Hello, My Name is Clara...

Hello. My Name is Clara, and I have Celiac Disease.

I found out about four months ago. I had never even heard of it until my mother suggested that I get screened for it. (Also know as the incident in which my mother ruined my life).

I have been sick for years, I just didn't know it. At a certain point my body got used to feeling the way it did, and I began to think that all my symptoms were normal. Some of them were just annoying, like the ever present acid reflux, others like my hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) were a bit more troublesome.

Reading a list of symptoms was like reading a list of my own complaints. Even my husband, who is half convinced I am a hypochondriac, told me to go to the Dr and get tested.

The strange thing was that even though almost all the symptoms fit, I was convinced it was going to be wrong. There was no way I could give up gluten. No more bread, no more pasta, and no more beer. Ever. I thought at the time that I would rather be sick than give up all those things that I loved. I couldn't.

I was wrong. I could. I'm currently about four months gluten free. And for the first time in a long time I feel great.