My stupidly good (but quite painful) choice

On September 1st, I stopped eating gluten. Within about 10 days, every weirdo symptom I had disappeared and I felt fantastic. My plan was to do it for 90 days but almost immediately, I realized that this was probably going to be a permanent change.

But, I wasn't 100% sure.

And I knew that on November 30th, we were going to a wedding of one of my really good friends and I didn't want to inconvenience her with a "gluten free" request unless absolutely necessary.

So, on Saturday, November 16th, after 77 days of being gluten free and after drinking a glass of wine, I decided a test would be the best way to handle this. And, since friends had invited us to dinner at a delicious but decidedly gluten filled restaurant, I figured there was no time like the present.

The wait for a table was a little long so the waitress brought us some breaded zucchini. I tentatively took a bite. It was, of course, delicious! Then, after we were seated and I had ordered (a grilled chicken salad with fries), I decided to have a slice of the Italian bread from the table. It actually didn't taste that good but I think I am just not used to white bread anymore. The salad was yummy and I even topped it off with a shared slice of pie.

I felt fine. 

Oh, how silly, I thought, I've been eating gluten free all this time and I didn't need to be.

Then, it hit.

It started slowly - a slight ache in my tummy. But, by the time we got home, I was bent over in pain and had no choice but to curl up in the fetal position and cry and moan and cry some more.

For the next 2 days, my stomach was a hot mess. And that concludes my gluten test! I am now diagnosing myself with a gluten intolerance. If you ask my Dad, he will insist it's Celiac Disease and given my family history, that would make sense, but I feel a lot better "knowing" that my insides haven't been attacking themselves.

Although I don't recommend this method of self-diagnosis, I am glad to know for sure now that gluten + my body = bad news.