A Southern Celiac

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Hidden Gluten: What it Is and Where to Find It

May 3, 2017 By: Brittany1 Comment

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Stringent avoidance of it is the only treatment for Celiac disease.

On the surface, this seems sad but not too difficult. I mean, no more pizza. No more giant burritos larger than your head. No more bowls of pasta that should probably feed three people! Okay, that sucks, but I can do that. Now I’m gluten free, right?

Well…no. Not exactly. Have you ever wondered why things that seem to obviously not contain wheat have a little gluten free label? Have you ever scoffed at a salad dressing? “Of course it’s gluten free, it’s a salad dressing!”

So, here’s the thing: gluten is everywhere. It’s sneaky. Not only are a lot of things cross-contaminated when they’re produced on shared lines, gluten is used as a filler and thickener. We call this “hidden gluten.”

Hidden Gluten: What It Is and Where to Find It

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Chronic Coffee Chat: Leaving a Legacy

April 28, 2017 By: Brittanycomment

Hey everyone! Sorry this is getting posted a little later in the day today. I’ve had problems with my blog not auto-posting things lately and this appears to be no exception. In honor of Chronic Coffee Chat, I had way too many cups of coffee this morning while trying to get things under control. So, curl up with your favorite beverage and let’s get started.

As always, Chronic Coffee Chat is featuring a chronic illness blogger I think you should know about! This week we are featuring Mandy of Leaving a Legacy. If you’re in Chronic Illness Bloggers, you may already know her. If not, read on for her introduction!

I am a pastor’s wife (retired) and have served in many leadership roles over our 27 years of ministry including children, youth, and women. For the past 6 years, I have suffered from the effects of chronic pain (fibromyalgia) and rheumatoid arthritis but still enjoy mentoring young Christians and encouraging others on my blog, Leaving a Legacy. I have recently contracted to write devotions for my denomination’s women’s ministries and occasionally speaking at women’s events. My greatest desire is to live a godly life that will lead others down the path of righteousness. Thus my pen name: GGMandy {Godly Girlfriend}

I have a Facebook group also called Leaving a Legacy. You can find me on Pinterest and Twitter under the name ggmandy.
I also write memoirs of growing up on a dairy farm. This blog is called Raised in a Barn. ww.elgendale.com

I love music and volunteer at church to play the piano. THis is another activity that is therapeutic for me.

I also enjoy crocheting. I’ve made several stadium blankets this past year, along with baby blankets for nieces and nephews. I share pictures of my work at http://legacyphotos.blogspot.com/

Chronic Coffee Chat: Leaving a Legacy

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The Milestone I Was Not Prepared For

April 26, 2017 By: Brittanycomment

Part of having a kid is being excited for all their firsts. First smile. First time rolling over. First time they sleep through the night. First time they crawl. First steps. First bites of solid food. First words. There are so many firsts, and each one is a new rush of joy.

There are less fun firsts, too. First temper tantrum. First time they fall and hurt themselves. First virus. First stubbed toe. First fight with a friend. We may not like these milestones, but we expect them.

Some firsts we don’t expect.

The Milestone I Didn't Expect

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Make Life Easier with Sift Food Labels

April 25, 2017 By: Brittany7 Comments

Everyone wants their kid to have the perfect first birthday, right? I definitely did! I had everything planned, down to the candles on the cupcakes. Unfortunately, life threw a wrench in our plans because I’d forgotten to check a cake mix for something my daughter is allergic to. That meant back to the drawing board at the last minute!

There were two things that saved the day: my best friend, who went on a heroic journey to find the perfect cake mix, and the Sift app. I had gotten an email a bit earlier about trying the Sift app for my gluten-free diet. I asked if I could add a dairy free filter as well, because my daughter is allergic to milk! Sift was kind enough to let me try out both filters in exchange for my honest opinion.

Make Life Easier with Sift Food Labels

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Chronic Coffee Chat: Chronically Composed

April 21, 2017 By: Brittanycomment

Hi everyone and welcome back to Chronic Coffee Chat! I hope you’re sitting down with your favorite beverage, ready to read this week’s Chat. If you’re not, just know that there’s still time to brew a coffee or something. This post isn’t going anywhere.

Today we’re featuring Kat of Chronically Composed, who lives all the way across the pond from me! One of the coolest things about Chronic Coffee Chat has been connecting with other bloggers from around the globe. Even though we may not have geography or even illnesses in common with all the bloggers, we all share a common experience through our chronic illnesses. Anyway, enough introspection. Let’s meet Kat!

I’m Kat, I live in North East Scotland, with my husband, 2 Bengal girls (Fergie & Jessie) and our 2 dogs Bubba and Hamish. My hobbies would include photography (even though I’m a complete beginner!) and capturing candid shots, but also starting to capture landscape/scenery too. I enjoy crafting, and have picked up knitting needles for the very first time and taught myself to knit! But most of my time is spent with our fur babies, as we are training both our dogs to be Gun Dogs/Working Dogs. Hamish is only 6 months old, so we are starting at the beginning with him! Find me at my blog, twitter, and Instagram.

