Hello there,
Fancy a chat? If you dropped by today, I'd pour you a cup of coffee (or tea) and we could sit at the kitchen table and I would tell you what's been going on around here lately. Eventually, after the random chit chat, I'd get around to telling you that I've still been feeling pretty cruddy every day for months now, even since cutting out all gluten from my diet. And then I'd tell you that I'm now going thru testing with a GI specialist, to determine exactly what's wrong with my stomach. I've already had several tests and the next one is scheduled in 6 weeks. That's when they'll do a biopsy of my small intestine to see if it's behaving properly or not. That involves them putting me under, so they can run a tube down my throat to biopsy the intestine. The only bummer is that in order to get an accurate reading on the test, I have to actually EAT gluten for 6 weeks. GAH.
So if you see me posting pictures of decidedly NOT gluten-free food on Instagram or Twitter in the next month or so, you'll know why. I'm eating gluten in preparation for the test, but as a result, am feeling even worse than I have been for the last few months. I'm looking on the bright side though, and trying to enjoy all of these foods that I haven't had in months and months (including my mom's sticky buns - pictured above)! Granted, I'm a little afraid to eat at times, for fear of how awful I might feel later, but given the fact that I've felt pretty bad for a really long time now, it'll be worth it to finally know exactly what we're dealing with. One of the early tests has shown that I might not be absorbing nutrients from foods properly, which would be an indicator that we might be on the right track in thinking that this could be either a gluten intolerance or celiac disease (extreme gluten intolerance).
Obviously, we're praying that it could be something 'easy' to fix since there's nothing to be done for a gluten intolerance except to not eat gluten at all. But we'll see. Clearly, the Lord has a plan in all of this even if I can't see what it is at the moment.
I hope this can be a bit of an encouragement to those of you struggling with tough stuff in your life right now. I can tell you that when you physically feel awful all day every day, it's sometimes hard to think about anything other than the fact that you feel awful all day every day. But I've come to realize that I can choose to focus on feeling bad or I can choose joy. And dear friend, let me tell you, I choose JOY! It beats the alternative every single time! :)
If you wouldn't mind, I'd so appreciate your prayers in the coming weeks, as we try to determine what we're up against here....prayer for wisdom for my doctors, prayer for this test I've got coming up, and prayer that I wouldn't feel awful while eating gluten for the next 6 weeks. In fact, if you were here, I bet some of you would just pray with me right here at the kitchen table. Thank you. :)
Before I go, I couldn't resist sharing this picture of a certain boy I know. I was trying to work yesterday and he decided to squeeze himself under my desk and right in front of me, so he could shove the computer out of the way to look at me. The slightly frantic look in his eyes makes me crack up! I'm not sure if he's thinking, "Hey! This is urgent! I need attention right now!" or if he's thinking, "Oh crud. Now that I've wedged myself in here, how am I gonna get back out?!" Haha! Silly boy. And now I must go, as he is whining and sitting right next to me, staring at me....lol! I'm feeling pretty good this morning so I promised him a walk!
Smooches, dear friends. Thanks for the chat!