Suddenly Gluten Free Vegan?

Last year I eliminated all dairy from my diet in an effort to lower my cholesterol. My only motivation was not wanting to go on tablets. I'm taking thyroid tablets everyday as it is and I reckon once you start taking meds, then you just increase them until you end up taking a dozen or so with every meal.

I'm still tired/exhaused all the time so after half dozen B12 injections and dozen visits to the GP, he has finally referred to me a specialist. (I did ask him a few times if I should see a specialist and he said that it wasn't necessary)

Two weeks ago, I finally got into see the specialist and he did another round of xrays and blood tests. He is looking at things as varied as lupus, coeliac disease and hepetitis. One of the questions he asked me was if my toilet habits had changed. I said no because I wasn't expecting that question. I thought about it all the drive home and it struck me that since I cut out dairy I no longer suffer from stomach cramps and chronic diarrhoea. When I was y0ung I had tests to find out why I had chronic diarrhoea and there was no results (as far as I knew) so I thought it was just the way my body was working. I spoke to DO and he said that he never thought about it either but now I mention it, he has noticed that I haven't had to stop at almost every public toilet whenever we go out.

I'm still waiting on the results from the specialist but after doing a bit of research, I wondered if I might have an intolerance for gluten, even if it isn't coeliacs. I was going to wait until I saw the doctor for my results but I thought about putting myself on a gluten free diet for a few weeks to see if that makes me feel better.

The thing that made me decide to take the leap of faith was after visiting the dentist this week. Dental problems are another symptom of coeliac disease. I made an appointment with my dentist after getting a small chip in one of my teeth. I couldn't get in for five weeks but it didn't worry me until it started hurting badly. When I finally saw the dentist, he checked my teeth and couldn't find the chip at first. I pointed it out and then he started drilling, thinking it would be a small filling/repair job. To both our surprise, he said the nerve was badly damaged and he had to remove my tooth...there was nothing else to do.

So, now I will be gluten free for a few weeks and see if that makes a difference to my energy levels. I'm not eating much at the moment because my mouth is still sore but DO and I went shopping last night and bought some gluten free pasta and some gluten free bread (from the freezer section) and we will see how I go.

By the way DO, who is only on a vegan diet reluctantly, had to cook his own dinner last night. I didn't nag or say a word as we headed toward the frozen food section of the supermarket. I assumed he would choose fish fingers or frozen meat pie but instead he chose vegie patties and potato wedges. He then came home and proceeded to make himself a vegie burger (without cheese) for dinner and really enjoyed it.

Of course, I couldn't eat either because sore mouth. But I gave him a kiss and hug and told him that I was proud of him for his food choices. And I am so very very proud of him!

I nuked a potato, then squashed it on my plate, topped it with a spoonful of leftover salsa and a little vegan cream cheese thatI had previously mixed with lemon juice. It was soft but tasty.