I love that story. I love that phrase. And now I own it.
There's no doubt that I've been hit. I've been glutened and I'm not sure where it came from. Maybe from dinner at PF Changs'? Maybe from some random crumbs of garlic bread I served my guests? I don't know for sure, but I know I'm hit.
I woke up the other morning feeling tired and unrested. Everything on me ached. I had spent the day before dancing and being animated in a morphsuit, so I initially thought I was sore from that. As I stirred, I realized my left arm was totally numb and my hand was twisted into an arthritic Lady Gaga claw. I knew I had been glutened just by how I felt.
Bloated? Hit.
Frequent trips to the bathroom? Hit.
Acne around my mouth? Hit.
Brain fog? Hit.
Itchy scalp? Hit.
Sore throat? Hit.
Bone numbing fatigue? Hit.
Night sweats? Hit
Red, burning eyes? Hit.
Low grade fever? Hit.
Chest congestion? Hit.
The final blow that sunk my battleship: a sharp pain in my lower lung every time I try to take a breath.
I accidentally glutened myself in December. I was making gravy for a big extended family dinner. Out of habit I licked the spoon before putting it in the sink. The same symptoms I have right now started rolling in. When I got the sharp pain in my lungs, I was sure the congestion had turned to pneumonia. Chest x-rays said it wasn't and it slowly went away after a week. I went back to feeling like the new gluten free me.
Then in March it happened again. I couldn't pin point the gluten source that time but the waves of symptoms slowly hit in the same order as December: numbness, claw hand, bloating... you get the picture. But that month the pain in my right lung got increasingly worse. It got so bad that it woke me up one night. I have to insert a side note here: I have a really high tolerance for pain. It's not bravado, just fact. The pain and the inability to fill my lungs with a full breath had me panicked.
I went back to the doctor that day and got clear lung x-rays, clear ultrasound of my abdomen, clear CT scan of my gallbladder and surrounding bits. Again, the pain went away after a week.
I asked for copies of the results only to find that my past two lung x-rays said I had emphysema?!? Needless to say, I went to a pulmonologist for a second opinion. I know now, for sure, that my lungs are fine. Actually, they're better than fine, they're in phenomenal condition. So why the pain in my lower right lung? My PA, my gastro guy and the lung doc all shrugged their shoulders; maybe it's the gluten?
So here I'm back at the celiac bonfire. Some ammunition has been thrown into the flames. My body has spent the last three days cooking off the cartridges. The bullet has flown. My lower right rib cage hurts each time I take a breath. Third time is a charm. I know for sure where the pain is coming from and I'm left with the voice in my head saying,
"Aww, bitch! I'm hit! I'm HIT!"
No comments:
Post a Comment