Blog 11 Celiac Disease and my Best Friend

     I am so grateful to have a handful of people in my life whom I consider my best friends. I have heard that old saying talking about "if you can go through life with atleast just 1 of these types of friends in your life then you are just fine"...or something like that, do you know what I am talking about? Anyway, luckily, I feel like I have a few of these people. Friendship is a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, disagreements, celebrations, good times and bad...much like a marriage! Included in this realm is health. It strikes each of us differently and at all different times. With this blog, I wanted to talk about Lindsey. She is one of my longest friends and very close to my heart. Ya'll know a little about her already....she has the granny that wants her to settle down. Well Lindsey was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in her early-mid twenties, she couldn't quite remember. For those of you who aren't familiar with this disease let me give you a quick overview..the disease is considered autoimmune because the body's own immune system causes the damage. The website http://www.counsellingresource.com/ defines it as: "Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine  and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats. When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the small intestine." A diagnosis like this, although things can always be worse, still took some getting used to, especially, at that age.
      I asked her a few questions, such as how difficult has it been to change your life to accommodate Celiac?, does this disease frustrate you?, how often are you sick from it?, and what do you do today to maintain optimal health and keep the flare-ups down? Having been friends for so long, I have seen her healthy and I have seen her sick. Here is a summation of her answers not verbatim:
It took a few months for me to get used to it because I had to evaluate everything I was eating and everywhere I went to eat. I had to learn to check ingredients and what the triggers were for my digestive/stomach pain. Sometimes I felt embarrassed at restaurants when the chef would have to visit me personally to discuss what was in the food cooked. I all the sudden felt so limited in what I could eat, yet I knew the pain caused by trigger foods wasn't worth it. Explaining my health when I would go on a date wasn't fun because I just felt like dealing with it was a pain. Fortunately, that was my insecurity and my situation always ended up being understood. Sometimes even today, it's hard to not give in to the foods that people will eat in front of me, and the people closest to me tend to order or serve with me in mind. I am not sick very often with this disease, thankfully, because I loaded myself up with education on it. Already being a healthy person who exercises made the transition of paying closer attention to ingredients etc. a bit easier. However, I do trigger a flare-up occassionally when I just have to satisfy a craving for some food with gluten in it, like pancakes, or a dessert. The way I maintain optimal health is through constant awareness of what I eat. I feel like I have to pay closer attention because of the digestive exacerbation on me than the person at the booth over. I realized that once I went an extended period of time without the foods I had to cut out, I had less desire/cravings for them. My body naturally adjusted to excessive amounts of veggies, fruits, and meats. Since I am living in Libya right now, this disease has been easier to handle than in America. The appealing food options here are much less...it's a way of life-vegetables (raw or cooked), camel, goat, fish, and fruit....most anything else around here is questionable!

Chronic diseases and autoimmune diseases range a great spectrum from severe and debilitating to mild and manageable. I have learned a lot from my friend, nutritionally, and perspectively. If your health is important enough to you, you will make the changes you need to make to adapt, in the end  your body will thank you for it and you will be a happier you.

Reference

National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). Celiac Disease. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from http://counsellingresource.com/distress/chronic/celiac/index.html