The Lasting Effects of Being Glutened

Yesterday I talked about how I've been feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and less able to handle life.

I wrote that post over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but it wasn't until Monday morning, after the post published, that it finally dawned on me what was going on.

I had briefly considered that food was contributing to my problems since in the past my anxiety levels have increased when my food has been off, but I'm actually doing pretty good with what I'm eating right now.

Monday I stood in the kitchen prepping a crockpot dinner while making breakfast and I just felt so  tired and rundown. It wasn't the multi-tasking, it was something else, something I hadn't felt in a really long time.

Oh.

Yeah.

And now I know what the issue is. After going several years without being glutened I've now managed to get glutened three times in the last month. Each time it's been miniscule amounts so the burning stomach pain hasn't lasted too long. It's easy to think that everything's fine and dandy at that point, but as I finally realized, that's just not the case. I should have remembered this, but had forgotten because I haven't had to deal with it for so long. The long-term effects of gluten are much more insidious, at least in my body. It gets into my body and damages my fragile villi again and wreaks havoc wherever it can.

The result? Bone deep exhaustion, increased anxiety and difficulty dealing with stressors, mental fogginess, malaise, and a general feeling of being unwell.

Not an optimal state of being when you're trying to be productive and lead a fulfilling life.

But it's also why I'm never tempted to cheat and why I'll never use whatever "magic pill" Big Pharma is trying to cook up to capitalize on celiac disease (and you know they are!). It must bug them no end that there isn't a pill to fix it, all you have to do is avoid gluten. Last I heard, Big Pharma was trying to come up with a pill to block the effects of gluten.  But how would you know it's truly working? In any case, it's the insidious effects that worry me. They're harder to quantify and they sneak up on me, catching me unawares. I've spent enough of my life scraping by, feeling like crap and barely functioning. That is a state I never want to return to and I'm not willing to risk it.

Though find something to heal my intestines and reset my autoimmune system so it doesn't attack me, and maybe I'll reconsider. As long as the side effects aren't worse than what I'm already dealing with. Tell me I'm not the only one who thinks the really long lists of possible side effects of various pills sound way worse than whatever disease they're supposed to help with.