#69 Sharing a Bit About Me......

I don't really share a lot about me or my private life here. I set up my blog as a way to keep track of my quilting journey! I am constantly amazed that so many nice people that I have never met are enjoying my journey with me!!
Today however I am going to share some of my personal struggles, so if you want to get to know me better read on and if not, skip to the What I've Been Up To section!! :) I won't know the difference! ;)

So quick refresher of who I am. My name is Sandy, married to my high school sweetheart Dave, for 29 yrs now. We live on a farm in a rural area of Ontario,  have 3 children Amanda, Shawn and Adam. Amanda is a Children's Minister at our church and was married last year to Ryley, Shawn is a Farrier and dating a great girl, and Adam is figuring it all out still. The youngest is still at home, but the other two are off living their lives, though they are all very close to home, which is a great blessing!!

My life is good in so many ways, but I have been sick so much over the last 5 yrs or so and not really known why. My stomach has always been my weak area, even as a kid. I have always struggled with my weight, been a junk food lover and over eater, and a healthy eater and back again. I would feel good for awhile and then start feeling bad again. I would feel fine one minute and be nausea and shaking like a leaf the next. I never knew what was going to set me off or when. I've had some medical tests, that all came back clear, thank God. I've had allergy test that were negative. Over the last year I have been  loosing weight (the silver lining in all this) but feeling worse and kinda closed off.
(I have to say that quilting has come into my life during this time and been a true blessing. All the nice people I have met and all the distracting projects I have done, have all helped me so much!!)
I have back problems from a car accident as well and it seems that it plays off the stomach and the stomach sets off the back and around we go!!!
I have regular massage appointments, chiropractic and have tried physio/homeopathic, acupuncture and never seem to get to the root of the problem. Good for a few hours or day if I am lucky, but the cycle of pain never stops.
A few weeks back a friend mentioned a Naturopathic Dr in our area, so I made an appointment. I figured I had nothing to loose but time and a few bucks, lol. We spent an hour or so together just chatting about all the issues, she was fantastic. She listened to me wanted to know everything, not just one or two things like my medical Dr allows per visit. She suggested we start with figuring out the food issues, and gave me some options, one of which was a blood test!! I had never even heard of such a thing. So instead of groping in the dark with an elimination diet, I opted for the blood test that would let me know what foods where affecting me, because I have tried taking foods out of my diet and had no success at finding what was making me feel so bad.
I found out this week and have started a specific elimination diet for the next 6 week, that all dairy, wheat, gluten, eggs, and a few other things all cause me issues. This is not fun!!! But it is no wonder I felt so bad all the time, eggs are a main staple in my diet along with wheat and diary. I had been buying some gluten free items and not noticing any improvement, which makes sense now, because I react as poorly to wheat as I do to the gluten.
I am a little overwhelmed right now trying to change my thinking and wrap my brain around what I can and can't eat over the next 6 wks. Yesterday I cleaned out the pantry of all offending items, and my son and daughter came grocery shopping at my house!! lol That was the easy part, now to fill the fridge with the right foods and find substitutes for the other items. It is going to be a challenge in some areas more than others. Breakfast cereal for one, even regular oats say may contain wheat on the package.
I am having a whole new appreciation for life threatening allergies and Celiac sufferers. My symptoms may not be as severe  but it is tricky finding the foods that won't hurt you, because the ingredients can be labelled as so many different things, here's an example: I have to go egg free which you would think would be easy, just look for egg on the label or egg whites, but no if I see any of these words Albumin, Apovitellenins 1& V1, Lysozyme, Ovalbumin....... and there are more, all represent egg.  It is crazy, and scary how easily someone could get hurt if they don't know all this, or if the labels aren't clear.
Well my journey is just beginning I know a little, but really know nothing at all at this point, lol!! I will be entering a new life's journey, and it will all be worth it if I get my energy back, start feeling like myself again and stop hurting!!

 Thanks for listening.... if you have any knowledge in this area please share it with me!! Good recipes, help!!!! Substitutions?? Would love to hear from you!!!!

What I've Been Up To:

Block for a fellow guild member

 2 Blocks for a fellow bee member:

Taking a class Sept 27 to master my fear of curves!! I hope ;)

Started a Christmas gift!!

And getting ready for the BOM hosted by Art of Home