New From Nyc

[L Ceezy]

Hello, my name is Lauren and I actually live over in Hoboken, NJ, but work and play in Manhattan. I'm 28 and was self-diagnosed and them confirm one year ago. I've had Celiac since I was 17 and I missed 55 days of school my senior year from just being too tired to get up. I had a really tough next 10 years. I kept trying everything to figure out what was wrong with me and wouldn't give up. Everyone else said I was crazy, I was just depressed, I was a hypochondriac, I'm fine, etc., including many doctors. By the last few years I was having bathroom issues about 8 times a day and could barely eat. But apparently that's IBS and I'm supposed to live with? It wasn't possible.

2 summers ago I went to my doctor in tears because I could not get out of bed at all. It was such a struggle to get to the doctors. I told him I seriously cannot go on like this. He said okay, so I might as well give you everything. He put me on testosterone cream, cortisol, and a supplement called Travacor, which contains 5-HTP. These helped enough to get me moving somewhat, and in April I had enough energy to plan a trip to Kripalu (a yoga retreat center) for a week long workshop on nutrition and cooking. I had been trying to eat healthier for a while, but of course that included lots of whole grains. I was worried about sharing a bathroom at the retreat space, but I decided it was too important and I just had to deal.

While there, I learned about Celiac. I had heard of gluten-free and stuff before, but decided I didn't want to be one of those people, lol. Well once I really learned about it I was like holy s$#&! This is it!!

I had always described my pain and difficulty in eating with "it feels like I have a sunburn inside my stomach" and once I saw a picture of a Celiac small intestine, I knew why! Everything was explained, the 8 billion cavities I've had, the severe acne, the diarrhea immediately after eating, even the odd result on a liver test that prompted a doctor to call for a liver biopsy.

So that's my story before knowing. Well, obviously some other crappy things happened as a result of being sick too, but figured it was long enough. Now that I've known, I am SO happy, all the time! I just can't even get that upset about anything, as long as I don't feel how I did before. I mean, I've only known for a year, and I've made a lot of mistakes like anyone else, but even when I get glutened at least I know what it is and that IT WILL GO AWAY!!

Now I just want to work on my health, and help others. I'm applying to go back to school full-time for nutrition in the fall, after I get my two A's in the classes I took this semester on Friday The things I'm doing these days are blowing my mind, I never thought I'd be able to. Like going to Bali for the month of August to finally get certified in yoga. I've been doing yoga since I was 18, and it's really the thread that held me together all those years. I was always too afraid to make the commitment to go to yoga school before though, because I knew one day I'd be too tired to make it, and would disappoint everyone and myself again. Now I KNOW I can do it!

Alright well thanks for reading this all, much love <3

[GFinDC]

Welcome to the board LC! It's great that you are feeling better. Congratz on your new activities. Feel free to ask questions and hang around the threads. Nice to have you here!

[WinterSong]

Hi, welcome to the board! It sounds like you have a really great attitude - way to go! Keep trucking ahead! By the way, I'm a certified yoga teacher, and that really helped me a lot as well.