Off The Beaten Path

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Georgia, United States
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never ever the same.

Monday, July 21

A Day for Resting


My back is hurting really bad today, that is what happens when I eat something that contains wheat, rye or barley. And of course there's the stomach cramps and trips to the bathroom. I have other symptoms, but they are a little less painful. I lose feeling in my toes and fingers and I get dizzy after I eat a meal. They are all signs that I have been glutened. Usually it is wheat, not barley or rye. Wheat seems to be in just about everything. Either plainly listed, or hidden in things such as spices or natural flavoring. If I am in doubt of what I can eat, I have to go to the Celiac's website and check it out or call the company. Yesterday my neighbor gave me a piece of barbecued steak. Jimmy barbecues often, and he knows that I love barbecue, so he gave me some steak yesterday. I asked him, now, this doesn't have anything on it that I can't eat, does it? He assured me that it didn't.... Well, all I know is, it tasted awfully good. And for the most part, if it is gluten free, it is pretty much flavorless. So I had my doubts. I was up about two hours after eating it in pain. And that lasts all through the night and into the next day. Well today is the next day, so I won't be doing much today. I knew better than to eat it......people just don't GET IT. For some reason they seem to think it is something you can eat a little and get by. Well that isn't the case, you can't trick the body, it seems to know when it has wheat, and it punishes me big time. I don't know if I will say anything or not, what is the use, I already ate it...........but next time.......I will decline.

11 comments:

Burfica said...

I'm so sorry your hurting.

wow I wonder what it could have had on it.

Can you take a little salt and pepper on the grilled food?? that may be the only route you got huh??

I hope you feel better soon.

Neoma said...

Hi Burfica, yeh, it is the pitts, because it is my back, it aches clear across the entire lower back, it feels like someone hit me with a board. It is a very different pain that a muscle ache. Anyway, I really don't know, she said that he put worsteshire sauce on it, the only one that I can have is Lee and Perins. it is supposed to be gluten free. The only problem with processed additives, they often change their ingredients without letting anyone know. The price of corn has gone up so much since they are now making fuel out of it, some companies have switched from corn starch to wheat starch....and that makes it something I can't have. I also ate some of my husbands potato pancakes, he insisted that he didn't use any wheat flour, but who knows. Especially when people have this idea they can trick you and you won't know. It is kind of sick really, but people get the idea something is in your head, so they test you. A lot of people do NOT understand this disease. And what people don't understand they have a hard time accepting. It is hereditary, I have probably had it my whole entire life, but it didn't become full blown until about three years ago when I got stung by seven bees within about a three month period. The last sting put me in the hospital. After that I started having all this stomach trouble....

Anyway once I have been "glutened" it is about three days before I feel like anything again, and bending over really hurts.....I won't be good for anything for a few days now.

Eating has become a real chore....

Neoma said...

PS, yes, I am safest with just salt and pepper and garlic. the blends always get to me.....because they have stuff in them I can't eat. Even if it doesn't state it has wheat, often they do.

Queenie said...

People are so foolish to ignore your complaint. My friends daughter has a nut allergie, she left her at a party once and gave the parent of the child's birthday party it was, strict instructions that she was to only eat the food she had brought for her. The stupid woman later at the hospital told my friend it was only a bit of birthday cake I didn't think it would hurt. Grrrrr, my friend almost lost her daughter that day, how stupid are some folks. I hope you soon feel better Nea, take it easy darling.

Neoma said...

Hi Queenie, it often goes beyond frustrating. I do NOT know what it is with people, Even my close friends, they act like it is a whim on my part. There is nothing about this that I like, food was my friend. I loved eating a bit ole butter roll. I loved my desserts, I am not happy about this at all, in fact much of the time it depresses me. So I don't understand why people think they are going to "cheer" me up by sneaking in something I can't eat. And then trying to talk me into eating it. In this case I don't know if it was delibertate or accidental. But I really have to watch what I put into my mouth. Because each attack seems to get worse.

