Gluten...you naughty little culprit

Gluten...the cause of all my issues. I am...Gluten Intolerant. Hi, my name is Kelly, and I have a gluten issue.

The back story. So as you remember from the last post, we found the wonderful Dr. VanLue. He gave me a spit test for hormones and sent me for blood work. Four tubes of spit and nine vials of blood later...we have results!

We went in for the appointment and we were super excited and ultra anxious all at the same time. On the way in...walking through the hall...we did our normal praying as we go in to the doctor. "Dear God, keep us strong for each other, keep us brave and courageous to follow Your guidance, and keep the doctor wise to help us fill out Your plan. God you are bigger than this. And we love you more each day."

The next half hour is something I'll always remember. Even if the plan we are following now doesn't end with us being able to have kids...I will always remember THAT appointment. Years down the road when I'm covered with grandkids...I will ALWAYS remember THAT appointment. As we sat down in his office, a contagious smile spread across Dr.V's face and he could hardly contain his happiness. He started with "So..." He was so excited that all I remember was him fidgeting in his chair and smiling like a tech junkie at an Apple convention. He said, "I know what's wrong...and while I can't make any promises...I KNOW that this will work. I knew the moment we spoke on the phone that God brought us together for a reason. I got a good feeling in my soul about the partnership that we were going to have." He paused for a moment, still smiling, but this time I thought he was going to cry. He was so happy for us...that he was tearing up. Seriously...I will remember that day because it was the first time that I sat in a doctor's office and felt like the doctor understood. I fel like he was interested in our outcome, interested in our emotions, and excited about fixing an issue that is way more complicated than just being "unlucky". He said that when he picked up the file with my test results in it that the nurse gave him...he prayed that the results would be obvious and that he would be able to see clearly what he needed to do to help us. And when he opened the file...he knew exactly what to do for me. This is why he was excited...this is why he was almost in tears. I will remember that day always. And not just because of the results, but because God brought us together for a reason. He was orchestrating his plan long before we lost our babies. When you think back about the events of the last 2 years that statement becomes even more amazing. We could have chosen a lot of different churches in the Central Florida after NewSpring closed. But we chose Grace Orlando. We could have kept trying and kept failing. But we didn't. Good and bad, happy and sad situations of the past...led us to exactly where we are now. Sitting in the office of a man dedicated to Christ, dedicated to using his gifts to bring glory to God, and determined to see us have kids and make healthy choices. I will never forget that day. My heart was happy that day. The discussion in that appointment was something that brought a smile to our face and not tears of disappointment and anger.

So the results...the result is...I have a Gluten sensitivity. Gluten reeks havoc on my insides and causes problems that in the end are affecting my ability to have kids. For a very short lesson in gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It's a little sticky substance that some people have an "allergic" reaction too. In normal people, gluten is digested. In people with sensitivity issues the immune system freaks out and responds in crazy ways to gluten. I don't have Celiac disease which is more severe of a reaction to gluten where the intestines are actually destroyed by the gluten. But I do have a sensitivity...which causes my entire body to scramble to control the immune response to the gluten I put in body. My body is working overtime and dedicating all it's efforts on fighting the stress that my insides are feeling when they encounter gluten. It is unbelievable the things that gluten is affecting my body. It is causing all my hormones to be used to fight stress inside, it's causing my intestines to improperly digest vitamins and the good things from my food, it's causing my thyroid to under produce hormones, it's causing my progesterone to be low because my thyroid is underproducing...all of these things affect pregnancy and my body's ability to carry a baby. So my body's reaction to gluten is multiple miscarriages. Something i would never have known until I started trying to have kids. But i know now... I also haven't had a headache since August! Which is unbelievable.

So there you have it. I'm gluten intolerant. I haven't had anything with gluten in it since August and I feel great! I feel more energetic, no headaches, and happy that I know more about my body and am one more step closer to finding out if my body can handle little ones of our own. I have learned a lot of new recipes, a lot of things to avoid, a lot of things I can adjust and a lot of ways I can be creative with my new found sensitivity.

So the future plan...I will get my blood tested again at the beginning of December to see how my levels are and then have an appointment with Dr. VanLue and he'll give us the go ahead if everything looks good! Mike is, as always, my rock and my biggest fan. He is eating gluten free with me and putting up with my new ways of doing things. I don't miss it...breads or soups, doughnuts or pastries...every once in a while I wish I could gobble up the cupcake in the bakery window. I will give up anything to know that my little people will be that much healthier because of a little adjustment I have to make to my diet.

It probably seems like a big adjustment to anyone reading this...i mean seriously...nothing with flour in it! But...to me...this is my sacrifice for our family. Giving up gluten in exchange for being able to see the little eyes of our babies staring up at us. It's an easy sacrifice.