Waiting For Test Results

[Melissa312]

I have had problems for as long as I can remember with vitamins and feeling weak but I always just thought that I didn't have a great diet. About a month ago I went into the hospital with severe abdominal pain. They assumed gallbladder or something of the sort but every test showed nothing wrong. I had an upper GI, endoscopy, colonoscopy and much more while there all with no negative results. I went home and resumed life as normal and within 2 weeks I was back in the hospital and back at the gastro doc's office. They just kept saying I must be anxious and stressed out because I am planning on getting married later this year. There was nothing more frustrating that having multiple people tell you that you are just crazy and you appear to be healthy. I am 24 years old and have never been tested for food allergies and now I am really worried. I am a bread lover and I bake nearly every 3 or 4 days. I cannot bear to think that I am going to have never eat those foods again.

I am trying to look on the bright side of things and realize that I could have had even more problems or not figured out what was going on with my body, but it is rough. I am waiting on blood serology testing as well as biopsy results. I haven't had any gluten since the biopsy but I am having difficulty with imagining what I will eat now, how I will cook differently. I know that I should get advice from my doctor, but I am hoping that this forum group will be able to help me through my diagnosis because I have cried thinking about how I can no longer eat my famous chocolate chip cookies. I feel like I don't know where to start because this is such a radical change for me. I bought a few gluten free products like bread and cookies but now I read on here that sometimes these are still better to eliminate from my diet. Where should I start? I have no diagnosis, but I feel like I should change my diet anyway. Any advice or words of wisdom for a baker who can't have regular bread?

[canuckchick]

I hear you -- it's hard to wrap your head around.

On the plus side, you could choose to view it as a whole new baking challenge. You mastered the art of the "normal" chocolate chip cookie... now you get to master the art of the gluten-free one! (My first gluten-free baking attempt, two days ago, was not such a success. Hint: don't skip the xantham gum.)

Take it one day at a time for now... I think that's all there is to do. If you find that your new diet makes you feel much better, that may well be enough to make up for the loss of your old favorite foods.

I'm staring down the same thing myself... waiting for test results, changing my diet anyway, and seeing things I might not be able to eat again everywhere I look. But then I read through some of the great gluten-free blogs out there... with recipes and amazing photos of beautiful food... and I remember that there is a whole world of food to be had without gluten. And hopefully a whole lot less gas, too.

Good luck!

[Melissa312]

I hear you -- it's hard to wrap your head around.

On the plus side, you could choose to view it as a whole new baking challenge. You mastered the art of the "normal" chocolate chip cookie... now you get to master the art of the gluten-free one! (My first gluten-free baking attempt, two days ago, was not such a success. Hint: don't skip the xantham gum.)

Take it one day at a time for now... I think that's all there is to do. If you find that your new diet makes you feel much better, that may well be enough to make up for the loss of your old favorite foods.

I'm staring down the same thing myself... waiting for test results, changing my diet anyway, and seeing things I might not be able to eat again everywhere I look. But then I read through some of the great gluten-free blogs out there... with recipes and amazing photos of beautiful food... and I remember that there is a whole world of food to be had without gluten. And hopefully a whole lot less gas, too.

Good luck!

I am getting better each hour. I just found out about a support group here for celiacs, and I feel like that could be very helpful. I am also sure that with time I can learn new recipes and make this into a fun adventure, it is just hard because people don't understand. They say things like "so you just need to become a vegetarian." I just think, ha, I wish it were that easy.

I think the convenience factor is also what is rough because I am used to frozen foods and prepackaged items that I can grab on the way to work. I feel like tomorrow I just need to clean out my entire pantry and just start fresh. My fiance is great and wants to eat along with me so I feel like I have plenty of support. Thanks for your words of wisdom.

[canuckchick]

I just found this:

Open Original Shared Link

Pictures to make anyone feel less depressed about the options!