Digestive System

It all started in July after reports of  recreational water illnesses. I had the symptoms and sought a doctor for this. It isn't a pleasant thing to have to do in order for them to identify what illness it could be. The choices are Crypto which is a germ found in peoples stools. Or it could be Shigella which  is from infected pools and water sources. People can get E.Coli by swallowing  lake water. When the test results came back negative, the next step was to go to a "specialist with digestive diseases". After several visits, it was thought to be "passed" and symptoms subsided. Well it wasn't gone. I finally went back to my general doctor and requested some blood tests for many digestive diseases.  The preliminary test came back negative, two days later  the test did confirm celiac disease. This confirms the suspicion that I thought it was.  This is a autoimmune disease. When reading more about this, it is common with other autoimmune diseases including thyroid disease, which I have had for 22 years. At the time of the blood tests, I also had them check my thyroid and the test came back with my thyroid totally out of "whack". Doesn't surprise me, especially when I had gained weight even though my body was reacting to the foods I was eating.
Celiac disease is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important to staying healthy. This is due to the reaction to foods such as rye, wheat, barley and possibly oats. So what does this mean? It means eating healthier,avoiding processed foods, reading every label. Mainly eating fresh fruits and vegetables, main choices of meat, dairy and cheese products. Staying away from breads and pasta are most important but also knowing what is in a food. You need to know what spices or sauces are used and if they are used where wheat can be traced to. Taking beer out of your food group but you can still drink wine. If you cook your own foods at home it makes things a lot easier. In the end, it good to know what the problem is and what I can do about it. There isn't a medicine to fix it, just diet and exercise.
Kathy