Healthy Obsessions The Adventures of a Mild Obsessive Compulsive

Category Archives: Medical

How Long Did it Take to Get Diagnosed with Celiac?

The honest answer is, I don’t know.

Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic says that on average in the US it takes 9 years from the onset of symptoms to a diagnosis. I’m pretty sure it’s taken at least that long for me. Probably longer.

I have what would be termed silent celiac. I didn’t have the traditional intestinal symptoms of diarrhea, rapid weight loss, obvious malnutrition. If I had, I expect I would have been diagnosed a lot earlier. I had hormonal irregularities. The summer before I left for college, my father started having me tested to see why I had such irregular periods. They’d started when I was around 14 or so, but never regularized. I once skipped an entire year.

I had elevated prolactin levels. But that was all anyone found. I suspect that was the first sign we missed.

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Celiac and Sleep Disorders

Interesting study on the correlation between sleeping disorders and celiac disease. I haven’t read through the whole article yet (I will, after work) but the gist of it is that sleeping disorders occur more frequently in people with celiac disease, whether they’re on a gluten free diet or not. This article traces the sleep disorders to anxiety and depression, which are also higher in the celiac population.

Of course, I am a biased audience. I want to believe that my sleeping disorders and my celiac disease are connected.

F*** Cancer

This year has been a tough one health wise for me and mine, which you can probably figure out from my other entries. Two of the big-big ones are cancer.

My mother has breast cancer, and is currently finishing her third out of four months of chemo . And my friend Jay, upon finishing six months of chemo for colon cancer, was told that he had a new tumor in his liver. It would require surgery and then another six months of very harsh chemo (as if any chemo isn’t harsh). Not good odds.

The day I found that out, I just started crying. Sitting in my cubicle at work. I kept cycling through fear of losing Jay, and not wanting to tell my mom. Who, I knew, would ask. And who, I knew, would be able to hear the lie in my voice.

I lied. She figured it out. If not right then, over the next several weeks. And Jay… well, I’m sure you can guess how those weeks felt for him. He documented the whole experience.

But today… Today I got to call my mom and tell her that Jay doesn’t have cancer. That his biopsy was negative, and he doesn’t have to go back on chemo. That his odds are a great deal better.

Cancer isn’t the sort of thing that just goes away. It lurks around the edges. It comes back when it can. But for today, for right now — my mom has just one month of chemo left. And Jay does not have cancer. And I am sitting in my cubicle again and crying, but things are so much better. So very, very much better.

What Celiac Blood Test Results Look Like

Crazy busy at work (which I love since I’m getting to work on character development and standardizing regional dialects). But. I’d meant to include some screencaps of my celiac test results in my last post and forgot to.

Here are my celiac panel results after three months back on gluten:

After three months on gluten.

The tTG is the one I consider most important, and I had a score of 37; anything above 8 is considered positive. I don’t know which one my doctor considers most important, but since two are clearly positive that’s not really a problem. As positive test results go, these are not particularly high.

For comparison, here’s what my test results looked like when I’d been off of gluten for a year:

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Getting Tested for Celiac Disease

A lot of friends have been asking me about the whole process of getting tested for celiac disease. Enough by now that I’m figuring I ought to do a full write-up instead of typing up a new answer each time. So, without further ado:

The Tests Themselves

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How to Feed a Celiac

 

Wooden cookware can retain gluten, even after thorough washing.

 

First, a thank you. To everyone who has fed me and dealt with my dietary limitations. In particular mom and wshaffer. You are heroes of the revolution.

Now, an apology to anyone I’ve driven crazy by minutely examining their kitchen, or not eating the food they prepared, or whose trash can I’ve sifted through to find food wrappers. It’s not personal.

Feeding a celiac guest is hard. There are a lot of things that aren’t initially obvious. I made lots of mistakes in the early days. I’m probably still making some.

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What Celiac Disease Does to Your Intestines

First, I’m going to show you a few pictures. These are healthy villi; they line the insides of your intestine:

Healthy Intestinal Villi

Distance View of Healthy Villi

Normal Villi

Remember, this is what your intestines are supposed to look like. Kinda like a fuzzy blanket. Or coral.

The villi are what absorb nutrients from food. You need them. If they’re damaged, your entire body suffers. You develop vitamin deficiencies. You may always be hungry, because your body isn’t getting the nutrients it needs. Any condition that can be caused by malnutrition… you’re at risk. If your villi aren’t working correctly.

Now, let’s take a look at the intestines of someone with Celiac Disease. Read more →

The Morality of Weight Loss Drugs

A diabetic friend was recently told he needed to lose weight for the sake of managing his diabetes. It’s standard advice, for good reason. Weight loss does help with diabetes and several other conditions (PCOS, sleep apnea, high blood pressure…). But he was clearly having a lot of trouble doing it on his own. As he pointed out, “I wouldn’t have gained the weight in the first place if I’d been able to avoid it.”

His insurance, however, will not cover weight loss medications. They are considered cosmetic. Never mind that in some cases, they actually aren’t cosmetic at all. Aside from insurance companies trying to pay for as little as possible, I suspect some of it has to do with cultural prejudice. Read more →

If you have celiac disease…

This is your intestine.

This is your intestine on gluten.

Any questions?

Since I'm stuck eating gluten…

I’m going to try to sample, in the three weeks I have left of the gluten challenge, as many gluteny foods as I can. If I have to feel sick, I might as well enjoy the process of getting there (I wonder if people say this about pregnancy, too….)

To that end I’m asking for suggestions of what to try.

Suggestions thus far are:

  • Pizza
  • Cookies
  • Baguettes
  • Cake
  • Brownies
  • Retch’s famous chocolate chip cookies
  • Zeppoli (I don’t even know what this is)
  • Guava pastries
  • Sourdough bread
  • Pasta
  • Sandwiches
  • Macaroni Grill food
  • Beignets
  • Mac and Cheese w/breadcrumbs on top
  • Cheesecake
  • Beer
  • Donuts (pref. hot)
  • Baked pasta
  • Churros
  • Luigi’s (local rest. I believe)

Some of these suggestions, I’ve already tried (or tried today). I have had:

  • Homemade chocolate chip cookies
  • Dutch chocolate cookies
  • Buttermilk spice cupcakes (also homemade)
  • Chocolate rum cake
  • Brownies
  • Mac and cheese (both of the Kraft and other varieties)
  • Carbonara
  • Italian bread & French bread & Sourdough
  • Crackers
  • Granola bars
  • Subway sandwiches (I know they’re awful, but I like them)
  • Bagels
  • Old Fashioned Glazed Donuts
  • Tyropita & Spanikopita
  • Braided lemon loaf (courtesy of a co-worker’s wife)
  • Pizza
  • Ravioli
  • A hamburger with a bun
  • Calamari (it was pretty meh, though)
  • Mozarella sticks
  • Fried chicken
  • Chicken pot pie

I’m going to have to keep my samples small, or else go on a massive diet after this is all over. Strangely (ha) I find that I don’t have much appetite these days. Possibly because of the constant queasy feeling…