Gluten, Crohn’s, Blood Tests, & Sleep ~ Read This One!

When naturopath Larry told me that the gluten issue was HUGE, I tended to believe him due to what I had read and experienced. Now, after seeing so many people in a very small group of acquaintances see immediate results from removing gluten from their diet ~ well, that screams HUGE and REAL to me.

Pat is a friend of Cheryl, who is one of our regular contributors. Pat graciously shared her initial experience with us.

Because I have Crohn’s and had colon cancer, I just assumed I was always going to have issues with intestinal distress, so my symptoms could be anything.

I did not have a clue about gluten before talking to Cheryl. We only happened to strike up conversation about it because I saw her take a hot dog without the bun. I asked her if she was doing the Atkins diet or something like that. Of course, she told me about the gluten thing and it just struck such a cord with me, because I have always believed my body did not work right when it came to digesting food.

I had asked doctors about it many times, but it always ended up with blood tests that said everything was normal. [HAYC note: according to Lieberman and Korn, this is too often the case. It also may be that those doctors don't know what to look for. We'll ask about this.]

After talking to Cheryl, I decided to give it a try by following a very loose version of the gluten-free and wheat-free diet. I kept a close eye on gluten hidden in foods I ate. I read labels and if I was in doubt, I just didn’t eat it.

The first thing I noticed was that my morning routine in the bathroom changed right away. You can’t even begin to imagine how exciting that was for me!

I take two different drugs (one is four caps four times a day and the other is three pills twice a day) to control that aspect of Crohn’s, so to have one simple change in food make a difference that quickly made me even more compelled to keep up with it!

After avoiding gluten for about 10 days, I ran a test on myself by eating a hamburger bun with dinner one night. Whoa! BIG mistake. I paid the price until about 3 the next afternoon. I have since been very careful.

Unlike Cheryl, I have yet to take the time to make my own gluten-free foods like graham crackers and pumpkin bread. She has cooked up some pretty yummy stuff that she has shared with me. No, I am on the hunt for ready-made stuff for now. I read all labels on anything that I buy but have not yet requested gluten-free when eating out. I am surprised at where it is hidden sometimes. I am pretty careful now and my body tells me when I eat it unknowingly.

The biggest change has been that I do not have the cramps, bloating and churning in my abdomen. The second thing that has happened is my sleep pattern has improved greatly. I used to wake up about every two to three hours a night, and sometimes I would wake up about 4:00 and that was it. I was up for the day. I just couldn’t sleep. I know as a person gets older they require less sleep but, holy smokes, if you’re tired, you should be able to sleep. It was not my tummy keeping me awake either. But, for whatever reason, when I started to cut out gluten, I started sleeping better.

Thank you for the information you put out there. I keep the magazine [Health Around Your Corner] in the kitchen to re-read the information all the time. I am still amazed.

Pat