Even If it’s ‘Silly Yak’ (part 1)

Last week I posted with the celebration of my daughter’s second blood test coming back “normal” after previously learning that the first test was abnormal, with iron-deficiency anemia and weight loss as the key concerns. I blogged about how worried I’d felt over my girl during that time of waiting before we could see the pediatrician to find out what was going on. I struggled in trusting God yet I remained in His word and in prayer. And then after we met with the pediatrician and later received a call saying the blood work came back normal with the second testing I felt like I could finally breathe again.

Here’s what I didn’t mention in that blog post though, because it was never a possibility in my mind, I’d already mentally crossed it off..the pediatrician we saw last week suggested we run an additional test for celiac disease which would take a few extra days to get results back. Meanwhile during that waiting period I had blogged celebrating God’s work of healing with the thought of a clean health status for my girl because the blood results were now good.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the celiac disease term, if not, here’s a quick run down: celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder where the ingestion of gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye, and barely) leads to damage in the small intestine and difficulty digesting food. If left untreated it can also lead to other autoimmune disorders and complications…and in the state of California someone probably thinks it causes cancer—that’s my own thought though. (I was born in California so I’m justifying that comment.)

So last Friday the pediatrician called with a spoiler alert—McKenzie’s celiac test results had come back and they were positive…sidenote: Did you know that when you use talk-to-text on your phone to say celiac it’s more than likely going to translate as ‘silly yak’ or ‘silly act’? Just a little random, useless knowledge for you!!

When I got the call I was surprised, but handled the news rather well, thinking about how we already have a head start on this deal. I eat gluten-free, although I stumble every now and then.

In fact I was on quite a gluten-free roll at the beginning of the year but then about four weeks in I caved to some dollar chicken nuggets from Burger King. A month ago I succumbed to a strawberry donut from a family owned bakery in town, it was much-needed after a rough day of subbing. And birthday cake, don’t get me started…It happens!! But for the most part I stay on track, and now my little Mc can join me.

I’ll simply stock up on more gluten-free products and purchase double the produce so her and I can satisfy our dietary needs. We’ll get creative in the kitchen together and explore new recipes while sipping lemon-flavored ice water and snacking on handfuls of popcorn.

1 Thessalonians 5:11—Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

I’m just not intimidated by the word celiac and I won’t allow it to define my girl. I’m actually seeing it as somewhat of a blessing. We now have a potential answer as to why her tummy bothers her so often, and I’ve also learned that iron-deficiency anemia and weight loss are two side effects of celiac disease. Her being sick so often just makes sense now, and although it’s a chronic sickness, it’s definitely a manageable one for us.

Mc’s already taking interest in some new foods, so she may very soon ditch her longtime nickname “Picky Micky” (she earned it years ago for obvious reasons.) The other night at supper she looked at me and said, “alright mom I’ll have some broccoli, but it has to have ranch, and I’m not eating it because I like it, I’m eating it because I want to grow!”

…I’ll take that mindset!!!

We have an upcoming appointment for McKenzie at the end of the month where the doctor will decide if they need to do an endoscopy, the final procedure that confirms or rules out celiac disease. She’s still eating gluten foods for now, this way the biopsy will have an accurate reading, but she’s also expanding her palate these days with a wider variety of healthy foods that don’t contain gluten as she knows it’ll help her feel better and get stronger.

Now for the devotional part of this post…which I’ll post tomorrow, for the sake of your eyes and your time.

But I’ll leave you with a ridiculously yummy gluten-free recipe and some scripture encouragement, McKenzie’s favorite Bible verse: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. —Jeremiah 29:11

Grilled Chicken with Avocado and Mango recipe

C1803131-486E-47FC-98AC-35BE50624E2F

 

 

Author: alimw2013

About For His Purpose~ My name is Alicia and I'm a thirty-something year old who loves Jesus. Only through God’s amazing grace and mercy I have been redeemed from past regret and shame. Reading His word has allowed me to look past Satan’s forceful lies, to see myself for who Christ says I am in Him. Through writing I have learned why I made the choices I made in my younger years and I now have a better understanding of why I desire to love God like crazy these days. Despite my daily failures, God remains faithful always. I am reassured of His unconditional love for me by every ink-drop spilled out on paper, each committed prayer as I cry out to Him, and deep understanding reflected through reading His word as truth. Yes keeping a blog will make me vulnerable to others’ opinions- there will be some who don’t understand, some who may criticize or judge, but on the other hand if just one piece expressed through my writing grabs someone’s attention and directs them to God, then pouring out my heart in a blog for the world to read is worth it. I choose to glorify Him alone through words streaming across a glowing screen. And it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t reveal the fact that I’m incredibly quirky; I’m my loving husband’s best friend, my vivacious kids’ craziest cheerleader and spiritual trainer (3 John 1:4). I love anything farmhouse and rustic style. I think cupping a warm coffee mug in the palm of my hands is more satisfying than the contents within. I share a common obsession with my husband for the mountains, but I would (without a doubt) settle for waves crashing against my legs at the Atlantic Ocean just as well, and I almost always have a Yorkie curled up on my lap while writing. *All photos are photographed by forhispurpose.blog and therefore may not be stored or photocopied in any manner.

