In the words of a very enthusiastic, bright and squishy…um, sea creature (?), “Happy!  Happy!  Joy!  Joy!”

You know when Ziggy (the cartoon) used to climb the mountain to ask the wise man about life’s biggest questions?  Unfortunately for Ziggy, he usually got some very depressing answer or a question to his question, or something totally lame that left him completely deflated.  Well, I wish Ziggy was with me today as I finally got answers to some of MY big questions!  I had a follow up appt with my GI doctor today (who conducted my colon/endoscopy) and he went over the results… turns out I have Celiac Disease!  LOL!  I say that as if I’m excited to have it, which I’m clearly NOT – the last thing I need is to eliminate even more items from my continuously dwindling food choices – but it’s finally a relief to know what has been causing some issues of mine that have not been going away.  I’m ALL for solutions!

For those who don’t know what this is, apparently  it’s a hereditary autoimmune issue (yep, another one) that causes the villi (the long fingers in your intestines that absorb minerals, etc. from the food you eat) to react and become damaged whenever it comes in contact with gluten.  It’s what’s been causing my stomach issues for the past 6 months.  What I was shocked to find out was that it was also what was going on with my skin!  All this time, my doctors were thinking it was Kyrle’s Disease due to my kidney failure, but it turns out it’s just another aspect of Celiac Disease!  My doctor told me to have my dermatologist confirm this, but it totally explains why nothing I’ve been doing has been making it go away!  Good news is that once I start a totally gluten-free diet, all of my symptoms will go away, and my villi and skin will return to normal!  WEEEEEEE!  THIS is what I’m TALKIN’ about!

So, now I’m on the hunt to learn more about gluten-free food.  Good thing it’s totally trendy right now and everyone seems to be coming up with new products and menu items right and left!  Shoot me a message if you have any suggestions…I’m all ears!  Also, let us all bow our heads in a moment of THANK YOU that corn-made Mexican food products do not have gluten.  😀