It started out as a simple experiment

I started to eat gluten free to see if I felt better.   To see if I could get the bloaty feeling and the stomach cramps (that could get quite bad, actually) to go away.  Id already switched to regular soda from diet to see if that got rid of my migraine headaches,  so in the 'let's get healthy' push that seemed the next logical step.

And I did feel better.  Quite a bit better.  Bloat gone.  Cramps, all but disappeared.   I even lost a bit of weight.  That honestly is no small feat, im a stress eater, and this was a particularly stressful time.  (Issues)  I even managed to go to a Con and stay mostly gluten free.   Yes, it involved taking all my own food with me, but I did it dammit.  

But finances being what they are (we like to be silly and pay all our bills when they are due), and our completely frakked up-corporate-owned food system being what it is, hubby and I had to make a tough decision when it came to groceries.  We could get gluten free food for me, and everyone else would have to eat processed cheapass "food", or we could eat as unprocessed as we could for the whole family,  and I would have to eat gluten.  

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Its been two days.  And this experiment is now concluded.   Im absolutely certain that if I dont have celiac disease, im at the very least gluten intolerant.  Within these two days ive had massive stomach cramps like someone socked me right in the gut, headaches and now a full blown migraine, every joint hurts.   And im not even going to get into what goes on in the bathroom.   Its not pretty.  Or fun.  For anybody in the house. 

So thats it.  I have to be gluten free. While I haven't been tested, I think I know my own body well enough to know that something is wrong with it.   I didnt run to a doctor when I broke out in hives when I eat dates, I know im allergic.  (Actually in that case I do, they will kill me, but the analogy is sound) The next two weeks will be tough, but I see a lot of rice in my future.  Thankfully most of the groceries we got, I can have.  Ill be having green beans on mac n cheese night,  though.  I may have to leave some stuff off my plate, but ill manage.  This, like everything else is a work in progress.