Day 1 - Eating GLUTEN

Yesterday I had my first taste of gluten in just under a year and I must say it was an experience!

So I made lunch of a ham salad pitta bread (wholewheat), as soon as I opened the pack of pitta bread I got a whiff of wheat and it was not a pleasant smell.  I must say that since starting a gf diet whenever I smell wheat I do get a sickly feeling in my stomach.  Getting over the smell I proceeded to make my lunch wondering how it would taste and whether I would start to crave other gluten filled foods.

Eating it was not too bad but to be honest it was not very enjoyable, I think I was more worried about what each bite was doing to my insides than savoring each bite and being thankful for a meal.

I must say though, so far so good, nearly 24 hours later I have not noticed any symptoms that I have not already had in the past week.  I did have a cup of peppermint tea that morning so I don't know if that made a difference or not.  But they do say as well that even if you do not experience symptoms immediately you should wait 48 hours before you can confirm whether you have had a reaction or not.

The pain I have in my back and shoulder must be due to the way I have been sleeping but I also think I made it worse with that walk I did on Wednesday because now I am in agony.  I don't know what I have done to myself but I hope it does not last through the weekend as I am due back to work next week after being off for two months, I really don't want to spend anymore time at home by myself, I'm bored.

Hopefully, symptom wise, I have another day like yesterday so wish me luck!

Preparing for GLUTEN

As I had to go to my GP surgery yesterday, I decided to make the most of my time outside of the house and pick up some bits to help me prepare for eating gluten over the next two weeks.

I decided to go to Sainsbury's and get some items so that I could make lunch for the next few days and after picking up some salad and a pack of chicken and ham slices I walked round to the bread aisle.  The first loaf of bread I picked up had a use by date of 01 Feb 14, there is no way I can use up a loaf of bread in three days.  So on to the next loaf, use by 31 Jan 14, I quickly put that back down on the shelf.  Why does bread have such a short shelf life or had they already been sitting there for a while?

Looking over at the wraps I quickly decided against those as they were on the bottom shelf and right now I have difficulty bending down that low.  But when I looked up I saw pitta bread and what stood out for me? Use by 20 Feb 14, perfect!

I also picked up some peppermint tea as I have been having some indigestion type symptoms over the past week and only had ginger and lemon tea at home which wasn't quite doing the trick.  So in anticipation of further discomfort over the next few weeks I thought I had better stock up.

On my way out of the store I looked over the road and noticed that the kebab shop was open, I have been wanting a kebab (I just have the meat and salad, no pitta bread) for the longest time and at that moment it was 3pm and I hadn't yet eaten for the day so I headed across the road.  I can honestly say that I had maybe 10 mouthfuls and I was done, when I looked at what was left it looked like I hadnt even started - what a waste of food - but at least I got what I wanted I suppose.

Anyway, I will begin my gluten introduction today at lunchtime, I am not even sure of the equivalent of one pitta bread to a slice of bread, but I can only eat what I can manage so whatever I can stomach will have to be enough really.

Wish me luck on my journey!

Re-introducing GLUTEN

I have been gluten free for just under a year and within the next few days I have to re-introduce gluten to my diet for a period of two weeks.  Why? Well, it's the only way to find out whether I have a gluten intolerance or allergy.

My only wish is that someone had explained the process to me before I began the gluten free diet in the first place.  I was referred to a dietitian via my GP in August 2012 due to some medical issues not responding to medication she felt that I needed assistance in losing weight.  Things were going well with an eating plan (three meals a day plus snacks in between, all healthy choices of course) I was encouraged to take up some gentle exercise but was not so keen on the idea and when I began continuously losing 2lbs per week just by changing my eating alone, I disregarded the exercise completely.

By December 2012 I started to have some gastro issues (don't want to be too graphic) and when I went to my next appointment I shared this with the dietitian and we agreed that it was dairy that was causing an issue and decided that I should eliminate this from my diet.  But by February 2013 I was still having the same issues, so we looked at my food diary and then agreed to eliminate wheat and gluten from my diet for a period of six weeks.

Now, I have had stomach and gastro issues for years but after several referrals no one could tell me the cause and I was just told to take painkillers to manage the pain.  Since starting a gluten free diet I can honestly say that I have had no regular stomach or gastro issues.  At worst I have had stomach pains when I have eaten something where I was unsure of the ingredients, so I have put that down to eating gluten without knowing.  But other than that I have felt so much better for it and to date I have lost a total of 4st (last weighed in November 2013).

So why am I re-introducing gluten?

Due to further medical issues over the past seven months I have become very anemic and the doctors are not sure of the cause of my iron deficiency, therefore they are carrying out a range of tests, examinations and scans to find out what is going on.  As a result I am due to have an endoscopy, colonoscopy and an MRI scan to look for any abnormalities which may indicate coeliac or crohn's disease.  In order for them to get a true indication I will need to eat gluten for a period of two weeks before these procedures.

If only my dietitian had referred me back to my GP for these tests before I started the gluten free diet then I would not be feeling so anxious now about eating gluten.

How will I re-introduce gluten?

The doctor has suggested that I would only need to eat either 2 slices of brown bread or 1 slice of white bread per day, which doesn't sound like much but could really have a big impact on my digestive system if I do have coeliac or crohn's disease.

At first I was worried about all of the symptoms coming back and how I would manage them, especially when I am at work, but then I started thinking about all of the things that I have not been able to eat for a year and using this time to take advantage of trying them.  But is that really a good idea?  The outcome would be increased symptoms and increased cravings when I have to give them up again.

So at the moment I am thinking that I will have a brown bread sandwich at lunchtime as my gluten meal each day.  I think lunchtime would be the best time to eat gluten as then the symptoms would emerge towards the end of the working day and I can deal with them at home.  It then allows me to eat gluten if I have absolutely no choice of a gluten free alternative whilst I am away from home in an area that does not stock gluten free products (because the one thing I have not got use to doing is packing gluten free snacks in my bag).

When do I plan to start?

Hopefully by the end of this week (31/1/2014).  I am nervous about it because I still remember the pain I went through and I really don't want to go through that again, so I am hoping that with just a small amount of gluten that my symptoms will not be so severe.  In the back of my mind there is a small hope that I have no symptoms at all and that I can possibly tolerate small amounts of gluten in my diet, which wouldn't make me feel like such a freak when it comes to eating out. 

However all in all being in a gluten free diet has helped me in more ways than one as i have lost the excess weight I have been carrying around since childhood, which I am grateful for, I just cant wait to fully enjoy my weight loss by going clothes shopping in the "normal" shops and not feeling restricted.

So wish me luck!