This doesn't react like a common allergy in the sense I don't swell up, or lose my ability to breath. As I do with bee stings. What happens is in the small intestines. It actually erodes them, and in the process makes it impossible for me to absorb any nutrients. So I suffer in many ways. Over time you will get small intestine cancer, which is what my father just recently died from. He had uncontrolled Celiac's. I would not be surprised if it caused his dementia, because I know that I get "brain fog" also, when I am glutened, I have trouble concentrating and I feel like a person does when they are on pain killers.

I am finding it very difficult to stay gluten free when I eat out, or travel, or try and eat at someone elses house. So it is kind of making me a prisioner in my own home. And I hate that, but what can you do?


I can just imagine how mad that Mother must have been.......like I have said many times, people just don't get it........if you have an allergy, it can KILL YOU.

Anonymous said...

I would like to believe your neighbor didn't know there was gluten in the bite of food he offered you. I'm not so certain I would trust your husband (I don't know him, mind you) but he seems like the selfish sort to me, and not at all above "testing" your allergy.

Neoma said...

Hi Quilly, I truthfully don't think either one did it on purpose. After all my husband has to live with me, and life isn't fun when I have been glutened, haha. As to the neighbor it would have been out of ignorance.

But here is the problem, I have been told I can have Lee & Perrins Worsteshire Sauce. But companies change ingredients......and there is a possibility that they did, and the Celiac's website isn't aware of it. I am going to ask the company if I can get hold of them by phone. Regardless, I am going to leave it alone for awhile, I narrowed it down to that, everyday I eliminate something else from my diet that I thought I might be able to eat. It is maddening. I LIKE FOOD.

Libby said...

nea--this has to limit your life so much! more than anyone can imagine! i'd hate to think of anyone doing anything like this on purpose...that would suck so BAD, especilly if they;re aware of what you go through with it! i do know that rye gives symptoms like that...in fact, it's been said that it's a big part of the Salem witch trials, because they used rye a lot then for bread...rye causes all kinds of symptoms, seizures, brain fog, hallucinations, etc...weird, huh?

Neoma said...

Hi Libby, it does, it makes it really hard to travel. And even going to my son's is a problem, his wife is Philippino and she doesn't understand. Even after I have explained it. They think it is a whim or something.

It is hard to believe that something can do so many things to the body, but the Dr explained it that is a posion to my system. And it is hard to predict how the body will react. What happens when you go gluten free you find some of the problems that you had, that you couldn't get a diagnosis for, just go away. So I guess they have to have been related, although the Dr.'s just scratch their heads. It is a hereditary condition, so I can see where as to The salen witches, it might have run in families, and since they all inter married. It might have been in whole communities. The brain fog thing is really hard to explain, but it really effects the memory, and the ability to concentrate. You just feel kind of like you do after taking some strong medication and you are kind of floating along. I don't drive when I have been glutened anymore, because I realize I am not very alert. I used to blame it on all kinds of things, but now I know what was wrong with me. It also give me terrible joint pain. They had decided I had Lupus, now they say no, it is the Celiac's.....imagine.....all that medication.....and it was doing me NO good. And the cure for Celiac's, nothing, just don't eat wheat, rye or barley.....

Neoma said...

Oh, also, I had been suffereing TERRIBLE migraines for years, as far back as I can remember. They have COMPLETELY gone away since April, since going gluten free. Imagine....they say one out of 133 people have it, only 1 out of 3500 get diagnoses. So think of the many people out there who have it and are suffering the way I was, and are taking all kinds of medication with no real results. I also had TERRIBLE acid reflux which is another symptom....just about anything that is connected to diagestion I had wrong with me. But of course when your body can't absorb any nutrients, just think of all the things that can go wrong with your body.

Neoma said...

PLUS THREE surgeries, with NO results........that were of no good at all. Expensive and totally wasted surgeries......good grief......they are doing one quick diagnostic one on August 8, but it is just to determine how much damage has been done to my intestines. But it is still a wasted surgery, because there is NO medicine for this, no pill of any kind. No treatment other than stay away from glutens.