This is my Face

                                                    


          

#1

#2

             THIS IS MY FACE


















                                    




                                                              THIS IS MY FACE ON GLUTEN

#3 It usually happens to both eyes.

#4 There was no crying all night in this photo...just gluten.

#5 Puff Ball.

#6 This was me trying to make it look normal.

#8 and the melasma.

#7 Notice the sunken eye sockets, dark circles...

Gluten free is a fad, I get it, but in all seriousness there are people out there who cannot eat gluten!  I repeat, they cannot eat gluten.

If gluten does this to my face, you can imagine the havoc it's doing on my intestines and the rest of my body. 

I waited tables for 10+ years and with every fad diet, came a hoard of dieters with restrictions galore.  I rolled my eyes plenty, at the no this, and no that people.  Maybe that's why I'm in the position I am now...allergic to gluten and dairy, I don't know.

One thing I know, is how excited I was to find a gluten free Pho menu at a local restaurant.  I love Pho, and it was the big 3-4, so the boyfriend and I headed out for some grub.  Being that I ordered off the gluten free menu, I didn't specify the extent of my gluten issues, and assumed that everything would be okay.

Well it wasn't.  First came the throat, then the phlegm, which makes it hard to swallow.   The stomach ache and pain is always next,  followed by extreme abdominal discomfort and bloat.  Next thing I know, despite the time of day, I pass the fuck out.  That's all pretty immediate.

The next morning I wake with a swollen face and eyes, then the eczema on the lids appear, soon after. The next 5-7 days are usually followed by an extreme depression, inability to concentrate, super dry skin around my eyes, a weird drunken feeling, stomach pain with everything I consume, and under eye circles that look as though I've been doing heroin for the better part of my life.  Oh, not to mention the long term damage!

The puffy eye photos were taken 02/03/14.  I had gone to a Super Bowl party and made sure to bring the main dish, a lovely pulled pork, for everybody to make sandwiches.  I only snacked on 2 things, that I knew were gluten free.  Soooo, cross contamination is what I suspect happened in some of the above photos, and  is a huge problem for gluten sufferers.  Something to be aware of!

Photos 1 and 2 were taken after being gluten free for 3months.
Photos 7 and 8 were taken after being gluten free for 2 months.
Photos 3, 4, 5, and 6  were taken after 3 months of being gluten free and accidentally being glutened!
You can see from photo #3 the dramatic difference in my melasma from being off gluten.

People!  Remember, gluten sufferers don't want to be suffering from eating gluten.  For us it's not a fad, it's a must, NOT EAT GLUTEN!  So when I go out to eat, save your eye rolls for the asshole who makes you run somersaults around for extra fucking mustard and a perfectly cooked burger.  I never wanted to be, "that person" the one who modifies, and asks a million questions, but at least I'm super nice about it and I and tip BIG, because I've been there!

At Elysian Brewing's Annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival.

Consuming my last drink of non-gluten free beer.

 This post is dedicated to beer, and my now, love/hate relationship with it.  In all honesty though, I am so happy I found out that gluten was hurting me so much. Upon receiving my news, I cried tears of joy, because over the last 3 years, I thought I was dying a long, slow, death of some insane illness.   I will NEVER look back :)   

This link below also discusses the challenges of eating out gluten free.
http://jezebel.com/5991724/will-everyone-please-eat-gluten--please-because-you-are-literally-killing-me-kind-of

CHEERS!