"Mystery Diagnosis"-one of my favorite shows on Discovery Health-but I never wanted to be a mystery myself!

Terrible picture of me-but adorable of my three kiddos!!!

(this was taken on my birthday two weeks ago!)

(I wonder when we will FINALLY be able to get a whole family portrait.....when the littles are teenagers, do you think?)

For all my FFF friends, I am also re-posting some medical info I found out about myself last week-mostly to get the word out about Celiac Disease.

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Well, I have been sitting here wondering how to begin with this post. I guess I’ll just jump in with both feet!

A week ago yesterday, my phone rang.

Little did I know by the time I hung up, my life would be henceforth & forever CHANGED.

& it would eventually send my emotions reeling.

Two weeks ago, I visited the dr. to try & get some answers to a few questions.

One thing that has been really bothering me as of late is that I cannot function without caffeine-no matter how much sleep I get!

Even then, most afternoons, my eyelids STILL drooped so much my bed called my name.

So, long story short-I asked the dr for every blood test I could to get some answers.

My Vitamin D levels were low enough that they wanted me on some of that…..

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But, the thing which has totally changed my life is the next thing the nurse said-which I remember exactly.

“Your blood test for celiac came back positive, so the doctor is recommending that you go on a gluten-free diet.”

(Now, let me say-this diagnosis was not really a surprise-this disease runs in my family. In our case it is genetic & my dad & at least 4 of my nieces & nephews have been diagnosed with it)

But……It still requires a complete & total change in my approach to eating-as wheat gluten is an additive in just about every prepared food & of course, in wheat flour (read: breads that I really love!)

So…..on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, my diet changed.

I ate one last GLUTEN-FILLED meal, & since then, I have done my level best to avoid it completely.

Now, what does all this have to do with my emotions?

Well, with in this first week, I have felt:
~Overwhelmed (when I was shopping over the weekend, I looked at the vast isles of food & realized I have to now read almost every label-carefully before I place food in my cart).
~Fearful (What if I can’t do this? What health issues might come down the road as a result of my eating GLUTEN-FILLED for my first 39 years)
~Sad (Good-by bread, breaded foods & most things I like when eating out)
~Hopeful (that many of these seemingly unrelated symptoms can go AWAY now that I am eating correctly)
~Angry (that my body has betrayed me-& I am too young for this!)

I am doing better now, but every time I think of a food I will never eat again (so long Arby’s Mozzarella Cheese Sticks & my mom’s homemade bread), I have a new “death” to deal with.

But, with God’s help, I will get through this initial shock-& I hope to educate some people along the way, as I embark on this new journey to get my health/emotional well-being back! (& if any of you have celiac-or are on a wheat-free diet-please share your thoughts/tips! I know we will be revisiting this topic often!)

One of my favorite verses seems appropriate here:

“Commit your works to the LORD,
And your thoughts will be established.”
Proverbs 16:3



P.S. If any of you are suffering from any health issue you can’t quite put your finger on, please run-don’t walk to your dr & GET SOME ANSWERS!!!

P.S.S. If you suffer from exhaustion, digestive issues & slight depression (especially if you are of Northern European decent), please don’t rule out Celiac!

Finally-this post was created in 32 minutes for Steady Mom’s 3o Minutes or Less blogger challenge!