Does Anyone Get Angry At Having This Illness?

[lonewolf]

I am thankful that I found a way to live my life without horrid medications. I'm supposed to be in a wheelchair, crippled with arthritis, so I'm REALLY happy that instead I can teach PE, coach basketball and run triathlons. I was in constant pain and couldn't even take care of my kids by myself almost 10 years ago when I discovered I had food allergies. After eliminating my allergens I started getting better immediately. (It still took a year before I was fully better.)

The only thing that makes me angry is that I was told that my allergies would go away over time if I avoided those foods - this was wrong. I was told that the super high positive reaction to gluten on the ELISA test was a false positive and not to worry too much as long as I avoided wheat. That was not the case and I have endured ongoing, mostly minor problems which I am 100% sure are because of the small amounts of gluten I continued to eat. I was told in one day to eliminate wheat, eggs, soy, dairy, several kinds of beans, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and a few other vegetables and was given NO HELP WHATSOEVER for how to eat. I had no internet at the time, hadn't heard of Celiac Disease and didn't know a single person who was on a restricted diet. I almost developed an eating disorder because I was so afraid to eat anything. I lost so much weight that people started whispering about me and some people came right out and asked if I had cancer or anorexia. I would have loved to have known about this website back then!

On the flip side, I have made EVERY mistake a cook can make while trying to cook and bake without wheat and other allergens. So I laugh along with people who post stories about flops in the kitchen since I have made more than my share of gooey, gross, inedible food. I wish I would have written down all the funny (looking back) mistakes I made.

I try to focus my energy on the positive and how I can help others. My husband's cousin just found out she has celiac disease and I don't want to overwhelm her with help, but I feel good that at least I can encourage her. A lady at church also has celiac disease and I have been able to help her by giving advice and even made the food for her at a luncheon she gave so everyone could eat the same food. A little girl at my school has celiac disease and I bought her some Kinnikinnick "K-Toos" for Christmas. She has never tasted an Oreo, so she is thrilled. I am aware that my children might have problems later in life, so I can be here to help make sure they don't get as sick as I did.

I do understand why people would be angry. I have been there. I miss the social aspects of eating out and going to people's houses without taking my own food, but it is a SMALL price to pay for good health. When I start to feel sorry for myself I take out my handicapped parking permit, long since expired now, and thank God that I found an alternative.

Liz

[Guest CD_Surviver]

i am not nessarily angry that i have the disease but when i hve gluten it makes me angry. just recently i have found that when i have gluten i get extreamlly angry for no reason at all. i hate and now for that reason and 0thers i stay away from gluten because it has started to destroy friendships i have.

Lauren

[hippiegirl]

I am finding myself very angry at having this disease and not being able to eat normal junk food, etc. Does anyone have a similar experience? I get so angry I get depressed. It is very frustrating

I find candy bars a good junk food, and I also made the best apple cinnimon muffins the other day, to die for (believe it or not), also chips, are another good junk food, and also found out how much I like watermelon. It is sweet and takes care of my cravings for sweet stuff.

[MACE]

I DO NOT GET ANGRY AT HAVING THIS DISEASE. WHAT MAKES ME ANGRY IS THAT IT TOOK SO LONG TO FIND THE PROBLEM. DO I MISS SOME OF THE FOODS I USE TO EAT OH YES. THEN I BREAK DOWN AND EAT SOMETHING AND THAT IS IT. DO NOT DO IT AGAIN ONCE I SEE WHAT IT HAS DONE TO ME ALL OVER AGAIN. GUESS I AM A SLOW LEARNING THAT I HAD TO KEEP TRYING SOMETHING AFTER A FEW WEEKS JUST TO SEE IF I WOULD HAVE A PROBLEM. NOW I DO NOT WANT THAT STUFF. I DO MESS UP AT TIMES AND EAT SOMETHING I SHOULD NOT SINCE I AM STILL LEARNING EVERYTHING THAT DOES HAVE GLUTEN IN IT, HIDDEN THINGS.

