Our Story

Theresa's Story

My story actually began about 10 years ago when my daughter, Sarah and I were shopping for colleges. Upon our return home from Hoftstra University in NYC, I broke my ankle when I landed on my ankle the wrong way after getting off an airport shuttle. After x-rays, my orthopedist said that the break was more severe than it should have been, saying that my bone density looked a “bit off”. He suggested that I see a Bone Specialist, which I did. Upon a bone density scan and some blood work, she indicated that my bones may not have ever achieved full density due to a calcium deficiency. What's more, the bone density scan indicated osteopenia (which she said I should not have had at my age). She said this was very common with women who had a malabsorption issue. It was then she suggested a gluten-free diet in combination with mega doses of Calcium and D3 and a visit to a GI Specialist for further testing to see whether I had Celiac Disease. Back then a gluten-free diet seemed like a death sentence. It was not only tough diet to follow and maintain, but there weren't as many gluten-free products available as there are now. Further, what was available was really expensive and only available at Lori’s Natural Foods... a considerable driving distance away.  Great… just what I needed as a single parent of two teens. In spite of the hardship though, I did what the doctors ordered. I loaded up on Calcium and D3; went on a gluten-free diet; and headed to a GI specialist for blood work and a GI biopsy to determine whether I had Celiac. When the results came back negative, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and couldn't get back to the typical American diet quick enough. It was back to bread, pasta, and gluten-filled desserts. And why not? Other than a bone density issue for which I loaded up on Calcium and D3, I had no other health issues other than high blood pressure… or so I thought.

Fast forward to May 2006… with my Mom’s passing, my world fell apart. I was anxious and my brain was in a fog much of the time. At the wake I recall having to sit much of the time because my knees were throbbing and often buckled under me. Back then I chalked all of that up to stress. After all, who wouldn't be after experiencing death of a loved one. But weeks, months, years past and the brain fog never really went away. Over time, I also developed  arthritis  in the knees, hip, and back; felt fatigue and lacked energy a great deal of the time; and suffered bouts of bloating, acid reflux, and sinus congestion. Now in my early 50s, if it wasn't due to stress, it must be that I am getting old.

Fast forward again to February 2012…  my world fell apart again. This time, it was my Dad's final days and it wasn't my knees that buckled. As my Dad was fighting for his life with pneumonia upstairs in ICU, I was downstairs in ER with severe abdominal pain. I really tried hard to ignore the pain for as long as I could, focusing instead on my Dad and his failing health… that is, until I could not take the pain any more. Twelve hours and a bunch of tests later including a CAT scan, the ER doctor's diagnosis was diverticulitis. I was given a clear liquid diet to follow, a handful of prescriptions to take, and instructions to go see a GI Specialist as soon as I could about a colonoscopy. So I went on a clear liquid diet followed by a bland one; somehow managed through my Dad's death and subsequent funeral; then scheduled an appointment with a GI Specialist for a colonoscopy. The results? While there were signs of diverticulosis (tiny pockets in the intestine), there were no signs of diverticulitis. How could that be? Wouldn't you think I would still have signs of diverticulitis since I had only been in ER just weeks prior? Nope. And when I inquired about this, the GI Specialist said that CAT scans are not a good test for diverticulitis and that I most likely had a bout of Irritable Bowl Syndrome (or IBS), which often mimics a diverticulitis attack. Further that when I had one of these attacks, be sure to stay away from nuts and seeds (but that I could have nuts and seeds if there were not signs of inflammation).Over the course of the next year, I experienced several more similar attacks, three more visits to the ER, and a recommendation by my primary care physician to stay away from nuts and seeds of any kind for life and to seriously consider surgery if I had one more attack.

During that same time period, I chose to stay away from nuts and seeds altogether as a preventive measure. I also decided to do a bit of research on the Internet. It was then that I learned Irritable Bowl Syndrome (or IBS) is a popular term doctors use when they do not know what the hell is wrong with you!  Great! As bad as that sounds, I truly believe it was the much-needed wake-up call to take control of my health once and for all. I just did not know where to begin. I knew I had to make dietary changes and in spite of my reservations about the medical community, looked to my doctor for guidance. As a starter, he suggested limiting my calorie intake to 1400 calories per day to lose weight and hopefully it would also help with the intestinal issues". The diet he suggested was basically the "low fat, high fiber diet" that known as the USDA's Food Pyramid (My Plate) which involves avoiding red meats and eating white meat sparingly; focusing on lots of fruits, veggies, and beans; and most of all loading up on plenty of whole grains. As an extra precaution, he said to "stop being emotional" and to stay away from nuts and seeds for life to prevent future attacks. Great.. just what every woman wants to hear! Yet in spite of heeding this advise, I still woke up every morning with a pain in my gut. The only difference was I stopped going to ER or to my doctor, getting through each day as best I could in spite of how I felt!

