Meet My Favorite Doctor!

Yesterday was my annual check up with my "gluten free" doctor aka gastroenterologist, Dr. Pettei. 

Every year I go for blood work to make sure all of the antibodies for Celiac Disease come back negative. I was tested for Celiac Disease every year since   having T1D because because they are both autoimmune disorders and they can go hand in hand. Luckily for the past 4 years I have had successful visits! It is nice going to a doctors visit pretty confident that you will not leave in tears.  Don't get me wrong, there is always that part that fears the worst in a doctors appt, but I know that if I avoid gluten I will be in good shape. That is why I find celiac disease "easier" than T1D because if you avoid gluten you are basically "cured." However  with T1D I often feel like I am doing everything 110% to achieve good blood sugars, but I do not always get the results I hope for. 

Dr. Pettei is my favorite doctor because he is professional and sensitive while at the same time realistic. Being diagnosed with celiac disease 4 years ago, I thought I would never be able to live a "normal" life. I thought no more vacations, no more restaurants and not another "treat" for the rest of my life. I thought I had seen my last cookie, pastry and bread. Dr. Pettei addressed my concerns and took the time to answer all of my questions. 

In order to be officially diagnosed I needed to have an upper endoscopy procedure. Meaning I would fast then go into the hospital where a sample of my intestines (I think) would be sampled for their status. 

For a T1D, fasting can be difficult. Of course I was not excused. About 2:30am the morning of the procedure my blood sugar tanked to 55. Obviously fasting was thrown out of the window. I needed to raise my blood sugar, there was mo question. It was frustrating because I had done everything to keep my blood sugar level.. Reduced insulin, had a snack before I went to bed, etc.. But what else is new? T1D doesn't make sense.  Also because this whole idea of gluten free was overwhelming and I just wanted to have this procedure done. It was my first time being sedated and was very nervous. Later I would realize that that was the BEST part of this whole ordeal. Best sleep I ever had! 

Most doctors I feel would basically say "Sorry, reschedule." Dr. Pettei on the other hand told me to come in for the procedure around 12 so by then 8 hours had passed since I had eaten. That small action to eased worry meant the world to not only me, but my family. 

Although the biopsy confirmed that I did in fact have Celiac Disease, I am happy to say that it is not the end of the world. Seriously, look at all of my food posts and you will see what I am talking about. Yes, of course it is overwhelming when you are told no more gluten. My first question was "What is gluten?!" After a lot of research and practice you learn that there are so many things you CAN eat. Luckily over the past 4 years there has been much more awareness and education making it easier to be social and go food shopping at your local grocery store. 

So my advice for any newly diagnosed celiac patients is to take a deep breath and understand that you may need to plan more when it comes to eating, but like anything else it becomes second nature. 

Thank you to Dr. Pettei! 

Thumbs up for a good visit! I am going to be so sad when eventually I cannot get away with going to a pediatric doctor. Hopefully I can still get another year.. Or two.. Or three...  :) 

Something To Think About

Hey hey heyyyy. Where is the summer weather? I want to start making use of my backyard! 

Anyway as you all know I celebrated national running day by taking the day off. I will make up for it on Saturday at the Kicking 4 Celiac 5k (hopefully the rain will hold off, fingers crossed!). 

Yesterday started off on somewhat of a sour note, but it actually turned out to be an enjoyable evening with a last minute trip into NYC. 

After stopping at the local pizzeria with my mom while she grabbed a quick lunch I was a tad irked by some of the comments made by a worker. Now don't get me wrong, is it fun to sit in a pizzeria knowing the only thing I could safely have is some lettuce? No, but I would kick myself in the behind if I caved and ate a slice of pizza. I was eyeing the buffalo chicken slice, but it really wasn't a big deal. After being asked if I would like something to which I politely replied no, I have to eat gluten free, the topic of eating gf came up. 

The worker then went on to tell me how he/she sampled a slice of gf pizza before and it tasted terrible, "like cardboard." Now I don't know about you, but I have never tried cardboard before nor do I want to. 

We conversed about how more and more products are becoming available. From a small business owners perspective I can understand how it may be difficult to offer gf options as a separate area of the kitchen needs to be designated so there is no cross contamination. The funding may not be there and even if it was I would not be making gf pizza part of my routine anyway. 

However sometimes it is not what you say, but how you say it. The pizza person  really stressed that he/she would never get involved with that, basically giving off the impression like "tough shirt" (minus the r).  So thank you for thinking that I must eat crap on a regular basis based on the one food item you have ever tried that was gf. 

Now I am sure this person meant no offense whatsoever and some may criticize me for being too sensitive. Like I have mentioned in previous posts, dealing with T1D and Celiac have made me a more sensitive and aware person. So it is just something for you all to think about. It is always important to think before speaking especially if you are passing judgement on something you have little knowledge of. 

I wonder if he/she would have gotten the message if I said "it doesn't really bother me that I cannot eat pizza, because when I could eat it I always thought yours tasted gross."

I was raised better than that and have a bit more common sense. 

I wonder if my aggravation had anything to do with this reading before bar time...

Anywayyyyy 

On to the better part of the day which included NYC and eating. I was invited to join my parents as they celebrated the retirement of a coworker of my dads, Robin Hall. Laugh all you want that I hang out with my parents a lot, but hey they are cool! 

 Robin is officially one of my favorite people in the world. Here is a person that is fair, funny and tells it like it is. He has done a lot for me like making it possible to skate at the Rockefeller Center Xmas Tree Lighting and of course being The Elf driver on the Santa Float in the Macy's Parade. 

After a night of great food, people and laughs I would like to wish Robin all the best in his future endeavors! 

Enjoy the rest of the day and remember to always think how your words may impact others.