You know, I used to hear people be super picky and specific about no gluten when ordering.
I knew they didn’t have celiacs.
And…well I thought it was a designer condition.
You aren’t someone with celiac, so you aren’t TRULY allergic to gluten.
Have you ever felt that way? Or am I the only jerk on this blog 😳
Though I haven’t shared my entire journey with all of you, let me tell you this, there has never been a time in my adult life that I’ve felt “normal” after eating a meal. Whether it was bloated or sluggish or just gross.
The thing is…I didn’t know that all of that wasn’t normal. Isn’t that just how we’re supposed to feel?
It wasn’t until August 2017 when I was diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease (stay tuned for that blog) and I learned what leaky gut was.
I learned what inflammation looked like.
I learned what foods could truly could do to my body.
I won’t go into it right now, that’s a blog post for another day very soon.
But, the only important thing you need to know for this blog is that I cut out gluten 18 months ago. I avoid it like the damn plague because it basically is.
Even if you aren’t intolerant, wheat and gluten are inflammatory and are detrimental to gut health.
But, I’m not here to lecture you about gluten (at least not today ha!) but to show you what a gluten intolerance looks like.
Yesterday, I went to a Mexican restaurant chain. One I’ve eaten at A LOT without incident. But, as we started the drive home, I noticed a foggy feeling. The headache followed then nausea. My shoulders were screaming.
Every part of me knew that my lunch had just wrecked my day.
Every part of my body was screaming before I got home.
My kids were in bed at 830 and I was right behind them. Every part of me hurt. I swear even my hair hurt.
Now. It’s easy to say those thoughts are in my head. And that maybe it was the placebo effect.
But…
That’s not where is ended.
I woke up this morning and it took everything I had to roll out of bed. My eyes and head screaming.
I feel puffy.
My rings were tight.
But then this
My eyes blood shot. My eyes visibly swollen. Puffy under my eyes. My fingers swollen.
Literally, EVERYTHING hurt.
THIS is what a gluten intolerance looks like.
It’s not a designer condition.
Gluten isn’t something people avoid for fun.
Gluten doesn’t only effect celiacs.
We don’t love being a pain in the ass when we order food.
We don’t love watching labels and see friggin gluten in ish that it shouldn’t even be in.
We don’t love being surprised after a meal with a migraine because we were glutened.
We don’t love the multiple days of a gluten hangover.
I promise you gluten effects more people than you know and many of us suffer in silence ❤️
Be supportive of your gluten free friends. Don’t poke fun because we all fight a battle of our own and we don’t always share the hard days!
Be kind, friends!
Amber