Good Afternoon,
Warning: this post does include some "messy" talk. But we're all adults (mostly), we know things like this occur, just we don't often talk about it. Something we need to change.
And I apologise if this is more of a rant my side. I just want to let others know that they're not alone!
January 2015, I began to experience severe stomach rumbles. Sounds odd, I know, but these stomach rumbles would be so loud and the movement would keep me awake all night. Sleep deprivation and working full-time is not easy.
Weeks passed and it's Valentine's Day. Cooked an awesome meal and pudding with a friend for our boyfriends as they had to work the weekend, sadly didn't enjoy it for long. About an hour after dinner, I had to drive home after not feeling good (I live an hour from my boyfriend). On the journey back, I threw up all over myself (so glamorous!). Passed it off as food poisoning.
Week later, I had extreme constipation/flatulence and then horrific diarrhoea. This pattern continued for a good 2 months. In and out of doctor's and hospitals, they couldn't pin point the reason I was in so much pain (not exaggerating, I would be crying on a daily basis). Recommended all sorts of drugs but nothing was really getting to the problem.
Took it upon myself to go Veggie, thought meat might be the problem. It did help a little bit but not much. God I missed meat. But there are some really delicious vegetarian dishes - one in particular was Asda's mediterranean and feta bake.
Around April time, I was pretty much house bound, I couldn't go out because I would need the toilet there and then or my stomach would hurt so much I couldn't move. Missed out on family get togethers, socialising with friends.... it wasn't fun. Definitely did not help my anxiety!
It was then a friend mentioned his mum suffered from food intolerances and it might be what I have. Decided to go ahead and do a private blood test (pricey!) but all that was required was a small amount of blood, they would test it against all sorts of food and drinks, then with results, you'd receive a consultation and a booklet to help you.Turned out I was intolerant to a lot of things! - unfortunately.
Came as quite a shock, I was expecting one or two things, not 19!
The results came as a "traffic light" system - red (stay away), yellow (maybe here and there), green (fine).
Red - Yeast, eggs, cow's milk, wheat, gluten, different grapes (in wine - basically all of them ) cocunut, dill, cumin, peanuts.
Yellow - beef, lamb, garlic, corriander.
Some people may think it's not a big deal. In the grand scheme of things our bodies can conjure up, true. But the 'Red' items I need to stay away from are practically in all foods!
Nowadays, there are many websites/companies that can provide "free-from" food, which is fantastic and I know has helped so many people. Unfortunately, not all these free-from foods are gluten, dairy, wheat, yeast,.... free. They may be just gluten free or gluten and egg free.
I'm managing fairy well on my new diet. It's a very limited diet, but I would rather that then be in extreme pain.
I think the thing that gets me is missing the ease of going out into town and just grabbing something to eat. I can't do that anymore. Sounds a bit silly but it does get to you. With having so many intolerances, there aren't any 'pre-made' meals/sandwiches. You pretty much have to make everything from scratch - quite annoying when you have friends round.
Another point is that free-from foods are 3x more expensive than "normal" foods. £50 on a food shop just about lasts me a week.
I do want to say how thankful I am though for these websites/companies that provide "free from" food. They have done so well in producing foods that are safe and do taste quite nice (apart from the Mozerella, looks and tastes a bit like clay).
Good website is www.goodnessdirect.co.uk or just for cheese, www.vegancheese.co.uk
For those people suffering from any intolerance, I know your pain and struggle but then I also know that there is help out there and you can live a relatively "normal" life, its just being prepared.
October time, they recommend I start re-introducing foods to my diet to find out what are the big no-nos and what I might be able to have on occasion. Fingers crossed it goes well. I'm really missing Pizza and a good Indian Cuisine!
Do you suffer from any food intolerances? How are you getting on with your diet?Feel free to have a good ol' rant!
Hope you have a nice day.
xxx
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