I AM WHAT I ATE …

When the phone rings no one hopes that it is the doctor.

By Karina Reeves

So, I thought that my 40s were going to be the best years of my life. I’m not saying this year has not been good but it’s definitely been filled with loss, grief, discovery and growth. A growth spurt, in the spiritual sense but just as painful as that physical growth you had in the sixth grade. But, the most important lesson of this year was learning to live within the moment. To really LIVE.

I’ve always been a dreamer and while many things have come to fruition … I haven’t accomplished as much as I’ve wanted due to fear. One easy example of this is my fear of being thin. Most of my life, I’ve been what I call a “chubbette.” The fear of being thin was always greater than the familiarity of being overweight. Don’t get me wrong I’ve been playing with the yo-yo of weight loss and gain practically my entire life but I’ve also learned to be honest…and, that is the plain ole truth.

Sometimes what we need but can’t achieve is taken out of our hands and instead of something we’d like becomes something we need. This brings us to the subject of this blog. A month ago I went to the doctor’s for a check-up, which usually includes a little blood work. The week after my blood work, the doctor’s office calls and lets me know that I have a Vitamin D deficiency but everything else looks good. This isn’t a big deal, just need to take a supplement and not avoid sunlight like a vampire (which if you knew me would be hilarious because you can’t get much more “white girl” than me.) So I think, “Okay, two caramel calcium chews with vitamin D and I’ll be good.” I asked her the result of the other tests and was told everything else was in the normal range.

The very next day the doctor’s office calls again and tells me I am borderline diabetic. (And for those of you that do not know what that is, the America Diabetes Association defines it as when the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use glucose for energy). The nurse says that I must get my sugars under control or I will develop full blown diabetes. I know this to be true because diabetes runs rampant in my family. For once in my life, I was actually frightened about the possibility of diabetes if I didn’t get my ass in gear. My father’s diabetes is so severe that at times his retinas bleed. He describes it as looking out and seeing streams of blood coming down as if he was watching it happen outside himself. There was no way in hell I was going to let this happen to me especially when it can be controlled with food. Before hanging up, I asked the nurse if that was the only thing that was abnormal (because I can’t handle them calling me every day with a different thing!) She said that nothing else was out of range.

Two weeks later, the doctor’s office called me AGAIN!!! “Are you kidding me? Really?” What the hell was the matter with me now? I specifically asked what the results of the other test were and was told everything was fine. I mean, come on!!! The nurse said that the gene panel came back. I thought all the tests were already back but apparently not. The gene panel showed that I do have Celiac Disease. (According to Celiac.com, Celiac Disease is also known as the body’s intolerance to gluten which is food grain antigens such as wheat, rye and barley.)

Recently I’ve done some reading about Celiac Disease and it turns out that most of the odd medical symptoms I’ve had for over a decade are also symptoms of Celiac. I’ve had medical oddities that no doctor in any specialty has been able to figure out for years (actually 12 years). I had given up finding out what I actually had because over the years I’ve gone to as many doctors practicing as many specialties (all passing me off to another doctor/specialty.) I was thrilled to maybe have an answer to my 12 year mystery. Not that I wanted Celiac but idea of knowing and not living with the frustrations and symptoms of a medical mystery is exciting. Yes, it changes everything about my life and how I will live but it reinforces living in the present. I say this knowing that this part of my journey is starting and not every blog will seem like a pep rally but I hope to give you worthwhile information, make you laugh, maybe give you some tips and hopefully get some tips from you that we can pass onto others.

So, needless to say, at 40 years old, I’m trying to figure out who I want to become and how I’m going to get there. I am hoping you will share this journey with me or at least read it to see what happens (the good and the ridiculous) as I change everything in regards to my nutrition. I’m sure some crazy stuff in the other areas of my life will seep its way into the blog.