Recent Findings

Recently I've been going through a lot of different changes (good and bad) in my life. And of course, for me, change means stress! Stress has always had the primary effect of making me sick. Whether it's general malaise or, if it's a high level of stress, I completely lose my appetite and have to kick start my system with rice for a day. Unfortunately I've had pretty high levels lately. I ended up doing an unintentional experiment of not taking my vitamins for a week. I quickly found out 2 things this does to me. A) my IBS goes hay-wire. I don't know if it's the combo of pills, or the fact that I take Aloe Vera, but my daily regimen definitely helps to keep my IBS under control. And B) my moods were awful! Aside from the regular stress emotions, I just felt down and out. I hadn't felt that bad since before taking my "cocktail" daily. I still have some pretty big stressors at the moment, but I hope that by keeping up with my pills I can help keep the bodily effects to a minimum.

Aside from my unintentional experiment, I'll share some products I've started using recently! One of my favorite things is finding stuff I can either put on or in my body :)

First, I absolutely love that walmart labels their generics GF. I also found out that King Soopers does this.

GF Chex is amazing! Especially the Honey Nut variety. (I really want them to make Kix GF too).

Microwave popcorn is my weakness. Especially the super buttery stuff. Orville Redenbacher is my fav.

Delimex tamalles with plain yogurt instead of sour cream...amazing!

I have tried multiple GF beers, but they all make me feel bloated and gross. But I found that hard ciders are a wonderful alternative! Woodchuck and Ace Perry cider and my favorites.

I have always had issues with acne. With my recent cosmetic/personal care item switch I had to find all new products to use. I found out that Proactive is GF. Even though it's a bit more expensive, at least it doesn't clog my pores (though it does tend to dry out my skin, I'm still adjusting to it).

Suave is awesome! Their salon line works amazingly well, and is priced great! I had been using Giovanni from Whole Foods for a while, but it's just so darn expensive! And I have a lot of hair, so I went through it way too fast. Suave is a much better option for me (and their body wash isn't bad either).

Burt's Bees is my favorite lip balm hands down. Always has been, always will be.

Afterglow cosmetics are great! They're a little high priced, but they are very high quality and don't have all the stuff in them that can cause acne like other cosmetics. I use their concealer, powder foundation and finishing powder, bronzing powder, eye liner and mascara. My only issue is that their mascara isn't water proof so I have to watch my under eye area so I don't turn into a raccoon throughout the day.

The beginnings

Even when I was little I had digestive issues. I used to drink mineral oil nightly before going to bed as a laxative, and prune juice was always on hand in case things got too "tough." I remember one time after eating a piece of chocolate cake just lying on the couch because I was so nauseated. Sometimes just the taste of a pastry would make me gag a little bit.

Once I started college things started to go downhill. I can't pinpoint exactly when it was that I started getting fed up with feeling sick all the time, but I eventually started visiting the doctor on a more than annual basis to try and figure out what was wrong with me. My first diagnosis was Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Well super, something that can't be tested for and that doesn't have a specific treatment except increasing water and fiber intake. Things still weren't going to great when I got another diagnosis; Gastroesophogeal Reflux Disease (GERD, or acid reflux in fancy terms). Ok, that can be medicated. I started taking Zantac at a regular dose. That didn't work, so they doubled it. Still nothing, so they doubled that. Still nothing. So then they change my prescription to Prilosec. I'll admit I didn't always take it as directed (I was in college, I couldn't exactly take a pill 30 minutes before eating, I snacked all the time, no real meals). Go figure, Prilosec didn't work either. I was still getting nauseated all the time, and the IBS symptoms were driving me crazy. Multiple times a day I'd start feeling like I needed to go, so I'd hit the bathroom hoping this was my lucky day and I'd actually be regular. But I would quickly realize it wasn't my lucky day, and all I'd get was something not even close to being satisfactory for all the nerve impulses it was sending.

I was talking with a friend of mine when she first mentioned Celiac Disease. She told me about a previous aquaintance of hers that had similar symptoms and ended up finding out what the real cause was. By this point I was determined to figure out what was wrong with me. I knew my body well enough to know that there was something more systemic going on that IBS and GERD. So once again I return to the doctor. I ended up seeing a nurse practitioner (nothing against them, I actually prefer them). When I asked her about Celiac Disease she had to leave the exam room and ask someone about it. When she returned she promptly told me that wasn't in the realm of possibilities for me and give me another handout about IBS.

Not being discouraged I decided to take another route; I went in for allergy testing, specifically for foods. The allergist tested me for foods on my left arm and environmental allergens on my right. Absolutely nothing reacted on my left arm, but my right arm had multiple reactions. For as long as I remember I never suffered from seasonal allergies (although now I do oddly enough). After he went over the results with me, I decided to give Celiacs another shot. Thankfully he was a bit more knowledgeable than the previous medical professional I had asked about this possibility. He asked my symptoms (nausea, constipation, etc...), said he didn't think I had but was willing to test me for if I wanted. Of course I agreed, it's just a simple blood test, shouldn't be too difficult.