When I was 33 years old, the medical odyssey of my life began. One Sunday afternoon a severe headache made me end up in the emergency room. Apparently everything was fine according to the tests that the doctors performed, but after a few hours they simply sent me home.
I will not go into details of the succession of events that marked the 4 long years of comings and goings to different hospitals in Havana. Specialists of I don't know how many specialties, diagnoses as crazy as possible, tests and more tests, stress, depression and above all desperation to know a definitive diagnosis.
At the age of 37 I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. It is not the most serious disease in the world, there are people suffering from worse ones, but it is incurable and there is no known medical treatment to date. Not everything is so bad, the good part is that with a completely gluten-free diet you can live normally...but...here things get complicated.
Eating a gluten-free diet in today's world is a bit difficult. The industrial process favors cross-contamination of foods that by their nature do not contain gluten. In addition, almost all binders used in the food industry contain gluten. Add to this my particular situation of living in Cuba and the difficulty increases exponentially 🤣.
But...looking at the good again, this situation leaves me with a very healthy diet. I don't eat processed or canned foods, nothing containing wheat, barley or rye and a whole bunch of others that might contain traces of gluten. My diet is concentrated on fruits (unfortunately their availability here is very scarce) vegetables, tubers, grains, meats, cereals such as rice and corn. I buy all my food raw and try to use chemical free crops. In addition, the seasonings I incorporate are also natural.
Living with Celiac Disease has been a challenge, not only for me, but also for my family. My social life was quite limited at first. Eating out, going on vacation, dining out with friends or family was suddenly forgotten.These things have been improving over the years, we have looked for alternatives and the misunderstandings of those closest to us have been dissipating, making it possible to share at certain times.
I'm like a baby, if I go out, I have to carry my food in my purse 😆, but I'm going!!!
On the other hand there are the side effects of this disease, they are many and very dissimilar I have undoubtedly impacted my general health and physical well being, but it is what it is and there is nothing left but to face it with a positive attitude. There is still a lot I can do to get better!
Photo and text by me. Translated with DeepL.
Yes, it's horrible, but I'm fascinated by your attitude... exponentially positive... are you real? 😂😁
That optimism wakes you up every morning and says, "Live it, damn it!" It doesn't matter if you're celiac or whatever, just always be careful what you eat.
Yesterday I was at an event, and they served us raw fish. I thought it was fine, but when I tried it, I tasted lobster. I panicked and went to spit it out in a far corner... how scary! I'm allergic, but they told me later it wasn't, but allergies don't lie... and just in case, I didn't even touch it... that's how we live with our problems, just like you live with your food wherever you go... but happy, right?
Have a great week, my dear friend.
🌹🌹🌹
Hi Adaluna, yes, things have been at that point for quite some time now. I'm celiac and it is what it is, so I enjoy as I can, but I do. I'm also allergic to seafood 🤣, and that does make me a bit sad because I love them!!!! In addition to other little health problems that also have no remedy, but why talk about more calamities 😜. In short, none of them compare to the existential problems that adorn our daily lives 😐, but we have to move...to the rhythm of the Van Van!!!
I know many people with this problem and while it is true that you can live your life, it is not the same, especially when, as you mention, the industry and shops tend to produce other types of food and they are also the cheapest.
There is no solution in traditional medicine, but... you can find it by looking... Hug!
Hello Amonet, there are many people who suffer from celiac disease. In Spain there is a high number of patients. After some time come acceptance and life becomes more bearable. I have not experimented with any method other than a gluten free diet. I have not made a search beyond what is recognized in traditional medicine, it would be interesting to find other points of view and perhaps alternative methods. Un abrazo 🤗
Illnesses or things that happen to us are emotional. If the emotion that caused them is healed, then the physical cause disappears.
The main thing is you found out what the issue is and you can deal with it effectively, even if it means avoiding things as in your case.
There are many rice based products like rice noodles, one of my favourite, not sure if they're available in Cuba. They would be a great substitute for gluten.
Sometimes you just have accept and work around things. Take care!
The time I was without diagnosis was the worst years of my life, fortunately it is long gone.
I have eaten the rice noodles and I like it too. I have been able to buy it from time to time, but it is not something that is readily available here.
I have already learned to live with the disease in the best possible way and I try to take care of myself as much as I can 🤗
Ohh friend being celiac is a big problem but you have to live with it as you do, it is very difficult in our country but you can always find alternatives. You have to face life as it comes 😂 a hug 🤗
Hello Mayra, here you know that everything is a little more difficult, but we have to continue, there is no other way. A hug 🤗