A long time ago, back before my husband and I started dating, back to those high school days where we were mere best friends, I found out that he was deathly allergic to peanuts. Now I love peanut butter, but for him I avoid it, he’s had too many hospital trips for eating items that were mislabeled. Sorry peanut butter I loved you, but I love my husband more.
With people who have reactions to foods right away, like my husband, most people tend to be careful about foods they offer.
Now there are a long list of other food allergies, some that take awhile to kick in…Leif once ate frogs legs *shudders*, took a little while but then he was covered from head to toe in hives.
For me it’s gluten, I have Celiacs. While the reaction isn’t instantaneous or immediately life threatening, it is still something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. People don’t take me seriously, “you don’t look sick” or “it’s all in your head” or ” you didn’t get sick as a child”.
This week I was (I’m hoping by accident) told the food I was consuming was gluten free, it was not. I want to give you all an insight on what it feels like to go through a gluten attack.
Let’s start with the head first shall we? For me it starts off like a cramping in my temples, at first it’s dull and achy, & then becomes sharper. While I’ve never had my head stuck in a vice, nor been kicked by steel toed boots, I can’t help but refer to those two actions, as how my head has felt since this past Tuesday, combined with a freight train constantly rushing through your head. Sunglasses help slightly, but even when taking a pain reliever, it is not enough.
Now we will move on to some gross stuff, yep that’s right I’m going there, diarrhea. Because who doesn’t like having to stay near a toilet or stop every fifteen minutes when away from the house running errands that have been put off for far too long. Me that’s who, myself & every single person out there. It’s not in anyway shape or form, how I want to be spending my time.
Then there is the nausea & sometimes the inability to keep food down. Let’s combine these with the previous symptom and man what a party that must be 
I’ve also got exhaustion going on. I used to go to bed at 10 and get up at 5:30-6:00, these last few days I’m lucky to hit 10 and I’ve been rolling out of bed at 7:30-8. I’m too tired to do anything, everyone is on their last pair of clean underwear, I’m just a lump.
This last one is the worst, pain in the joints. My ankles and my back are inflamed, my arms & legs feel achy, but my hands and fingers….I can’t even knit or crochet, it’s truly not a pleasant feeling.
On the outside I may not “look sick”…even though I’ve basically been camped in my chair for half the week, but this is a case of “it’s what’s on the inside that counts”. Toph and the kids have been helping a lot, but it’s depressing that I can’t do everything I normally do. The worst part is that I have no idea how long this is going to last.
What I’m saying here folks is this, if someone tells you that they have a food allergy, whether you believe them or not. You really ought to respect them enough to
A. Make sure if you offer them food, that food does not contain any of what it is they are allergic to. People shouldn’t have to play twenty questions with people they trust.
B. Don’t get all offended if they bring their own food, we aren’t trying to be jerks, we are trying to be polite.
C. Don’t try and chalk up a persons reaction to it being something else. We know what’s wrong with us, it’s for us and our doctor to decide, not you.
D. Not all food allergies were created equally. Different foods, different people, different reactions.
Now this post was brought to you by anti inflammatories & extra strength pain relievers. Be respectful, be kind, and when it doubt, do your research.
Have a nice day folks.
