Saturday, February 27, 2010

Celiacs? Wheat Intolerance?

My last post gave some clues that we are seeing doctors, and moving forward on some infertility tests. Part of us moving forward extends into my diet.

I've learned over the years that the endometriosis in my body affects me in many, many ways. The backaches and cramps that I experiences nearly every day are horrible. After two laparascopies I know it is still there, I feel it.
There seems to be only one thing I can do to control it - and that is to control my diet. A couple years ago I found some information online that said many women who went on a special diet - mainly excluding gluten or wheat - had almost all their pain disappear.

About two years ago, I tried this. And it worked. Nearly no pain. But it is super hard to avoid wheat and I have done a poor job controlling my diet.

I mentioned this to our IVF doctor - he laughed. I mentioned it to my gynecologist - he nearly laughed.

Then, about 3 weeks ago, in my search for ridding my house of all white flours and sugars, I made a batch of muffins with whole wheat pastry flour. Within two hours I was very sick. I had a rash on my arm, I was nauseous, I developed a migraine, and had many other pains. I had to leave my desk at work and go lay down in the clinic - not a normal occurrence.

I suddenly came to the realization there was a good possibility I was dealing with - a possible case of celiac disease or gluten intolerence - that was leading to the endometriosis - that was leading to infertility. There is a lot that I keep thinking about here, but mainly I keep thinking that if I have an autoimmune disorder, I should probably see a fertility specialist that deals with reproductive immunology.

So I called my new primary doctor and finally had an appointment yesterday. She agreed; no laughing. What a relief. She said it was very likely that I might have celiac's or a gluten intolerance and I definitely needed to be tested. I went for the bloodwork. If it comes back negative, then I have to go see an allergist for a skin test.

And regardless of the test results, the bottom line is I know wheat has an affect on me. And this is one area that I have control over. And one area that might affect my fertility. So I am moving foward on new eating plan.

The recommended endo diet goes something like this - no meat, no wheat, no dairy, no coffee, no tea, no hydrogenated oils. I figured if I was going to follow this, I might as well try a raw food diet...more to come.

2 comments:

Kelly said...

Wow! Lots of answers. I don't know if I could do it. I like bread WAAAYYY too much. Good for you though. I know I couldn't give up meat - I just don't like fish.

Hua said...
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