Episode 20 – Amy Horrock RD – Persistent Gut Issues

Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:
This episode is an in-depth discussion with Registered Dietitian Amy Horrock about persistent gut issues after starting a gluten free diet. The GF diet, although like a magic pill for celiac disease often is not the complete answer. For many, the gut responds with partial remission, or other problems. Amy looks at what some of these problems might be, and what might be causing them. The big takeaway is that most of these issues can be cleared up by some diet modifications. Everyone is different, so the solutions must be made through consultation on an individual basis. For more information regarding Amy’s services, you can go to her website at www.clearfocusnutrition.ca She can also be found on facebook at Clear Focus Nutrition and on Instagram at gluten_free_dietitian

My Thoughts –
I remember when the doctor first told me I had celiac disease – it was after waking up from the grogginess of the endoscopy. He told me he saw evidence of celiac disease and that I would need to start a gluten free diet. He also asked me to go for blood tests the next day before starting the diet and that he was making an appointment with a dietitian in the next couple of weeks. The timing of this wasn’t great, it was just before Christmas. Once I researched what gluten was, I remember saying to a friend “He can’t mean no gluten. It must be like diabetes or other diets where you have to count the gluten”. Wow, that sounds naïve, but that explained my situation, pretty naïve.
After my dietitian visit and lots of information from the Canadian Celiac Association, I started the gluten free diet in earnest. I recovered fairly well, then months later, set my daughter on a similar road to recovery. I was surprised how long it was taking for me to feel “normal” again. But I also realized that I hadn’t known normal for so many years that I may not recognize it. A celiac friend at the time told me it would take a year before passing a bakery would cause a noticeable reaction, anythingfrom mental to physical. I thought she was a little crazy, but must admit that at the one-year mark, I was much more comfortable with the diet and how it made me feel.
Gas, bloating and heartburn were problems that surfaced over the next few years. I was able to tweek my diet and the timing of my food (I enjoyed eating late at night) and those issues became manageable. Then, out of the blue, I had an attack, like a gluten attack, but with no known cause. I must have eaten gluten, but couldn’t find it. It wasn’t long after when I was visiting a celiac friend that I got a similar attack, but this time it was worse. I did everything I could to hold my husband back from taking me to emergency. It wasn’t gluten.

It took me a few years, a couple of attacks at celiac events and dinners out to finally identify an allergy. My allergist helped and confirmed my allergy to flaxseed. Apparently, not something mainstream, but it was an answer for me. What I know now, is that every exposure is worse than the last. I will spare you the details. The good news is now I know.
For me, the gluten free diet is now also a diet that excludes flaxseed. I can do this. The fact that the gluten free diet is a treatment for celiac disease is a miracle. The reality of other allergies is just a pain, but one that, once identified, I can work with. I am happy with my gluten free (flax free) diet. I feel normal now, whatever that may be.