Chronic Coffee Chat Chronically Composed

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Don’t Judge a Chronically Ill Person by the Cover

April 18, 2017 By: Brittany2 Comments

Okay y’all, I get it. My blog is titled “A Southern Celiac.” Being a Celiac kind of seems like a defining characteristic for me, right?

It is. I have to check everything that I eat for gluten and cross-contamination, and I have to supplement my diet since gluten-free foods often aren’t fortified. I worry about my b12, my iron, and I get my blood checked regularly to make sure everything is normal and under control.

One thing that I find surprising is how many people assume I’m healthy. You know, other than the celiac. “Oh, I could never (insert something I’ve done) here. I have COMPLICATED health issues.”

Celiac is pretty easy to keep under control compared to a lot of autoimmune diseases. I get that. Unfortunately, it’s pretty common to get other autoimmune issues once you have one. I have two “extras”– psoriasis and myasthenia gravis.

Other than that, I have a genetic collagen disorder called classical Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. It affects all of my collagen and causes anything from my skin tearing open randomly (yikes) to joint dislocations (also yikes.) This disorder causes some other issues, like dysautonomia, a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system that means I have to eat lots of salt and I pass out a lot.

Don't Judge the Chronically Ill by The Cover

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Chronic Coffee Chat: Sarah Frison

April 14, 2017 By: Brittanycomment

Hi everyone and welcome back to Chronic Coffee Chat. If you celebrate Easter, you know that today is Good Friday, so happy Good Friday to you! (If you don’t celebrate Good Friday, you probably know that today is a bank holiday.) I know that lots of you are probably spending time with family and friends, so thank you to those of you joining us today! Today we have a very special guest. Not only is Sarah Frison chronically ill, she’s actually a health coach. That means she’s dedicated to helping people like you and me live our best lives with chronic illnesses. How inspiring! Let’s let her introduce herself.

Hi Brittany (and everyone reading this!), thank you so much for having me. Such fun reading everyone’s stories. I’m Sarah, I’m a health coach and I trained as a pastry chef way back before becoming ill. I had to drop out after my health took a turn for the worse, though. I think if you made it to your front door home from school but can’t remember how you go there, it’s time to call it quits 😉 . At first, I was hopeful I would be able to return to graduate, I had just 3 months to go, such a shame. I never improved like the early doctors I saw hoped for. In the end, I was diagnosed with gastroparesis and dysautonomia. I get IV saline every week and that has made a huge difference for my health. You can find me at sarahfrison.com and I’m @sarahfrisonhc everywhere on social media.

Chronic Coffee Chat Sarah Frison

 

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Listening to Your Body

April 12, 2017 By: Brittany2 Comments

Tonight, I’m relaxing. It’s been a busy week and an even busier weekend. We’ve had family photos, we had dinner parties, and I took a dance class for mom’s night out. I’ve run errands to just about everywhere. I’ve ordered a birthday cake for my daughter’s first birthday, which is coming up way faster than anyone told me it would. I’ve got sunburnt, and ate good gluten free food. I’ve written more things on my 30 Before 30 list.

Although life is going pretty amazing right now, I still have a chronic illness. More than one. Several. That means that occasionally— okay, frequently— I have to slow down and listen to my body.

Whether you have a chronic illness or not, it’s  important to understand your body’s cues.

Listening to Your Body

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Chronic Coffee Chat: Living Grace

April 7, 2017 By: Brittany4 Comments

Hi everyone, and happy Friday! It’s my favorite day of the week again! Today on Chronic Coffee Chat, we’re actually featuring one of my favorite chronic illness bloggers. Everything she writes is heartfelt and relevant. Her blog is titled Living Grace, and she really embodies that in her work and in her life. Since we did this interview, she’s started healing using a DNRS system, which you can read about on her blog. Also, you should definitely check out her Instagram— she takes some seriously pretty shots. So who is she? We’ll let her introduce herself.

Hi! I’m Kami. I’m a wife, blogger, dreamer, and I love me some tea-drinking-couch chats on the deeper things of life. When I’m not writing, detoxing or treating/managing Lyme (and everything else) you’ll find me creating, binge-watching Netflix, listening to podcasts, and snapping photos of cloud-scattered skies. Oh, and cuddling with my pup, Tooka. She’s a fur-bestie. Find Kami on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.

Chronic Coffee Chat: Living Grace

 

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Saying Yes to Me

March 30, 2017 By: Brittany1 Comment

I haven’t talked about it much because I don’t want to jinx it.

As someone with chronic illness, I have to play it safe. Eat safe foods, constantly check and recheck my energy levels, take breaks. It is what it is. Sometimes though? I play it too safe. I miss out without cause. Of course my body COULD decide to go haywire, and it might. But living under the assumption that everything is going to fall apart at any moment? No thanks.

Carpe Diem and Chronic Illness

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