A New Year and a New ... GI System?

Happy New Year!

I've been away for so long, I'm not even sure where to begin. I guess I'll just try and dive right in!

I wanted to come back to blogging because I feel as though a major shift or change is on the horizon, and I'd like to try to be better about documenting it all. Both for the sake of sharing my experiences and for a little bit of extra accountability. I've shied away from blogging for a couple of "reasons" (a.k.a. excuses), one being that I just got busy with work and Crossfit, etc. The other being the fact that my diet has been so out of control in terms of sugar consumption that I was probably just embarrassed to document it! ("Hey, guys ... just popping in to show you the 35th straight day of me having toast and peanut butter for breakfast! Peanut butter AND cinnamon sugar? Don't mind if I do!" Followed shortly thereafter with a post about my delicious Pecan Pie dinner. Seriously, it was that bad! ALL THE SUGAR!) But with the start of the new year, I'm feeling more motivated to try and make a change.

And while I'm not going to lie and say all this extra sugar hasn't been freaking delicious, I also haven't been feeling my best lately, and I'm ready to get back on track and start treating my body right. And in two days, I have a better idea of what this change will entail. On Friday, I am undergoing an upper GI endoscopy to determine whether or not I have Celiac Disease. The road that has led me here has been a long one, but I'm so anxious to find out one way or another so I can begin a new journey to improved health.

What is Celiac Disease?

It is an autoimmune disorder that is triggered by gluten. Basically, it results in inflammation of the small intestines, which results in very poor nutrient absorption and a whole host of other potential problems. It's quite a bit more severe or serious than simply an intolerance to gluten. Because of the resulting inflammation, symptoms of CD can be extremely wide-ranging. I've seen everything from GI distress like bloating and abdominal pain to rashes, headaches and joint pain listed as potential symptoms. And, according to the Mayo Clinic, untreated celiac disease can lead to:

• Malnutrition. The damage to your small intestine means it can't absorb enough nutrients. Malnutrition can lead to anemia and weight loss. In children, malnutrition can cause stunted growth and delayed development.
• Loss of calcium and bone density. Malabsorption of calcium and vitamin D may lead to a softening of the bone (osteomalacia or rickets) in children and a loss of bone density (osteoporosis) in adults.
• Infertility and miscarriage. Malabsorption of calcium and vitamin D can contribute to reproductive issues.
• Lactose intolerance. Damage to your small intestine may cause you to experience abdominal pain and diarrhea after eating lactose-containing dairy products, even though they don't contain gluten. Once your intestine has healed, you may be able to tolerate dairy products again. However, some people continue to experience lactose intolerance despite successful management of celiac disease.
• Cancer. People with celiac disease who don't maintain a gluten-free diet have a greater risk of developing several forms of cancer, including intestinal lymphoma and small bowel cancer.

How Did I Find Out?

For me, I guess I have always kind of had digestion issues, so I wasn't aware that there was anything all THAT abnormal going on there. My GI symptoms aren't terribly severe compared to other accounts I've read. However, a few months ago, I went to my doctor for an issue completely unrelated to my digestive system (or so I thought). Basically my husband and I were in the very early stages of thinking about starting a family. (As in, maybe a year from now we'll start trying.) However, after years of being on birth control, and then taking myself off of it, there were certain things that were supposed to be happening on a monthly basis that just ... weren't. Even 6 months after off of birth control. So, I went to my doctor, who ordered some blood tests to get a better idea of what was going on with my hormones.

Well, my hormones levels came back normal, but I had a vitamin D deficiency and elevated liver enzymes. Over the next two months or so, I went back for three more blood tests and each time, the liver enzymes were consistently elevated. At the time, I didn't really know what this meant or even that it was all that significant as I had read some articles that said sometimes strengthening exercises can cause liver enzymes to be elevated. It was related to physiological reaction in the muscles somehow. In my head, I guess I tried to justify it ... "oh, well I do Crossfit, so it's probably just that." However, when my doctor recommended that I see a liver specialist, I knew it was a bit more serious. But I was also pretty confused because everything I'd read about elevated liver enzymes, besides the muscle thing, talked about hepatitis, or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or alcoholism. Kinda scary stuff! I mean, I actually went so far as to wonder if I was technically an alcoholic because I like to have a glass of wine after a long day of work and Crossfit. Could I be damaging my liver?!

So, I made an appointment with a liver specialist. I received some paperwork in the mail from her offices about a month prior to my visit, and I decided to be as thorough as I possibly could in answering all of the questions. It was actually kind of nice that I could write everything down beforhand instead of trying to remember everything on the spot while meeting a new doctor for the first time. I mean, I detailed almost anything I could think of that might have been off about my body, my digestive system ... everything. I wrote it down. Even if it was embarrassing. Anyway, I really think this ended up being the biggest, most beneficial step in getting me to this possible diagnosis of celiac disease. My liver doctor was actually very thorough herself in reading everything that I had written down! And one of her first comments was, "well, you're digestive system is a mess!" She immediately suggested that I get tested for celiac.

Apparently, there is also something called autoimmune hepatitis, so it's not really contracted like the other versions of hepatitis A, B or C, but rather it is inflammation caused by autoimmune reactions. I guess this, and all of my GI distress led my doctor to celiac disease. So, I had a blood test that day, and anxiously awaited to results. My blood tests came back firmly in the positive range. The next step in confirming celiac is the endoscopy. Although I've read the blood tests are pretty accurate, a biopsy of the small intestine is required to determine a true diagnosis of celiac disease while ruling out any other possible outliers. I want to be absolutely sure it is celiac and not something else.

What's Next?

The hardest part about all of this is the fact that I can't change my diet until after the endoscopy. During the endoscopy, they will take the biopsy, but they will also have a tiny camera (the scope), in order to actually see the lining of my small intestines and any possible damage. Because of this, I have to continue to eat gluten up until the day before the test. Otherwise, if I were to eliminate gluten from my diet too early, my intestines might begin the process of healing which could ultimately lead to a false negative ... or make it look like I don't have celiac when I actually do. So, I've continued to eat toast with peanut butter (and every other gluten-filled sweet I fear I may never be able to eat again) pretty much every day for the past month! 

In two days, I will undergo my endoscopy. I have no idea how long it will take to receive the official results. Regardless, I plan to initiate a gluten-free diet. It's just not worth all of the inflammation and the resulting negative effects it has on your body. Going gluten-free may become a necessity for me, or it may just be something I do to try to improve my health overall, but either way, it's happening. I also want to try Diane Sanfillipo's 21 Day Sugar Detox again. I made it through oh, about 5 days, earlier this year. I'd like to set a goal and make it one of my new year's resolutions to complete the full 21 days.

More on all of this to come ...