Like me… over the years, Justin has struggled with a number of health issues too (see his story below). It wasn't until he saw his cardiologist in December 2013 that we both felt as though someone was finally listening to us and that maybe there was a glimmer of hope for us.Dr. Solomon suggested that Justin try a gluten-free diet after the holidays. While the diet was not new to me and was actually more like "been there, done that", Dr. Solomon assured Justin that the diet seemed to work for many of his patients. While they did not have Celiac,they were "gluten sensitive".... a term not referenced back 10 years ago! So with a bit more research and a loving, supporting partner by my side who was going through much of the same thing I was, perhaps it was time to revisit the Gluten-Free diet. 

Having started the diet January 4, 2014, it is going on 7 weeks now. Since then, Justin and I have viewed many videos; read a lot of health articles online that "go against the grain" of conventional wisdom on what causes illness and obesity; and started to take a closer looks at what we needed to do to stay healthy. Regardless of whether you have physical, neurological, or psychological issues, we learned that at the heart of most illnesses is diet-induced inflammation with grains containing gluten (wheat in particular) as the primary offender. We also learned that a gluten-free or a grain-free (Paleo) diet greatly reduces and in many cases eliminates chronic inflammation, providing many with immediate results. As testament to this, I no longer experience acid reflux during the night; no longer wake up in the morning with a dull ache in my gut; and no longer have that uncomfortable bloated feeling throughout the day. When monitoring my blood pressure, the numbers are now consistently within the normal range. My arthritis pain has diminished greatly in spite of the bone-chilling temperatures this weather. If that is not enough, as an added bonus, I have much more energy than I used to; feel 10 years younger with my memory and concentration noticeably sharper; and have actually lost 7 lbs to date. While I realize that a gluten-free or a grain-free (Paleo) diet isn't for everyone with many thinking it is merely one of many passing fads, I assure you it is not. With mounting research available on the Internet and my personal experience during the last 7 weeks, I cannot argue with the results and am now a firm believer.In fact, I plan to stick with a Gluten-Free diet for the long haul.. especially knowing that many of the benefits I am experiencing now came totally by surprise!


Justin's Story

Just to introduce myself. In a very short time from now (2/23/2014) in early March, I will celebrate my 54th birthday.  I am 72” tall and the most I’ve weighed is 275.6 lbs.  I have two sons from my first marriage.  Medical conditions include high cholesterol, v-tac heart arrhythmia, osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis in both feet, and neuropathy in my right foot.

How did I get here?  I have always shied away from bread and pasta when I was younger because it always seemed to feel heavy and just lay in my stomach, but I never thought it was doing anything insidious to my body. I never liked tomato, which did not make my food preferences popular with my father since he was raised on a potato and tomato diet.  My father was raised during the Great Depression and these were the available foodstuffs at the time.  Interestingly, they are both nightshade vegetables. Although I did not enjoy pasta, I did very much enjoy pastry and baked items.  Like most Americans, my body became accustomed to a high carbohydrate, high blood sugar diet caught endlessly in the vicious cycle of sugar highs and sugar lows. I didn’t know that wheat contained opiates that stimulated hunger which leads one to eat more and more.

In my mid 30s, I developed carpal tunnel and plantar fasciitis which reduced my mobility and interfered with enjoying physical activities with my children. Shortly after I turned 40, I was diagnosed with both atrial and ventricular tachycardia. The cardiologists were very concerned with the v-tac. They prescribed a beta blocker and put me on the DASH diet which emphasizes heavy grain intake, high fiber, and low fat, low cholesterol foods.

I followed the diet, but my cholesterol remained high or at least did not fall as much as my doctors wanted. I was told to try harder. I did. After a couple of years of failure on the DASH diet, I was put on statins. I was first placed on Zocor. I noticed that I experienced body aches and muscle fatigue. I continued on the DASH diet. I was feeling worse. Each visit with the doctor (every three months), I complained more and more about how I was feeling. I worked in a warehouse for many years on hard concrete. Well, I was getting older and my job was finally getting to me. After expressing to my doctor that it might be the Zocor, I was switched to Crestor.

 My symptoms continued to worsen. Eventually, I was walking with a cane. It hurt to move. I had lost feeling in the ball of my right foot. I was told that it was my arthritis and the daily physical stress from work and the neuropathy could be a pre-diabetic indicator. But to alleviate the arthritis, I was told to keep active. All the while, I was experiencing intense pain. By this time, I was taking 1300mg of acetaminophen with 800mg of ibuprofen (which acts like a non-narcotic vicodin) two to three times per day for the pain.

