Day 12: For better or worse

When my husband signed up I didn't have all of these food allergies.  Now that I do he is totally holding up the "for worse" part of the deal.  Since last June we have changed every meal we have ever loved.  For some people this might be a deal breaker.  Not for Antonio!!  His support has meant more to me than he will ever know.  For two weeks after I found out about my allergies I would wait so long before I would eat and then I was so hungry I cried!  Learning to eat all over again was really frustrating for me, I can't even imagine how he felt every time I burst into tears over sour cream.

He has been my rock through all of this!!  Instead of us having to prepare separate meals and keeping those temptations in plain sight he went cold turkey with me.  I didn't even have to ask!!  My hero.  We tried to keep our meals similar by switching milk in recipes for soy or nut milk.  As time went on it became much easier and before we knew it life was somewhat normal again.

Most people when they found out about my allergies and his pledge to not eat my allergens; thought we were crazy.  They said we would become calcium deficient because we are required to have dairy in our diets every day.  We started flirting with a vegan diet because they avoid dairy too.  We didn't become completely vegan as we still consumed some fish every once in a while.  On this diet I never felt better!  I don't know why more people don't incorporate more vegan dishes in their menu's.  Also now when my husband does eat dairy it makes him really sick. 

Then, in December a new test revealed that I had Leaky Gut Syndrome and 60 new allergies to go with it.  This time around they gave me a four day rotational diet.  I was tested for 110 items and out of those I could only eat the foods I wasn't allergic to.  Anything that wasn't tested I was told to avoid.  For two weeks I did this strict diet and rotated my foods every four days.  I was to be on this diet for the next three months!!  After two weeks had passed I was very stressed about everything I put in my mouth and this diet was mostly fish with the exception of one day.  For five consecutive days I was broke out in hives and miserable.  The nutritionist and doctor wouldn't return my calls and I went urgent care for relief.  When I got there they wanted to give me benadryl but it contained corn I told them.  The lady looked at me really funny and asked how I know because she wasn't aware of this (apparently in medical school they aren't educated on the ingredients in drugs they prescribe even something as simple as benadryl.)  After that she refused to treat me and said I should consult with my doctor.

I went home defeated because none of the doctors I had been to would help me.  I mean I was covered in hives and wanted to tear my flesh off!  After that I decided if I was breaking out in hives on a diet that was supposed to help me then eating the stuff I'm allergic to can't do much more harm.  And off I went on indulging in my allergens for two months.  Once I began sleeping for twelve to fourteen hours I decided I needed to find another doctor.

With my new doctor things are much better now but I still have my bad days were I just feel sick.  Usually that means I have a new allergy to something else.  Our bodies are always changing and adapting to survive.  Since I have cut out most processed and commercialized foods I have learned a lot about signals your body gives off when something isn't right.  When I first started looking in to the vegan diet I had read about this but never quite understood it.  Now I know....




This guy has been my saving grace for dealing with all of my food allergies!  Without him I would be lost and his support throughout all of this has been amazing!