Dean's Story

[Kerri]

I came to this forum a couple of weeks ago after my husband decided he was going to try a gluten free diet after suffering from what he had recently learned were celiac symptoms for most of his life.

I met my husband about a year ago (Before he was my husband ofcourse!) and soon after we moved in together (it was one of those sickly love stories you see in the movies) and I love to cook and prepare his lunches - which meant a new diet for him as I learned what he liked and disliked about foods.

After around a month of sandwiches for lunch (He never used to take lunch to work) he began to complain of frequent stomach pain and would make frequent trips to the bath room, especially after meals. One day we visited the doctor for other reasons (We both had the flu) and he mentioned the symptoms he was having to the doctor he was advised that he should try an over the counter stomach cramp medication that he tried and had no relief from.

A few months later on another visit he was prescribed a stronger medication and given a referral to a specialist. The specialist ran a blood test for CD that came back negative however we had started to alter his diet at that time suspecting that it may have been a yeast allergy.

He was referred to a local hospital for further testing and was again told that the most likely cause of his stomach pain was CD. At which time the doctor suggested he have an endoscopy and colonoscopy. Which, being the typical man, he flat out refused (I quote "Nothings going in the out zone")

So we decided to try him on a GF diet anyway, just to see what effect that might have on his symptoms and pretty quickly discovered he felt much better. He has decided to continue being GF from this point onward.

Since trying the GF diet and reading these forums I have spoken to my husband about the experiences of other people here and he likens a lot of his childhood illnesses to the symptoms described on this forum. At age 8 or 9 he told me he was diagnosed with Hepititis A however recent blood tests from the doctor (He was unsure as to what vaccinations he had) suggested that he never had this. At the time he recalls that he was frequently having excruciating stomach pain and chronic diarrhea.

He told me that at that time his family was not all that well off and pretty much most meals consisted of bread and some filling.

I apologize for the long windedness of this post but thats our/his story. He has an account on the Forum here but I've had trouble convincing him to join in with the community because he's having a little bit of trouble coming to terms with the drastic change in his diet and also the big deal that people around him are making of it.

Kerri

[ostrich]

*waves at Kerri and her husband* Welcome! I'm glad you decided to join us. No worries if your husband wants to keep lurking.

I can't blame your husband for freaking out about those procedures. I'd probably freak out too (and say the same thing, LOL). There's a few of us who don't have an official diagnosis for lots of reasons, and we're still managing.

You mentioned people are making a big deal out of all this. I'm assuming it's in a bad way? If so I'm very sorry. Some people (usually friends and family) can blow this out of proportion. I've found that redirecting the conversation helps. Try to divert it to another topic the person likes to talk about. Have you checked out the thread over here? They may give you some more ideas.
_________________
Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[aklap]

G'Day Kerri & Dean!

Thanks for sharing your stories with us. Yeah, it's tough to do this. It tough on so many levels. We talk about changing our diet - but in reality it goes far beyond just a change in diet. It's a change in lifestyle. Like it or not - this effect everyone. Not only, Dean, but Kerri and all of your friends and loved ones - everyone that you come in contact with. [sorry, I'm not trying bring you down]. We all know that we can not change others - but thankfully we can change ourselves. It all starts by how we choose to view what is happening to us. If we view this in a positive way - it's going to make things that much easier - on everyone. Dean, think how much better you are going to feel. You're going to wish you had done this years ago...

Positive Mental attitude is one of the keys to success in dealing with this.

Support is another key. Dean, you've got a great support system in Kerri. How cool is it that she cares enough about you to want to learn more about this? And yourself - you've taken it upon yourself to try the GF diet. You're seeing improvements and feel that it's the right path for you. WELL DONE!! However, there's going to be time when you're going to need to vent, rant, rave, yell & scream about what you're going thru. As good as Kerri knows and understands what's going on - you're going to need someone that has walked in your shoes. This is where a local support or even online support groups [I wonder where online you could possibly go....hmmmm....how 'bout here!! ] are invaluable. We've walked 1 - 10 - 100 miles in those shoes of yours [ewwww! ]. We know what you're going thru. If you've got a local support group - please, seek them out. Face to face contact is a tough act to follow Of course, that still does not relieve you of your duties to hang out with us! Heheheee

Ya gotta help me out Dean, I [and Dan and Tim and Jim] are a bit out numbered here... Sometimes there's an awful estrogen around here