. He also has an infection in his lungs and because of this, has a breathing tube.

I feel badly for Chris too; he has already been through a similar situation with another Sgt. a while back, whom he was close to (as he is with this Sgt.) and that man passed away. He went to Seattle to see Sgt. Sartin yesterday and is having a difficult time with the whole situation. Sgt. Sartin is a good friend to Chris and needs all the well wishes and good thoughts he can get.

I hope my cousin is alright. I don't really know what is wrong, but he is not doing well from what I am told. As for my Grandmother, I hope she recovers from her surgery quickly; it will take a few months minimum. Please keep them all in your thoughts.

Beautiful Blogger Awards

I received a Beautiful Blogger award today from http://thegoodthebadtheworse.blogspot.com. This blog is clever an humorous and reminds me of so much of myself at times.

In order to OWN my award, I am supposed to follow these directions:
1.Thank, then link to the person who gave you the award
2.Pass the award on to 7 bloggers you've recently discovered and whom you think are fantastic
3.Contact said blogs to let them know you've won
4.State 7 things about yourself

So, here are my 7 bloggers that I think deserve this award:
1.The Good, The Bad, The Worse
2.Contemplations of an Army Wife
3.Catching Butterflies 3
4.I hear feta cheese!!
5.caring for the garden
6.I like Green
7.Critter Tails

And here are 7 facts about me:
1.I don't like cantalope, honeydew or mango
2.I love doing paperwork
3.I have a strange obsession with eyes and do art with photos of them
4.My other obsession is trees (they are so beautiful)
5.I love volleyball but I suck at it
6.I rearrange my furniture almost monthly
7.I want to be a social worker

Well, that's about all for now. Thank you Linda for my award!

The Quest Continues...

X-rays, and rhuematologists, and infertility specialists...oh my!

I have to run in and get pretty much a full body x-ray today. The rhuematologist is checking all my joints. Then tomorrow, I go see said rhuematologist to give me results of x-rays and blood work. They don't seem to think there is a huge problem other than I have a very low vitamin D level which is causing the joint pain all over. On Monday, I have to go see the infertility specialist. I am not infertile, but this doctor can run more tests than the average OB, so that is where they sent me to discover the cause of all these miscarriages. On Monday they are doing a weird test (I'm not sure what it is called) where they fill my uterus with saline and then look at it on ultrasound. They are checking on a 5mm mass that was seen on the initial ultrasound 2 months ago. If the mass is still there then they will be doing an OR Hysteroscopy to see what it specifically is and have the option to remove it if need be. At this point in time, I'm not so much concerned with the miscarriage thing, but more that there is something there that shouldn't be. I'm a bit nervous, but trying to keep busy so I don't have time to worry about it. We will see what they say...