Since sharing my raw post about what it feels like to live with celiac disease, I’ve gotten hundreds of comments, emails, and DMs from the celiac community thanking me for putting some of what they feel into words. This year I wanted to share more of a community perspective, so I posted the following statement on my Facebook page and asked people to comment. “What I wish people knew about…
Eight years ago, my husband was coaching in the Arizona League (rookie ball). We lived in Arizona full time, and our kids loved running around at Dad’s games on the grass of the backfields of Salt River. Life was good…except I was sick…and we didn’t know why. My hair was falling out, I was so bloated I looked pregnant, my stomach was always in knots, and I couldn’t keep my…
Six years ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the small intestine when you ingest gluten. Even the tiniest amount of gluten, a mere crumb, can make me sick for weeks. Not surprisingly, since my diagnosis, I haven’t been invited to many dinner parties. It’s just too hard to figure out how to safely feed someone like me. But here’s the thing I…
Never before have I felt so ready to start over. In 2016, I felt…out of it. I’m not sure how else to describe it. In between moments of clarity and energy, I mostly felt blah. Focus was hard to come by, and my brain struggled to read, write, and process information. Some of this stems from autoimmune issues. I had a massive setback in February and multiple incidents throughout the…
Celiac disease looks like something different for everyone. For many, a run-in with gluten ends with an uncomfortable trip to the bathroom. For others, fatigue follows them around for days, making it hard to work. The thing is, there are over 300 symptoms of celiac disease, and it hits us all differently. For me, gluten goes straight for my brain. I’m having a hard time typing this right now as…
The last time you filled a prescription at the pharmacy, you probably filled your prescription, picked up your medication, received instructions from the pharmacist, and put the pill in your mouth all in the same day. That’s what I used to do too. Then came celiac disease. Now from the time my doctor prescribes my medication to the time I can actually take the medication is a minimum of three…
Because it’s Celiac Awareness Month, and because I just ate the last 5 meals at their house, I thought I would share this old post written by my parents. To say I have supportive parents would be an understatement. The older I get, the more thanks I give for the love, loyalty, and encouragement they show me every day. I asked them to write a guest post about how they…