I am 22 years old and have had T1D for about four years. I started having stomach problems about two years ago and found that cutting out gluten cured about 80% of my symptoms. However they are starting to come back so I finally sucked it up and went to a gastroenterologist, where I ended up scheduling an upper endoscopy to determine if it is in fact celiac. As I have T1 and multiple family members have celiac, it seems to me pretty likely that I do as well (although I haven’t had the procedure yet).
I’ve been really good with eating gluten free, but the prospect of worrying about every single thing I eat possibly touching gluten is overwhelming me entirely. I feel as though I’ve kept a handle on my emotions involving T1D, but this has pushed me close to the edge. I’m constantly anxious about the procedure, and about everything I eat. My finace has been trying to help me emotionally but he just can’t fully understand what I’m going through.
I don’t know if I need advice or if I just needed to vent, but there it is. I’m sure a lot of T1s have been through this before me.
I’m so sorry you are going through a difficult time. I am in a similar situation. I recently started having stomach problems after eating high gluten foods. I decided to just cut out gluten and not worry about getting tested. I was doing good until I realized that gluten really is actually in EVERYTHING!
I’ve been working on my diet over the last couple of months moving towards more of a paleo style, but avoiding all gluten is really hard. Just take it one meal at a time. If you cook look for paleo recipes. There are some incredible recipes from bloggers such as Wellness Mama, Nom Nom Paleo and a host of others.
Honestly I’ve come to realize that gluten is an evil ingreidient and everyone should be avoiding it anyways. We are just one step ahead. Good luck to you in your journey. Know that you are not alone. It’s hardest in the beginning but it will get easier. Like T1D it never goes away but you learn to deal with it.