Hello Friends!

Holy Wow!... Celiac Disease is a pain in the you know what!!  Sometimes it makes me want to pull my hair out, but then I recall that that would not be necessary considering all the gluten hidden in my shampoo essentially did that for me.  But that is another story.  I should probably introduce myself first.

So... Hello Friends! I'm Katrina, or Miss Kat as my kids calls me.  I am the proud mama to three rescue pets.  We all live happily ever after in our farmhouse that I lovingly nicknamed the Red Roof Inn.  You are probably wondering about these kids I speak of that call me Miss Kat.  Well, those are my preschoolers who make me smile everyday I see them.    In addition to preschool, I also teach yoga, do energy healing, make jewelry, and make cars looks gorgeous.  Let's just say I stay busy.  And as if that isn't enough, add Celiac Awareness Advocate to the list. 

So as you have probably already figured out... I have Celiac Disease.  I was diagnosed at 19, thanks to my papa who insisted I be tested for a disease that I didn't even seem to have symptoms for (long story.... we will get to that a little more later).  I consider myself a seasoned veteran at this gluten free business, as I had celiac before celiac was cool!

As I mentioned before, I didn't seem to have symptoms of this disease.  Seem being the key word.  I always had what my mama called "a nervous stomach" and I had learned to simply ignore it.  When I cut gluten out of my life it became very clear that my so called "nervous stomach" was much more than that, and it wasn't something I just had to live with.  No gluten meant no belly aches!  I learned to live with the fact that being gluten free was a lifelong committment.  I tried not to focus too much on what I was missing out on, but more on the fact that this disease wouldn't kill me as long as I was disciplined.  I was strict with my diet, but probably not strict enough.  I never had too terrible of symptoms and had learned to ignore my tummy so it was hard for me to notice when I got glutened, thus I was never forced to be all that careful.  This didn't mean that I allowed my self to cheat (besides on Sundays at church), but I was never really that strict about "hidden gluten" or cross contamination.

Looking back, I know I should have been way more careful.  It wasn't until I had visible symptoms of this disease that it became so clear to me that I needed to get way more serious about it.  And this time I meant business!  Breaking out in rashes, losing my hair, and struggling with anxiety that made me feel like a crazy person were not acceptable to me.  They were visible representations of what this disease had done to my body and mind, and it was destroying my life.  If it was showing up on the outside, I shuddered to think what it had done internally.  This also meant that this was a disease that was out there for everyone to see, I could no longer be tough and hide it.  Before these symptoms, I could choose to let people know I had it, or just pretend I was normal like everyone else, fooling them and myself. 

With these new symptoms, particularly my skin issues, I felt an insane amount of stress.  I was constantly worried. Worried about my shampoo, my makeup, my toothpaste, communion at church, going out to dinner, laundry detergent, salad dressing, car wax, or essentially anything that touched me.  All these worries and anxieties put me smack dab in the middle of the worst depression of my life, one that I quite honestly feared I wouldn't survive.  After a very long struggle, a punching bag, multiple yoga mats, a great counselor, an understanding and supportive family, good friends, my little smiling faces at school, and a just a little tequila I managed to pick myself up, I dusted myself off, and decided I was going to live my life.  I was in control of this disease, not vice versa!   I reminded myself that I have a fancy biology degree and I needed to use it.  I would educate myself on vitamin deficiencies, immune responses, mental health symptoms, and anything and everything associated with Celiac Disease.

I threw myself into learning.  I got serious about my nutrition, not just my food.  Before all this I always told myself that it was enough that I had to worry about being gluten free, that I had no more energy to devote to making sure I was eating healthy too.  And I am proof that just because you are gluten free doesn't mean you are healthy.  Chocolate, ice cream, Jack & Coke, potato chips, and highly processed GF foods are all gluten free... but that doesn't mean they are healthy.  As for vegetables, forget about it, I avoided them as if they were full of gluten.  So I changed my diet like my life depended on it, because it essentially did.  I started cutting out sweets and soda, making my own salad dressings, eating vegetables, cutting out most processed foods, and being way more serious about gluten.  This gave me back a sense of the control that I needed.

Next up, the whole idea of anything that touched me.  I know it is a somewhat controversial topic, but I believe that topical gluten is a huge issue for some Celiac patients.  (The sole reason I was tested to begin with was because my Uncle was suffering from severe dermatitis herpetiformis which eventually led to his diagnosis of Celiac)  I educated my self on gluten containing ingredients in cosmetics and cleaning supplies and overhauled my entire home.  From nail polish and lip gloss to dish soap and tampons (yes... some do contain gluten... I know...outrageous!) I got rid of anything that had gluten.  And Oh. My. Goodness. You would be surprised what I was left with.  A whole lot of nothing!  I began researching ingredients, calling companies (some very helpful, others not so much), and documenting what my options were.  It was then that I had another realization.

I said Miss Kat, you need to share this with the world.  You are putting in a HUGE effort, and there are a lot of individuals out there who could use this information (not to mention you can refer to it later).  Maybe someone needs to know what nail polish brands are gluten free, or maybe lip balm.   Or maybe someone wants to know which brands of gluten free bread are actually edible.  I have always tossed around the idea of having a blog like this, but I never felt that I was responsible enough to share my gluten free-ness with others.  After all my gluten free-ness was never hard core enough to share.  I could destroy my own intestines, but not the intestines of others (a little dramatic, I know, but true).  But now I am holding myself accountable for helping you go completely gluten free.  And I vow to you all, and to myself, that I will be hard-core!  So stay tuned to see what fabulous gluten free-ness I'm up to, be patient with me because I know nothing about blogging,  let me know if you have any questions, share your experiences, and most of all just enjoy life with me.. even if you have to do it with Celiac!