Another change that I did not connect to the statin or gluten was increasing cognitive difficulties. I became the ‘absent minded professor’ type. I forgot things almost instantly. I couldn’t remember if I did something or just thought I did. It was hard to concentrate. When I found that patients were reporting muscular problems, neuropathy and cognitive problems from statins, I announced to my doctor that I wanted to stop taking Crestor. He agreed but suggested that I take 1000mg of niacin per day, the treatment often prescribed prior to the creation of statin drugs. Within three weeks, I felt much better. I didn’t need my cane anymore, my pain was moderately reduced and mobility restored. My memory improved and I could concentrate better. But the arthritis remained and still limited my physical activity. I continued with my pain killer regimine, adding an acid reducer for my stomach and gabapentin for my neuropathy. But with all this, I lacked energy. Each day, after work, I was exhausted.

In late August of 2013, I suffered a terrible pain in my abdomen. It was on a Friday. I suppose that I will blame my gender for not having it checked out right away. I went to work, but didn’t last very long. I ended up going home sick. Resting during the weekend did not help because I asked my wife to take me to the urgent care center on Monday morning. Urgent care directed me to the emergency room of the hospital.
  The doctors at the hospital and my own doctor could not determine what my issue was, but after taking an anti-spasmodic drug for a week, my stomach reached a tolerable plateau of pain. In December, I expressed to my cardiologist that I did not feel up to taking the scheduled stress test because of my stomach and arthritis pain. They did an echo-cardio instead. My cardiologist suggested I try a gluten free diet, just for a month, to see how I would feel. He had other patients that expressed improvement while on that diet.  

On January 4, 2014, I began my gluten free adventure. I had decided that I would try the diet for two months instead of one. This is my fifth week on the diet. My stomach still bothers me, maybe relief will come later, maybe not. But, my arthritis pain has greatly subsided. The numbness in my right foot (neuropathy caused by statins) comes and goes instead of being constantly numb and painful. Overall, I am feeling much better.

While I do not have Celiac Disease, I certainly appreciate how hard it is to avoid gluten completely. Those who have Celiac Disease  have to avoid cross-contamination, which is extremely difficult. It restricts where they can eat making dining out even more difficult. I can clearly see how this is a very real burden. At this point, I am not sure whether I have a gluten sensitivity or a wheat allergy... but one thing I know, for sure, is that eating gluten-free has drastically reduced my overall pain. I saw my doctor five weeks after starting my gluten-free diet. My cholesterol numbers, especially trigycerides has fallen and my good cholesterol HDL has gone up. I have no doubt at all that gluten raises cholesterol in my body.

My wife has joined me on this adventure, even though she did not have to do so. We have been experimenting with stir fried vegetables, fruit salads and parfaits, using meats as a flavoring and adding fresh fruits and vegetables to all our meals. Our Wegmans store has a Gluten-Free (GF) section. It is quite nice. But I am not sure that gluten free necessarily means healthy. The GF items seem to be loaded with sugar and high in calories. I suppose they did that to make them taste as good as the gluten containing food.

When I started the diet, I actually gained weight. I believe that the gluten was inhibiting my body’s ability to take in nutrients. After three weeks, my weight had begun to plateau and then over the next two weeks my weight began to fall slowly. Other challenges are in getting enough fiber and nutrients usually obtained from gluten foods such as enriched flour. I have been using supplements to make up the difference. The pain reduction has convinced me that I want to stay on the GF wagon for the long haul. And my experience with statins is to never take them again.

Like many things in life, plans morph into something unexpected. My overall pain and arthritis pain has greatly subsided on the weeks of avoiding wheat, barley and rye. However, my stomach was still very much bothering me. Always being the inquisitive one, I began seeking information as to why my digestion discomfort continues. On this information search, I discovered a short video as to the number one mistake people make on a gluten free diet. Well, of course, that piqued my interest. The mistake was to not avoid all grains. The doctor spoke of a condition called Leaky Gut, or more clinically, intestinal permeability. Since my gut was not feeling any better on the GF diet, I decided that I would go on a Grain Free (GrF) diet. So I am now making it a point to have no grains, no nightshade vegetables (potato, tomato, eggplant), no peppers, and very limited legumes. I am also cooking all vegetables so that they will be easier to digest.

My current goal is to eat no more than 100 grams of carbs per day, mostly from vegetables and consuming low glycemic index foods.Is it working? In the first two weeks of the GrF diet my stomach has calmed down a little. More time will be needed to see if this is the right path. In the meantime, my wife and I are having an interesting time preparing very low carb meals that are satisfying. What we have discovered though, is that our cravings have subsided. We are less hungry even though we are consuming less calories. A side benefit is that we are losing weight.
Losing weight was not the plan or purpose of this adventure. The plan was to feel better and gain more mobility as well as heal our guts.

As of February 10, 2014, I stopped taking all pain killers and my acid reducer. I feel well enough to go without them. I have more energy and remain excited about this journey.  My body is reacting positively, so much so, I do not want to do anything to reverse the progress.

I will be posting my adventure on this blog. My hope is that I can inspire and encourage you. Each of us responds differently to medicine and diet. What works for me might not work for you. What works for you may do me no good at all. Please join me in this adventure that we call life on this path to health and wellness. See you on the  path as we travel together.

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