It all started at the beginning of 2010. I decided for once and for all I would figure out my depression and fatigue issues. For years I had been struggling with depression with out any real cause to point to. I had been depressed previously but had clear life situations that I could point to and say.. yep.. that is making you REALLY unhappy. However, I did not have any of that going on. I had a great job, great relationships, no money concerns and no chronic health problems (that I knew of!). It really bothered me to wake up sad and unmotivated. I also struggled with what I referred to as mind bending fatigue. Tired when I first got up, regardless of how much sleep I had. Needing a nap in the day. Tired all the time.
First, I started with a therapist. I am a big supporter of therapy..for every one. We all have issues to work through and need a trusted person to help us see what we cannot or examine the things we would rather avoid. After several sessions, I realized I just did not have that much to talk about. No huge things in my life that I was not dealing with.
Next, I went to a nutritionist. I got off all my pills - anti-depressants and birth control - not my thyroid pills of course. I wanted to clean out my system and start from scratch. I tried several different approaches with nutrition including a several week cleanse of all things gluten, dairy, corn and other foods associated with inflammation. I didn't really feel that much better.
Next, off to an endocrinologist. I wanted to see if he could take a closer look at my hypothyroidism in a way that my family physician could not. He ran some blood tests. Thyroid levels were "ideal" and the only thing that seemed a little off was my liver enzymes. He wanted to run more tests. I asked him this time to please run a test for celiacs disease. The gold standard for celiacs testing is a biopsy of your small intestine. However, there are blood tests that will give good indications of the condition. Thankfully he was open to running that test. I came back off the charts in all of the immunoglobulin tests that you run for celiacs. I found out ON my 38th birthday. I still had birthday cake that day as I figured one more meal wouldn't do that much more damage.
While the doctor refers to it as having celiacs disease, I am not sure that I really agree with that as I have no gastro-intestinal reactions to gluten. In doing more reading and talking to people I think I fall into the gluten intolerant group. Gluten intolerance/sensitivity shows up in many different ways. For me, it makes me depressed and tired. Many people when they give up gluten have immediate positive reactions. My mom experienced a pretty radical transformation in giving up gluten. I describe my change as a slow gradual ascent. The depression is gone. The fatigue is better but still present and still harsh at times.
I do feel really bad when I do eat gluten. I had some frosted sugar cookies over Christmas. The next day I could hardly get out of bed and was overly emotional.
I wanted to share my story in case it helps any one else get diagnosed.
I will perhaps share later on about how it is to live gluten free.
Let me know if you have any questions!
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