the vynsane asylum

As many/most of you know I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Because of my medication I have to get blood work done a couple of times a year.

The last 2 times I had blood work my liver counts were high, so my Rheumatologist scheduled an ultrasound to make sure my meds weren't irritating my liver. At that time they also did a shitload of blood work.

That blood work came back indicating I may have Celiac (or Coeliac) disease, where the body reacts negatively to gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats. Gluten damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents the body from absorbing the nutrients it needs.

So they scheduled me for a endoscopy last Friday, where they knocked me out and stuck a scope down my throat and took a few biopsies. The whole thing took 15 minutes.

I got a call from the doctor's office today telling me I do indeed have Celiac disease.

So now I have an appointment on Tuesday with a nutritionist for dietary information.

This isn't the end of the world, but it really sucks. Since this possibility of Celiac arose I've been looking in stores for gluten-free products and well, pickins are slim.

On the bright side, this may explain why I'm always so damn tired, as fatigue is the only symptom I saw that I clearly have. I always assumed it was because I probably have a sleep apnea (which I've never had checked).

Also, thank God for the internet. A quick search brought up a ton of info and recipes and whatnot.






You know what foods have gluten in them?
The best ones.

Dude that is shitty, but it's so common for people to choose gluten-free diets these days, I'm sure you'll find whatever you fancy in some worse-but-not-so-bad format.

It will take some getting used to, but you're going to feel A LOT better I'm guessing. Keep us posted.

Thanks. It'll just be a tough adjustment, especially since I eat like shit most of the time. After a while, I'm sure it'll get easier.

My only fear, if you want to call it that, is that gluten-free diets are a fad right now amongst the dieting sheep.
Remember the low-carb/carb-free diets a few years ago? You couldn't walk down an aisle at the grocery store without seeing that crap. Now, it's still there, but barely.
Even though gluten-free is popular, finding gluten-free stuff can be a bit of a chore. I've been keeping an eye out since this possibility arose. Good thing I like frozen waffles since they seem to be in abundance.

And you know what else has gluten in it?
Beer.
Mother fucking beer.



Adam says they make gluten-free beer and it ain't that bad.
We'll see.

They do make it, but I've not tried it.

I mentioned on the Book of Faces, but a lot of the smaller grocery stores carry more variety. Trader Joe's has some, but you said it's about an hour away to the nearest one, and I'm not sure they carry enough to make it worth the trip. I don't know how many independent grocers there are near you, or how familiar you are with them, but they tend to carry more gluten-free stuff. Co-ops and health food stores as well. If worse comes to worse, there's a pretty wide range of stuff in Palm Springs, and it might be cheaper for me to ship you one or two specialty things than to order them online from a company and pay shipping.

Buckwheat flour makes some damned good pancakes, and soba noodles are a passable (though far from perfect) alternative to spaghetti noodles. I'm pretty sure rice noodles are gluten-free, too.

I tried a couple of gluten-free "candy bars" today. One was just ok (peanut butter chocolate) and one was pretty good (apple pie), although the texture left something to be desired. It was like chewing one of those campfire starter logs. They were on sale for $1.00 each. I can't say I'd pay full price ($1.89) for 'em.