A year since my diagnosis....

[Joy]

Hello everyone,
It's been a year since I got my diagnosis but many years with a lot of problems in my guts. I've always had stress inducing diarrhea, some foods that sometimes made me sick, sometimes not, loud noises in my bowels, pain in my gut especially after eating lunch accompanied with diarrhoea, some joint pains...but I couldn't understand what is going on.
After geting diagnosis I was lucky to find perskyfarms and all of you almost immediately and it helped me immensely. Thank you all on your stories and advices and guidelines.
Tex answered my questions and I listened to his advices.
I went GF, DF, EF and SF, and ate my safe food for last 8 months - chicken, pork and seafood, potatoes and sweet potatoes, rice and corn in GF cornflakes, beets, green beans, carrots and parsley, bananas and cooked apples. Also I tolerated Schar mix b flour so I made some sweets with it, but not often. Sometimes I had setbacks when I ate gluten not knowingly or add foods too soon. I take Dvit and Mg glycinate, no other meds exept eutirox cause I also have Hashimoto.
Now I started to add some foods and it is going mostly well - like some vegetables-brussel sprouts and cabbage, almonds and almond flour for example.
Now I dont say that everything is gone cause I still have problems with trying to add foods that will never agree with me ( all GF breads that you buy in the store or anything with guar or xanthan gum). Also my joint pain or lower back pain is still here but less often, and I still have some vertigo sometimes. Only thing that bothers me is some weight loss due to change in diet and way of life I presume. It is coming back but soooo slowly.
So far so good if you ask me! Very important thing for me is the feeling that I can help myself and that I have some control over this!
And one more thing - most of the year I live on our sailing boat so I was afraid how will I buy food that I need and will I be able to cook and eat good...but I can tell you - little bit more effort and with good support from my husband and it can be done!
One more time thank you all!
Joy

[tex]

Joy,

Thank you for sharing that great update. We hope that your remission continues, and all your remaining symptoms eventually disappear.

Best wishes to you,

Tex

[JaneG]

Hi Joy,

Sounds like you have made a lot of progress in the year. Hope a year from now I can say the same. Not a new diagnosis for me but no longer willing to settle for being sick all the time. Did you do an elimination diet and/or testing to determine your safe food? Surprising to me also as a longtime GF eater to hear xanthum might be an issue. That must have been tricky to figure out.

And to do all this on your boat! Wow!

Jane

[Joy]

Hi Jane,
I didn't do testing for my triger food, went with elimination, more like try and error. But really I eliminated gluten, dairy, eggs and soy all at once. And all vegetables and fruits exept banana were cooked to mush and still mostly are. Luckily I can eat all meats. If I eat any gluten by mistake (and it happened twice, my reacton was veeery bad - lots of pain/cramps and diarrhea, and nausea for a few days after). Guar gum and xanthan gum - after many trials and errors I understood that those are bad for me. Now I'am still GF, DF SF, and I'am not sure about eggs jet. If I put an egg in some cooked meal like batter for pancakes it is ok but not two or three days in a row.
I hope your journey will be successful but I know it isn't easy. It is everyday battle and planning but I understand that there's no other way if I want to live semi normal life.
All the luck, Joy

[JaneG]

Thanks, Joy. You are right, it is SOOO much planning and work. Appreciate you sharing. Very much hoping I will be able to eat eggs and dairy, at least lactose-free dairy as I do now, but waiting on testing before I pull that trigger.

Keep us updated!
Jane