30 thoughts on “Even If it’s ‘Silly Yak’ (part 1)”

  1. Praise God she was diagnosed correctly! I suffered for 10 years before I was finally diagnosed with Celiac on 1-6-12. I am 6 foot 1 and I weighed 128 pounds at diagnosis! I had major weight loss and blood sugar issues and I was literally starving to death. I thought I had cancer. My gut was in intense pain, under my eyes was dark, and I was severely malnourished. I was also vomiting and going #2 a lot. I have healed a lot, but I had a lot of damage to the villi in my small intestine (called villous atrophy) and I still can’t gain my normal weight back. I deal with malabsorption now, which also causes Cachexia. I’m around 140 pounds now.

    I want to tell you that oats are not gluten free either. Eating oats caused me to go into anaphylactic shock on 4-28-12 and if it wasn’t for the miracle God did to save me that night I would have died. It was torturous pain! Please stay away from oats too! No wheat, barley, rye, or oats. The protein in oats is just like the protein “gliadin” which is what they call gluten. Also, the endoscopy is a very inaccurate, painful, and unnecessary procedure for Celiac testing. They put it in the small intestine and scrape the tissue to see if there are any dead villi. The problem is that if they hit a patch that has healthy villi, then they say the person doesn’t have Celiac. The best way to test for it is the blood test or simple diet elimination. My doctor actually advised against the endoscopy and said it would have just caused me more suffering.

    I have been fighting this disease for the last 7 years. It is a chronic illness, but as you said, it is manageable. I was 33 at diagnosis and I am 40 now (41 this summer). I hope sharing all of this helps your little girl. Both of our kids have Celiac too. If you have any questions about brands or anything, please let me know! I am happy to help! I also had to cut out dairy, eggs, soy, and coconut. I was still getting sick after we went gluten free and those were the culprits. I can’t even eat chickens that eat soy. Can’t eat beef either because they eat grains and finish them on GMO corn (No GMO anything either). I eat free range bison, fresh ocean halibut, and Coleman free range chicken. Our kids can still have dairy and eggs because we caught the disease before it damaged their villi. I also stay away from nuts and chocolate and I can’t have coffee, caffeine, or alcohol. Sorry for the long comment, but wanted to help. 🙂 God bless you all!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks for sharing Ryan! I thought of you as I wrote this post and I thought of how they say the younger a person is when celiac is discovered the less complicating. This is so helpful, I love the information about the endoscopy which totally makes sense, I’m definitely going to point that out when we meet with the GI doctor if she suggests doing one.
      …I struggle with scalp psoriasis (autoimmune disorder) and have gone gluten and dairy free but still haven’t had complete relief and I wonder if it’s because I need to be more strict like with seasonings, butter, and sneaking gluten containing foods every once in a while.
      I’d love to know of recipes, food ideas that you guys do use, and does your wife choose to do gluten free and eat the same also?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Thank you! Yes, the younger they catch it the better. All of my issues now are due to the damage to my villi. If I had not gone undiagnosed for so long, my weight would be normal. I still deal with blood sugar drops sometimes that knock me to my knees. That can happen if I push myself too hard or I’m late on meal times. I’ve learned to manage my energy better over the last 7 years.

        Yes, seasonings and butter and sneaking gluten foods will cause problems. If I did that, I would probably go into anaphylaxis.

        I use McCormick Gourmet granulated onion (which is non GMO) and a non GMO garlic powder for my bison and that’s it. Definitely no butter. We use Earth Balance soy free (the red tub) as our butter substitute. It is made from veggies and it is delicious! We use Orgran No Egg for our egg substitute. King Arthur gluten free pancake mix is the best for pancakes and waffles. We shop mostly at Vitamin Cottage and Costco, but Walmart has more gluten free things now too. Walmart also carries Earth Balance.

        I can eat black olives, blueberries, apples, broccoli, avocados, and Romaine lettuce. I eat brown rice noodles every day from a company called Tinkyada. They make excellent gluten free noodles. Just had the fettuccine style today. 🙂

        Be careful with the labels. Some of the products will say “gluten free” and then in small print at the bottom it says “made in a facility with wheat.” For someone like me, cross contamination can be deadly. For example, I was eating some flavored gluten free almonds one time and I started getting violently ill. We called the company and asked them what other products were made in the facility and we found out that oat products were one of them. I could have gone into anaphylaxis again and died!

