Fired by another doctor

But in a good way, this time. :D Had my last appointment with the hematologist today; my blood counts are in the normal range (except for my platelets, which are a little elevated -- a possible indicator of continuing iron problems), so she told me to go forth and sin no more. She was happy to see a patient leave her practice under their own power.

Celiac followup

The appointment with the gastroenterologist went well (except for driving to the wrong office -- see, I knew being early would pay off some day, as I still made it to my appointment on time). I got to see my biopsy and blood test results, which both can be summarized as, "Broken!" The doc was surprised that my bone scan came out normal; when I passed that on to my mom, she said thick bones came from my dad's side of the family. He referred me on to a dietician so we can make sure I'm getting proper nutrition, and then we'll have a follow up biopsy and blood test in six months to ensure I'm recovering.

I like good news. :D

Hey, Food Network!

So, I was chatting with the technician who was administering my bone density scan and she mentioned that she has friends with celiac, as well as friends with dairy, fish and nut allergies, making dinner get-togethers challenging.

And I thought, "That needs to be a show on Food Network!" You start with two chefs who have access to the contents of an average suburban grocery store, then you give them a challenge, like a dinner party for 10 with certain food allergies, and go! Shorter challenges could be things like coming up with a sack lunch for a kid on a gluten free casein free diet.

Mr E named the show for me when I told him about it: "I Can't Eat That!"

C'mon, Food Network, it'd be huge.

I'm not *trying* to be strange...

... but I keep managing.

In dialog format:

"Hey, you hurt your hands? Whatcha got, carpal tunnel?"

"No, it's deQuervain's tendonitis."

*blank look*

"Well, it's kinda like carpal tunnel, but it affects the tendons that control my thumbs."

"Oh, okay."

Two years later (or thereabouts):
"Oh, you can't eat wheat. You got a wheat allergy?"

"Well, no. I've got celiac sprue."

*blank look*

"Okay, it's autoimmune problem that is kicked off by the gluten in wheat, which causes my immune system to attack my small intestine, causing all sorts of problems absorbing nutrients."

:D

Gluten free shopping spree!

The whole family went to the local Yokes last night, to stock up on gluten free foodstuffs. They've recently created an organic section, in which most of the gluten free foods can be found. Highlights:

• Yay! Gluten free beer! Boo! It's by Anheuser-Busch (spit)!
• As I feared, explicitly gluten free foods cost more than their regular counterparts.
• But there are a lot of regular foods that are naturally gluten free (Rice Chex, corn tortillas) as long as you take a careful look at the ingredients lists.
• We found gluten free flour and the xanthan gum required to make it work. Mr E is making pizza crust tonight (from gf mix) and may tackle gf banana bread this weekend. We cued up a bread machine for purchase next pay day. :D
• I never realized there was that much wheat in food.
• Still need to work on getting more fresh fruits and vegetables into our diet.

All in all, it was more expensive than a regular stocking run, but we've got enough to keep me fed for a couple weeks, so it's a win overall.

Gluten free, day one

diary format...

Breakfast is business as usual, as Rice Chex are already gluten free. :D Fortunately for my co-workers, black coffee is also on the good list.

The One-A-Day I was taking had some suspect ingredients, but I had a bottle of less-adulterated multi-vitamins already available. However, the glucosamine-chondroitin is also suspect (and I just bought it, sigh). I'll have to find a new brand for that.

9:30 am: Blue Diamond Natural Almond Nut-Thins (Smokehouse flavor) are full of win. Crunchy and salty and tasty.

11:00 am: Lunch! Two corn tortillas + cheddar = tasty. But gone too fast; should have packed up some salad to go with it. Ah, well, I still have plenty of Almond Nut-Thins... oh, and I was thinking of taking aspartame out of my diet too, but couldn't resist the lure of the Diet Pepsi Max.

11:31 am: ITCHY! Prolly psychosomatic, but still... ITCHY! ALL! OVER!

1:00 pm: went for a nice walk with P, down to the river and back, with only a little bushwhacking along the way (is it really a shortcut when it's darn near vertical?)

2:30 pm: had some of the leftover cheddar for snackies. The Almond Nut-Thins are too good... the box is supposed to have 4 servings, and I think I've already had three of them. Oops. :D

6:30 pm: Mr E defeated the pizza crust in single combat; a bit heavy, but tasty. The Red Bridge beer is, meh, beer. I think I may switch to wine....

Yep, it's celiac

... on the plus side (she says, grasping at straws) my follow-up appointment isn't until July 15th, so I don't go on the "say goodbye to lots of things you love" diet until then. :D

And, this should sort the anemia, and perhaps some of the bone and muscle problems. So, this is a beginning as well as an ending. (How's that for positivity? To be honest, I spent the weekend mourning for the anticipated loss, which appears to have gotten it out of the way.)

edit to add: Now I will be the world's worst houseguest! "Nope, can't eat that... nor that... sorry, can't have that... heck, just pass me a carrot." Actually, this will probably be more work for Mr E than myself, as one solution to this has him baking a lot more.