Discovering Food Allergies

I am new to blogging so please bare with me...

I decided to create this blog because I know there are so many people out there that are just as overwhelmed as I was when I heard the words "You have food allergies." When I heard those words for the first time I just wanted to cry, in fact I think I did.

So what kind of problems was I having to lead me to the world of food allergies? Well, I would eat lunch or dinner and either immediately or a few hours later feel miserable. I would experience what I like to call "hard belly syndrome", where my stomach looked and felt like I was nine months pregnant. Then the GI upset would develop and I think you know the rest without me going into details. I would not want to go to events because I was so miserable, instead all I wanted to do was lay on the couch. It got to the point where my husband and friends just thought I was crazy. So after a year of dealing with my issues for over a year my husband finally convinced me to go to the doctor. But, being the health conscious person I am I didn't want to go to a doctor that was just going to prescibe me medication and send me on my way. No, I wanted to know what was causing all my problems. I did not want to be on a medication for the rest of my life at such a young age. So this is when I decided to see a D.O.

What is a D.O.? A D.O. is a doctor of osteopathy, which is a medical doctor, but their focus is on finding the root cause of your problem and not just masking your symptoms with medication. So I made my first appointment and was on my way to getting better. My first appointment he spent over an hour just learning all about me. He asked about my life, what my symptoms were etc. Then he did a physical and discussed food allergies with me. He went over several journal articles and other publications with me explaining food allergies and why he believed I had them. Then he sent me to have my blood test......

My results, allergic to all of the following: gluten, wheat, dairy, casein, egg whites, brown rice, kidney beans, turmeric and a few others. I got the results and to say I was overwhelmed is an understatement. I needed help and decided I needed to work a dietician, but I wanted someone who specialized in my diet. Being the health professional I am, I did my research and found a registered dietician who specialized in my new diet. She lives in Georgia and I live in Indiana so I worked with her over the phone. It was the best money I ever spent! She gave me lots of resources, told me eat this, not that and where I could buy all those things. If you are interested, you can go to www.pathwaysmed.com to find her information, Julia Turner, R.D. Also, there are lots of podcasts you can listen to for free on this website with great information.

Stay tuned for information on what to eat, where to buy it etc......

In the mean time, here are a few of my favorite websites to visit.

www.gfcfdiet.com
www.autismweb.com/diet.htm
www.gfcf-diet.talkaboutcuringautism.org