Monday, June 6, 2011

Eaties for My Wheaties

The good news is that I'm feeling better.  Energy: 9/10.  Yay!  The bad news is: I figured out that not eating wheat is making me feel better.  Wait, isn't that good news?  OK, the figuring it out part is good.  The "stop eating wheat" part is bad.  I'm not yet sure whether this is a permanent stoppage or only a phase.  Either way, I have never craved cookies, cake, and warm, crunchy toast with butter like I have since I learned I mustn't eat them. 

(Well for heaven's sake at least I'm not celiac.  Oats and barley are still on the menu.  Colour me odd, but I love oats and barley.  I may have been a horse in a previous life.)

Skip this paragraph if you do not want the symptomatic details.  It's not horribly gross.  Nothing to do with guts or things that happen in the bathroom.  Basically, every time I ate wheat last week I noticed that my upper chest started to feel full and achey within 20 minutes.  Over the next couple of hours I felt tired and achey all over, as if I had a mild flu.  The muscles from my neck and shoulders all the way to my lower back tensed up, painfully in some spots.  The aching and fluey feeling would carry on until I had coughed up a bunch of clear phlegm.  The fatigue and muscle spasms took over 24 hours to clear up after the last dose of wheat.

I have never before noticed such a clear correalation between eating wheat and feeling like crap.  Either this is a new development, or it's something that's been a problem all along which finally got to the point where I could no longer fail to notice it.  I did not expect to bounce back so quickly from my latest bout of fatigue.  Honestly, I feel surprisingly great.  It's pretty amazing.

I'm going to stay totally wheat-free for at least a whole week, and then I'm going to try it again to see what happens. I am still hoping that I don't have to give up cupcakes and bagels forever.  But if I do, then I do.  There will be some sighing and wistful staring into bakery windows, but I'll do it.

10 comments:

Jameil said...

Wow! EVERY time I give up something I IMMEDIATELY neeeeed it in my life!

LL Cool Joe said...

Oh no more bagels! No more cookies! No more cakes!

That is a bummer, but if you feel better then it has to worth the sacrifice? Right? Right?

Jenski said...

Here's hoping your body just needs a wheat detox and the occasional cupcake or bagel will be tolerated. I'm sure an oat-flour cupcake would taste okay, maybe not the bagel?

G. B. Miller said...

Hopefully you won't have to switch to a gluten free diet.

Can be expensive and limiting enough (although there are some fantastic cookbooks dedicated to a gluten free diet) to drive you nutty.

DarcsFalcon said...

Oh my! Well that's a pretty immediate response, isn't it? It sure sounds like a wheat allergy. Which pretty much sucks.

I have a bad reaction to the high-fructose corn syrup that's in most things. I get all swelly and just don't feel well at all.

Still, a wheat allergy is worse I think. You have my total sympathy Spark!

DarcKnyt said...

Wow! Glad to know you're doing better, and I'm always surprised to find out how many people are allergic to wheat and/or gluten.

It is good you figured this out, and I'll say a prayer this is the end of the fatigue bouts too, having discovered what AAAAAAAALL those doctors and tests missed.

Yay for you! BOOOO for losing cakes and bread and things wheat-y.

Warped Mind of Ron said...

Glad you bounced back quickly, but giving stuff up sucks...

Lynn said...

Isn't that interesting. I hope this solves everything. I know people who have to eat a gluten free diet. We even had to start serving gluten free bread for communion at church.

Ileana said...

There's nothing like knowing what ails you, and I hope the wheaties reaction is only temporary...a phase, as you say...and that soon enough you will be able to enjoy all your favorite foods again.

I remember when I had a rash on my face, the dermatologist said, "Absolutely NO FRENCH FRIES!" I thought, no problem, I don't even like FF. Next thing you know all the McDonald's were calling my name...and all I craved were greasy French fries dipped in ketchup. Funny how the mind works, huh?

Sparkling Red said...

Jameil: I think the worst part of giving up wheat is that it's not just giving up one thing. It's giving up a whole long list of things that contain wheat. If someone said I had to give up cake but I could eat cookies all day long, that would be much less painful.

LL Cool Joe: It is, but I'm still sulking.

Jenski: I ate a muffin yesterday made from mushed dates, pumpkin puree, and teff flour. I don't even know what teff is. It sure didn't taste like any muffin I've ever had before, but I guess it was OK.

G: My mom eats gluten free. I've never stopped to truly appreciate what a drag that is for her until now. She is already giving me pointers on the best brands of rice cakes, and she'll be a great resource for recipes too, if this sticks and I need to go there.

DarcsFalcon: Wow, no soda for you I guess. :-( That's one of those ingredients that's everywhere once you start looking for it. "Swelly and unwell" is such a perfect description of that kind of general yuckiness that results from eating the wrong foods for one's body. It's tough to describe unless you've lived through it.

DarcKnyt: The expensive homeopathic doctor tested my food sensitivities, and wheat got a "caution", but not an "eliminate". That was three months ago. So either the wheat problem came on suddenly, or his tests are lame. At this point the only test I have faith in is my own perception.

Ron: You would know - you're in a similar position, aren't you. :-(

Lynn: I had not thought of communion as a wheat/gluten food! Interesting.

Ileana: Oh, totally. Man, french fries and potato chips are the only really good treats I have left now! I would hate to lose those. (Guava juice is also pretty darn good. I think that's going to become my go-to sweet treat now that everything else is off limits.)