It's Official

Well, it's official. I have celiac disease. I had my endoscopy on Friday, and my liver doctor called me personally with the results today. She said she believes my elevated liver enzymes are related to autoimmune hepatitis. She said that, in her experience, it's just not that common that someone would have all these different diseases, but rather, when it comes to autoimmune issues, most likely they kind of all relate to one another in some shape or form. So, for me, she believes it all comes back to celiac.

On the one hand, I'm already mourning all the foods I'll never be able to have again. On the other hand, I'm super excited to get/feel healthy again! As I said in my previous post, I'm not sure I have as severe of a reaction to gluten as some other accounts I've read. Then again, I also think my symptoms have just been my norm for so long, that I just don't realize it. I'm interested to see how going strict gluten free will affect this.

I told my husband that I think the hardest part about the transition will be figuring out what to eat while dining out. But come to think of it, it's not even really that. I know most restaurants will have that option with grilled chicken breast and steamed veggies, but the hard part will be ordering something like that versus what I really want! The other hard part will be knowing what store-bought items have gluten in them and which do not. I know that most grocery stores now have dedicated sections for gluten free items, and I'm trying to eat less processed junk anyway, but I also don't want to unknowingly consume gluten.

I've already cleared out the pantry and most of the fridge. And then proceeded to immediately fill it back up with some gluten-free meal prep I attacked over the weekend. But more on that later! I guess all I can do is my best.

Here's to a (hopefully) healthy new year.