One Last Kick at the Can

Thank you for the wonderful outpouring of support after putting my last post out there! It wasn't an easy one to write, but now I'm certain that it was the right thing for me to do.


I've heard from a few readers that the process to leave a comment is a bit awkward, and for that reason I'm changing the parameters on my blog. I tightened up the security last year when I was getting lots of spam, but I'd like to try to make things easier for you if you feel so inclined to add your thoughts to the blog! The simplest way to leave a message to use "anonymous", or you can use your Google account if you wish.

We're waiting on the REALLY final decision from the insurance company. They themselves initiated an appeal on their decision last week and the final piece of information that they were seeking was sent to them late this afternoon. Keeping our fingers crossed for a positive reply tomorrow. We did go ahead and bite the bullet, purchasing a one week supply of Kineret today (I have two days left of my donated stock, and I didn't want to miss any doses with a special event happening later this week!)

We've noticed a correlation between my diet and my "bad days", maybe it's just a coincidence but it would appear that perhaps I have a sensitivity to gluten. It seems that every Saturday night lately I've been awake all night with bad chest pains and trouble breathing - but I couldn't understand how the pericarditis could tell which day of the week it was!

For the last few months we've usually had company on Saturday night. Nothing fancy, usually just an extra setting at the table -but being one who loves to cook I can't help myself by trying to cook something a little different than the everyday fare. And lately I've been turning to some sort of pasta dish on these Saturday nights (something we don't normally eat, it's mostly salads, veggies and fish around here). And then hours later I'm in bad shape. I'm not lifting anything especially heavy, I'm not missing my naps, not doing much out of the ordinary for which I could otherwise blame the added discomfort.

It finally occurred to me that it might be gluten, after all I was supposed to be tested for celiac disease a few years ago and just put it on the back burner when I got my ECD diagnosis. So, I'm going gluten-free this week to see if it does indeed help. I had no idea that gluten was found in many foods beyond the pasta, bread and baked products you might think of first!

I have lots of cookbooks but none that feature gluten free recipes - so, if you happen to have someone with a gluten sensitivity in your family and have a favourite recipe, please do share! Oh, and one complication - no poultry or egg for me - yes, I'm allergic (anaphylactic shock for the poultry, I always have my Epi-Pen with me). Not much left for me to eat, eh?