        Make sure it says “Certified gluten free” and check what else is made in the facility. If it is Certified GF, then there usually is no wheat in the facility. If there is any doubt, we contact the company.

        My wife doesn’t have Celiac, but yes, she chooses to go gluten free. Her and the kids have also been GF for the last 7 years with me. We had to throw away our old bread maker, toaster oven, and some pots and pans. We completely cleaned out all traces of gluten and oats back in 2012.

        It is a serious autoimmune disorder and it can be deadly if left undiagnosed. So glad you guys caught it in time! Our daughter’s hair was falling out when she was about 4 and we immediately went gluten free and she was fine. Our son is the youngest, so he has been GF just about his whole life. They both have. Since our kids can still have dairy and enjoy pizza and ice cream and even going out to a few restaurants, having Celiac doesn’t bother them. As long as they stay away from gluten they are good to go. I can’t go out to eat because even if it is gluten free, most places use butter, soy, and eggs, so the cross contamination risk is too high. I haven’t eaten out for 7 years.

        I will ask my wife when she gets home about recipes. She makes an excellent GF baked chicken that tastes like fried chicken. Sooo good! God bless!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thank you! That’s all so interesting, it’s crazy how sensitive a person can be. I’m so glad they finally figured it out for you!
        The biggest thing I’ve noticed since not having gluten is that I have more energy so that’s been a blessing but I still have evidence of scalp psoriasis, hair loss, etc..it’ll be interesting to see what happens once I get strict with McKenzie being gluten free because at that point I’ll make sure we completely eliminate gluten altogether.
        I can’t imagine what a process that was for you eliminating foods and finding the culprits. Way to go!!

        Liked by 1 person

  2. I forgot to mention bananas. Bananas are a staple food for Celiacs! So good for the tummy and packed with B vitamins for energy. I eat at least 2 per day. Also, the kids love the Kinnikinnick and Glutino brand cookies. My daughter loves the Schar brand rolls. We use the Udi’s soft white bread for school sandwiches. We also use Blue Diamond Almond Breeze almond milk for our dairy milk substitute.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. I don’t know if you have Aldi where you live, Alicia. Ours used to carry a very tasty gf bread for a good price. Last time I looked for it, all I could find was gf wraps.
        The most delicious gf bead I’ve ever tasted was Canyon Bakehouse, I think it was the 7 grain. I bought it at Fresh Thyme, so it was more expensive.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Oh I will have to check it out! Closest Aldi is in Lincoln which is about four hours away but McKenzie has an appointment in Omaha for a scope on the 13th so I’m really wanting to hit up Aldi while were there.. the scope is to check if McKenzie has silly yak or Crohn’s disease…And I’m using talk to text so I see that it spelled silly yak funny LOL!!!

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Ya I’m super confused myself at this point😕 we’ll see what the scope shows… and to top it off she’s been fine lately and still eating gluten until after we do that scope which will be in two weeks

        Like

  5. I have Celiacs. One thing to look for is a Certified Gluten Free symbol. You can google for what the look like. That is important because some manufacturers use the term gluten free as a gimmick but the food is not actually 100% gluten free such as with Cheerios.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. What??!! I didn’t know Cheerios weren’t actually gluten-free?! I eat them a few times a week and so does my daughter but my stomach will bother me and my scalp itches terribly afterwards!! I bet that’s why!!! Very interesting! I’ll have to scratch that off the list. Thank you!!

      Like

      Reply

  6. So glad to hear you have figured out what is wrong!! Praise God! Thankfully there are so many more options out there for gluten-free nowadays. Strangely enough, my husband has been having some major stomach issues lately as well. However, his issues are gallstone related. So I have been doing lots of reading and research lately, lol. Apparently they can be caused by food allergies, which make complete sense in his case. We are still in the process of figuring out which foods bother him and which don’t, but are hopeful that we are on the road to managing his issues. He suffered from really bad stomach bloating and it got to the point where he could hardly eat anything without feeling extremely sick. He can’t eat eggs, dairy, palm oil, onions, bananas, etc. The list goes on, but we are slowly learning how to eat differently so he isn’t affected and can actually enjoy eating again. There is hope at the end of the tunnel. 🙂 Glad that they caught the celiac while your daughter is still young and that she can look forward to a nice, healthy life! I LOVE her bible verse, lol 😉 God Bless and will be praying for her!

    Like

    Reply

  8. You will assist McKenzie with following a new and improved lifestyle (with broccoli, too). It can be done. I had out-of-control glucose and cholesterol numbers 3-4 years ago. I made a commitment to adopt a healthy lifestyle with eating the right kinds of foods, taking meds, and tackling exercise with a fervor. Over the past two years, I am no longer considered pre-diabetic and my cholesterol is excellent.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to alimw2013 Cancel reply