A New Diet for the New Year

This is not a diet to lose weight! I wish I could gain some back, actually. In May I topped out at 133. Freaked me out! I'd been about 120 for several years, and suddenly, boom! I started watching every calorie, signed up for Curves, exercised like crazy with Shape Magazine's bikini workout, and let me tell you, it is killer!! Somehow I got back to 125-120 range. I was OK with that. Then I went through menopause. I won't bore you with the gory details which led to me feeling like I had rubber bands around my ankles, barely able to walk in the morning or after sitting for a while. My hands hurt really bad! Was it from all the gardening? from getting older? My doctor wanted me to have a nerve conduction test. Several friends told me not to, that is it awful. So I didn't. I did think maybe I had arthritis. But my doctor, not happy about not taking his advice refused to refer me. Luckily I had gone years ago to an arthritis doctor in another town because of my Raynaud's. He referred me. Appointment MONTHS later. I'm dying NOW. I got online and researched. I came to the profound conclusion that I had menopausal arthritis. I had gotten off the pill (I stayed on to avoid the awful hot flashes) but now I had no hormones. I called my gynecologist's nurse and begged. FINALLY they called in hormones.  A few months later I'm back to my old, er, younger self.

By November I had some moderately severe emotional stress. I started losing. A LOT. I got down to 115, 113, 110... What in the world!! I had never had a colon scope and I was overdue. My sister and another doctor friend told me I might have gluten intolerance. The Doc set me up with a quick appointment and told me to get extensive blood tests. I had an EGD scope also, since I'd been having spasms in my throat along with acid reflux. I knew I was dairy intolerant, but didn't REALLY think I might be GI or have Celiac. Our family has a history of stomach problems, however.

The biopsy showed hiatal hernia, signs of food allergies and possible Celiac disease, moderate gastritis, internal hemorrhoids, and colitis. Wonderful. The Gluten Panel was not back yet. I had decided by then, though, to cut out ALL gluten. When the test results were negative I once again got online and saw that this is very common. My GI doctor said I don't have Celiac... his partner says I do, biopsy tops the blood test. So now I am struggling to find food I can eat. I have to spend HOURS researching every bottle or package I pick up in the grocery store. My son thinks I'm just not eating. He doesn't understand. I lost to 108 and I'm still having bad cramps, etc... My next step is to schedule an appointment with my original, general doctor and hopefully he will be over my unfaithfulness to him : ) and give me instructions for the colitis, etc...