[Lovinglife]

Yes, anger is definitely a natural, even beautiful part of the process of acceptance. Also, as many have said, it's also important for us to be grateful for the diseases that we DO NOT have, for the life that some of us can still LIVE. Right now I'm suffering with a lot of muscles and joint pains and stiffness and being gluten-free is hardly annoying or upsetting. Rather, it is freeing because I am almost FORCED to eat better. I will pray that we all embrace our emotions so that we can transcend them.

[CeliaCruz]

i am not nessarily angry that i have the disease but when i hve gluten it makes me angry. just recently i have found that when i have gluten i get extreamlly angry for no reason at all.

Same here. In theory, I'm "angry" that I have this disease. I hate the inconvenience and social conflict that it causes. I'm mad that I wasn't diagnosed earlier by the highly respected doctors who treated me. I'm pissed off that there isn't a pill I can take that will make this all go away. Yada yada yada.

On the other hand, my general mood is just so much more stable these days since I went off gluten that I don't actually *GET* angry. Back when I ate gluten, I was so irritable. I would get pissed off about things that were comparatively minor. Anti-depressants helped take the edge off, but not that much. Now, I'm too mellow to get that upset about it.

[cadillacjack]

I am finding myself very angry at having this disease and not being able to eat normal junk food, etc. Does anyone have a similar experience? I get so angry I get depressed. It is very frustrating

Why get angry it doesn't do any good. think of this as a chance to improve your life and make positive changes. It was easy to eat all that junk food but it takes strength as an individual to eat for your health so as to feel better. If you search it out you will find a better junk food. So enjoy and move on with your new life. Been doing this for 30 years and loving it.

[frustratedneicey]

I'm joining in with the group of angrys!! I don't think it is the disease itself that makes me so angry. Believe me, I was really sick for years. I think what makes me angry is the limited choices of food, and the cost. Yes, I could cook long meals from scratch, (and I love to cook) but I also have MS and my fatique just zaps all my energy from me. I get bored with food, and it doesn't help when everyone around you is yumming it up over the awesome pie or pizza their eating.

I just wish there was more of out there for us. I really think that it is pretty lousy that as many people that have this disease, there is not a bigger selection.

But most of all, I think that if we just lived in a world where people were more considerate of others around them and their needs, it would make it so much easier to bare. The support of loved ones, and even of co-workers, etc, would make this a much easier thing to deal with. I remember when my mom used to diet to lose weight, you couldn't bring one treat in the house, but where is that support when I need it? Not there. And this is way more important than some fad diet! So, as I said, I don't think having this disease makes me angry, (though my other disease does), or the diet, I think it is the "slap in the face" I get from people all the time.

[floridanative]

I'm not angry and consider my swift diagnosis a true blessing. But I'm angry that my Mother was 'stolen' from us for almost 20 years due to undisgnosed Celiac. DH could not believe the woman my Mother was when he met her, was the same person who raised me. She was so negative, so scared of life really, she was simply not the Mother I knew. My sister I discussed it and wondered where our 'real' Mother went. I chalked it up to her being married to my dad who is rather negative himself. In the end, after 18 years of being told she had Lupus when she didn't to her having her gallbladder removed (that will make you well - NOT!) to finally recently being told she had IBS, almost all her problems were being caused by Celiac. Now the fog is slowly lifting but I fear that some of the damage won't be undone. Certainly her thyroid disease and arthritis are not going away completely but hopefully they'll get better. Hopefully her mood will continue to improve and her outlook on life will get better. I guess time will tell. She's only been gluten free for five months.....plus she's still married to my dad.

[taz sharratt]

I am finding myself very angry at having this disease and not being able to eat normal junk food, etc. Does anyone have a similar experience? I get so angry I get depressed. It is very frustrating

damn straight i am P****D off i cant eat my sons birthday cake with him

[emcmaster]

Actually, for the most part, I feel blessed. I suffered for years despite seeing dozens of specialists a year who didn't diagnose me. The fact that avoiding certain foods can actually make me feel like a normal person seems a small price to pay.

On the other hand, I'm currently frustrated because I'm not feeling so good and I'm pretty sure I haven't been glutened. I'm hoping that I can figure out whatever it is that isn't agreeing with me soon so I can cut it out of my diet.

I imagine the degree of anger or bliss about this disease has to do with the severity and particular symptoms you have.