Welcome!

Hello all! Welcome to Whit's Gluten Free Blogspot. I will be using this site as a jumping off point for when I begin writing for Examiner.com. I will be posting my full articles on my Examiner site so please be sure to check them out. I created this blog as a place to keep things organized and user friendly.

My Story: The Long-Winded Version
In June of 2007, I was with my family visiting my sister, Jackie, in Wisconsin. Jackie's mother-in-law has a small hair styling salon and I just happened to be hanging out there with my nieces when I randomly picked up a women's health magazine and began flipping through. I stopped on an article about "gluten-free." It caught my eye 1. because I knew my grandmother was "gluten-free" and I had no idea what that actually meant and 2. the article had a bit about Elizabeth Hasselbeck from survivor (my mom and I used to be wayyyy into survivor). So I began reading the article, which had an in-depth description of the symptoms of a gluten allergy. The article also explained how Elizabeth had first come to realize there was something "right" with her after she began her "survivor diet" of rice, fish, and fruit. All of a sudden it clicked.

I had spent my whole life feeling bad after almost every meal and had no idea that what I was dealing with wasn't normal. The article recommended going gluten-free for three weeks as a self-test to see if there was any difference. I felt a difference after THREE DAYS. It was the most amazing feeling in the world to eat a meal and feel... nothing! Just full for a little while and then NOTHING. As opposed to full for a while, then pain, then gas, then constipation... and trust me there's no medicine that can solve those problems when it's wheat/gluten that's the cause of it. I remember almost everyday in high school after lunch, sitting in class and my stomach announcing to everyone the battle that was going on inside. So embarrassing.

After this amazing realization, I had been eating gluten-free for about three months and decided I wanted to go through the process of getting tested. This was the biggest hassle as the first doctor I went to was an allergist who had very little knowledge of gluten and other food allergies. I had all the skin prick allergy tests done which told me what I already knew... half of my back swelled up from dog and the other half swelled up from cat. What was left swelled up from tree pollen. Yikes.

The next part was a blood test and was what would really give me the information I was looking for -or so I thought. My results came back and the doctor came into the room obviously worked up about something. He said "Well it looks like you don't have anything as far as the gluten thing - BUT! this came out of left field!" (Not really something you want to hear from a doctor) He went on to explain to me that I had some whacky thing going on with the levels in my blood. My IgA levels were extremely low. They were supposed to be somewhere around 250+ and they were 7. Seven. Basically, he told me, that meant non-existent. He spent about a minute trying to explain to me what IgA was, told me since mine were so low I needed to get a medic-alert bracelet and ushered me out the door on my merry way...

I left the office utterly confused. I knew I felt 100% better not eating gluten- there had to be some explanation. And what the heck was this IgA thing? A couple days later the doctor called to follow up and tell me he had spoken with another doctor who said a low IgA can sometimes cause gastro-intestinal issues but if I felt better not eating wheat or gluten then I should just keep following that diet... This was the fall of 2007.

Fast forward to the Spring of 2009. I had been gluten-free (not 100% more like 90%- I mean... I felt better not eating it - but the doctor said I wasn't allergic so... whatever right?) for over two years. I happened to catch a terrible stomach virus which warranted a doctor's visit and I was referred to a Gastro-Intestinal doctor. He told me everything would be alright and I just had to ride out the virus, plenty of fluids, yadda yadda yadda... somehow the gluten-free thing came up in conversation and I explained to him about the allergist and the IgA thing. (I still didn't understand it and I hadn't gotten a medic-alert bracelet...oops...) After hearing the whole story the GI doctor said plainly: "that allergist is an IDIOT."

First thing that should have been caught by the allergist: if you are already following a gluten-free diet, nothing will show up on a blood test for a gluten allergy. Second thing: the blood test is, ironically and specifically, tested on IgA levels. The allergist did not know this connection. After the GI doctor explained these things to me I was almost speechless at how connected these seemingly random things were. After two years of wondering, it all made sense. (He also explained the seriousness of having an IgA deficiency and that I should get a medic-alert bracelet asap. I'll post a separate article to explain IgA deficiency soon.)


The GI doc then told me if I wanted to be medically diagnosed as either gluten-intolerant or having Celiac Disease, I had to have a surgical biopsy- AFTER- going back to eating gluten - the equivalent of 6 slices of bread a day- for four months. I considered it for a second and then thought "ARE YOU CRAZY!?!?" He said he could give a "contextual diagnosis" but not a "medical diagnosis" without the biopsy- and I said contextualize away.

I've been happily living gluten-free ever since. I consider myself intolerant as I am not medically diagnosed but I know the in-depth details of being gluten-free and dealing with Celiac.

With all of this I wish to share the knowledge I have gained in personal research, testing out products and restaurants, creating recipes, etc. in hopes to help the undiagnosed, newly diagnosed, or those who have simply been living without.

Thank you all so much!!

-Whitney Manahan
Whit's Gluten Free
whitsglutenfree@gmail.com