For me, it took until I turned 31 for my everyday stomach issues to come to a head - I don't remember having the issues as a child but then most of my childhood memories are of all the things we did together as a family and not the intense pain and discomfort that I felt in the last year.
Last Summer, we took a camping trip to celebrate my husbands birthday and visited Longleat Safari park, I didn't eat anything that was out of the ordinary for my usual diet; we had a takeaway Chinese the first night as we had arrived late and not brought dinner supplies (on purpose - it was only a 2 night stay). That night, almost as I was eating the meal, my stomach swelled and I could have passed for carrying a child in the third trimester - it also felt very hard and excruciatingly uncomfortable. I thought it was a bad takeaway and drank lots of water and my usual green tea blend, I slept little and badly.
On Safari morning I had a very small bowl of coco rice cereal and another green tea, hoping for the best that it would settle, it seemed to improve and I couldn't not let the family go on the trip. We drove around the safari for a couple of hours in the morning, the relief I felt getting out of a seated position at the end was immense and it surprised me that I was still feeling this way. I was incredibly tired and felt dazed in the heat so I decided I had to eat or I wouldn't make it through the family day out, I had a sandwich, crisps and fruit we'd picked up from a shop on the way and an icecream there. Plenty to drink as it was a very hot day, it felt like it was easing in the afternoon and we stopped in a park cafe for our tea, so we could have a kick around in the camping field when we got back, without stopping to prepare food. I don't remember what I chose now but again it didn't sit well and I was still more bloated then I'd ever experienced despite it not being as bad as night one.
We didn't dawdle the next morning, a quick cereal breakfast again and we de-camped before the threatening clouds in the distance actually caught up with us. When we got home I went straight to the out of hours GP service, where I was given what felt like a comprehensive exam and consultation and some anti-spasmodic medication - my entire abdomen was still in pain and they thought it could be gallstones so referred me for an ultra-sound.
The scan revealed no issues and my own GP advised to wait and see what happened, the medication didn't make any difference to my pain levels or my sore swollen abdomen. The bloating episodes kept occurring so she ordered some blood tests, which also came back ok - one level was a little elevated but nothing significant or out of the 'normal' range. Whilst we were looking at the results the GP spotted that she hadn't tested for Coeliac and thought it would be worth testing and ruling it out.
Suffice to say that it wasn't ruled out, the blood test indicated the need to have a gut biopsy taken via an endoscopy procedure. Eight weeks later I was in an NHS hospital having the procedure done, I elected to have the numbing throat spray and a few minutes later it was over. Now that I know what it's like I don't think I could do it again without the alternative of sedation (which had been offered but I declined), it wasn't painful until later when I could feel the biopsy sites aching but I found it very unpleasant and couldn't control my retch reflex well.
Throughout the diagnosis stage I was eating more gluten than I have ever consumed before and felt horrendous, tired, moody, terrible skin, greasy hair, bloating, nausea, no energy for anything, stomach cramps and I needed to be close to facilities at all times.
As soon as the biopsy was done I made the decision with my GP to start cutting out all sources of gluten - some symptoms (cramping, nausea, bloating) disappeared within a week, others have taken longer, I've had persistent breakouts of spots all my adult life - recently they aren't appearing at all.
When the biopsy results confirmed Coeliac I was relieved, it confirmed my suspicions and re-inforced that the diet change was what was right for me.
Now, I'm due to see an NHS dietitian next week and hope to get lots more advice and guidance on how to make this change healthily for the rest of my life.
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| No more wheat for me! |
Please remember that this is my journey and any changes I made I did in consultation with my GP, I recommend that if you have concerns you get in touch with your health practitioner.
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