second opinion

The summer of '09 was tricky one for me, health-wise. It started with an emergency appendectomy, fresh off of a great week-long family vacation in the Vineyard and ended with a diagnosis of Celiac disease. I had heard of Celiac disease but I had a really hard time accepting that I had the disease. 2 1/2 years later, it was still a challenge. I don't care what anyone says, it wasn't an easy way of life for me, or us and it didn't get easier with time. Almost every meal I ate had to be a planned event, being spontaneous just didn't fly. Not to mention, our expenses sky rocketed because gluten free food is tre-expensive! The plus side, was I became a wine connoisseur and a master at finding yummy gluten free desserts!

While on my maternity leave, I made the decision to leave my primary doctors practice and start fresh (maybe the smartest thing I've ever done). The last leg to that transition came recently when I met with a new gastroenterologist, who I loved from the get-go. Last week, I had an upper endoscopy as a follow-up to my original celiac diagnosis. I was never happy with how my original diagnosis was delivered and had been considering a 2nd opinion for a while, so the timing was good.

Flash forward to about an hour ago. I was at the grocery store picking up formula for Madelyn on my lunch break when the Dr. office called. All of my tests came back NEGATIVE - I do NOT have Celiac disease! A - freaking - MEN! I nearly did a dance in the aisle :) I have a follow up on Thursday to go over my tests, so I'm not in the clear yet but this is pretty exciting nonetheless.

What are we going to eat for dinner!? I haven't had a beer in 32 months..... 32 months! Granted, I've worked on my love of wine during that time, but something tells me a beer might hit the spot! Especially, if I have it with REAL pizza :)

After that long winded story, my reason for writing today is to encourage you to always listen to your body and trust your gut - especially when it hurts ;) Cheers!!!