An Endometriosis Update - Part V

As of January 1st, I started going gluten-free to see if that would help with any of my discomfort. At first, I was simply reducing the amount of gluten that I ingested. I would say I was about 75% gluten-free in my diet.

But as it is, I started to forget when I had had actual bread, or cake, or pizza. And then I started to justify eating it. And then I started to feel badly again, and was bloated, and had an upset stomach.

So, I rearranged my thoughts, reasserted myself to the strictest of diets, and now, I am consistently approximately 99% gluten-free. I am very conscientious of what I'm eating and when, and I've noticed enough of a change in how I feel to stay on this path of restricted diet. It is encouraging.

This does not mean that I don't have the incessant back-ache. Or the pain in my ovaries. Or that I don't bloat. But the repercussions from these are reduced, enough so to encourage me to keep to this change.

The few occasions I have allowed myself to slip, I've noticed a difference the following day - enough of one to cause me to redirect back to my gluten-free diet. There is one particular meme I've found on Pinterest that describes how I felt on a regular basis before beginning this diet.

Do you remember (I don't know if they still exist, honestly) the Pillsbury dinner rolls? You press a spoon on the seal after peeling back the paper and it pops open? Yeah - that is how I used to feel before this diet. I used to feel like I would pop buttons on my jeans any minute. I used to buy multiple boxes at a time of diuretics to help me feel better about dinner out with friends or other special events. I used to suck down water endlessly, hoping my body would begin to reject it and I would stop looking pregnant.

I am so happy with the lessening of bloat and pain I've felt that I actually bought a bread maker (for health reasons, too... far fewer chemicals if I make the bread homemade...) that has a gluten-free setting on it, and I can assure you, homemade gf bread is nothing like the store bought. It is something you will not regret.

So, ladies, if you haven't already gone gluten-free, I would recommend it. I know different treatments work differently on us all. And it takes time to work through each to see which effects we notice, but this is one my doctor approved of. My next goal is to reduce dairy, but I love sour cream and cheese, and I know that will be much harder to let go of for me.

In the meantime, keep on trying. Know you're not alone, and let me know if this post was helpful. Endo sisters forever.