AliB

Hi. I am Ali, 50+, and I live in (not so) sunny South Wales, UK.

I have been suffering with health issues since I can remember - many colds and infections as a child, weight problems by puberty, heavy periods, constant fatigue from the age of 15. I gained a lot more weight during my first pregnancy and never lost it, have had digestive issues most of my adult life, became diabetic at 40 and ended up with several years of constant and unrelenting IBS before my digestion finally collapsed in Jan 2008 after being put on Byetta for the diabetes for 3 months.

Doctors could find nowt wrong, so it was up to me and I picked up after doing research, on the Celiac connection, realised both my Dad and Mum had had similar issues and immediately dropped both gluten and dairy. Overnight the pain in my stomach disappeared and the D stopped. Amazing!

However, other issues still persisted and I still had difficulty digesting carbs, particularly the high gluten-free carbs so I went low carb, then discovered the Specific Carb Diet (SCD) which I have been following ever since, latterly incorporating a lot more raw food into the diet too, now I can cope with it, as it gives me more energy.

I am healing. It has been a slow process - made slower by me not always being as disciplined with the diet as is good for me, but the way I was, any progress is a boost.

I now (Jan 09) no longer react to gluten but will not consume it again until I am fully healed and even then only as an occasional treat. I can also tolerate a little dairy but again will not reintroduce it until I am well.