Is that ga-luten free mommy?

I have been on an epic journey. One to discover why my body is so weird and won't listen to me anymore.

Poor Maile has heard all about it, so she is excused from reading this:)

But for the rest of you, dig in. It will be a little while.

Everything started after Nora. It started with messed up cycles, breakouts and difficulty losing weight.

Now a lot of people claim it's hard to lose weight. I've never been one of them. If I had a hard time losing weight it was because I was eating too much. And I knew it. The slowness of the scale was all about me, not about what my body could or couldn't do.

But that changed after Nora was born. I would cut out everything "bad", reduce my calories, I would lose weight. But if I strayed from the 1500 calories for too long of a period and ate the normal american diet of 2000, while still exercising, the weight would come back on. Quickly. It soon became my new normal to lose 10 pounds and then have it come right back. That had NEVER happened to me before.

Then the depression started. Was I depressed because I couldn't lose weight? Or was the depression part of a bigger problem?

Then the pain started. Joint pain, leg pain, back pain, neck pain, pain in my feet and ankles, elbows and thumbs.

Arthritis maybe? Nope.

Then the fatigue decided to join in. It got to where I could go to bed at 9 and still barely be able to get out of bed at 7:30. Which is NOT normal for me. I've always been able to stay up late and get up early, if I had to. I didn't like it, but I could do it.

So I began a journey. My regular doctor decided I needed to try pill after pill, and offered very little in the way of wisdom or answers. So I began to earnestly pray about this. I was starting to feel so overwhelmed with the fatigue, pain and sadness that became a constant companion. I whined to Maile and Jeff, but tried very hard to not let on to anyone else. Who wants to hear about that? Nobody.

Originally in December I decided to go Vegan, see if that would help. Being completely vegan didn't help, but it was pivotal in that I realized I really can't have dairy anymore. I found that the dairy increased my pain, and without it? No more stomach aches! I had lived with a constant tummy ache for so long that I didn't even realize it until it was gone.

But I added back meat and everything else, and still felt pretty much the same.

Then came the part where I took my health in my own hands.

After having test after test say that I was "normal", I referred myself to a Endocrinologist. I was able to do this because years ago I was told I had little nodules on my thyroid. This was enough of a diagnosis to get me in the door.

When I talked to the endocrine guy he found a goiter, or enlargement of the thyroid. That combined with my symptoms made him think I might have Hashimoto's disease. Sadly, I was really excited at the thought. Not because I might be diagnosed with a auto-immune disease, but because finally, I might have answers.

Well, they called. Everything looked good, no Hashimoto's. I cried. I was so frustrated. I was tired and exhausted both physically and mentally from trying to figure out my own body!

While reading up about Hashimoto's, I had found several places that stated a gluten free diet benefited people with Hashimoto's. And for some reason, I felt really strongly I should try this anyway. Diagnosis or not.

So I did it. I went gluten free. And you know what? Within 3 days I started feeling like a new person. I was able to jump out of bed after 7hours of sleep. The depression fog I had felt for 3 years lifted as well. And now after 6 weeks of gluten free, I had my first "normal" period in 3 years!

My husband and children have noticed the difference. Quote"Our house is happier and lighter now." Sad. But true.

I also decided to go off corn, since I actually tested positive for a corn allergy. With the two combined, my pain levels decreased even more. And then, are you ready for this? I have gone  off diet soda. And miracle of miracles, my pain all but disappears! But dairy and corn are harder for me. I can handle a little pain more than depression and fatigue.

But it gets better. I found a NEW doctor that used a combination of traditional medicine and a more holistic approach.

She did more testing and found that my DHEA levels were super low. For my age they should be around 300, according to this test, and mine were at 75. DHEA helps with hormone balance. Symptoms of DHEA deficiency are fatigue, depression, joint pain, difficulty losing weight,etc. etc.

I have go pick up the supplement she wants me to try. I'm hopeful that this difficulty I have had with losing weight will get better as my hormone levels start to regulate better with the supplement.

Basically what I have found is that for some reason(17 years of bulimia and 6 babies anyone?) my body was really screwed up.

So now I take a bunch of vitamins and supplements, I avoid gluten, dairy, corn and aspertame and I feel tons better. Is life as fun? yes and no. Yes in general, no when it comes to food.

I wish I could report I've lost a ton of weight in the past 6 weeks, but unfortunately I am no intolerant to sugar! ha ha

Anyway, it just goes to show that you have to NOT GIVE UP. Your health is in your hands. No one else will care as much as you do. It may take a while, it may be frustrating but you will figure it out.

I will let you all know how things continue to go. But for me, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel.